What would have happened if they had ported SF Alpha 2 to Genesis?

[Urzu402]

Would it even be possible? It looks like it was hard to port it for the SNES

[emceelokey]

The SNES was basically dead by the time Alpha 2 came out on it, so the Genesis was definitely dead by that time. If anything, Sega would have put it on 32x or Sega Cd but both of those were dead and the Saturn was already out and Sega moved on.

I think Nintendo actually publiished the SNES version though.

[Damaramu]

Now, what about the N64?

Wasn't it good at pushing sprites? Killer Instinct was a 2D game (pre-rendered CGI sprites) and that turned out "ok".

Wasn't there a 2D fighting game (or beat 'em up) for it that stayed in Japan?

[vxkens]

I think Capcom published it in Japan and Nintendo published it in other territories. Kind of like Mega Man 6 at the end of the NES's life.

IIRC, the SNES version was using a special chip to help with the massive decompression of graphic data, and it was a pretty huge cart to begin with(40 Mb I think?). Genesis wouldn't have had access to that, and with its limited color palette, I doubt the game would have been a pretty sight.

[Eyedunno]

It was 32 megabits. But yeah, it would have been bad on the Genesis. Even at 32 megs with the S-DD1 compression chip, the SNES/SFC versions have terrible sound (the voices are the worst of any 16-bit Street Fighter, I'd say), some removed animations (for example, a lot of ending animations have been removed, and Sakura's middle kick is the same as her weak kick), and loadtimes (!).

I do think SFA2/SFZ2 is a phenomenal achievement considering how much of the game remains, and it's still very playable and decent, but on the Genesis, it may well have been a disaster.

[NayusDante]

Well, why not Sega CD? Isn't that kinda why they made it in the first place?

[Kiddo]

Now, what about the N64?

Wasn't it good at pushing sprites? Killer Instinct was a 2D game (pre-rendered CGI sprites) and that turned out "ok".

Wasn't there a 2D fighting game (or beat 'em up) for it that stayed in Japan?

I recall hearing of a "Rakuga Kids" which didn't get a release in the USA.
Also, the N64 had the Mortal Kombat Trilogy game.

I think that for some reason devvers were put off on the idea of making 2D N64 Fighters for some reason - in comparison, there were more (mostly shoddy and forgettable compared to Saturn or Playstation ones) 3D fighters. Possibly just people jumped on the "2D is dead" bandwagon (and Capcom didn't jump on N64 until near the tail-end of it's lifespan, and just released Playstation ports on it.)

As for the Sega CD doing Alpha 2 - I do not really think it'd have been that easy. The Sega CD's power didn't seem to do much for improving NeoGeo ports over their Genesis originals, after all. And the Sega CD by itself didn't add additional color to the system.

That being said, other give the Sega CD much of anything after "Final Fight" was ported? In a way, it's kinda sad wondering how a Street Fighter port might've worked on the CD System, only for it to not happen

[badinsults]

Yeah, without the SDD-1 chip, SFA2 probably wouldn't have happened on the SNES (it should be noted that if you play the game without the chip, say through a Game Genie, it is completely playable but the graphics are screwed up). The SDD-1 chip probably compressed the graphics by at least a factor of 2. If the Genesis had SFA2, it would probably have had to have a similar sort of graphics decompression scheme.

[Kitsune Sniper]

It was a craptacular port that shouldn't have been made to begin with. Awful sound, freezing before rounds started, smushed out graphics... I'm not sure WHAT made Capcom try to pull it off. The port felt rushed and gimped.

[CMA Death Adder]

What would have happened if they had ported SF Alpha 2 to Genesis?

People would have bought it and played it. I would have been one of them.

I thought it was neat, having the game on the SNES - but I've always preferred the Genesis. A Genesis and / or 32X version of the game would have been... more neat.

[Arkhan]

SF alpha 2 for genesis would have SUCKED. The PSX sprites were so nicely drawn and animated.... the music was great., and the controls/screen effects were awesome



the sega version wold have just been every other street fighter, with different characters, lame specials and less than awesome music!

a sega cd version might have been ok, id imagine the graphics wouldnt have been as nicely colorful as the PSX/arcade..... but it would have been more acceptable I think

[Eyedunno]

It was a craptacular port that shouldn't have been made to begin with. Awful sound, freezing before rounds started, smushed out graphics... I'm not sure WHAT made Capcom try to pull it off. The port felt rushed and gimped.

I think you're going too far. The load times are pretty annoying, but considering the hardware, it's an amazingly good, thorough port. You have to keep in mind they made it on the same size cart as was used for Super Street Fighter II, and included a pretty faithful version of the arcade's attract mode, not to mention Chun Li's alternate costume, and most of the bells and whistles found in every other version of the game.

[izarate]

I'm not sure WHAT made Capcom try to pull it off. The port felt rushed and gimped.

The SFC was well alive and kicking when SFA2 came out (1996). I guess that Capcom took the installed base into consideration. Let's not forget that the SFC got Rockman & Forte in 1998.

It does feel rushed though. A few more weeks to improve the dead time when the SDD1 is decompresing the audio data just before the round starts and maybe incorporating the SA1 chip would have made a hell of a port.

[swlovinist]

Some of Genesis inferior ports are still rather playable(Samurai Showdown). The Genesis could have pulled off a playable port, that would have looked and sounded inferior. The color would be the most noticable, but I bet you that the system could pull off something that could be played. Like many other comparisons to the SNES, I bet the Genesis could have a faster running version, just one that looked and sounded fugly.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I played the Saturn version years before the SNES one. To me, it's a neat cart to have, but it's pretty much unplayable by comparison. The Genny had to use hardware and tricks just to get SSF2 to run... Genny Alpha 2 would have been a bigger train wreck than the SNES version. And that's saying something! If you've played a Chinese Fami bootleg of SF2, you pretty much know what to expect.

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

I dont think it would have been that bad, if the right crew did the job. The Genesis was already doing decent ports of Neo stuff as it was when Takara was behind the work. Usually the only thing that really hampered the Takara ports was the altered gameplay due to ram limits. Samurai Showdown on Genesis already visually looked pretty nice. If they would have used more ram they could have retained the moves they cut out. Hell, ruined game play aside, even Art of Fighting and World Heroes on Genesis visually looked good. Sega just botched those two with poor programming. Super SF 2 and Saturday Night Slam Masters on Genesis looked pretty nice and played really well. Same with Power Instinct.

Granted, I dont think a Genesis port of Alpha 2 would have been mind blowing, but if they would have went with a large cart size, they could have done something decent probably. Better then the Snes port? Who knows. No one will ever know (until some morons in Hong Kong decide to port it over, first to Nes, then Game Gear, then Mega Drive, with guest stars Scorpion, Johnny Cage, half the cast of KOF 94, and Mickey Mouse from Castle of Illusion).

[c0ldb33r]

I'm curious how the game would have turned out on:

1. Sega CD + 32X = I imagine that this would have been quite playable. It wouldn't have to compress the graphics like the SNES one did. Plus, with the power of the 32X, the graphics would have been quite sharp. The music would have been just as good as the Saturn version thanks to the CD.

2. Turbo-16 with Arcade card - I have no idea how this would have turned out, but I'm amazed how well this little gem did with the SNK fighter ports. I think that it would have sucked, but I'd still be interested in seeing it.

The Genny had to use hardware and tricks just to get SSF2 to run...

Really?

[portnoyd]

Ever play TMNT Tournament Fighters on the Genesis and then compare it to the SNES version? I'd imagine SFA2 on the Genesis would have been just as bad.

[Arkhan]

2. Turbo-16 with Arcade card - I have no idea how this would have turned out, but I'm amazed how well this little gem did with the SNK fighter ports. I think that it would have sucked, but I'd still be interested in seeing it.

this or the Sega CD + 32x are the only ways I could see a port working out.

[megasdkirby]

I bet it might look good, but it will sound like complete ass.