Street Fighter Collection

Reviews were complimentary toward Street Fighter Collections arcade-perfect conversions, but judged the selection of games too weak to be worth buying. In particular, critics were puzzled that Capcom chose to include Super Street Fighter II, widely regarded as one of the weakest in the series, over more beloved Street Fighter games, and found Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold too similar to the original Alpha 2, which most of the compilation's prospective audience would already own, since critically acclaimed conversions of Alpha 2 had already been released for both the Saturn and the PlayStation. The inclusion of Super Street Fighter II Turbo was met with widespread approval, but considered insufficient reason to buy the collection on its own. Sega Saturn Magazines editor-in-chief Rich Leadbetter concluded that, "Is the game worth buying if you already own Street Fighter Alpha 2 (and you should be ashamed of yourself if you don't)? Well, to be brutally honest, I would have to say 'no'. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is a cool game, but it is old and it isn't really worth the full whack." Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot additionally felt that Street Fighter Collection should have included the entire series, remarking "Capcom truly missed out on a great opportunity by releasing a 'collection' that is obscenely incomplete." GamePro offered a somewhat different viewpoint, opining that Alpha 2 Gold is a worthwhile game but the other two are outdated and have no value beyond nostalgia. While most critics did not compare versions, Kelly Rickards of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) scored the Saturn version half a point higher because he felt the Saturn controller much better suited to fighting games, and his co-reviewer Sushi-X, while giving the two versions equal scores, said the PlayStation version is slightly better due to the Saturn version having some visual glitches. Despite the criticisms expressed in their reviews for the compilation, Street Fight Collection was a hit at EGMs 1997 Editors' Choice Awards, taking "Fighting Game of the Year" and "Best Compilation", as well as a runner-up for "Saturn Game of the Year" (behind Saturn Bomberman). In naming it "Fighting Game of the Year" the editors explained that, in spite of the advances fighting games had made in both graphics and realism, they still felt the classic Street Fighter games were the best of the genre.