Capcom collects Street Fighter spin-offs

While Street Fighter fanatics the world over patiently wait for a fourth proper installment in the series, Capcom is prepping another retrospective compilation to tide them over--this time of the Alpha side series. Capcom today announced Street Fighter Alpha Anthology for the PlayStation 2, a collection of the three main Alpha games, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix.

From Alpha counters to custom combos to the "ism" fighting system, gamers can relearn each game's hallmarks in arcade, versus, training, survival, and dramatic battle modes, the last of which allows for two-on-one tussles. But don't expect much in the way of additional content or the extra characters and modes of the Game Boy Advance and PSP Alpha 3 ports. Capcom has said that each installment of the Alpha series will be a "direct arcade conversion."

As for the odd game out, Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix is a superdeformed take on the Street Fighter franchise, with comically squat pugilists whose attacks often involve costume changes and props. Fans of Capcom's Fighter's Edge line of PlayStation games may remember the title's original American release under the name of Pocket Fighter.

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology is scheduled for release this summer. The price of the collection was not announced.