Capcom announces Street Fighter Anniversary Collection

Street Fighter fans got a one-two punch of good news today when Capcom announced that it will release the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. Created to celebrate the franchise's 15 years and 27 million copies on the market, the collection will contain both Hyper Street Fighter II and a PlayStation 2 port of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, which previously appeared in arcades and on the Sega Dreamcast console.

Ironically, Hyper Street Fighter II is itself a compilation--of sorts. Released in Japan in December, the game takes all the characters from arcade classics Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo and combines them into a single 2D PlayStation 2 title. Players can mix and match the characters in three different modes: single-player arcade, two-player versus, and training, which lets players perfect their skills against programmable opponents.

The game also includes a gallery mode, which provides access to character intros and backgrounds, soundtrack selections, and images from the Street Fighter II series. While the Japanese release of Hyper Street Fighter II also contained the Street Fighter anime movie, Capcom makes no mention of it being included in the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. Calls to Capcom had not been returned as of press time.

Released in arcades in 1999, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike features nearly 20 characters, including karate sensei Makoto and famed martial arts master Chun Li. Besides offering the same three modes as Hyper Street Fighter II, the PlayStation 2 port retains 3rd Strike's gameplay systems. Its Grade Judge System scores players' techniques at the end of each match, while its Progressive Hit Frame System provides for more-realistic fighting.

According to Capcom, the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection will be released "this summer," and its rating is still pending.