Play Street Fighter EX plus Alpha Online

Street Fighter EX plus Alpha was a Japan only release for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, a late era title from Arika that pushed the hardware. It arrived when the 32 bit generation was already underway, making it a curious and ambitious footnote for the console.

You control one of many fighters, including series staples and new characters, with the objective of winning a series of one on one matches. The game introduced three level super combos and the ability to cancel special moves into these supers, mechanics that would become standard in later fighting games. The pacing is noticeably faster than Street Fighter II, with more aggressive combo potential, though the difficulty can spike sharply against certain opponents. It feels like playing a prototype for the next generation of fighting games, squeezed onto a cartridge that was never meant to hold it.