CE Dhalsim: In addition to reintroducing Dhalsim to the Alpha series, Capcom also decided to put the Champion Edition version of Dhalsim in the game.She is identical to SFA Chun Li in every way, with the single exception of the joystick motion for her Kikouken move, which changes to the charge motion used in SSF2 and SSF2T. SF2 outfit Chun-Li: This is merely Chun-Li redrawn in her original Street Fighter II outfit.Street Fighter Alpha 2 allowed users to select non-canonical characters that were more "what-ifs" than real competitors in the competition. A follow up revision to SFA2 was released in the arcades of Japan as Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha, and for home consoles as Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold in the Street Fighter Collection which featured more styles of gameplay and EX characters. Using a compression chip to cram more graphics on to the cartridge, SFA2 can decompress the sprites on the fly (although there is a noticeable delay at the beginning of a match when the sound is loaded). SFA2 made successful translations to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation consoles, but it made a surprising translation to the SNES. And as with SFA before, each character faced a final boss that was particular to that character's storyline.
If players played well enough and met the requirements, one of the middle fights could be interrupted by a mid-boss, a character who had a special relationship, or information to impart to the player's character. SFA2 also tried to provide more background information for each character by introducing mid-boss fights. The motivation for choosing them is primarily for an increased challenge and bragging rights. EX characters are characters that look identical to the original characters but had alternate or reduced move lists. SFA2 also introduced the concept of alternate characters, known today as EX characters, to the Street Fighter franchise. SFA2 even included a hidden background stage inspired by the Street Fighter II anime. The gameplay stays relatively the same with a few new tweaks to the engine and a brand new feature called Custom Combos, all described below. SFA2 continues with the same anime-inspired look of SFA, and introduces five new competitors to the cast. Street Fighter Alpha 2 was the fully realized version of the first Street Fighter Alpha, which was rushed to the market early.