Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha

Introduction

Developed by ARIKA and released in 1996, Street Fighter EX is a "3D" fighting game in an alternate SF universe.

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, or simply EXA, is a Playstation port of the game with additional characters, modes, and an arranged soundtrack. EXA is largely overlooked compared to its sequels, but it's an exciting diversion hailing from arguably the most iconic era of Capcom Fighters.

Arika's EX Series is lauded for its crazy tech, exciting system, and over a dozen exclusive characters. Thanks to advances in netplay and the beta release of DuckstationGGPO, nearly the entire Arika back catalog is seeing a revival online. While the majority of competition will flock to Street Fighter EX2 Plus, EXA still has a lot to offer.

Notations

ub   u   uf        Jump Backward        Jump Up       Jump Forward
  \  |  /
b -- n -- f        Retreat/Block        (neutral)     Move Forward
  /  |  \
db   d   df        Defensive Crouch     Crouch        Offensive Crouch

Keep in mind that you'll need to reverse the left- and right-based
directions if you are on the second player (right) side.

LP    MP    HP     Light Punch      Medium Punch      Hard Punch

LK    MK    HK     Light Kick       Medium Kick       Hard Kick


P     = Use any strength Punch button.
K     = Use any strength Kick button.
(air) = The move can be performed while jumping (airborne).
(x#)  = Repeat the whole motion and button press x number of times.
[   ] = Not listed in the game's internal moves list

Game Mechanics

Street Fighter EX shares its DNA with Capcom's Street Fighter Alpha 2. Both games released just a few months apart, so we can assume they were developed in parallel.

Arika spent over a year researching and prototyping 3D game engines before working on SFEX. Early on it was decided that despite the game's visuals being 3D, the gameplay would remain 2D. Multiple mechanics, moves, and characters perform identically between SFEX and SFA2.

SFEX exclusive mechanics include metered Guard Breaks, enhanced Super Cancels, and a larger emphasis on links in combos. Alpha Counters, Custom Combos, and Ground Recovery do not feature in SFEX or EXA.

Game Versions

Arcade (Sony ZN-1)

In its day, a credit on the EX1 cab at New York's legendary Chinatown Fair was double the price of Super Turbo. It was hauled off before 2000 to save floor space while ST, Alpha, and Marvel endured. Americans didn't even play an EX game at a high level until New York rediscovered EX2 Plus through 2Old2Furious-- Over a decade removed from the series' original run.

Finding an EX board in the wild just isn't going to happen. The ZN-1 was obscure, temperamental, and only supported five games.

PlayStation

EXA, however, is a helluva deal. Load times and blocky hands aside.

The Sony ZN-1 was essentially a suped up Playstation with its data stored on ROM chips instead of discs. EXA is as close to "arcade perfect" as any game could be from that era.

The Characters

• Akuma
• Allen Snider
• Blair Dame
• Kairi
• Chun-Li
• Jack
• Darun Mister
• Dhalsim
• Doctrine Dark
• Garuda
• Guile
• Hokuto
• Ken
• M.Bison
• Pullum Purna
• Ryu
• Sakura
• Skullomania
• Zangief
• Evil Ryu
• Evil Hokuto

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha