There are also new basic techniques such as Air Blocking, the ability to guard during mid-air, and Chain Combos (also known as Alpha Combos, or Zero Combos in Japan), which are combos that are performed by interrupting the animation of one basic move by performing another of equal or greater strength. Auto also allows the player to perform an instant Super Combo by pressing a punch and kick of the same strength simultaneously, but at the expense of reducing the maximum level of the Super Combo gauge to one. Auto differs from Normal in that the character automatically guards against a limited number of attacks (provided the character is not in the middle of performing an attack). There are two playing styles that can be selected after choosing a character: "Normal" and "Auto". In addition to Super Combos, the player can also perform a special counterattacking technique called an Alpha Counter (Zero Counter in the Japanese version) after blocking an opponent's attack, which consumes a level of the Super Combo Gauge. The number of punch or kick buttons pressed simultaneously when performing a Super Combo determines the amount that will be used. When the gauge reaches Level 1 or higher, the player can perform a Super Combo technique. Like in Super Turbo, the Super Combo gauge fills in as the player performs regular and special techniques. Street Fighter Alpha revamps the Super Combo system introduced in Super Street Fighter II Turbo by adding a three-level Super Combo gauge. The plot of Street Fighter Alpha is set after the original Street Fighter but before Street Fighter II and thus the game features younger versions of established characters, as well as characters from the original Street Fighter and Final Fight, and a few who are new to the series.
The game introduces several new features, expanding on the Super Combo system previously featured in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, with graphics drawn in a similar art style to the one Capcom employed in Darkstalkers and X-Men: Children of the Atom. The working title for the game was Street Fighter Legends. It was the first all new Street Fighter game produced by Capcom since the release of Street Fighter II in 1991. Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, known as Street Fighter Zero in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D 1995 competitive fighting game by Capcom originally released for the arcade for the CP System II hardware.