Street Fighter Alpha 2, (known as Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania) is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is both a sequel and a remake to the previous year's Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, which is itself a prequel to the Street Fighter II series in terms of plot and setting. The game features a number of improvements over the original, such as new attacks, stages, endings, and gameplay features. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 3. Street Fighter Alpha 2 retains most of the new features introduced in the original Street Fighter Alpha, such as the three-level Super Combo gauge, Alpha Counters, Air-Blocking, and Fall Breaking. The main new feature in the game is the inclusion of the Custom Combo system (Original Combo in Japan), which replaces the Chain Combos from the first Alpha. If the Super Combo gauge is on Lv. 1 or above, the player can initiate a Custom Combo pressing two punch buttons and a kick or one punch button and two kicks. The player can then perform any series of basic and special moves to create a Custom Combo until the Timer Gauge at the bottom of the screen runs out. In Japan, Game Machine listed Street Fighter Zero 2 on their May 1, 1996 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month, outperforming titles such as Virtua Fighter 2. Street Fighter Zero 2 went on to be the highest-grossing arcade game of 1996 in Japan. Game Machine also listed Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha on their October 1, 1996 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the month.