In an effort to go along with the times, I picked April to be the month to talk about fighting games. With the release of the much talked about Street Fighter 4, I find myself thinking of all the hours I spent playing fighting games with my Junior High friends. Street Fighter 2 was not just a game, it was a phenomenon. It was at every arcade center and every home (when the SNES version came out). I lived on top of a small convenience store and day and night I could hear the haduken's and shouryuken's being punched out on the arcade sticks. It was part of the 90's. If you grew up at that era, you or someone you know were hooked on that game. It literally created the genre of fighting games. For the longest time before that, games like Final Fight and Double Dragon were labeled as fighting games, for they were side-scrolling games that you fought in. But Street Fighter changed that, it was a 1-on-1 fight to the end ~ with NO JUMP BUTTON. The idea of using UP for jump was so new. Of course it's natural to us now. But those guys at Capcom really were on to something. And six buttons? That was probably the only game that had that at the time.
Now the part that I loved about Street Fighter 2 was that there was an incredible balance in the characters of the game. We all know and love Ken, Ryu, and Guile, but if one put effort into learning the other five: Chun Li, Zangief, Dhalsim, Blanka, and E.Honda, they could be formidable too. Each had their strengths and weaknesses. I've seen Zangief players crush Ryu types, and I've seen Chun Li players lay waste to Guilde players. It was a wonderful game.
The game went into some craze about sequels, spawning titles such as Champions Edition, Turbo, Turbo 2, Super Street Fighter, etc. But every one of them have their intricacies. Kind of reminds me of the many editions of Windows.
I spent a lot of time playing the game. Learning combos, block patterns, offensive strategies, etc. Eventually I learned how to use a bit of every character. I think I ended up liking Guile the most, but I'll probably be able to play Ken and Ryu too; like everyone else. I even remember the stupid tricks, like the "handcuffs" freeze from Guile, and the "invisible throw" glitch. Those who know, know what I mean. I met a lot of friends at the arcades, and had my share of beat-downs by kids younger than me. I still want to play it once in awhile, and I had the chance to re-use those skills three years ago when I started playing it in Japan with my friend Tim. It's odd how playing Street Fighter is like riding a bike. Nostalgia ensues even as I'm writing this.
Now I if I wanted to put an hour-count on the hours (or days) I spent idling away on Street Fighter 2 and all it's sub-series, it would be close to the 1000's I think. But just for the blog's sake, I'll just say 200 plus.
Completion: Yes, at all difficulties.
Hours Spent: 200+ hours.
So when I learned of Street Fighter 4, I was more than happy to welcome it's return. Too bad I don't have a PS3 or Xbox 360. Nevertheless, the heart still hungers for some thumb crunching ass-whooping. Enjoy this trailer from 1up.com. Doesn't the Ryu theme remind you of all the battles of the past?
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