1994 Capcom Official SSF2 Tournament -Super Just Games- Northbrook, IL - Game Footage

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1

Hi all!

I haven?t posted on here in years and it couldn?t be timed better. For some this may be considered the holy grail of footage from back in the glory days, and just in time before the tournament at Nickel City.

I have dug up footage from the first ever official United States tournament from Superjust Games (now Nickel City) from 1994. It is over an hour of documentary/commentary filmed by a fellow Minnesota crew member who incidentally no one has heard from in over 10 years.

For people who were too young at the time to know or appreciate this footage, it came at a time when Super Street Fighter was very new. It wasn?t welcomed as well as Capcom hoped I?m sure due to the severely slow playing speed.

Some highlights of this footage include Mike Watson kicking my ass in the final round (bastard) ? sup Mike, and also some classic comments from him as well.

By far the best part of this footage is the elusive beta version of Super Turbo. There is about 10 to 15 minutes worth of footage. Check out the screen explosion when someone gets KO?d by only a special move, not a super.

Many people in the community of course know some of the Minnesota crew, but you will see many people that haven?t been around for over 10 years (none of which even play anymore unfortunately). There is much coverage from two brothers named Jake and Alex who at the time were only 12 and 14 years old. You get to see Jake, the 12 year old, kicking ass in the beta Super Turbo. I was amazed at how I forgot just how good some of the youngsters were back then. This was mainly due to only a couple key competitive players who somewhat molded the Minnesota play style and got us on the map. This molding was also the same reason why I lost to Mike ? having no experience against Guile at the time was my demise. There?s also no doubt in my mind that Jake could have very well been a Justin Wong equivalent if he just had stayed with the gaming scene.

I?d also like to add that after watching this for the first time in 10 years I can?t believe how cocky I seemed so please no one take offense. I guess we were all there to prove something though. Mike I?m sure you?ll get a kick out of yourself too. There is also footage of Eddie Ferrier and Steve Warwick. Steve isn?t shown but gameplay between us is. There is a lot more footage of people I have no idea who so if someone recognizes them let?s hear it.

Additionally the cameraman did interviews with random people, some from Minnesota and others from the Chicago area. There was even a guy who I think said he was from one of the Midwest states who said ?There?s life and then there?s Street Fighter.? It?s hilarious.

Well, it might not be what everyone wanted to see, Hyper Fighting, but it should easily be a close second. I can?t wait to start commenting back and forth with everyone?s thoughts. Oh, and one last thing, since someone will surely comment about why the hell I was doing so many low short kicks, I don?t have an answer for you. =/ The whole thing was definitely nerve racking to say the least.

The vids consist of 10 parts. If you just want to watch the matches or the beta footage I also uploaded those by themselves. Unfortunately some of the footage between Mike and I aren’t complete. It must have been due to low battery or switching tapes. Regretably the final matches are not complete. I’m not too concerned though since I got raped. =)

(edit) I believe there were more than 200 entrants. Does anyone rememeber the exact number?

Enjoy!!

[media=youtube]6XB1RgcQBzU[/media] (part 1)
[media=youtube]urkKKXlJdy4[/media] (part 2)
[media=youtube]d_tHbopoptA[/media] (part 3)
[media=youtube]vsKaW11hoaI[/media] (part 4)
[media=youtube]VsOpIkbEtFA[/media] (part 5)
[media=youtube]EXgNQ0iDDX8[/media] (part 6)
[media=youtube]BI3ofulcWdQ[/media] (part 7)
[media=youtube]2rCNKiL4reU[/media] (part 8)
[media=youtube]cg6EAiVYns0[/media] (part 9)
[media=youtube]Q4kEU_TtIUg[/media] (part 10)

[media=youtube]MdHarxPyXnM[/media] (SSF2T Beta)

[media=youtube]cWA1rS2cu0Y[/media] (Jesse Howard vs. Steve Warwick - Sweet 16 Winner’s Bracket)

[media=youtube]viLNqEADoic[/media] (Jesse Howard vs. Eddie Ferrier - Sweet 16 Winner’s Bracket)

[media=youtube]8odvLSrnyX8[/media] (Jesse Howard vs. Mike Watson - Sweet 16 Winner’s Bracket)

[media=youtube]KF-qne3_SzU[/media] (Jesse Howard vs. Eddie Ferrier - Sweet 16 Loser’s Bracket)

[media=youtube]Q4kEU_TtIUg[/media] (Jesse Howard vs. Mike Watson - Final - not complete) Same as Part 10

http://www.youtube.com/user/vengersama

2

Damn, this was some good stuff. Thanks for posting. :tup:

3

You’re the man. Good shit.

4

Wow, thats some nice stuff, especially the beta footage.

5

That kid playing fei, Is that JSJ?!?!?!?!??!?!?

6

Is this the same tournament that was inside of the SSF2T strategy guide insert that was inside one of the Gamepro magazines?
If so, man, this is old school insanity!

7

Yep, the one and the same! =) The part during my first interview from the video is also where Gamepro took my photo. I’m the one with the Hard Rock Cafe shirt on. =P

Also the kid playing Fei in SSF2T Beta was part of the Minnesota crew who was about 12 at the time. His name is Jake Medina. If only he kept playing.

8

Wow it’s amazing you still had this footage. This stuff is a must see for anybody interested in seeing how hyped street fighter was back in it’s prime of popularity.

9

We’re all pretty lucky that someone wanted to tote around the camera for hours on end. He didn’t even really care about SF, but thank god he was somewhat of a cinematographer nut. I hope people are checking out parts 1-10, not just the match footage. The match footage are just cuts I took from parts 1-10.

10

I think this tournament had like 160 people that entered it. It was f’n huge with 12 SSF2 machines and a stage they built at Super Just Games on the older side section (no longer owned by SJG) where they once had the ticket games. I think it was officially sponsored by Capcom. If I remember correctly I think Seth and David Spence made the top 16 as well. I was there too, but I missed the top 16 by one spot (twice!). I wonder if any other old-schoolers from that tournament still play-

-wes

11

Holy crap I didn’t expect that kid to play Fei Long like that on the Beta vid. Lol.

Thanks for these vids!

12

This is pure gold, awesome.

13

cool, thanx dude :bgrin: :tup::tup:

14

That was awesome :pray:, I’ll rep you if I could.

15

Very kind of you to share this with everyone. Thanks :rock:

EDIT: lol@the OPs rep level. That was fast.

16

You just did something amazing, you punched the core of the Earth and pulled out the Holy Grail.

17

Thanks for the vids!

18

Yes he was definitely good. He was basically just mimicing my playstyle from SSF2. I picked up Fei right away when SSF2 came out. No one else at my arcade used him. Wes definitely took Fei a lot further after I stopped playing him. If I had only known about the meaty close fierce punch. =)

19

=)

It was an honor to be a part of this then and also now once again. I’m glad you feel that way. I too thought it was sort of a Holy Grail finding.

Much thanks need to go to a guy named Darin who now lives in Florida who had held on to the original tape this whole time. He was digging around in old boxes and found it. He was once part of the Minnesota crew but has since moved on. He just told me today that he also has some footage from our arcade from 1993, Picadilly Circus in Minneapolis. Quite possible there could be some Hyper Fighting or CE footage on that. I’ll let you all know!

20

oh wow. history lesson indeed. AMAZING find, im gonna find some time and comment. gonna be funny watching all the other OG players looking like youngsters.

thanks a lot jesse!!! this is just in time for some last minute MWC hype. hope everyone comes down.