I don’t know if it’s just US slang, but “feeling himself” conjures up a few images
I watched a stream not too long ago and I noticed the misuse of classic marvel 2 terms. I used to play competitively across the country in MVC2 for a number of years and witnessed first-hand the beauty that was the MVC2 community. I realize that I am probably one of the few, non-ec, non-OG players who was around for the so-called “birth” of a lot of the terms used in the FGC, but I would like to add some clarity for the uninformed
Godlike. The first person I heard use this term was Sanford Kelly back in 2002 when he first came to Southern California for a SHGL tournament. He used the term as an adjective to describe maneuvers, strategies, and/or skills of a player. It may have been another EC player that incorporated this word into the FGC vernacular, but I heard Sanford (then later Arturo Sanchez) say it first.
Vortex. Vortex is an mvc2-only word. It was used only to describe one player, the greatest MSP player of all time: Yipes. There was a point around 2006-2007, where he was bar-none the best player on the planet, with a team that no one ever thought would win a major, no less a national tournament. He revolutionized the team with his slick dashing and innovative resets and guard breaks. This is where the term “Pringles” also originates. Because once Yipes laded a hit, it was like Pringles, “one you pop, you cannot stop.” Furthermore, his resets were unique and incredibly hard to block (I know from personal experience). It was a type of rushdown and mix-up game that transcended reactions and led to pure guessing. If he landed one hit, that character was dead. Hence, his, and only his, magneto was seen as activating a “vortex” once he landed a hit.
Ass. The first time i heard the term “Ass” was in 2005 at ECCX. This was my first EC Marvel tournament, but it was the heart of the MVC2 community; it had the most boastful (and best) players in the world. Back then, they weren’t saying “Ass,” more players were saying “buns.” I remember, all of us from California (only a group of 5 of us went), were bewildered as to what that meant. “Oh, his msp is buns.” Josh Wigfall explained, “It’s garbage. Straight Ass-Cheeks.”
Mahvel Baby. This term was used by Law when he was commentating a Justin Wong Match at Evo, where he had an amazing cyclops comeback against Yipes. (That was a great set btw.) It was then used in a Money Match between myself and Demon Hyo, where Yipes was the main commentator and he repeated what Law had said from the Wong/Yipes match.
Rom. This is also known as the traditional Magneto infinite in MVC2 and its various forms. Rom was a Japanese Marvel player credited with inventing the Magneto infinite (a game changing combo). However, he did not invent the actual infinite, it was someone else, he had instead invented a different, non-infinite combo.
Free. Free and its various pronunciations was popularize (again) by EC marvel players. EC Marvel was where money matches were invented and true rivalries were forged. Defeating a player for money, at a certain point in Marvel’s history, became a greater accomplishment than placing in the top 3. Why? Because Justin Wong went undefeated for about 5 years and it was certain that everyone else was competing for second place. Except that Sanford Kelly usually had second place locked in. So, players, at lower levels, began wagering to improve themselves and compete at a fairer level. Since, they had little opportunity to place in the money (top 3). Defeating a player for money, or gambling, is indeed free money. So beating someone in a money match was seen as a method of acquiring “free” money. Also, it became a term of describing the ease in which some players accomplished victory. And, of course, as a way of trash talk. For Instance, I used to post quite frequently that the EC was “free” in marvel, by combining it with a player’s screen name (i.e. Demon Freeyo).
Fray. This word has an interesting history. Back in 2006, Evolution was sponsored by Toyota and the prize money had increased exponentially. EC Marvel players, as long as everyone else, were extremely excited at this development. Prior to this, evolution only paid the top 3 players, and it was something like a 60/30/10 split, which meant most players traveling only did so for enjoyment, and not at the prospect of profiting. However, the new prize pool did offer the prospect of financial gain, and EC players made videos coining the term “5k for may [me]”. Obviously, me does not rhyme with the letter “k”, so it was pronounced as “May.” From this, the term “fray” developed. As noted above, free was already a common term, and pronouncing it as “fray” was only a slight deviation.
Hype. Hype is not really a word. It’s an environment. It you never attended an ECC Marvel tournament, then you’ve never seen what “hype” is. Watching Eric Arroyo break a Mvc2 cabinet 3 times within one tournament set and talking trash the entire time is the quintessence of hype. EC Marvel was contagious, as you can tell from everyone using their slang from the early 2000s to this day. The atmosphere made you want to be a part of what they were saying, and thus, repeating their terminology and becoming a part of that community. People would say “get fucking hype” to pump up the crowd. But it was only occasionally used, as most people understood what was hype. For instance, a great match up between two great players, or two players who disliked each other, or a money match created hype. Before the match the crowd would being roaring at a low pitch, something to the tune of “ulllll”, and the sound of the crowd would climax the a the character versus screen appeared.
Salty. This, too, is a word I first heard at ECCX in 2005. The EC Marvel players would say the word “tight,” which on a tangential note, has a completely different meaning in Southern California. Other players would say “Salty” to describe their level of displeasure.
Wong Factor. If you didn’t play against Justin Wong from 2002-2006 in Mvc2, then you have no idea what this means. It is not some special ability Justin had, it was something he achieved from his previous success. He went undefeated for almost four years in tournaments. He won every tournament he entered in convincing fashion and that was because he was just that much better than everyone. His first loss was a “mess-around” type loss. He picked a team he never used (especially in tournaments) and loss to Sanford Kelly, in a close set. He was so dominant that he almost ruined Mvc2 for everyone and caused a nation-wide drop in tournament attendance. Why compete if we (encompassing every player in the world) can’t beat Justin? These previous successes, and his overall fearlessness and nerve-control, created the wong factor. He was untouchable at Marvel during those years. People would “choke” against Justin, simply because of the awe of the feat they were almost accomplishing. Defeating Justin was almost a mythical accomplishment. Taking one game from him, even in casual, was an accomplishment.
I’m sure there are more I’m missing, but I cannot think of any at the moment. It is weird to see these commentators, who definitely were not at any of these Mvc2 tournaments, and definitely not a part of the Mvc2 community (whatsoever), use these terms. I always wonder if they know what it even means, or what they are even saying. However, I am not surprised that this is the case. EC Marvel players always had the most personality and made the Mvc2 community special. They were a contagious bunch, in a community that severely lacked personality (before Mvc2 that is).
Just any commentary which talks in input numbers like 236B, I’m looking at you Melty Blood.
Otherwise I’m pretty down with most of the terminology, it’s just some things from games I don’t generally play that I need to Google, I admit to being a bit of a KoF noob.
Technology (which is an acceptable use of the word but the word should be “technique” given the context of the usage.) is by far #1 for me
Swag. Was never funny, will never be funny. Randomly using this word to fill in dead air because you can’t think of anything remotely intelligent to say is the main reason I hate east coast commentary. They got creative people over there, and smart people. But damn if they don’t try hard to hide them behind a wall of retarded unfunny memes.
All the Norcal/Socal lingo.
I also particularly hate commentators that go “OOH OOH OOH OOH OOH OOH”. What, are you devolving into an ape? If you can’t commentate properly then get the fuck off the stream.
Why don’t you commentate if you care so much, or go stream yourself, or shut off the stream.
You’re kidding, right? I’m watching streams that are taking place miles away, I’m talking about tournament streams and WNF commentary. Your post is utterly retarded.
You need to quit complaining man. There is no need to hate on commentators. Wouldn’t you get excited? No? Well good for you then. I’ve only been to five majors, but every time that I go, I do say OH OH OH, when something huge happens. It is an exciting environment. If you haven’t been to one, I am sorry. If you have, you should know. Turn down the volume if you care so much.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!@!@@
OH MY CAR!!!
SOOOOO GATLIKE!
edit:
to be honest, i heard most of the lingo in the hip hop/bboy scene a few years before it was applied in the fighting game community.
especially “in the lab,” “technology.” and “salt.”
those aren’t so bad though.
edit2:
i forgot.
“SWAG.”
what the fuck does swag have to do with fightin game nerds?
nerds don’t have any swag, and it was nothing to do with video games or anything.
i embrace our gaming culture and community, but do we need this term SWAG to compensate how awesome and cool our gamers are? gtfo, @ the end of the day, you put 4k hours into this fighting game.
respect.
peace
but when they say, godlike!!
drives me fucking crazy sometimes.
Happy Birthday.
Free.
Swag.
In the Lab.
Everything else is based on regional lingo, and I don’t really have a problem with what players want to call stuff in cartoon fighters.
While we on the subject of old timers demystifying old lingo. Somebody explain “Scrape” to me. That was pretty much out of fashion by the time I came around.
You must not be godlike if you don’t like the compliment “godlike” that is used in a lot of shit that isn’t even fighting games.
I’m afraid the term “godlike” offends my secular upbringing.
Any term that has to do with taste or food.
Meaty, salty, vanilla, etc.
It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Makes you wonder if these players get hungry waiting for their chance to play in tournaments.
Am I the only person here who doesnt hate the term technology? I dont understand why people are getting mad when someone says this 
Is it me, or is *everything *a ‘mixup’?
“Godlike”
“Lookin’ real cute”
“Dat mango (anything)”
I’ve heard it two ways: with activated A-Groove Sakura in CvS2 where she would do endless DPs to “scrape” the opponents lifebar for chip damage
I’ve also heard it used in MvC2 when Mags snaps in an assist to kill it, but I may have misheard because it doesn’t make a lot of sense in that situation