A true account of the golden era with information provided by individuals from amongst the golden greats who prefer to remain anonymous.
It was after hours, a young boy was in training mode of SF2 WW. Practicing combos, spacing, the perfect counter to every situation. Of course there was no training mode but the training was facilitated by his mentor Charles Franco who was older and wealthier than the impressionable Tomo and he provided a stready stream of quarters.
Charles was older than Tomo and had the vision for the game but none of the execution or skill needed to truly excel. Charles recognised Tomo as one of lifes orphans and protected him and provided stability and a moral compass.
He wanted Tomo to remain clean and free of vice and he frowned on some his associates in particular Jeff Plumber and Mike Watson. Jeff Plumber later changed his name to Shaeffer for more recognition in the tourney scene.
Charles knew Jeff from old and was gravely concerned that he was trying to encourage Tomo to engage in binge drinking, LSD and procuring the services of street hookers often prior to tourneys. Mike was heavily into cannabis at the time which is ultimately what led to his psychosis.
For the most part Charles was able to protect the impressionable Tomo but Jeff had a very forceful personality and would not take no for an answer. Charles confronted Jeff one day and advised him to lay off and Jeff turned around spat in his face. Jeff was barred from the arcade and later that day sustained a very bad beating by 2 unknown assailants. It is not decisively established if this was linked to the earlier confrontation but most people in the know say that Charles himself had some powerful backers who took a dim view of what happened.
Tomo began his rise up the ranks winning tourney after tourney. He was regarded as the best player in the US at the time and although he was beatable, noone consistently beat him.
His greatest challenge came in the form of Mike Watson a Ryu and dictator player also well known for his Guile. It is estimated throughout the course of all their matches the outcome was 60-40 in Tomo’s favour.
Tomo, Mike and Jeff rode the wave of this new era as the most dominant players of their time all the way up till Super Turbo when all except Mike retired.
If Video killed the radio star then almost certainly the same can be said of Superturbo.
Superturbo arrived and the transition from the slower simpler games proved to be a difficult one. Tomo was unable to get to grips with the speed coupled with the added moves and the additional depth afforded by the supers.
Tomo and Jeff did well up to a point as people had not yet got to grips with the uses and application of the new moves and for a few short months they continued to dominate, however it became clear that the old school tactics were insufficient in the face of a new breed of opponent. Tomo made the decision to quit on this basis plus some bad losses to newcomers and he recognised the danger to his legacy.
Jeff continued but was humilated badly by Thomas Osaki who destroyed him 10-0, 3 times over in a series of casuals. He made the decision to quit shortly after.
Mike continued to play but it became clear that he was not the force he was in the older games. He was facing the young people he used to humilate and dominate in the older games and they had overtaken the master.
People speak of the golden age of Sf2 but often misundertand its meaning. The meaning has been managed and deliberately misunderstood and in reality the golden age referred to an age when SF2 was at its most popular, arcades were packed with great players, tactics that paved the way for the subsequent generations were born but the players were not the best of all time. The games were slower, the competition was not at the level it came to be in later years.
Tomo, jeff and mike dominated at a time when competition and the games were easier. In some ways they were ahead of their time but by the same token they were unable to move with the times.
People persist with the untruth that Tomo was the greatest SF2 player of all time. The forums of shoryuken, youtube etc are replete with Americans gushing about Tomo, embellishing, speaking of tactics that are now considered impossible and yet they never saw him play and there is no video evidence to substantiate the claims.
The jap ST legends stand alone IMO. They are proven and the footage is there to be seen.
These fictions, pious frauds shall we say that continue to be peddled to this day. The idea that players from the golden age of SF were the greatest players that ever lived.
The idea that Tomo wasnt human, used tactics that are consigned to history, is the greatest player that ever lived and would destroy the jap kings of ST.
I dont buy this and one lunatic with a uni-brow is at the centre of this fiction of tomo and unicorns. A retired SF player from the golden era that still has enough passion for the game to make a new vid every other week.
Sure tomo achieved but that was in a time when talent and comp was considerably less.
The fact is, this fiction is borne out of the failings of said individual and his inability to beat Tomo. Instead of overcoming his mental block and admitting his failings, better to elevate Tomo to god status.
Sadly the fiction is reinforced ( well in the eyes of kids and noobs ) by a BS win by said indivual over Daigo on AE. A win yes, but totally distorted and misrepresnted. Daigo jet lagged - check, bat tops -check, casuals -check. The sledgehammer that is CE guile - check. The list goes on.
This was an opportunistic mugging of Daigo and defamation of the highest order. The vid is being used to this day to fuel the narrative that the golden greats are the best of all time.
I reiterate -They werent the best of all time, they were the best in those days. Times changed, a new breed emerged. The golden greats began to lose ground to a new breed of player and instead of taking the losses like men and levelling up even playing second fiddle they retired.
All except for one…watson!!
We need to thank mike for this because he is the key to unravelling the truth of that era and seperating fact from fiction.
I would argue by way of extrapolation that Tomo would never have been as good as the Japanese Kings of ST.
Look at it like this. Tomo’s toughest comp was mike watson. Tomo and mike went 60-40. So we can see that Mike was very much in Tomos league. Mike watson provides the measuring stick by which we assess the skills of Tomo.
By fighting on, this living dinosaur allows us to peer into the primordial ooze of the golden age and assess the claims made about the golden era.
I dont need to elaborate further, Mike Watson was decent but show me what Mike achieved in ST. Less than Sirlin for crying out loud.
People may want to say that he was past his prime. Well Mike was in his prime when he transitioned to ST and continued. We arent talking about boxing here. It’s a game and he’s hardly old. I would argue he is an even better player today but was never more than a journey man.
Sad as it is the great Tomo would have been nothing more than a journey man.
Im sorry to break it to some of you, the tooth fairy doesnt exist either.
In summary the world of SF is ruled by gatekeepers, guardians of knowledge, institutions so mature in power that their views go unchallenged by the laymen.
But BS is BS and none of these people are bigger than the game.
Just as Jeff Plumber peddles the lie of Tomo and the golden era, hiding behind myths and reputation, certain embittered individuals peddle the lie of baby zone in insolent envy of the new breed of player that is dominating in tourneys.
You wanna know what baby zone is, i’ll tell you.
Baby zone = O-Sagat versus most of the ST cast.
Baby zone = Balrog vs most of the ST cast.
Baby zone = Sim vs Guile in ST
And all because they wont play second fiddle or level up.
