I’m not sure where to write this, I think here would be appropriate.
But i wanna talk about the power this new street fighter game has had and also give some of my backround in the process.
(accidently posted before done writing, be done in a moment)
I’m 31 years old. since i was very little i have been a fighting game fanatic. I was 5 or 8, when i first got to play the very first street fighter. It was golden, the game was so fun even though i couldn’t comprehend most of how the moves were executed i have alot of fond memories of playing the game. When SF 2 came out my love of fighters fully flourished and i spent obscene amounts of money and was an avid tournament player locally and was pretty decent. As years went on i continued to enjoy and learn many other fighters, such as tekken vf 1/2 and killer instinct 1/2 and the MK’s. If it was a fighter, i was exceptional at it. As i began to hit my early 20’s something happened. this was around when the first version of SF3 came out and i noticed myself losing interest in the genre. with the home systems beginning to make fighters in arcades obsolete it was hard to stay interested in them. As time floated on i started to actually get into pc gaming more and pick up FPS’s and after that short phase, i began my 10 year road down the MMO path, where i have been strickly an mmo player and my fighting days long behind me, I mean i would still order iconic titles like Soul Calibur, but i mainly just played the computer and was bored in like 3 days and my skill had rapidly diminished, i was nothing like my old competitive self when it came to fighters, i didnt strive for excellence. I just cared about playing WoW or whatever other MMO i was in, But it was mostly WoW.
While it sorta bothered me in the back of my mind that i was no longer a competitor or on the cutting edge of fighters. I didnt care, i just thought. Well, i’m getting old. and i guess my tastes are changing. the fun of fighters had been taken out of me, largerly due to the death of arcades, (btw i HATE family fun centers, Arcades should be serious places of play to me, not some goofy place with ticket games and miniture golf). Anyways, i was like this for the next 7 or so years.
Now, with SF4’s release i thought, well, it’s SF4, let me just pick it up, rekindle some old memories, and i’ll probly go back to mmo’ing and what not within a few days. So i buy the game, play it, unlock characters, and play the single player to it’s fullest, then i decide, i’ll reactivate my xbox live account and try a few online games, I play on the default xbox controller, it’s just all i have available at the time. And i begin playing these matches, and i feel all of a sudden that old spark that i remember so well. that competitive edge inside me that loved to win at fighters. and of course the older style of street fighter 2 mechanics begin existent brought alive inside me that competitive willingness to win. So i keep playing. And i find that my game is really out of shape, and for the first time in a long time, it bothered me that i wasnt up to snuff in SF or any fighter in fact. So i have actually begun to get serious again about the genre like in the days of my youth. I have ordered a Hori ex pro and am modding it with sanwa buttons and propping a table to bolt it down so i can recreate an arcade feel on it.
I guess what i’m trying to say is this game has re-ignited my fighting spirit when it comes to fighting games. This game is big. It’s going to bring the genre alive again and we have to welcome new players and old like me who have been away for a long time. I’m excited and i’m ready to compete again.
Are there any who feel the same way i do? Any who feel this game is about to bring fighting games back to the top of the gaming circle?