Original message (3389 Views )
Maou 1973th Post

 
Gold Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
   
    
    
    
   
| "Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Sun 28 Mar 06:05:
So Ryu's theme from Zero 3 is playing right now and we're talking about SSFIV all the time with good reason, and it leads me to ask: what's everyone's very favorite Street Fighter, and what makes it that way for you? Which one started/trained you in your Street Fighting ways?
My experience was like a 2-in-1 cancel move from Zero 2' to Zero 3. I freely admit that after years of ignoring fighting games, it was skirt-flashing Sakura who caught my middle school boy's eye while I was in an arcade, and luckily for me, there was a damn fine game to go with it. I had to make do with the creaky Playstation port, but at least it was Zero 2' in the SF Collection which wasn't as terrible as Zero 2 on PS.
But after rumbling through many hours of Zero 2, it was Zero 3 that changed my life (well, in fighters, anyway), and that long since has become the go-to Street Fighter for my friends and me. The beautiful backgrounds, all the characters, the frenetic music, the perfect blue-and-white color options for Sakura in V-ism...how can I ever play any other? Third Strike is beautiful, and 'better' in terms of technical complexity, but the music is bad and characters who aren't Chun Li aren't gorgeous enough. Zero 2 is more tasteful and I love its more typically groovy Capcom music and happy trumpets, but it's somehow too slow after coked-up Zero 3. SSFII X is the most important for series history in terms of engine, but I find it too dated... So somehow I'm still punching through the now-flat, dull backgrounds of Zero 3 after all this.
What about you all?
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
[this message was edited by Maou on Sun 28 Mar 16:20] | | Replies: |
Gojira 2596th Post

 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
   
| "Re(2):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Sun 28 Mar 15:56:
At first I was going to make some half-assed response like "SF3:3s because it's pretty and stuff" but then I really thought about what made the largest impression and kind of surprised myself with the results.
I remember when I was a freshman in middle school habitually riding my bike to the Circle K to play the original SF1... even though the controls were terrible and the game seemed too hard for me. It wasn't the first time I'd played a fighting game (I'd already had my fill of fisticuffs playing stuff like Karate Champ, Yie Ar Kung Fu and Punch-Out) but there was something about the game that just kept me coming back. Whenever I rode home the loud tinny music would still be playing in my head as I wondered what was beyond Birdie, whose cheap headbutt always ruined my streak.
The first time I figured out how to throw a fireball and blew 50% off Retsu's lifebar it was like I'd discovered a map to the holy grail. Then I found a couple more moves and even though my impression of the motions was unnecessarily complicated (my version of the fireball was a double 360 motion) I could do them with enough consistency to approach Thailand, the final stage, but couldn't quite defeat Adon since he would hop over my fireballs with that flippy kick. I was close, though, and resolved to beat it next time.
Then the game was gone. Circle K replaced it with Double Dragon before I could get to the end. Good thing I loved Double Dragon or I would have been even more disappointed, but I missed the idea of special moves being more than pressing two buttons and the mystery of who I would fight next that SF1 gave me.
Several years later, I was visiting a hotel at Disneyworld called Port Orleans. In 1990s Orlando the area around Disney was awesome for finding new arcade games, so I'd pop in to see what was new every few weeks. This particular time I spotted what appeared to be SF... then on closer inspection, I saw that it was actually the goddamn SEQUEL. I had no idea the series was popular enough to warrant a sequel back then, but there it was.
I popped in some money and I was immediately blown away. Not only was the cast more diverse but I could choose any one of them! But for old time's sake I picked Ryu. There was something I wanted to try. My first match started and I went for the old fireball trick, but I must have screwed up because what I got instead was a dragon punch, which knocked Chun Li right out of the air. I knew I had done this once in SF1 but it was like the rarest of rare moves to me back then, and I had just done it straight off the bat. The controls were addicting and smooth, the graphics were beautiful, and minutes turned to hours until I realized I'd been hogging the machine for most of the day and needed to go home.
So SF1 started my addiction to fighting games, and SF2 brought it to a fever pitch. No other SF game has ever affected me nearly as much as those two.
shipoopi
[this message was edited by Gojira on Sun 28 Mar 15:57] |
Pollyanna 2895th Post

 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
    
| "Re(1):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Sun 28 Mar 16:20
(This is already proving strangely insightful!)
I "started" with Street Fighter...which I think I played at a supermarket? Later, a friend got it on PC Engine. I played SF2 in the arcades a bit and I owned it on SNES, but I never really learned how to play until Super Turbo (I was pretty young, after all). I grew up on SNK games, really.
Played Zero and Zero 2 to death, but by the time I got Zero 3, my "fighting game pals" were too cool to play Street Fighter anymore. Still, Zero 3 is the only one in the series I can stand to go back and play.
3rd Strike is still my favorite, though. In addition to having such a great atmosphere and being such a fantastic visual achievement, it has a wealth of characters that I both love and love to play. Even after all these years, I totally suck at it, but I think that's more testament to the game giving you room to grow than to me generally sucking at video games.
Also...
quote: Third Strike is beautiful, and 'better' in terms of technical complexity, but the music is bad and characters who aren't Chun Li aren't gorgeous enough.
I wouldn't listen to the 3rd Strike soundtrack on CD by my own volition, but I wouldn't say it's bad. I think it contributes wonderfully to the atmosphere of the game.
And by "not gorgeous enough" do you mean "not gorgeous enough to compensate for your general preference of Zero"? Or "not as gorgeous as Zero"?
quote: Almost in monthly basis, in those "group meets" that are held here and there among the lads of the gang; SF 1 always finds a place one way or another.
That's nuts. NUTS. SSF2T is as far back as me and my friends go on the nostalgia train.
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
|
Maou 1974th Post

 
Gold Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
   
    
    
    
   
| "Re(2):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Sun 28 Mar 16:30:
I'm actually super-impressed by two SF 1 (!) references already. I, I don't think I've ever even SEEN 1 in real life, ever!
quote: I wouldn't listen to the 3rd Strike soundtrack on CD by my own volition, but I wouldn't say it's bad.
I should reword this to note that Chun Li's theme is the best in the universe and that I like Ryu's quite a bit, but the rest of the sounds sort of hit me like a combination of the worst tracks of Zero 2 and 3...tons of really boring jazz synth, and then a few others that are so frenzied that I can't even hear what's going on.
quote:
And by "not gorgeous enough" do you mean "not gorgeous enough to compensate for your general preference of Zero"? Or "not as gorgeous as Zero"?
Oh, animation-wise, Third Strike is my god. Every other 2D game looks like garbage in comparison. I don't think my beloved Zero 3 would feel quite so dated to me if not for Third Strike's high bar...like, I see the static dancing dudes in R.Mika's or DeeJay's stage, then hop over to Third Strike and see real life people doing things in perfectly fluid motion...there's just no comparison. But sadly, while Third Strike has the first Chun Li I ever fell in love with visually, 3's character design doesn't do it for me, and Third Strike illustrations are the worst of the 3 series. I do like Makoto and Dudley a lot, though.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は...
[this message was edited by Maou on Sun 28 Mar 16:37] |
Toxico 4914th Post

 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
     
     
     
    
| "Re(2):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Sun 28 Mar 16:51:
quote:
That's nuts. NUTS. SSF2T is as far back as me and my friends go on the nostalgia train.
Well, since the presets to "play" SF 1 are strongly forced upon you, there is always time to "properly" retrospective your own performance based on the other players actions... That, and the incredible sturdy and precise control detection scheme made it so that every player had it's own respective flavor when it came to how to clear the stage, and how to perform the moves (tempo, strength, etc), It's like a group of pianists playing the same tune, but getting completely different, wild and strange sounds out of each person performing. SF 1 really represents (to us) the "first" generation of video game players (those who would compete for the most perfect high score). Oh, and if you are reading this, I recommend getting some contact with Piano no Mori, yes you har har.
In the end, showing your friends how you clear SF 1 is like going to your dark hidden basement, taking out the most blood stained, rare, strange and unique piece of your 50 years worth of mania secret collection, to then show it to your perverted inner circle; marveling not only at how they can properly grasp the true value of the item, but taking pleasure on how they stare at it intensely with rabid envious eyes and wild possessive ambitions. For everything else there is Master card.

目に焼きつけて、死ぬがいい・・・ Update 21 as of 29/01/10 (Temporary mega upload link).
Now sponsoring : video game analogies (ES) Last update : Chapter 15 as of 21/01/10
[this message was edited by Toxico on Sun 28 Mar 16:59] |
Ishmael 3738th Post

 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
     
    
| "Re(3):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Mon 29 Mar 05:55
It's interesting to see how the initial playing of SF is intertwined with everyone's favorite SF game. That's not surprising since SF is such a varied, complex thing that the first impression is the most direct.
Now that I'm asked directly I probably have to choose SF2:WW as the game that epitomizes everything that SF is to me. There are games with larger casts, more gameplay or what have you, but WW is the one that made me understand the appeal of SF and everything that surrounded it.
Several memories stick out for me. One is the first time I saw a SF2 cabinet. I had played SF1 but I wasn't particularly good at it and it seemed to be just another game at the arcade. SF2, however, was doing something different. Huge, colorful character were fighting it out on the screen. The jerky 1 on 1 fighting games of the past looked like the dinosaurs they were. I can't remember the names of many of the people I interacted with on a daily basis back then but I can still recall being drawn to a game screen that featured a yellowish-green beast man and a sumo wrestler fighting it out.
From the moment WW was installed there was a crowd around it at the arcade I frequented. During that time larger characters such as Honda or the speedy Chun-Li were popular. So when a Ryu player who had been practicing at another arcade came in it was a revelation. First, the game wasn't just about a few local favorites slapping at each other. Instead, it was a roster full of characters who had their own unique style of being played. Secondly, I realized that WW wasn't just popular locally but what was going on at the arcade I was at was being repeated all over the world. I was no longer just the fan of a game, I had joined a larger culture that had sprung up.
A third defining memory for me occurred when I was playing against the CPU. I had made it up to Thailand when the sight of the map on the character screen struck me. All those little flags on the map had been crossed out after each of my victories. My fighter had travelled the globe in search of fights that would let him prove his skill. It was then that I realized I wasn't playing the game simply to beat it. Rather, I enjoyed the thrill of this larger competition and trying to determine my place in it. That map that had been fully beaten but still left me wanting to find even more challenges encapsulated everything that kept me playing SF.
So SF2:WW was the first time that SF took my hand and told me it loved me. How could I ever forget something like that?
|
hikarutilmitt 539th Post

 
New Red Carpet Member

    
   
| "Re(1):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Tue 30 Mar 05:58
Having been playing SF2 regularly since SF2 (and I did play SF1!), I stuck with Super more than ST just because of machines being relatively rare where I lived. Alpha soured me a bit for being so bland, but A2 changed it up, balanced it better and gave me Sakura.
EX+@ might as well have been what got my timing and reflexes to where they are (were, need to get back to this...) and playing A2 and A3 a lot around that time really helped even things out. EX2(+) was just a better game than EX(+,+@), but the lack of Sakura hurt a lot so I found my second and third mains of the EX series in Hokuto and Nanase, respectively. EX is also the only SF series where I can honestly, truly say that I know how to use every single character to a large extent. I'm still torn on loving or hating EX3 and keep hoping (stupidly) that they'll make an EX4 that takes out the ridiculous tagging mechanic, fixes some of the stupid balance issues and gives me back the Expert/Training mode that was so great about EX+@ and EX2+. Ace only counts as a 1 in my deck.
I didn't play SF3 regularly until 2I was out and I was tearing shit up with Ibuki. 3S came around and I was saddened by Ibuki being weakened considerably, but it actually drove me more to get better. Then some of the Austin crew came down and destroyed me, but also taught me a bit. Level up! I started using Makoto a bit to sort of make up for some of the absolutely shitty matches Ibuki has, while I can still use Ryu/Ken/Akuma to an extent to wreck a bit and play with the engine in training mode.
SF4... I dunno. I want to like it, I DO like it, but I just cannot play it worth a damn. I watch matches, I own all 3 home releases and I've put in a good deal of time, but I just cannot play it, somehow. I wasn't super excited for it coming out, even when Sakura was announced. Super, on the other hand, I am REALLY looking forward to for some reason. It just seems like a better package already.
I'd have to say that 3S is my overall favorite with, surprise, EX+@ and EX2+ right behind it.
|
Nekros 256th Post

 
Copper Customer

   
| "Re(2):Street Fighter - your eternal favorite" , posted Sat 3 Apr 17:48:
Third Srike is a given. The perfect fighting game in most part. It only lacks in the bgm and backgrounds design. Themes in TS aren't actually BAD, but Capcom did better works in other games and a big title as SF3 is deserves more imho. Backgrounds instead are boring and still as a photo. Come on, NG has more detailed and animated scenes, also multi-level bgs (Elena, Yun, Ryu, Ibuki, Dudley) that are completely absent in TS. They even removed the coolest character in the game, the pet tanuki Don (he kicks ass to me because is EXACTLY like my cat) :P Plus, the portraits in NG are very interesting, they should have keep that style (the ink effects on shapes are cool), even the victory screen where the winner esults and the loser got seriously beat (a quote from SF2).
Zero 3 is also one of my favourites. LOTS of characters from the original SF, SF2, SF'89 and new faces with cool moves and design (please notice that ALL new charas in the Zero series are girls, except Dan and Nash). Plus lots of game modes and fighting styles for every character. A variety that is uncommon to 2D fighters, found often in 3D games like Soul Calibur etc.
Music-wise I'm into electronic so appreciated Zero 3 sounds a lot, but I like it for another reason: they give a specific new theme to every character in the game (even secrets or absent in arcade ver) writing a whole new soundtrack for SF instead remixing the old tunes as Zero 2 did.
[this message was edited by Nekros on Sat 3 Apr 17:52] |
Toxico 5037th Post

  
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
     
     
     
     
    
| "Street Fighter One (again)" , posted Tue 29 Jun 00:23:    
quote: I cant find a link to street fighter one upper.....
It seems like the author managed to update the game, after eons of inactivity.... And you can find it here.
Totally unrelated, but..... are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Oh, what the hell...
Speaking of indies, someone made a new retranslated version of Breath of Fire 2 with a bunch of extra transparencies, added art & menus; along with keeping names more or less coherent to the original release and not those accursed words that Ted Woosley landed upon us. This has been out for a long while but since I didn't have a chance to play it, I couldn't really recall it's existence.
Of course, we can not escape from castlevania, asides from a couple of demos, the game isn't quite ready yet.

目に焼きつけて、死ぬがいい・・・ Update 21 as of 29/01/10 (Temporary mega upload link).
Now sponsoring : video game analogies (ES) Last update : Chapter 17 as of 02/06/10
[this message was edited by Toxico on Tue 29 Jun 00:32] |
karasu99 381th Post

  
PSN: robotchris XBL: robotchris Wii: n/a
Silver Customer
  
   
| "Re(2):Street Fighter One (again)" , posted Wed 30 Jun 01:25    
quote: Toxico, you lovely maniac, I'd curse you for derailing my (long-dead and woefully under-replied-to) Street Fighter thread, if you hadn't hit upon two loves at once.
Not only did you transport me back to the lovely eighties when schoolgirls were sukeban--the way they should be---and had badass long skirts like Ayukawa Madoka from Kimagure Orange Road (my bible), you also brought up Dracula, which probably comprises about 50% of my posts on this board, and another 40% of everyone else's. The problem is, I don't know if I can wait all the way till Halloween to talk again about how much I love all the old Dracula games up through Nocturne/Symphony. We had a really good chain back a few random threads ago last year about the sublime prelude/Dracula battle music from the Super Famicom version, which I am listening to RIGHT NOW.
As far as Castlevania talk goes (at least here at the cafe) every day is like Halloween so I think there is little need for concern. It was refreshing recall the unique Dracula X Super Famicom mixes-- and nicely enough they are present in the Castlevania OST Box.
I would also like thank Toxico for kindly providing the link to the Sukeban Deka video. It's kind acts like that which make it hard for me to imagine you marauding for human flesh. Hum, I wonder of that sort of thing is available on DVD/VHS in the US? Surely some lunatic has produced a subtitled version somehow?
|
|
|