Epic SF2 thread!!

[Knoxximus]

Hey guys! I got nominated for Kotaku's comments of the week for this SF2 story! I'll post the link, but I'll also copy/paste the story here also, since 'Lore' is locked tight and I REALLY think you guys could appreciate this!

Link: http://kotaku.com/5043700/a-week-in-comments
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I remember when Street Fighter 2 mania 1st hit Oahu, Hawaii.

My best friend up the street had the TurboGrafx-16 CD ROM with Fighting Street, and we played that shyt all day long, trying to perfect fireballs, dragon punches, and hurricane kicks on that stiff ass d-pad. We would make jokes about how if they made a SF2, how all the combatants would be from different countries...and then we'd start imitating the announcer while saying different countries:

"Spaaaaaain"
"Porrrrtugaaaaal"
"Braaaazil"
"Afffffffrica"

We would crack our selves up trying to imagine what these various challengers would look like and what special moves they might have, all the while passing the controllers around to take turns with Ken and Ryu, the only playable characters in SF1 (for the uninitiated).

Then one day I went to their house, and his little brother and mother had just gotten back from the mall. I remember standing behind their minivan in the garage as my friends little brother pipped up with:

"They got Street Fighter 2 at Fun's!" (Slang for the Fun Factory, an arcade at the Pearlridge mall)

"Yeah right."

"Serious!"

"Come on, man....quit playin' with me. Shut up."

Then he started trying to excitedly describe the new challengers, like a big Russian wrestler whose "name starts with a Z", and "this Chinese chick. The announcer said 'Chiiinaaa" just like us!". So this went on for a little while, and just when I was starting to buy it, he went and said:

"...and there's this guy from Brazil. Name starts with a B...Banka or something...Blanka! Yeah, Blanka. He's green and makes electricity!"

That was when I was convinced that he was really in rare form and that I was being had. But he was so passionate about it I just played along after awhile. Kids will be kids, I thought. Granted, this was WAAAAAAAAAY before any type of internet or consistent news.

So the next weekend I go to the mall and hit the movies. I didn't even stop by the arcade 1st cause I was running late for the movie. So I get out of the movie, and the Friday night crowd afterschool/weekend crowd is in full effect. The escalator coming down (movieplex was on the 2nd level by itself) faced the Fun Factory. As I was riding down the escalator, I observed something I would never forget.

1st of all, the arcade had a LARGE opening, like no doors. They pulled those screen gates at closing to lock it up. The entrance itself was like the average mall stores width, like a gaping maw into heaven. Whenever they got a new, hot game, they would place 1-3 machines of said game near the front to attract attention.

There was a line coming out of it....a line that looked like people were waiting to watch Return of the Jedi on it's opening night. It stretched out of the arcade and passed in front of at LEAST 2 other stores ( a coffee shop and Foot Locker, if I remember correctly). I was like WTF is that about?

I hit the ground floor, stroll my way to where the line began, and lo and behold at the front of the arcade was two SF2 machines in all of their 16-bit, joysitcks-not-busted-yet glory. Brand SPANKING new.

I was in shock. I could NOT believe it. My boy's little brother was NOT FIBBING. There WAS a guy from Brazil named Blanka who could autonomously GENERATE ELECTRICITY. I stood there, transfixed. It was like a dream come true. I didn't dare get in that line that night....I came back and played it another day. But I watched it for a good hour and a half, mesmerized. The arcade tech came to empty the token basin of each machine at least once. Someone would accidentally do a special move (no gamefaqs back then) and everyone would let out a great big "OHHHHHHHH!!!".

It was epic. And I wish things where still like that when Street Fighter 4 hits.

Good times.

[Kevincal]

That's a cool story. Kinda reminds me of when Virtua Fighter, Mortal Kombat 3 & Killer Instinct first hit the arcades. They were a BIG DEAL like SFII was... :P

[FantasiaWHT]

Did anybody else think this thread was about Shining Force II?

[XYXZYZ]

God, I loved the SF2 era. The arcade truly was a great place to be back then, and I ate up all the magazines and merchandising. I loved that game, and I still play it. (I own a machine!)

It's too bad that whenever Street Fighter IV comes out all we're going to hear is complaints about what's wrong with it.

[Sotenga]

Ah, the nostalgia of the SF2 phenomenon. Good times.

Though, around my parts, I remember massive gatherings of Mortal Kombat, which I remember moreso than SF2. But I was not around at the arcade as much. Naw, I was enjoying SF2: Turbo and MK2 on the SNES! What can I say, crowded public places did not (and still do not) bode too well with me, so Hundred Hand-Slapping Zangief into the corner from the tranquil locale of home is a very fond memory of mine.