My Street Fighter biography

 Street Fighter II, 1991

Street Fighter II appeared in arcades in 1991 and all hell broke loose. This was an incredible game for its time. It was revolutionary because the game allowed head to head combat between two human players in a way that was unheard of before. The fighting game genre began here.

I was still in middle school when this madness called Street Fighter appeared. I instantly got hooked on the game but at this point in my Street Fighter playing career I didn't play competitively. And that was where the true lure and longevity of the game existed- in head-to-head fights with other human players.

 Super Street Fighter II Turbo, 1994

Street Fighter II went through several iterations in the next few years until the final upgrade of the game appeared in 1994. This was Super Street Fighter II Turbo. As I got older I became to appreciate more the player-versus-player aspect of the game but at this point I wasn't yet ready to play competitively.

 Street Fighter Alpha, 1995

In 1995 Street Fighter Alpha was released. This was a marvelous game because it built a lot of components of the game from scratch and also made the game more accessible to new players. Street Fighter Alpha reinvigorated my love for the game. But I still wasn't ready to play competitively in the game.

 Street Fighter Alpha 2, 1996

In 1996 Street Fighter Alpha 2 was released. This game built on the previous game and added more characters. I was a sophomore in high school and I can remember in that summer, I would go to the local pizza parlor to play Street Fighter Alpha 2 during my lunch break from my job washing school busses. It was at this point that I finally felt confident with the game and really sought out competitive settings to play.

But to play Street Fighter effectively, you have to know the psychological aspect of the game as well as having the hand dexterity to move the joystick and time your button inputs. Its not enough to know the "rules" and or mechanics of the game. A player has to know what the other player wants to do and what he or she will attempt to do and why. The players that consistently win are effective not because they memorize long lists of high damaging combos but because they can predict their opponents actions.

Regardless, back to Street Fighter. It was finally when Street Fighter Alpha 2 that I became skilled enough in the technical aspect of the game and the psychological aspect that I was able to compete at higher levels of play.

 Street Fighter Alpha 3, 1998

Many other Street Fighter games were released after Alpha 2 and Alpha 2 lost its popularity very quickly after Alpha 3 was released in 1998. I had difficulty getting as motivated and excited about these newer Street Fighter games. It wasn't until Street Fighter 3-Third Strike that I became seriously interested in playing competitively again in Street Fighter.

 Street Fighter III-Third Strike, 1999

Third Strike was released in 1999 and I have been playing competively in that game ever since. I use Remy in that game. The reason I like Third Strike so much is the same reason I like Alpha 2 so much-- I enjoy the "feel" of the game engine and the character play styles in those games. I speak more on the "feel" of the different Street Fighter games in my other essay.