Hello everyone. Welcome to the exciting second day of EVO 2014. We already have finals done for a few games now, congrats to all of the winners so far. We even have a bunch of news about upcoming fighting games. Right now though, I want to talk about one fighting game in particular, Street Fighter.
Its no secret that Street Fighter is an important part of EVO and the FGC culture. Heck, the fact that EVO started growing bigger every year was due to Capcom being one the first video game company sponsors of the event. So its not surprise that it the game at EVO this year with the most competitors thanks to the recently released update, Ultra Street Fighter 4. And already its living up to its lofty promised of a much more dramatic change from previous installments. Yesterday, famed Street Fighter 4 players Diago Umehara and Infiltration were knocked out of their pools and out of the tournament. For those who don’t know, Diago a multiple EVO Street Fighter champion and the man playing the amazing Chun Li in the famous EVO Moment 37 from EVO 2004. Infiltration is the 2011 Super Street Fighter Arcade Edition champ as well as getting second place from last years Street Fighter finals.
And their out of the tournament from day one…let that sink in for a moment.
But none of that maters right now, because we’re not playing the newest Street Fighter. Instead, right now I’m watching Super Street Fighter II: Turbo. Yes, the fifth (?) installment of Street Fighter II and is now 20 years old. If there’s a game that has much more historic background in the competitive fighting game scene, its Super Street Fighter II: Turbo (also known as Super Turbo). Its hard to describe what about Super Turbo is so amazing but to me its how it differs from all other Street Fighters that follows. There’s no offensive mechanics, one small meter, and un-scalable damage. This is Street Fighter where one mistake can cost you a round quicker than you can blink. The greatest thinkers, designers, and competitors come from a Super Turbo pedigree. Its the game where Diago Umehara and Seth Killian, former Capcom community manager and SF 4 adviser from Vanilla to AE 2012, can literally fight. Its weird, Street Fighter II is the first fighting game I’ve ever played but Super Turbo… is the only SF I NEVER want to play. Why? Its learning curve is deeper than the Mariana Trench! You think SF 4 is hard?! Try a fighting game that hasn’t changed much within the last twenty years!
Well, I’m going catch a few more rounds before I got to work. I’ll see you all tomorrow for the final day of EVO Week.
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