For more than 20 years, the Street Fighter games have been one of the most-respected and best-selling fighting franchises in gaming history, developing an almost religious fan base in the process.For long-time gamer and University alumni Kevin Govan, the Street Fighter series was a major part of his adolescence.”I remember it all started for me with Street Fighter II [: The World Warrior] for the Super Nintendo,” Govan said. “It came out … when I was about 10 years old, and I just remember I was hooked. Everything about it was amazing. I Ioved how you could pick a bunch of different fighters, and they each had their own special moves.”Gamers like Govan can test their mettle at Street Fighter through video game tournaments held by game stores like Gameware.
The Gameware on College Drive hosts a different video game tournament every third Friday of each month.This month’s featured game is the highly anticipated Street Fighter IV, which was released Feb.. 17.”I haven’t signed up for the Street Fighter tournament, but I have played in past tournaments like Madden, Super Smash Bros. and stuff like that,” Govan said. “Sometimes I do pretty well, and other times I get my ass kicked. It depends on what game.”  Derick Carr, Gameware employee and long-time gamer, thinks the new Street Fighter will become a staple of the monthly competition.”The most dominant game is Smash Bros. right now, but I think Street Fighter IV will take over since people are getting tired of Smash and moving on to Street Fighter,” Carr said.Despite a few slight tweaks over the years, the Street Fighter fighting formula has basically stayed the same.So why are people still flocking to 2-D fighting games like Street Fighter after 20 years?”These days, I think people prefer 2-D.  It depends really because 3-D fighters have a ground advantage, but they don’t have as much control jumping wise,” Carr said.Carr went on to explain how the Street Fighter series became so popular.   “That started when people played it in the arcades. It was so popular because it was so good, and as it went up, people continuously played it on and on. They kept improving it, and people kept following it. I played the first one, but [the Street Fighter franchise] didn’t really get a good name until Street Fighter II,” he said.
Paul Brighton and Neil Porche, Best Buy employees and Street Fighter fans, think one of the reasons the series is so successful is because of its nostalgic value.”Everyone who played Street Fighter when they were younger are now grown up, and they are going to play the new one, because that’s what they grew up playing. They’ve been waiting a long time,” Brighton said.
Revamped graphics combined with nostalgic value and an in-depth fighting system were the reasons many gamers had their copies preordered.”We have quite a bit of preorders,” Carr said.
Peter Vesich, government major at Nicholls State University, hasn’t participated in tournaments, but he made sure to preorder his copy of Street Fighter IV.
“I wanted to make sure I got a copy,” Vesich said.
Like many long-time video game fans, Vesich fell in love with Street Fighter II: The World Warrior for SNES and has been hooked ever since.
“Me and my bother used to play Street Fighter II and Street Fighter II Turbo all the time,” he said. “I prefer 2-D because 3-D fighters’ graphics haven’t come far enough yet to be really effective.”So, how is Street Fighter IV different from past releases?”They went back to the paper beats rocks beats scissors formula. They got rid of a lot of unnecessary characters. The graphics look great. They kind of almost have this        cel-shaded feel,” Vesich said.  Ever since Street Fighter II entered American homes in 1991, it has become Capcom’s highest-selling game, with millions of copies sold.Govan summed up Street Fighter’s appeal, and why even today, people participate in video game tournaments.”It just has unbeatable controls that have been intact over 15 years. It has awesome characters that you remember from your childhood. It’s a great premise too: who’s the best fighter?” Govan said.
With video game tournaments being held in local game stores around Baton Rouge, gamers have a chance to see who really is the best fighter, at least locally.”I expect the new Street Fighter to grab some new fans. Hopefully, if they do their homework, they can go back and play all those old versions of Street Fighter because those are the best,” Govan said.
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Contact Blake LeJeune at [email protected]