I've been a big fighting game fan for a very long time and attribute it all to Street Fighter. Capcom's Street Fighter II: The New Challengers was my first foray into the world of fighting games. It was one of the first games my pops bought for our SNES and it was the game I played the most.
At first, I had a very had comprehending the mechanics of a fighting game.
4 attack buttons, directional inputs, special moves? It all seemed so complex to me at that time (I was six) that I almost gave up on the game entirely. Because of that, I often resorted to button mash to defeat my enemies. I started to get serious with SF when my sister showed me how to throw a fireball. Right after I learned that move, I knew I will love this genre of gaming forever. I tried all the characters. Studied which one was suited for who. Began writing notes of traps and set-ups in my school notebooks. I even begged my sister to take me to dingy arcades at times just to watch people go head-to-head (I wasn't allowed to play yet.) Mind you, these were before the days the internet was easy to access so you can imagine how hard it for a kid like me to see, let alone learn, the world of competitive Street Fighter. the Learning the mechanics and character match ups in a fighting game is vastly different from all other genres of gaming.(Adventure, Racing, etc.) It takes a lot of dedication and practice but in turn, it's a very rewarding experience. There is no greater feeling than properly guessing what your opponent will do next and punishing him (or her) for it. Speaking of opponents, fighting games requires you to have a human opponent in order to savor the full experience and test your skills.
It builds up one's competitiveness and you may get friends/enemies/rivals in the process. Fighting games enthusiasts have a lot of worldwide tournaments and expert players gain international recognition and sponsorships for their skills. After SF, a few others would follow: Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat, Samurai Shodown, Guilty Gear, Marvel Super Heroes VS. SF. They all left an impact on me and they all felt awesome in their own special way every time I played them. My interest lapsed after MVC2 because there was a decline of quality fighting games in the early years of the Y2k. That all changed when Namco released Tekken 5 in 2004. My interest peaked to its highest point again as the same feelings rushed in when me and my friends spent hours upon hours learning everything there is to know about the game. With the recent resurgence of fighting games, I hope the younger generation would sacrifice a little time leveling up their avatars in the various MMORPG's available in the world and take a peek at fighting games.
Overall, it shaped my perspective on video games, and make up a large part of my gaming preference. Fighting games just rock. I'll always enjoy fighting player 2 (or 3 or even 4) till his health bar is empty . Fighting games are good fun.
-Chady
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