Personal Side Quest 2

The greatest video games ever, according to Wikipedia!

A while back, I stumbled across a Wiki page for games that are considered the greatest ever made. It's filled with the usual assortment you'd expect, but it made me realize how entrenched I am in the RPG realm. RPGs are well represented, but the list in question is filled with racing games, fighting games, and miscellaneous other stuff I don't have memorized. And it's inspired me! I'm gonna play (some of) them!

Now, I'm not gonna play all of them in depth. Some are huge, for example. I'm also not playing all of them. The list is massive, and even I don't have that much time. I don't want these to leave a bad taste in my mouth, which is why I'm skipping ones I know I'll hate. No horror games! And since I'm poor, I can't play any new games. I want to finish the Witcher Saga, but I can't run game three.

And so we come to the first game I placed on my abbreviated list: Street Fighter. I think the list had SF 2, but I'm playing a different version. Street Fighter IV 3 Alpha Max for the PSP is my poison. What a stupid name... It has a massive roster, and everyone was here! I booted it up and looked over the enormous amount of game modes and instantly got lost. I figured Arcade or World Tour were the go-tos, so I went to the arcade for the first time since 2005. I picked Mika, lowered the difficulty, and got pretty far. Mika's an up-and-coming professional wrestler, so I'm a big fan already. I struggled for a few rounds until I got to my arch nemesis, Karin. The prep school class head beat me up. So I tried another character. She's a ninja with a Big Boss Man nightstick. I didn't make it as far. Lastly, I accidentally picked up Ingrid and got beat in round one. I called it a night there.

I looked up a few combos while lying in bed and planned to test them the next day. Nothing stuck, and I wasn't feeling the game. I'm really bad at it.

The game has thirty eight characters, all of whom have a unique fighting style and story. I doubt the story is world altering, and I can't begin to understand how all the characters are different. I have to imagine all the music fits as well.

With the exception of Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, I'm not into fighting games. I played a bit of one of the Soul Caliber games, but I haven't felt inspired to play it again since the mid aughts. It's just not my scene. I'm sure the two player mode would have been great when I was a kid, and I know the competitive scene is what makes or breaks the franchise. And a better controller (fight pad) would have been nice.

Taking everything into consideration, though, I have no issue calling Street Fighter one of the most important franchises in the industry. The franchise started in 1987 and created many of the mechanics that would come to dominate the genre. Combos, special attacks, and proof that the genre could print a butt load of cash. It's got a deep lore, which I'm all for, but I can't even begin to dig in. I'm not good enough. Maybe I should have played Street Fighter II?

Night one of my immersion went poorly. But maybe a tweak could save it...