|
Day of Street Fighter, Night of the Sluts By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman Tucked away in a small strip mall situated in Rowland Heights, CA is a special treasure. Driving by it on the 60 freeway you’d probably think nothing of the little 700 sqft arcade on the 2nd floor of this strip mall. In fact, if you’re an asian in Southern California, you’ve probably eaten no more than 5 miles from it and not even cared. However, this arcade houses something special. This arcade not only has a myriad of the latest Bemani (Konami’s rhythm based games) and Initial D games. But also multitudes of classic: Capcom, SNK/NEO GEO and Sega arcade hits. Though this impressive collection is not the cause of all the recent buzz in the arcade community, it’s rather the fact that they have a Street Fighter 4 machine.
Yes, the arcade 2 miles from my very own house was one of the lucky few in the USA to have a Street Fighter 4 machine. Standing at an impressive 6 feet tall with dual 42” HD screens, this machine is an amazing video gaming behemoth.
The normal 5 minute trip to Arcade Infinity was especially grueling that night. Not only were Ron and I in great anticipation to play this game, but I also had a stomachache from a questionable energy drink and had to drop a deuce pretty bad. We stepped into the arcade and immediately noticed a little spectator “arena” had formed in the middle of the place. There were about 12-15 people of different: races, ages, genders and “nerd levels” gathered around those amazing glowing screens; each person mesmerized by the fight ensuing. A quick series of jump kicks, some punches, a fireball and the “audiences” cheers as one warrior is felled by a reverse hip throw. The bizarre, hollow camaraderie shown in that arcade is somewhat uncanny. Perhaps, it’s the fact that everyone knows you came just to see Street Fighter 4, but it really is like hanging out in a living room with a bunch of people you don’t know or even care about. While, there is a token queue set up, it’s pretty lax and no one is a dick about where everyone’s place is. If someone “cuts” or forgets who was ahead of them, there’s never a big deal made. They all realize it’s a matter of when, not if they’ll get to play the game. Players beware, if you just want to feel the Street Fighter 4 waters and get to know the game. This is not the place for you to do so. The people there play seriously and to win. Also, the price point of $1 per play makes it very hard to get adequate practice in. My suggestion to you is to get some practice play in on Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition at home first, as the game engines are very similar. Another good suggestion is to hit the arcade before the sun goes down, since it seems the competition really heats up between 8pm and closing. On to the actual game itself, but what can be said about this game that hasn’t already been about it? One thing is stop watching the videos on the web and check this game out in person. Little 350 x 500 pixel vid caps DO NOT do this game any justice. Imagine Street Fighter EX style graphics, but done in beautifully smooth cel-shading. There are amazing “cut scenes” right before the ultra combos that are very dramatic in their presentation and “cinematography.”
The audio is good from what I can tell; the arcade was too loud to hear any of the music. However, the sound effects are solid and meaty. Hits sound like they hurt when they hit you and are appropriate for their speed and power levels. The voices have slightly/not noticeably improved for some (ie: Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken), but on others they sound amazingly better than their past voices (note: Sagat no longer sounds like a South East Asian transsexual). The gameplay is weird, yet familiar. It’s like making out with a girl in high school then doing it all again in your mid-20’s. You’re basically the same people, but you’ve also evolved over those few years as well. Without using relationships as an analogy; I’d describe the gameplay as Street Fighter Championship Edition’s speed and general combo engine mixed with the technical aspects of Street Fighter Alpha (Super/Ultra combos, counters, technical hits, etc). As I mentioned earlier, if you’re used to the faster Capcom fighters, you definitely need to get back to practice with those early Street Fighters before trying to play competitively. With that being said, there are also a lot of subtle changes in the play style of each classic character. For example, gone is Guile’s thrusting knee attack when you advance and press medium. Also, I found it much harder to pull off Ryu’s high-low roundhouse dizzy combo. The game is pretty fun and definitely worth checking out, at least once. If you’re not in the Southern California area, there’s also a Street Fighter 4 locator on the web that shows where the other machines are. However, if you’re ever passing through the east side of Los Angeles County, you definitely should visit Arcade Infinity. Even if you don’t want to play Street Fighter 4, I’m often there looking for someone to challenge me at Puzzle Fighter, Magical Drop or King of Fighters 94-2002. Arcade Infinity I almost forgot about the second part of this article’s title. If you want to see some of the finest asian girls, I strongly suggest that you walk around that plaza the arcade is in. Ron and I were treated to a myriad of young “oriental” girls dressed in sexy attire. They’re mostly found at Life Plaza (a little café style eatery), Cue (the photo booth boutique by the arcade), and smoking outside of Ten Ren Teahouse. |
