#*insert that video of the screaming lynxes*

[andy-clutterbuck]

TWD S9 Premiere ★ Sept. 27th 2018

[dazstormretro]

Street Fighter 2 & the Mega CD - Oct 1991

Rob and I watched enthralled as player after player battled it out, throwing fire balls, sonic booms and performing dazzling midair flying kicks. We’d never seen anything like this in the arcades. I’d watch as the more skilled players would effortlessly chain together combinations of moves to create a wonderful choreographed routine. A low kick into an uppercut into a flying uppercut, just jaw dropping. So many different special moves and fighting styles. Ken’s cocky attitude, Ryu’s cool persona, Chun Li’s.... legs! Plus there was the thumping soundtracks to each stage including Guile’s theme which I still enjoy listening to in my car today.

Maybe it was the blaring noises from the surrounding arcade machines or maybe it was the overactive imaginations of two teenaged boys but Rob and I could have sworn we heard the characters swear? For some strange reason instead of Ryu screaming “hadouken” when he launched a fireball my teenage brain brain heard “yooouu git” and instead of “shoryuken” I heard “oh you bitch”. Still to this day I find it hilarious that on the following Monday at school I was telling all my mates about this new fighting game where some of the characters actually swore, what a dick!

After what felt like hours of waiting in line for my turn I finally inserted my fifty pence into the coin slot and proceeded to select my character. I chose Ken after seeing his awesome range of moves from other players. As you can imagine I got my arse well and truly kicked and was unable to perform any of the special moves which I had previously seen but this didn’t stop me from reviling in every second of its gameplay. Street Fighter 2 was now officially my favourite arcade game and this chance encounter started a life long love for the franchise.

After this day Rob and I would return to Grand Central on a regular basis with pockets full of change. Street Fighter 2 became so popular they ended up getting three cabinets just to keep up with the demand. People say this game helped save the declining popularity of the arcade, I’m inclined to agree.

When we weren’t spending all our pocket money in the arcade me and Rob would be constantly playing through Streets of Rage. Rob would choose Axel and I was always Blaze. In many ways better than Final Fight, Streets of Rage was the perfect way to unwind after a long week at school especially during the final level when we got to beat the crap out of one another all over again.

Between us we had built quite an extensive Mega Drive collection and would constantly swap games over the weekend, but this didn’t stop me from pining for more Street Fighter. I was constantly on the lookout for new magazine coverage or posters to stick up on my bedroom wall. This turned out to be rather easy as Street Fighter 2 was huge business so every video game magazine wanted a piece of the action. Stick a picture of Ryu on the front cover and it would fly off the shelves.

This was now the video game magazines heyday. So many new magazines were being published on a monthly basis, so many in fact that the industry would soon be oversaturated. During October and November there were two more new mags hitting the shelves - Game Zone and Sega Pro.

It was flicking through issue one of Game Pro that I first took note of a new upcoming add-on for the Mega Drive, the Mega CD. Sega Pro was great at covering the import scene and would heavily feature what was hot in Japan and the US. I remember seeing this new sexy looking device sat beneath an imported Mega Drive, they looked so right together, so.... complete. The article promised incredible enhanced graphical power and CD quality sound plus huge new games. Lunar: the Silver Star and Ernest Evans quickly caught my attention. This was the first time I’d really taken notice of Japanese anime in gaming magazines. I would sit and draw these amazing pictures over and over.

Obviously seeing this new bit of Sega hardware my mind started turning, could the Mega CD be my next purchase. The imported model was due out in December and some shops were starting to take preorders. It was after reading Robs copy of the November issue of Mean Machines that my mind was made up. A small article in the news section stated that Street Fighter 2 was being developed for the upcoming Mega CD and would be a very close arcade conversion. As you can imagine I was beside myself with this fantastic news, finally I would be able to play Street Fighter 2 at home.

Once again it was time to beg my parents for this years Christmas gift unfortunately this time it wasn’t to be. They certainly weren't about to shell out £250 for a Mega Drive peripheral and unlike the previous time I didn’t have another console to sell. As it turns out it was probably for the best as Street Fighter 2 was sadly never released for the Mega CD and as we now know Sega didn't have the success it was hoping for following the systems release.

So what did I end up getting for Christmas or 1991? Surely it would have made sense to get some brand new Mega Drive titles. I could have asked for Golden Axe 2, Chuck Rock or my own copy of Streets of Rage, instead I asked for an Atari Lynx 2? Now why I asked for this present is still a mystery today. Maybe it was a rushed decision after the knock-back of not being allowed a Mega CD or maybe after seeing my sisters Game Boy I wanted my own handheld device. Either way I would soon regret getting this big, bulky, battery draining monstrosity.

To be fair the second iteration of the Atari Lynx was a well designed and aesthetically pleasing handheld device, it just never did anything for me. To go with the system I received a copy of Gauntlet and Warbirds that Christmas. I have a few memories of playing the Lynx but I think it ended up stashed away in the cupboard of crap and it wasn’t long until I sold it to a friend at school. Unfortunately my parents had no idea about this little arrangement and once they found out I got into a whole lot of trouble.

For some reason I have a very faint memory of Rob finally purchasing a PAL Mega CD of his own but this could be my old age playing tricks on me. Either way both the Mega CD and the Lynx 2 are both systems which I don’t currently own but hoping to one day add them to my retro collection.