Infinite Kung Fu, the perfect blend of zombies, kung-fu and Hip Hop. A 1UP classic from May 24, 2012

Watching the Man with the Iron Fists got me thinking about the ways in which the west has viewed and tried to reproduce the martial arts in popular culture. From a cultural perspective there is something lost when designing or presenting martial artists to western audiences. This was most apparent in comic books. Characters like Judomaster and Shang-Chi got the ball rolling for young men just getting exposed to early martial arts cinema, and of course a lightning quick character named Kato in the Green Hornet TV series. Other characters were eventually introduced including the Iron Fist and Richard Dragon.

It could be argued that some writers and artists were "whitewashing" the martial arts and fighters so they would be more appealing to western audiences. The choice in costumes and character designs were dubious at best. Many heroes and villains looked like they were distilled from a mash of western comic book heroes like Spider-Man and the long-haired stars of Shaw Bros. Hong Kong films. The publishers were often making up scenarios and purposes for the heroes as they went along instead of embracing Eastern mythologies and cultures and trying to explain those to audiences. The esoteric fighting styles were often the selling points for these comics. They featured characters that could perform incredible things and didn't necessarily have the super powers associated with traditional comic book heroes. The idea that any person could become extraordinary by learning the techniques from the East was certainly appealing to young readers. It was something that made real fighters like Bruce Lee and awe-inspiring and even underground characters like Count Dante appear larger-than-life. They influenced several generations of fans in the west, including the Wu-Tang Clan.

RZA's film the Man with the Iron Fists was his take on the kung-fu genre. It featured characters and scenarios that were inspired by the classic films. Undoubtedly many of the designs had been floating around in the mind of the RZA for decades. As fun as the movie was I would hardly call it a martial arts classic. There was actually a title that I thought did a better job of paying homage to the classic kung-fu films while adding a twist of Hip Hop stylings as well. Kagan McLeods Infinite Kung Fu was possibly the best, non-Chinese, produced martial arts comic of the past decade.

Kagan, like the RZA, is an artist filled with tremendous love and knowledge of the classic films. He puts this to work in crafting a story that combines the modern zombie genre with classic kung-fu fable. He goes so far as to talk about the kung-fu immortals and then make contemporary representations of them. The setup of the story is simple. Due to conflict and disease there were too many souls sent to the afterlife. When hell filled up there was no place for the souls to go to so they returned to the mortal plane and became reanimated corpses. Bullets eventually ran, as did gas and oil out so humanity was forced to return back to traditional weapons and martial arts to fight off the hordes. A young soldier, Lei Kung inadvertently burnt the body of a person he assumed was dead to prevent him from returning from the dead. The body belonged to a Buddhist that was meditating and about to achieve true enlightenment. Lei is tasked with mending wrongs by putting an end to the all-powerful Emperor by the ghost of the monk.

The comics have a distinct flair. Kagan's style, his figure work and character designs are not unlike a graffiti artist. Lending a great deal of street vibe to the look of the comic. The characters are not all stylized after Shaolin heroes from the Hong Kong films, others looked like the afro-sporting characters from 1970's Blacksploitation movies in the US. This blend of Eastern and Western films must have influenced Kagan as a young man. The comic does have some graphic depictions of violence, as all good zombie books should. Some characters are torn apart in battle, others are devoured by zombies. Some of the special kung-fu techniques in the comic allow the martial artists to poison people and have them killed from the inside-out by centipedes. Remember that was the technique exploited by the classic villain Half-Iron Face from the film the Furious Buddha's Palm? The action is well staged and the characters are personable. On top of the violence and martial arts each comic is preceded by a review of a classic film or clever puzzle designed for kung-fu geeks.

The individual issues of Infinite Kung Fu are hard to track down. Thankfully readers can pick up the collected trade paperback or even download a copy for their mobile device from the publisher. There is even a forward written by the great Gordon Liu. The story, art and character designs from Infinite Kung Fu are perfect for a film. They tell a story that is rooted in multiple cultures and respectful of all the modern and classic influences. If the RZA or Tarantino decide to collaborate again then I hope they adapt this to the big screen.

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Inequalities! A 1UP Classic...

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Hot Rod, my favorite driving game of all-time! A 1UP Classic...

My friends, the game featured today is easily my favorite car racing game of all-time. I've always loved this game and it pained me to exclude it from my list of favorite games of all-time. If I had to remake the list then this game would probably replace my #5 title, Carmageddon. Hot Rod by Sega came out in 1988, the same year as Konami's Chequered Flag. Its graphics were simple sprites and lack of scaling made this game seem dated by comparison. The pace was slow and methodical and there wasn't much realism in the title to speak of. What Sega did get right, as the title suggests, was the spirit of the Hot Rod.

I mentioned back in the Monaco GP blog that Japan never went through a hot rod renaissance. They did not experience the D-I-Y car obsession that would influence their culture, at least not at the same time the US did. A driving culture shaped the US approach to arcade games while Japan went into the arcade arcade games with pro racing in mind. Some of Japan's better games happened when they got around to deconstructing the racer rather than emulating it. Sega was exceptional at being able to do both types of games.

Hot Rod was the ultimate boiled-down racing experience. It focused more on the drivers skill and ability to read a course than any other game. There was no gear shift and no brake pedal. Letting off the gas would stop the car. The steering wheel was loose like the Sprint games so that players could fling the car around corners. It was as pure a racing game as the arcade had ever seen. In a one player setting it was the ultimate challenge of man versus machine, against three human opponents it was a crazy fun time. Despite the name Hot Rod was a rally-type experience. It wasn't just a rally sim as it covered a lot of street racing as well. The tracks featured numerous surfaces and sometimes would have different patches in the middle of the course. From asphalt to snow, ice, sand and dirt. Each thing caused the cars to handle differently. Players had to stay on point and be able to drive with absolute precision.

Everything that you would come to expect from a great racing game was featured here. The opponent AI were all skilled drivers but not perfect, they made mistakes from time to time, bumping into walls or blowing out their engines. Courses had shortcuts that could be exploited by daring drivers. These shortcuts were sometimes dangerous as they placed you on the path of an oncoming train, a slow moving bulldozer or even an avalanche. Knowing when and where to use these paths often meant the difference between winning and coming in last. The pace of the game was grinding, for some monotonous. It could sap the concentration of the gamer, leading to miniscule errors that would result in a game over screen. To truly get the most out of Hot Rod you had to be willing to go the distance. Players that did well were rewarded at the end of each third race by receiving a trophy and kiss from a girl.

Hot Rod was also a cleverly balanced inventory control game. Players were rewarded cash amounts based on their finish. They could then take this prize money into a parts shop and buy an upgrade for their car. Unlike Super Sprint which limited the parts to three or four things, in Hot Rod there were five categories to keep track of and three levels of equipment in each category. Tires, wings, engines (front and rear) and bumpers, players had to learn how each effected their performance on the track and off road. AI opponents could also get upgrades along the way and keep pace with the player. Players had to learn which items to buy and in what order because no two part shops sold the same items. Sometimes the best strategy was to hold out for the next level to get better equipment. This left players underpowered so they had to work extra hard (and exploit all the right shortcuts) to come in first or second against the ruthless AI. These parts weren't guaranteed to last forever. Most engine upgrades would burn out at the end of the third race, as denoted by a backfire at the finish line.

For an additional racing challenge Sega also added a gas tank to the cars. The gas would drop slowly but surely as the race progressed. Players could gain additional fuel by driving over "G" icons which would pop up intermittently on the course. There were also "P" icons for a score booster but these weren't as highly valued as fuel. The ranking at the end of each circuit would also determine how much gas you regained. If a player exploited every shortcut and drove over most of the G icons and came in first then they would get all of their fuel back. Players lost fuel if they crashed, fell off the road or were cut off as the screen advanced to the rest of the track. If the tank dropped below zero the game was over. Unfortunately the tank could never have a surplus of fuel. Casual gamers and seasoned players were experiencing racing on multiple levels.

The graphics in the courses all blended perfectly. Since the entire game was from overhead there was no sense of gradation or depth, any such cues had to be drawn onto the course as a series of shadows and objects. These imaginative two-dimensional courses were amazingly drawn. Sega had really outdone themselves in the art for this game. I especially liked the cabinet art and illustrations for the cars. The proportions of the cartoon hot rods were a blast. As if an animé designer were reinterpreting Dave Deal.

For a person like me obsessed with detail this game was an overdose. You could see tiny characters, made up of a few pixels, lining the courses and clapping. Children playing tag in the park or horsing around on the jungle gym. Couples walking down the promenade. Campers cooking over an open fire. Skiers descending from hills. The more you looked down on the tiny universe the more you would see. Of course you couldn't afford to take your eyes off the track for long or run the risk of losing. I'd be damned if I didn't fall in love with the absurd amount of details that populated each course.

If you thought I was crazy for the amount of time I invested in Stocker then you'd be ashamed to find out how obsessive I was with Hot Rod. To me it managed to capture the essence of racing better than Stocker, Super Sprint or any other racer combined. I had to be careful about where I played the game, dip switches and "turbo" kits ensured that the arcade and Sega were getting a return on their investment. Most arcades had the machines set in such a way that no matter how well you drove your car would run out of gas within two races. A four-player cabinet with no turbo kits and dip switches set to normal could actually be played forever. As I would eventually discover.

 

I would spend time studying each track layout, seeing what options were available in which part shops and what the ideal configuration was. I discovered that while the rear engine granted the most speed it also came at the cost of losing the rear wing so traction was lost on turns. If I purchased the most expensive speed tires and never switched them out then I would be able to hold my own on almost every track even without an engine upgrade. With the most expensive bumper then the life of my engine wouldn't suffer despite a crash. Before too long I had figured out the ideal setup and managed to get through every circuit with one quarter. What amazed me was that the tracks seemed interconnected transcontinental routes that circled the globe. The race managed one big loop and never really ended. It was a very imaginative innovation from Sega. For arcade owners it was a headache since kids like me were spending lots of time and not lots of money in their establishments.

My good friend Tim wondered how long I could spend on one quarter. I told him forever, or at least a day, provided that someone took over to give me a bathroom break. One summer, just after our first year in high school I went to the arcade early in the morning, right before they opened. The manager was wondering what I was up to. I told him that I planned on setting a new high score on the Hot Rod machine. He just nodded and let me into the empty arcade. I found a stool to sit on and put in my token. He would stop by occasionally to see the progress and ask if I really was on my original quarter. As the day wore on players would come and go. A few joined the game in progress and dropped out after a few laps. The manager and employees went from happy for me to slightly annoyed with my presence. Five hours later Tim stopped by so I could get my bathroom break and stretch my legs. I returned for another hour and a half of racing before calling it a day. I had amassed a fortune in the game and was wasting it buying different engines and tires. Even when I got the wrong components for the car I still managed to stay ahead of the competition. Finally I let my gas run out and put my name in the machine. It had a far more digits compared to the second and third place racers. Nobody would ever touch that score. While I had never reached California in Stocker I had gotten my revenge by doing laps around the globe in Hot Rod. As far as I was concerned I could die a happy man but then I would have missed out on so many other great games.

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The Greatest Wedding Invitation Ever! - A 1UP classic from December 1, 2008

Hello friends, how was your weekend? I hope things went well. Didn't do much on my side. Celebrated my great aunt's 87th and uncles 52nd birthdays. It was good to see some family that I hadn't seen in forever. Also fighting a cold, looks like I caught it from a visiting coworker last week. Did some driving to get the latest issue of Arcadia. A few more pics from the upcoming KOF XII. Still looking very nice. There was a DVD that came with it that I'm checking out as well. It's nursing tests all week for me, pray for my sanity. Right now I'm going to talk about something that came in on the weekend that absolutely blew me away.

A red package came in from Hong Kong. Which was funny because I didn't order anything. There were golden drawings of dragons an phoenixes in gold all over the box with my name written on it with a gold marker. I studied it very carefully and it turned out to be a wedding invitation. Quite possibly the greatest wedding invitation ever! On one side of the box the invitation was in English and on the other in Chinese. Michael Lau was marrying his girlfriend Florance Yip at the end of this month and I had an invite! The text on the back of the box was very clever, in addition to the details of the wedding it also read... "© all rights reserved with love warning: all parts of michael lau is female allergic, strictly prohibited for any woman over age of 15 years (except florance) florance is trademarked by michael lau on earth © 12222008 happy wedding unlimited."

Those that are familiar with Lau's work know that his company name is Crazysmiles and uses similar copyright claims on his vinyl figures. The contents of the box were amazing. There was a little red envelope inside with 10 Hong Kong Dollars. It is "Li Shi" money, traditionally given as gifts to the happy couple. I guess I'm going to have to send the money back? The date of the wedding is symbolic because certain numbers are also considered lucky in China. 2 and 8 are very lucky numbers, if you add up all the 2's on the date you get another 8, double 8's, a very lucky date to be wed on!

There was something else in the box. Wrapped in red tissue paper was a pair of vinyl figures unlike anything I'd seen before. It was an all-black Michael hugging an all-white Florance. They were tied together with red shoelaces with the date of their wedding in gold print on it. The colors were symbolic because Michael had a giant "-" or negative on the back of his head and Florance a giant "+" or positive so I guess it's true that opposites attract? Michael's figure was in Nike sneakers and Florance in red heels. A repeat of the wedding information was engraved on their backs as well and if you notice, from behind they make the shape of a heart. How romantic!

So how did Michael propose?

In October Michael had a two-page spread in the pages of East Touch magazine. Michael had first introduced the world to his revolutionary Gardener figures in that magazine almost a decade ago, it seemed only fitting that he would announce the next stage of his life in it as well. The spread was a painting of Michael holding an enormous diamond ring. In a word balloon he says "Ka Bay All" which translates to "will you marry me?" Along with the date of the proposal. October 19th, 2008.

Florance must have said yes because that brings us to today. The wedding is in a couple of weeks and my friends and co-workers are asking if I'm going. I tell them all sorry but no. I've paid all my bills and have very little left in the bank account. That has to last me all month. If I went I'd still have to get the couple a nice present and reserve a room. The cost of flying alone would break me. Damned if I don't want to go though. Damned if I also don't feel like one of the luckiest people around. In addition to friends and family who else do you suppose got one of these invites? The top designers and artists from around the world? People up the chain of command at Nike?

I'll never know. There are a lot of fans of Michael Lau who have collected every one of his figures and collaborations. They have been supporting him since day 1 and aren't likely to get an invite. I can't say I was there on day 1 but I can say I've been there a long while. Being selected as one of the invitees because of my work on the fan page is a humbling feeling. I'll be sure to send him and the Florance something nice as a way of saying thanks and congratulations. EDIT: I created a fan page dedicated to the Art of Michael Lau in the early 2000's. I let the domain expire in the mid 2010's because I no longer had time, or money to keep it going. Although it will no longer be getting updates I have restored it on my personal server for people that want to find out about the Urban Vinyl movement. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Gravity Falls, the show, the games. A 1UP Classic...

Street Fighter was celebrating 25 years and I was stuck trying to find the words for how momentous this occasion was. It was important to me personally and represented an important era to my family and friends. Those that grew up in the arcades knew how popular the game was. Through the 90's there was no arcade title that seemed bigger than Street Fighter II, so when it arrived on the home consoles then the 16-bit era had truly arrived. The game not only made money for Capcom but it also marked the company as a global trendsetter. Street Fighter became part of pop culture, not solely in the US or Japan but the world over. During the next 25 years Street Fighter would define the arcade experience and be referenced again and again in art, music and even fashion. Whenever a comic book or a cartoon wanted to reference a fighting game then Street Fighter was the template most often used. In later years anime, manga and comic books began using the character designs, poses and even special attacks from the game in their own respective titles. Audiences would pick up on every subtle or bold use of the Street Fighter mythology featured in pop culture. The influence of Street Fighter on an entire generation was now impossible to be ignored. Fans of the series would continue to spread their fondness of the title for future generations in everything they created.

Two of the best animation directors working today were fans of the Street Fighter series and had recently created a love-letter to the game and the arcade culture. Alex Hirsch was the creator of Gravity Falls, a new cartoon on the Disney XD channel. Recently he directed an entire episode around arcade gaming. It brought iconic scenes and characters to life, especially those based on the Capcom classics. Disney brought in a guest animator for the episode, Paul Robertson, the Australian animator known best for  Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006. Paul was also the animator for the multiplayer game Scott Pilgrim vs the World. 

Paul knew every nuance in gaming and was able to translate the Scott Pilgrim comics into a game that played as well as the best multiplayer Capcom brawlers. In fact the entire Scott Pilgrim mythos was based around a hero fighting different types of opponents, basically a romantic comic book-meets-Street Fighter mashup. Alex and Paul managed to craft an episode of Gravity Falls that was nothing short of perfect for fighting game fans.

The episode Fight Fighters captured the essence of gaming perfectly. It was not the first popular cartoon to do that however. The tradition goes all the way back to Moaning Lisa, an early Simpson's episode that parodied video boxing (Mike Tyson's Punch Out) as well as When Flanders Failed and Marge be not proud which took liberties with the fighting game genre. It stood to reason that Gravity Falls could be compared to the early seasons of the Simpsons. Alex stated that his series was inspired by his three favorite shows while growing up; The Simpsons, Twin Peaks and the X-Files. Those three had influenced the comedy and conspiracies featured in Gravity Falls. The Simpsons' undoubtedly left the biggest impression on a young Hirsch. His show revolved around the twins Dipper and Mabel Pines, the siblings were very relatable, just like Bart and Lisa Simpson. The main characters were actually based on Alex and his sister Ariel. Even Great Uncle (Grunkle) Stan was based on their actual grandfather. These relationships made the writing and character developments far more sincere and dynamic than just about any other show on the air. What Alex has been doing all season has been nothing short of genius. He was weaving personal history, mythological characters and conspiracies into a solid continuity that could hold its own with every other great fictional universe. Where the show excelled was when he voiced the things that influenced him the most.

The second arcade boom, post Street Fighter II was celebrated in the Fight Fighters episode. Alex voiced the character of Soos and acted as equal parts sidekick and mentor to Mabel and Dipper Pines. When Soos pointed out something that he loved it was actually Alex reflecting on his life to audiences. Soos introduced the Pines family to the local arcade, this must have meant a lot to Alex. Eagle-eyed viewers could spot the mysterious pyramid logo playing on one of the arcade screens. The entire mythos of the series, the use of occult symbols and the strange occurrences around Gravity Falls were left open to interpretation. Clues, puzzles and messages were constantly being hidden in the show for viewers to find and decipher. Could the pyramid icon be being used to brainwash arcade goers? This tiny clue might come back later on in the series, but I digress…

Soos showed off the games that taught him some very important lessons, including how to safely cross the street and how to eat ghosts. The parallels to Frogger and Pac Man from Frog Time and Ghost Maze were obvious to older gamers. It was apparent how important the arcade was to Alex as the cabinets and game screens are carefully recreated for the episode.

Other nods to classic gaming and even the Disney / Pixar legacy were right in the opening moments of the episode. The Claw could be referencing the gag from the Toy Story films, Pizza Time is a send up of Burger Time and NORT was advertised as "The game based on the movie based on the game" clearly a reference to TRON. Instead of light cycles the game featured a neon colored Segway scooter. The parody was done in good taste but of all the games there was one which for which the entire episode was based around.

Off in a corner of the arcade Dipper was playing a game called Fight Fighters with his co-worker Wendy. The brightly colored characters, the special attacks, energy meters, everything in the game seemed eerily familiar to fans of Street Fighter II. This game, like the others, were presented as if Alex were recollecting the bits and pieces that he remembered from visiting an arcade as a kid. The games were not 1-to-1 copies of existing titles but instead impressons of the most popular.

It was impossible to ignore all of the details that Paul Robertson put into Fight Fighters. From a character select screen featuring a cast of global fighters…

To the dramatic and sometimes nonsensical cut scenes...

To the actual game itself featuring very familiar special attacks and characters.

This was easily the best recreation of Street Fighter ever done for animation. There was an absurd amount of detail placed on the art, animation and characters for this fictional game. Long-time fans of the series could actually point out all the individual details that inspired both Alex and Paul.

The cabinet art featured a very familiar font style and character. The design of "Rumble McSkirmish" was based on the three oldest Street Fighter icons, Ryu, Ken and Sagat. Even the uppercut pose was based on the original art from Japan.

The villain of the game, "Dr. Karate" had elements from M. Bison (Vega in Japan), Guile and Kano from Mortal Kombat.

Robbie, the boyfriend of Wendy, showed up at the arcade and caused trouble for Dipper. The young Pines was challenged to a fight later that day. Not sure how to fight, and being much smaller than Robbie, Dipper began searching for a way out of the battle. He decided to hide out at the arcade and play a few more rounds of Fight Fighters. When he dropped his quarter he discovered a secret code etched into the bottom of the cabinet. He managed to unlock a living version of Rumble McSkirmish by entering the "Ultimate Power" code on the game. Dipper then recruited Rumble to fight Robbie in his place.

The mistranslations and hidden codes for Fight Fighters were based on the urban legends that shaped the development of Street Fighter II. Sheng Long was the dragon punch that Ryu used, many gamers thought it was the name of his master. EGM created an infamous April Fool's article saying how to unlock Sheng Long, this joke eventually lead to the creation of Akuma / Gouki. This ultimate boss could actually be unlocked in the game as a playable character. If the gamer entered a secret code on the character select screen then Akuma would be available. This code was unknown to most arcade visitors, making the character even more mysterious.

The rest of the episode was hijinks as Rumble managed to thrash most of Gravity Falls with his pixelated fists. The episode was an amazing homage to gaming and game culture. Nods to Final Fight were peppered throughout the episode. For example Rumble walks down the street swinging a pipe, when Dipper tells him to put the pipe away he does and swaps it for a samurai sword. Dipper wonders who would leave such dangerous objects laying around. Of course these things made tremendous sense in the street brawling game Final Fight, which was originally called Street Fighter '89. When an actual person pulls a street sign out of the ground or beats up mail boxes and trash cans then pedestrians run for cover.

Rumble chased down Robbie and threw him out of an apartment building. This sets up the character for an amazing Donkey Kong inspired sequence.

All sorts of gaming related icons appeared throughout the episode. Points, health bars and even giant flashing two-dimensional arrows saying "Go" appear out of thin air and prompt the characters to continue. Paul Robertson recreates the conventions of the 2D brawler with ease. Several gags featured in the episode had me laughing out loud. The often misheard special attack "Shoryuken" was used when Rumble punched a bbq smoker while yelling "All-You-Can… Eat!"

Rumble happened across a car that was parked on a dock. This set up the infamous car smashing Bonus Round featured in both Final Fight and Street Fighter II.

I just about died when the owner of the car doubled over and repeated the phrase "OH! MY CAR"

Those old enough to remember (like my friends and I) or visited an arcade with a Japanese version of Final Fight saw a different phrase altogether.

Rumble eventually cornered Robbie in the park but before he could beat him up Dipper came to his aid. Dipper ended up fighting Rumble after revealing his true motives for summoning the character. This lead to Dipper getting severely trounced by the most ultimate special attack ever conceived, the "Super Power Ninja Turbo Neo Ultra Hyper Mega Multi Alpha Meta Extra Uber Prefix Combo."

The devistating move was based on the Shun Goku Satsu.

After getting thrashed Dipper was left a little more humble. He was presented with the ending screen to Fight Fighters. Those that frequented arcades knew the importance of being able to have a top score posted on the leader-board. Those with the coolest initials always stood out and "DIP" was no exception. The ending of the episode was well done. It reminded gamers of a simpler time. Before the internet, before web matches, when the best gamers had to show and prove at a central location. Friendships were made and rivalries forged in the arcade. The goal for most players was to reach the end screen on one quarter and get their name on the board.

Having Dipper and Soos stand in awe of the floating initials was a nice touch. Again it was Alex and Paul reflecting on the arcade experience. They were showing audiences that players didn't always win every arcade game but the battle was always worth it. Those that have been with Street Fighter since the first game would agree. Those early gamers did not win every fight but they kept coming back. They lost a lot of matches while trying to master the gameplay and did not find reason to complain after losing a hard fought battle.

Street Fighter might not have made it to a 25th anniversary if not for the recent sequels. Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter X Tekken kept the series relevant over the past four years. Those games showed the industry that the fighting genre was not dead, in fact it was simply waiting for a renaissance. Street Fighter IV revived the audiences that had pumped millions of quarters into the arcade cabinets a decade earlier. These patrons were now adults, working professionals, artists, writers and parents raising a new generation of gamers. They passed onto this new group the love of Street Fighter, the love of the series, the characters and challenge. Alex Hirsch and Paul Robertson were sharing that love with fans of Gravity Falls as well. They were celebrating the 25th anniversary in their own way. It would not be the last time that Disney would highlight the importance of the series on an entire culture.

The upcoming animated feature Wreck-It-Ralph would feature cameos from the Street Fighter cast. The characters were not inserted into the film for the sake of a shout-out but because they actually pushed the plot along. The characters meant something to game history. After 25 years they were more than relevant to gamers; they were important. Wreck-It-Ralph would have been lacking if Disney ignored the contribution of Street Fighter to gaming. When the studio referenced the game twice in one year was proof that the series had influenced the world in a profound way. Including a few Street Fighters in a high-profile and expensive feature was the biggest sign of respect that Capcom could have gotten during the anniversary.

Capcom should be proud of the series. Very few games had changed the world, very few games had united as many gamers. Here's to 25 years of great memories and the hope that there are many more great battles to come!

PS. Those interested in catching the Fight Fighters episode should tune into Gravity Falls, Friday night Sept. 14 on Disney XD. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Almost SEGA Good! A 1UP Classic...

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Pardon the lateness of this entry (I usually have something posted before lunch). This time around I wanted to write a little bit about my hometown, the fine city of Long Beach California. There are plenty of places to write about, but I think fans of videogames might like to learn a little bit more about downtown and a stretch of road called Shoreline Drive.

Back in the day Namco/Atari released Pole Position. One of the most famous CART-Champ Car tracks was titled Seaside. A not so subtle lift from the real track featured in the Long Beach Grand Prix.


There are many beautiful tracks all over the world, from Monaco to Mexico, Brazil to Japan. But of all the tracks ever put in a game, or raced in the real world, I'd dare say that Seaside Drive is almost SEGA good!

Almost SEGA good? What the heck does that mean?

SEGA arcade racers have always featured some of the most jaw-dropping visuals in any racing games. Even non race fans like my brothers were wowed by the creativity that went into the track designs in games like Daytona USA and Scud Race (SEGA GT).

Even if the track was an oval for example, the designers at SEGA AM2 wanted it to be memorable. In Daytona 2 the oval track was built indoors, with a nature preserve on the inside track and large sails blocking out the sun high overhead. A building like that would dwarf every other sport stadium. It would only work in a virtual world and I was grateful that SEGA always went that extra step making tracks memorable.

Scud Race had players drifting exotic supercars through tight city streets, Indiana-Jones style temples, under the ocean and through an airport! The best track in my opinion was the Medium Difficulty track on Daytona 2. Not only was the race course challenging but it was built, supposedly, in and around an amusment park. The finish line was directly underneath a dragon boat, part of the track went through a haunted mansion, another part through a smokey western town, then arctic village then through a suspended bridge that roller coasters twisted around.

The only arcade racer ever to come close was Hydro Thunder.


But I digress. This blog isn't about comparisons, at least not between arcade racers. This is about SEGA and the one race course that I think is almost SEGA good.


The main portion of the Long Beach track goes near downtown on Shoreline Dr. There is a skyline and bridges to go under but many tracks real and virtual also have that. What makes Long Beach so special? Go further down Shorline and you'll go under a special bridge.


Wait a minute is that what I think it is?

We've all seen the ferris wheel in games like SEGA's Virtua Racing and even Sony's Gran Turismo. But is that? No, it couldn't be! A roller-coaster track on a bridge?! A roller-coaster track that Indy-cars get to race under?!


Looks pretty damn sweet, but alas it is just a sculpture that pays tribute to the amusment park that used to be located on Shoreline Dr. The Pike used to be a pretty rocking amusement park back in the day. It featured the Cyclone Racer, at the time the second-largest roller coaster in the USA, and built on a pier! From the late 70's to the 90's the Pike was taken apart and Shoreline Dr. was pretty bleak and empty. In recent years however the city has gone back and begun to restore some of the lost heratige.


Back to the subject at hand. The track at Long Beach! Just because the roller-coaster track isn't real doesn't mean we're out of eye-candy. While still racing on Shoreline Dr. we pass Rainbow Lagoon, a park where the famous Long Beach Jazz Festival happens every summer.


The Lagoon is in the shadow of a hotel and the artist Wyland's current largest mural Planet Ocean.

Pull a hairpin turn on Shoreline and head back the way you came. On the left you'll see the Pacific Ocean and the Queen Mary.


You'll also pass the massive bleachers of Grand Prix spectators. Go right next the the awesome Aquarium of the Pacific and even melt your brakes on the infamous turn 3 before getting back on Shoreline Drive


Even though the roller-coaster track on a bridge isn't real Long Beach still has one of the best race courses in the world! A course that is so awesome it defies tradition and is almost SEGA good! If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!