Aurich Lawson
I’ve had an emotional connection to Street Fighter since I was 13 years old.
It was early March 1991 and my boyfriend and I were celebrating his 14th birthday in Santa Cruz, California, spending as much of our weekend as possible at the boardwalk arcade. His mother handed us each a $20 bill for the change machine, and we were determined to stretch our rooms as far as possible.
Scrolling brawlers like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles And Last fight were our favorite games. We also loved squaring in what I consider to be the first true fighting game, the buttonless, robotronstyle, dual joystick Karate champion.
When we a Street Fighter II: The World Warrior taxi sitting in the middle of the arcade we stopped dead in our tracks. Everything about it, from the six buttons per player to the large dynamic sprites and backgrounds, felt larger than life to our teenage brains.
As we stood there, mesmerized and a little intimidated by the machine, the floor manager came by with some guests. He turned to his guests and said, “We just got this game in. I think it’s going to be big”. Um, yes.
Street Fighter II was a phenomenon. That lone game in the middle of arcade floors would multiply into rows, with rows stretching out behind each row, people waiting to put their quarters on the glass to “become next.” It seemed like everyone was playing it, and when the home console ports hit (we were SNES players), that felt even truer.
Over time, the hype faded. I went to college, got married, started a family and a career, and lost touch with the friends I used to play with. Arcades usually died or became shells of their former selves. But I never lost my love for Street Fighter, even though I was mostly into it in MAME.
The author, circa 2022, in front of the arcade where he first played street fighter in 1991. Not quite the same, but it’s still standing!
Kerianne Lawson
Nearly two decades after losing that strong connection to fighting games, I rekindled my interest. I picked up Street Fighter 4and then I got a little serious Street Fighter 5 player. I played online, locally with friends, and started traveling occasionally to compete.
I sold most of my pinball machines (once an arcade rat, always an arcade rat) and started collecting Japanese “candy” arcade machines. I now have four Sega Astro Cities, two Taito Vewlixes, a Konami Windy, and a Neo Candy 29, mostly dedicated to fighting games. I started playing the titles I had missed in my absence, such as Street Fighter III: Third Battle. My friends and I still play our favorite flavor of Street Fighter II, at, Super turbo (or as we call it, ST).
Longtime fighting game competitor, commentator and now a voice in the game Street Fighter 6 James Chen flashes the peace sign in my garage in 2023.
Aurich Lawson
The sixth time is the charm
As I get older I find that I enjoy sharing my hobbies as much as I enjoy them myself. Fighting games aren’t just fun to play and watch; they are part of a vibrant and diverse community. I want more people to enjoy it.
They also have a reputation for being more complicated now than they used to be Street Fighter II days — they can be very intimidating and difficult to learn. No one wants to buy a new game and all you have to do is jump online and get destroyed by someone who has been playing for years.
Enter Street Fighter 6.
