Now THAT is how you tell a story. Miss the arcades but make up for it by having my own personal one

i wish i could've experienced arcades back in their hay day

That story of sweat secret was amazing, seemed something taken from an 80's movie. Damn I love this show!!!

SF2 is one of my all time favorite games. I can still remember playing it for the first time in my aunt and uncle's convenience store when I was 6 years old, they would give me quarters from the register and I'd play all day.

These stories are epic. I wish I still had friends close to me where I could host street fighter parties where we could all play on same screen for all versions of street fighter. That stuff is hard to do now being 32 and married. I miss that stuff so much.

My fondest memory of Street Fighter in the arcades was with Alpha 3. You see, I'm from Brazil. About 6 years ago or so, Street Fighter Alpha 3 was already 'old', but it's a game that has never completely disappeared from our arcades. I was at this shopping mall with a couple of friends, and we were playing it. I had beaten all of them and was then playing against the CPU/single player mode. Then out of the blue these two canadian guys, who were on vacation around here, came in the arcade. They observed my style of playing for one or two matches, and then one of them decided to challenge me. He put a coin. I was playing with Ken, he chose Ryu. I won the first round, he won the second. Finally I won the third one, for a small margin. It was simply epic. I asked him if he wanted to go for another, but he didn't. He thanked me, then left. It was epic, and more memorable than any other online match I've played since.

Great stories, I wonder where the 'glove guy' & 'suit guy' are now, I wonder if they will see this, cool if they did.

This is still my favorite game of all time. I remember the first time seeing this at Timeout Arcade and being blown away. The lines of people waiting to play, the awesome characters, the move sets. I remember seeing the spinning piledriver by Zangief and everybody gasping all at once.

I made the most of "Karate Champ" back in the day too. Still got my original copy complete in box.

I remember vividly the quarter on the arcade machine thing. It started with SF2, and then the lines started at my local arcade for MK, then especially Virtual Fighter. After that it was Virtual Fighter 2 and MK2, and Street Fighter wasn't quite as popular, but it was always busy. I will always love all of these games, they'll always be amazing.

It's so cool to hear these stories.

I absolutely love STREET FIGHTER, Street Fighter II was my first fighting game ever, i played it when i was 4 years old in 1995 for the first time and i still continue playing it to this day. Hope it continues on for a very long time.

Some great stories Johnny. Can't wait to play against you in Street Fighter V. My briefcase full of bicycle gloves is ready for you.

I'm not much into fighting games but this is probably the only game that I really enjoy playing back in the day. I've had a few challengers back then and I can hold my own playing competitively. This game is still great to play even today. Game has aged very well. Arcades were awesome.

Yoooo you took it back! SF2 was my shit. Being like 11, 12 years old in the Cheltenham Mall arcade in Philly, 14 random quarters signifying who's hot next, 3rd round, palms sweating and heart beating outta ya chest barely able to get a sonic boom out, the bass from Balrog's stage music pumping outta those cabinet speakers, dude bumping into to you trying to see who's winning, your Triple Fat Goose pockets heavy with arcade tokens...classic memories

This mans arcade adventures and weaving passion for SF hits home for me. Great stories!

This game has aged like a fine wine but not all the ports unfortunately.

johnny, we gotta talk. seriously. hands down the best story about a game i ever heard on youtube. it was so vivid, that i felt like i was there next to you when it happened. it was not only epic but it also rang true for a lot who experienced street fighter 2 at the time. i knew dudes who were similar to you at that game and i remember dudes used to get robbed at the arcade in newark, nj and some of the hardest dudes would come in and didn't like losing. as for me, i would held my composure but it was with tekken 5 unfortunately. and you are right. the asian dudes were always nice. even here, they had a rep. i would definitely hold my own when it came to tekken but not street fighter. it was awesome you became the man at street fighter. the memories. these young cats will never get to experience the joys of arcade gaming and what it was like seeing street fighter 2 for the first time. it changed gaming forever. everybody had to be competitive after that game. that game literally started the fighting community. anyway johnny, damn thank you for taking me back. i had to get on here to hit you up. you are my dude

you never experienced the full arcade era without the threat of being stabbed! It happened to me too, i used to play everyday Marvel VS Capcom at the arcades, after school, so i went with my backpack. To avoid getting mugged, you left yours upon the cabinet. A guy comes in, i beat him, he gives me the looks, and then he defeats me at the game. I was down to my last quarter, so i took my backpack to leave, but i accidentally pulled the switch with it, and the arcade turns off, so he follows me and pulls out a knife on me. Really weird shit, i don't know what those guys were thinking

great vid! its crazy its been 25 years!!! i'll never forget getting invited at my brother's friend's house with a bunch of my friends and my brother's friends, and about 20 people in a small room taking turns playing it on the snes

25 years. We're getting old.

Man Johnny I miss the arcade days.

Getting Street Fighter 2 on Christmas morning is probably one of my best gaming memories! Its was £60 at the time which is something like £90! I was a lucky boy that day!

thank you for sharing this, johnny. as someone who missed out on the heyday of the arcade, hearing stories like yours is super rad and intriguing. that's a small slice of history we'll never see again.

Great story man. All of the older guys remember those days and it was amazing. I remember pumping quarters into Street Fighter II when it came out and got really good. Good memories man!

You're not wrong. No game could draw a crowd like SF2.

You had to watch and learn from the older lot back then. I was only 11 when this came out and I remember that Arcade place. I love how similar they were around the world.

really love the way you talk about these games. i can really feel the nostalgia and it's awesome. keep it up!

Who was the Bicycle Gloves Guy? You should invite him to your show Johnny LOL...

My first encounter with Street Fighter was a small SF2 cabinet on a norwegian camping site, during a road trip over the boarders with my folks. I still remember mildly impressing the local kids with my Zangief, even though we did not speak a common language.

I remember when this game first came out in 1991. I was in the 4th grade. Time flies and I'm getting old!

You made re live my best moments 90s , the way you describe the feelings of 90s is amazing

Man when I become 80 years old and I go back to my house where I grew up and playing video games at home at 14 years old I'm gonna miss being young and playing video games and I'm gonna miss going to arcades playing video games it's sad and happy at the same time hopefully you all understand me

13：10 “So Im playing chu zhu zhu zhu..." I spilled tea on my keyboard

I remenber the first time i saw a Street Fighter Arcade was in a shop in the beach called Pontal Do Sul here in Brazil

SF 2, Mortal Kombat, Killer instinct where all incredible fighting games. The old arcades was the place to be back in the day for games like these. Brilliant memories. Thanks jonny.

Im 33, brazilian and proud to say that i lived alllll that Street Fighter!

Hoodlums and bastards. Superb! I recall seeing it in arcade and Iater recall playing it at the Barras market in Glasgow on an imported USA console and the hype was unmatched. Was a huge deal to have it coming home.

I wish the arcade scene was the same still makes me wish I could have experienced more of it I was really young when they started disappearing

Man i remember the rumors with this game, like guile pulling out a gun and killing you in one shot, then Street Fighter 2 came out for the SNES it was a huge deal, then the rumors of the boss code for it where running rampant. I also remembered when an editor was in Japan for EGM magazine and he first rant the story of the 4 new characters featured in the upcoming Super Street Fighter 2 and him describing T. Hawk as towering over Zangief, Good times.

Street Fighter II, my favorite fighting game, then and now. So many awesome memories!

Hands down my favorite of all your videos Johnny, and I dig them all. I'm 38 and as you spoke about the early days in 1991, crowds forming around SF2 machines, the rivalry, leaning combos etc etc it really took me back. I remember being 13years old and it was past my curfew and I was at a gas station that had SF2 machine out the front challenging different people and friends. Such great memories. Thanks Johnny :)

When I was around 10-11 years old, whilst on holiday to either Spain or Portugal I noticed a number of the kids my age (and older) going into a certain room in the hotel. When I went inside, I found that in the corner there was a Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter machine which they were playing. So I got some money from my parents and quickly ran back and spent the rest of the day on the machine (as well as play table tennis on the table in there too) with these kids. It became part of my routine in the afternoons for me and these guys for the best part of 2 weeks. That was an awesome holiday :D

I still remember the huge lines for SF2 at the arcades. And how people would get pissed off when you did throws lol. I was too young to be competitive though back then when it came out.

Street fighter 2 was my absolute favorite fighter when I was a kid. I remember I spent several days at a pizza joint playing it, quarter after quarter until I beat it. Then I got the special champion edition for the Genesis with the street fighter 2 joystick for christmas and I was in my glory for YEARS. Great vid! Best fighter of all time! HADOUKEN! SHORYUKEN! Ryu is the best!

Palms are sweaty, knees weak arms are heavy, Dhalsim already. Mom's spaghetti.

I love this story. Takes me back to the arcade era.

February 14th is ken master's birthday

There's a local arcade near me in Austin TX that specializes in fighting games. Lining up coins on the cabinets to queue up for your turn is still an alive and well method today! :D

I remember when I first saw SF2 at my High School 7-11 around the corner. It changed everything. Legend says every SF2 game came with the Chinese guy that shipped with the game as he was locked in the crate with it, playing it to hone his skills as it was being shipped.

Great Vid as usual. I can always remember playing the arcade non stop with my brother when it was released! Great times. I've just received a Super Famicom version today! To play it at home was great even tho it seemed a bit lacking in that special feeling from the arcade. Best game for 2 player IMO!

Haha, @2:51 that SFII is a conversion in an Atari Kangaroo cabinet just like mine. I think that was a pretty common conversion combo back in the day.

Great video Johnny!! Brings back the memories for me too!!

Defiinately one of my fav episodes

Street Fighter 2 was one of the first games I really played a lot of back in the day. I didn't have a console at home, but when I went to my cousins play we'd play Street Fighter all day. Ken was also my character back in the day. I also loved the Alpha series. I had so many great memories with Alpha 2.

Haha, so great. Your story with the bicycle-gloves-guy sounds like something right out of an 80s movie :P

I wish i could back in time and play in the arcades again.. loved your SF stories

I miss that entire era of gaming, the excitement of checking to see if any new games had made it in, the arcades were where the cutting edge was during that era, this was all much more advanced than you're nes, Genesis, tg16 or snes you had at home (the Neo Geo was really THE only console capable of faithfully reproducing the arcade experience at home, perhaps the only thing missing was the smell of cigarettes and the BO from punk rock kids but that's about it.

Great video Johnny. Really enjoyed your story. The first time I saw it, it was a huge sit-down cabinet. I remember looking at the buttons; six!? Six buttons!? I must admit, I was very intimidated by its complexity, and the calibre of its players. It was not until "championship edition" on the mega drive that I came into my own. Sagat was my man, and I was unstoppable. My reflexes were so much faster then, then they are now. Where does the time go?

Wow, another year. I still use my 15th anniversary controller when I play the PS2 anthologies. I consider myself lucky I never had any nasty times at the arcades. Being a female SF gamer back in the 90s was unheard of. Good thing I played during the day at friendly places. Not throwing and giving second rounds probably helped. A fave memory of mine is beating SF2T on 8-star difficulty. Boy, was that hard! Thank god for people uploading those gameplays to YT so I can relive it whenever I want. That ending artwork is very special whenever I see it. And now I know who drew it thanks to the Net.

Super awesome video! I loved the stories.

Great video brings backs some awesome memories

I miss those days. I remember I was introduced to it about 6 months after it came out. I never got competition ready until sfa2, I remember always losing every match I played . Can't wait to play 5 when its complete

God kids today will never be offered drugs or put a quarter on top of a machine in an Arcade.. EVERYTHING HAPPENED IN Arcades in the 90s, u could get layed and smoke a joint all before it was ur turn on a machine. Great story man brought me back

is incredible how, i was born and raised in puerto rico in the 80's. and we still had the same unspoken rules. no grab or you let me grab you. no shot kick plus grab either. amazing. even tho we were born miles apart our childhood is so similar is scary.

Such a great game. Played it with my brother and friends on the Capcom Classics collection and had tons of fun and I still play it today.

Best moment is when me and my friend discovered the triple fierce combo with Ken or Ryu (basically, fierce from jumping, crouching uppercut and then dragon punh --- or fireball)

Kids today will never know the joys of old fashion arcades

Great video, one of my all time favourite games

I was 9 back in 1991, and I didn't go to arcades much when I was a kid, so I hadn't really heard of Street Fighter II until my cousin picked it up on the SNES and we played 2-player for hours. What an amazing day discovering that game though!

Such great stories!!! Awesome episode, Johnny.

Great episode, I'm always sort of jealous how many great memories you have of gaming but I don't think I could possibly get into fighting games. I don't think I have the patience, memory, concentration, and resolve required in those tough situations you described, I'd probably break, lose, and then walk away haha. Maybe one day though!

I was 14 when I first saw SF2 at the local movie theater. My first thought was, "I'll never be able to figure this game out." Six months later I was a master. I miss the days of putting up my quarter, watching the competition, and playing for an hour on 25 cents while my parents shopped.

I’m on a massive street fighter kick right now

Really enjoyed this video, Johnny! I have so many similar memories playing Street Fighter 3 Third Strike at Family Fun Arcade in Los Angeles back in the day. Hard to believe, but a scene like yours existed up until fairly recently at a grungy little arcade in LA. What was so amazing about Family Fun was most players had been playing third strike since the early 2000's and had the skill to show it! The arcade had about 9 or 10 third strike machines paired back to back (like how you described the arcade in Las Vegas) so you couldn't see the other player. They even had Japanese sit down cabinets, but no one ever played them for whatever reason. I think a lot of people had mixed experiences with third strike because the computer AI was absolute garbage. In order to really appreciate the game, you need to play with a skilled player who can read your commands before you even make them! It was incredibly humbling playing at Family Fun. Often, a challenger would pop in quarter in the adjacent machine and without being able to look at your hands on the controls the other player would manage to parry your every move!! That feeling of being mind read sticks with me to this day and makes me appreciate "high-level" street fighter players. Would really love to play you in a game of Street Fighter 2 some day! Thanks for the great videos, Johnny! PS - Classic match at family fun arcade between Justin Wong and Pyro Lee kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a5qGjNOLx7-qj30.html

I was more of a Mortal Kombat guy. Back when i was in 4th grade, UMK3 started appearing and it was THE SHIT. Everyone was talking about fatalities and some kids were selling combos and fatalities written on paper for 50c or so. And for us kids that was quite a lot. One day during PT, I was with my buddy outside of school running then during break he asked me to accompany him to game center just in front of my school that had several arcade cabinets and also let others play Sega Genesis. So we went there and saw MK3, TMNT and also this Power Ranger fighting game I don't remember. Then I saw kids playing Street Fighter II. I remember the first character I saw was Dhalsim on his stage. I was mesmerized, stood there watching and without knowingly had skipped 2 periods. Then when i hurried to class teacher scolded us and told our parents, that ofcourse entailed much troubles.

I can't agree with you more. Street Fighter 2 was so iconic you can't find the right words to describe it. When it came out it completely took the gaming community by storm. I remember being on the playground in elementary school and spend the entire time talking and arguing over who was the best character. I had it on my snes and it really did change my life. I had a Ken action figure. I had my SF2 t-shirt even lol. No game release has impacted me like that one. SF2 forever is king

I never played SFII in arcades. The first time I played it was when my cousin brought over this SNES and SFII:CE cart over one day (I was a Genesis guy). We played it until morning, must have had hundreds of matches. One of my favorite games of all time. Here's to Street Fighter.

i got to go to Japan in november 2014 with a friend. my friend loved tekken. so hes looking for it everywhere. he thinks he sees it in some random arcade? so we walk in,and turns out the machine was a Hyper fighting machine,my favorite SFer of all time. some Japanese dude was playing. so i challenged him about 10 matches and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. i dont know what it was?but i played so well. it went 50 50... good times! the guy at 1st looked at me and laughed. 3 games in and he started talking to me as best he can.

I freaking LOVE your videos! Always make my day!

Hands Down, The Best Gamer Show On KZfaq...

Luv ur videos on street fighter memories!

i had the same experience at my local bowling alley. the SF2 cabinet showed up and 2 days later they had to put the fucking thing in its own room because so many kids gathered around it that the crowd was blocking the passage for bowlers. at least 20 people waiting to play it at all times. then when mortal kombat showed up the crowd went from the sf2 cabinet to the mk cabinet in one felt swoop overnight.

February 14th, 1965, Ken Masters was born to the Masters family.

I remember i was in school, a christin school and they often made festivals n stuff, one of those, they rented a whole bunch of arcade games for us children to play, it was such a magical day, however i knew Street Fighter and the machine was there, so i was like, ok lets do this...what was my surprise that, that one was one of those hacked machines...the guy i was playing with started to shoot hadukens at me one after another even mid air until the screen was full of them...i was shocked and beat to death haha

Karate Champ. Man I remember playing this for days. Wow that brought me back.

Thanks for sharing man. I still remember my first time with street fighter. It was on the Genesis lol well you gotta start some where

Excellent video. Watching SF is like a beautiful art form.

"I put my quarter in and kicked his fucking ass" that was hilarious. fantastic stories, great episode.

Dude that was such a great video - someone should make a movie about your Street Fighter 2 life!

dude great episode .got to be one of the best ever .

I was in middle school when Street fighter 2 came out, man I feel old. can't wait for SF5!

Amazing anecdotes had me smiling throughout the whole video. haha.

Street Fighter... this and Shinobi was my arcade cherry. the amount of money must of pumped into the cabs to play those!

Cool memories,I hope that that things like evo would be for every type of genre of games.

I love listening to your stories, because you are so passionate about video games. I grew up in a condo where lived other twelve boys about my age, and we played games everyday at home, and we have our own stories, but they don't seem so cool compared to your stories and the way you tell them.

Even to someone like me, who has practically zero interest in one-on-one fighting games, these stories are so great to hear.

ohh buddy you brought back a lot of memroies back for me their.. i remember the shows that used to come to my village , they had dodgems, the waltzer, and the Arcades' which had DOUBLE DRAGON , outrun AND OPERATION WOLF with the smg it was great lol.

Hi Johnny i must commend you on this episode. It was the most interesting look back at street figher and your memories of it. I applauded you thanks for a great time well spent watching your video :)

Awesome memories man :)