Fighting games were all the rage in the late eighties and early nineties.
If you had a fighter in your local arcade, you were set.
And if said fighter took place in the streets, forget about it.
That thing would be sucking up quarters all the time.
For some reason, people were infatuated with fighting, but especially fighting in the streets.
And in that proud tradition of virtual urban delinquency, SNK made their own street fighteróthatís
a pun, not a trademarkóand called it Street Smart.
Although is even fighting in the street ever really smart?
Street Smart is a 2D fighter starring a guy in a white martial arts outfit, and it was
released to arcades two years after Capcom released Street Fighter.
Although Iím certain thereís no connection.
The game was also ported to the SEGA Genesis in
1991, and just this month, it was rereleased on the PlayStation Network.
Street Smart joins a growing list of SNK games on PSN, which is great because no modern gamer
should be deprived of the opportunity to sample these things.
Theyíre representative of an era weíll never see again, and playing them todayóthis one
includedóis like stepping into a time machine.
A time machine that punches you in the face and steals your money.
And in 2011, thatís what strikes you the most about Street Smart.
This game is damn hard.
The only reason I got through this is because pressing the triangle button pops in another
virtual quarter, so you essentially have unlimited continues.
Of course, this is a deliberate design element common in arcade gamesóespecially in fighters.
Youíre supposed to get your ass kicked so that you keep spending your quarters.
Actually, come to think of it, arcades are like the retro predecessor of downloadable
content.
Is there really any difference between spending a few bucks for extra levels and spending
a few bucks in quarters to finish the game?
Thankfully, thereís no slot for quarters on the PlayStation 3...or at least, none that
are meant for quarters.
Now that I get to actually finish the game, I can appreciate its premise even more.
Youíre a guy who picks fights in streets all over the country, and you do this in order
to win money and chicks.
After every fight, a woman approachesósome just materialize out of thin airóand joins
your little entourage.
Some people call this silly.
I call it Friday night.
In addition to being savagely difficult, the gameplay is also pretty standard.
You can punch and kick, and you can also do a hip toss.
Meanwhile, my freaking opponents are giving me pile drivers and abdominal stretches...that
doesnít seem fair.
The game does give you the ability to string together combos, though.
You can do a series of attacks, which keeps your opponent reeling...when he isnít punching
your face in.
Itís a pretty short game.
You can collect every woman in the game in less than half an hour, at which point you
gather at a football stadium and they parade around you.
One offers you a Big Gulp...I think Iím in love.
By the way, champion ship.
Two words.
So much for Street Smart.
Fighters have never really been my thing, but if youíre into the genre and interested
in playing an SNK oldie, the price is right.
This thing is only $2.99, which is a lot less than most people spent playing it.
Itís Street Smart on the PlayStation Network.