it& #39;s interesting to observe how 2D fighting games started out ugly, got really beautiful over time, but then had to "self-disrupt" and become ugly in 3D before climbing a new gradient of beautiful

it& #39;s not so obvious from the screenshots, but Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike was and still is a really beautiful game. Peak 2d animation – incredibly fluid and "alive". The hits connect hard and feel right

I grew up playing Street Fighter II with my brothers – it was great for its time, the controls felt nice and tight and responsive for its time. We had a great time

SF3:3S though... gave us this. I don& #39;t think it would& #39;ve been possible to have had this moment in SF2. And I& #39;m not sure I& #39;ve heard of any such moment in SF4 or 5. It feels like Third Strike hit a peak in what was possible in 2D fighting games https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1084072016456515584">https://twitter.com/visakanv/...

(... this twitter thread should really be a youtube video, but I am very good at making twitter threads, and not yet very good at making youtube videos. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy"> FML)

trying street fighter 4 after having played third strike was kinda disappointing. but I understand why it had to be that way – it& #39;s growing pains. they& #39;re changing the whole medium. it& #39;s the same reason my video essays currently suck compared to my twitter threads https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">

but I think you can kinda feel that there& #39;s some progress from 4 to 5. it& #39;s very subtle little things – the feel of the hits and so on. and also the new medium lets them do some cool new things that weren& #39;t quite possible in 2d. it& #39;s exctiing to watch them get better at this