Jump back fierce will be in FULL effect this Friday.

Yes, the WAIT is over. By now, EVERY fighting enthusiast in America has been tipped off by Kotaku (or Shoryuken) that Street Fighter 4 has started to make an appearance in popular arcade venues. One particular arcade of interest for me is no other than NY’s Chinatown Fair, home to legends like Justin Wong, Arturo Sanchez and many, many top-notch talent.

According to the word on the street, CF has been getting some massive cash flow on accout of the arcade’s $1.00 access charge to play. Yeah… a $1.00!!! A six-win limit has also been configured to prevent any long-term champions dominating the cabinet. To keep things orderly, patrons must sign up on a waiting list, in which your name will be called once your turn comes around… which on some days can range from a 30 minute to 3-hour wait. Yikes. I am almost relucant to make the trip out to the Big Apple later this week, but only because the itch to play this long-awaited release is too great for me to pass up.

Based on some of the featured YouTube videos showcasing the local CF talent, it looks like I’ll have a few challengers to deal with. Thankfully no one’s quite at Daigo’s level just yet, so I shouldn’t be getting owned too badly any Focus Cancels. Though who knows, perhaps I’ll get lucky and most of my bouts will be  “free”; (that’s fighting lingo for “easy wins”) Can Team Interpol hold it down or will they send yours truly back to the countryside? Stay tuned.