In this third and final part of my retrospective of the year 1994, I'll explain how and why this particular year has a profound influence and relevance to my life today.
What can I say that hasn't been said before? Being a 90s kid in 1994 opened my eyes to a lot of things: The comic book industry, fighting games, the rise of role-playing games in North America, the Bill Clinton sex scandal, classical music, actually learning how to play an instrument, transitioning to middle school after being so used to elementary school, the importance of literary inspirations (such as C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, which was a direct inspiration of the King James Bible to an extent), and family values.
To this day, I'm still in the habit of collecting comic books, if only Sonic comics, specific comic adaptations of outside media franchises (such as Darkstalkers), and select series from the Marvel line. I'm not as indulgent as I was when I was throughout middle/high school (as I have expanded to collecting anime and gaming imports), but the drive is still there. And I owe it all to my grandparents and friends who helped keep me posted on things worth buying.
My fascination with the colorful cast of Darkstalkers and the scope and simplicity of the groundbreaking Virtua Fighter set a staple for future interests in fighting games and what I look for, which led to my eventual interest in the Dead or Alive series 2 years later. DOA is a 3D fighting game series from Tecmo that was not only directly inspired from VF, but initially shared the same control scheme and arcade board as Virtua Fighter 2. However, this game was more accessible and had a more attractive package in more ways than one... and not to mention the most interactive stages and most attractive females in 3D fighters at the time IMO. As far as 2D fighters, Capcom's been bringing out some great 2D fighters back then, but none which stood out to me more than Capcom vs. SNK 2. It had the right balance of visual appeal and interesting mechanics, and I hope in the future they come back to make another... though it'll be a long shot. Aside from Capcom, Arcsys also caught my attention with the metal-centric Guilty Gear and its extensive gameplay mechanics that added a new layer of depth I've never seen before in 2D fighters.
But that's not all. Television and movies in 1994 has also been a noteworthy impact on how it affects my life today. While I generally preferred watching animated programs the first 11 years of my life (aside from Star Trek and sitcoms), it wasn't until age 12 that I really opened my eyes to live-action prime-time programming, particularly Hercules, Vanishing Son, Law & Order, Touched by an Angel, and even Baywatch... God, was I ever hooked into Baywatch. That being said, without these shows, I wouldn't even begin to appreciate some modern-day shows like Heroes, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, True Blood, Sopranos, and others for great time-killers on them rainy days. And although The Lion King has been outgrossed by Finding Nemo as the best-selling box office Disney movie, it still to this day has a timeless appeal and feels like it came out yesterday to many. Even as a Broadway adaptation, it's still too awesome for words.
1994 was also a time when I could really appreciate the arcade industry and brighter, less drama-filled days in the fighting game community before it was ever coined as such. Although I was younger, I wasn't naive. In those days, if people got too abrasive with the salt, folks actually got escorted out and blacklisted. There was order. There was structure. There was a specific standard of behavior to be expected and good sportsmanship was paramount. I knew back then if I were older and able to compete formally, there'd be no issues, just as in the Blockbuster Video World Game championships I attended back then.
So there you have it guys... 1994. The most memorable year of my life by far.
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