The Takadanobaba Game Center Mikado in Tokyo, Japan was definitely feeling the spirit of SNK in late April. Held at the Tokyo Culture Culture on the 24th, the event celebrated simultaneous tournaments for Fatal Fury Special and Samurai Spirits: Zankuro Musouken (Samurai Shodown III in the US).
The tournament was just recently archived onto YouTube, but you can also watch the original broadcast in it’s highest quality on Mikado’s official UStream page.
Fans of old school 2D fighters, and even fans of some 3D games like Soul Calibur, will likely enjoy this archive. The patient, disjointed-hitbox poking of Samurai Spirits smells of Calibur meta that would follow years later. Fatal Fury’s unique plane switching doesn’t seem very far from home either, being one of the earliest examples of (technically) 3D fighting. Both games, despite their age, attracted 53 players. These 2D footsie focused masters were ready to throw down in some SNK classics.
Sources: Mikado UStream, Mikado Blog