A Tribute To TZW: The Original Combo Maestro

Source Footage: TZW's Video vol.7: Long Distance Runaround
Source Footage: Disk-18 SSF2X code-name: Maxion revision.A
Soundtrack: Sublime - KRS-One
Soundtrack: 90 Day Men - Chronological Disorder

It's impossible to overstate the impact TZW's works have had on the fighting game community at large. He truly set the standard for excellence in combo video production, at a time when most people hadn't even thought to find the boundaries he was pushing. Since those days of sharing fourteenth generation copies of his VHS tapes, all combo video makers have been building upon the foundation that he set, regardless of whether they've ever actually seen a proper TZW video.

Personally, TZW's combo setups were an indispensable inspiration for me starting out. It's remarkable how far one can get by simply studying those classic concepts and adapting them to any other fighting game. Of course, that's a testament to the fundamental soundness of TZW setups. After all, his main playground is Super Turbo which doesn't provide access to modern staples such as running, dashing, superjumping, rolling, flying, parrying, basketballs, roses, grenades, knives, or assists.

Although TZW may have built custom buttons with automatic rapid-fire capability to help him perform combos, that seems to be the sole method of tool-assistance he utilized. In fact, it's rumored that he often positioned both characters by using two controllers simultaneously, as necessary for elaborate combo setups. It probably took forever to get anything done, but there were no alternatives back in the mid-nineties. Precise, fully programmable controllers weren't being manufactured back then, and certainly not for arcade machines.

All featured highlight footage was acquired from TZW's Video vol.7 and Maxion revision.A, available at Preppy's Archive and CV. Also, SF2Freak (now going by Ookamunka) once wrote up a clear transcript of TZW's Video vol.7, still available at GameFAQs.com. Many of the recurring tricks and glitches seen in TZW's videos are explained in much greater detail within the various transcripts and text files comprising The Complete NKI Collection. Finally, TZW-ART? has his own homepage entitled Lady BLUE, housing info on upcoming projects as well as combo transcripts in Japanese.