Great Moments in Video Gaming History #1: Perfect
Posted by Michael Joyeux on 07.27.2006
"Perfect" means so much more when you've just kicked someones ass.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take
our breath away"
The makers of Halo when asked "what makes Halo so fun?" said that Halo was
basically one moment of fun, repeated. Paraphrasing the above quote; Good computer
and video games are rarely measured by length alone, but by the individual moments
comprised within.
This column will take a weekly look at a gaming moment, be it a collection of great
moments within one game or a singular pivotal moment.
Welcome to "Great Video Gaming Moments".
Beat Em Ups and fighting games have been one of the benchmarks of hardcore
console gamers, since the release of Street Fighter II in the early 90's. It is telling that
Beat Em Ups are one of the few games which lend themselves to being a good
spectator sport. Driving games offer very little in variety or competitive nature, the
lack of a natural viewpoint makes first person shooters difficult to follow and if
you're watching a sports game, why not watch a real sport? Fighting games boil down
to man against man, it's simple, easy to follow and there's always a winner.
The video gaming moment I will be looking at this week is "Perfect".
Medium punch, strong low kick, uppercut, down, forward, down-forward and punch.
You know what I'm talking about.
Back, forward and punch.
It's something so elemental and raw, so simple and yet so complicated, easy to pick
up, hard to put down and impossible to master.
Full circle and punch.
Street Fighter II. A game which needs little introduction, when I was growing up I
remember it being released on the Mega Drive and I was getting it for Christmas.
Even before the release of the game I had poured over the character guide and knew
all the moves inside out. If you weren't around at the time, it's impossible to tell you
just how big a deal Street Fighter II was. Then one night I was on my way back from
school, it was the second of December and I bumped into my best friend's dad.
"Have you seen Neil?" he asked.
"Not this weekend" I replied.
"I thought I hadn't seen you round, he's got that Street Fighter game thing" he said.
I needed no further prompting, within minutes I was breathless at his door. Rather
sneakily Neil had been given the game for his Birthday and had played it non stop for
all weekend. He invited me in and I picked up the pad.
Roughly twenty seconds later, the words "Perfect" echoed from the TV. Neil had
kicked my ass, badly. I licked my wounds and prepared for round two. He beat me
and also achieved another "Perfect".
A "Perfect" in Street Fighter means that you went an entire round without taking a
single hit. It's embarrassing and very demoralising. As I mentioned above, fighting
games are intensely competitive and a simple judge of who is the better man on a
given game. If you lose, you simply got your ass kicked. Simple as that.
So my loss to Neil was a big blow, being both friend and rivals I couldn't take the
agony of defeat. We played all night, I got better, but never beat him. When I returned
home I begged for my Christmas Present early, my parents just shook their heads. I
was having severe Street Fighter withdrawal symptoms, I sat and practised on my pad,
memorising the combos and special moves, even though I didn't have the game. Only
to return to Neil's house and to be thrashed every night. I spent Christmas that year at
my grandmother's in London. I remember coming down that morning and frantically
looking around for anything shaped like a Mega Drive box. I grabbed one and tore
away the wrapping…
…Streets of Rage 2!?
Was this a bloody joke? I smiled, thanked my parents and continued opening presents
at pace. Finally when I tore away the wrapping and saw M Bison and Ryu glaring
back at me, I was happy.
An entire week of practising and I went home, Neil came round with his games and I
smiled and insisted that there was only one I wanted to play. I selected Ryu, he choose
Chun Li. With deft precision and almost orgasmic joy I proceeded to kick Neil's ass,
blocking his spinning bird kick and hitting him with the Dragon Punch. I beat him so
bad the ground moved. Then, in a moment I'll never forget, I leapt over his kick and
swept his legs away.
"Perfect".
And there it is, a great video game moment. Beating any one at a fighting game
without taking a single hit of damage shows not only are you a better gamer than them,
but also shows a level of dominance over your opponent.
I smiled and turned to him grinning. Feeling happier than I ever had done, at the time,
it was my greatest accomplishment in life. Neil smiled back and said "Let's play
Sensible Soccer now"…
He kicked my ass at that.
And that was the first edition of "Great Video Gaming Moments". Next week I'll be
taking a look at the Dam Level of Golden Eye on the N64.
If you have any comments about this article or suggestions about future articles, I've
love to hear from you.
