Unsung Moments in Video Gaming!

[Ridureyu]

This is the thread for... well, really awesome video gaming moments that either are totally forgotten, or generally acknowledged but not *really* acknowledged for their coolness. Take as much or as little time as you want, although my entry here is going to be rather long:


Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Akuma's First Appearance

Akuma, or Gouki, if you're a Japanese purist who has an anyeurism whenever somebody says "M. Bison" or "Dragon Punch," is one of Capcom's favorite villains, enough to even get a playable appearance in X-Men: Children of the Atom. He has definitely suffered from overexposure (See X-Men) and other assorted low points, ranging from karate-chopping nuclear submarines to being turned into a cyborg to pulling a Darth Vader and being Ryu's father (but only in one of the movies, and it is apparently non-canon).


Really, who thought this was a good idea?

However, he has good points, and those things are why he ever became popular in the first place. His first appearance was in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the last Street Fighter II game before the series branched out into Alpha, III, and beating up The Incredible Hulk. Back in 1994, the concept of hidden characters in fighting games was not exactly new. Mortal Kombat had Reptile poking his head out of corners, flying in front of the moon, and announcing that if you earn enough points you can face him. The thing is, that's really not a secret, it's a puzzle to solve. You know he's there, you just need a way to face him. Akuma was different. As far as I can tell, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo did not advertise his existence at any point during the game. In fact, I don't remember hearing about him until long after the game was out in the arcades. Long, long after. With that in mind, how did you face him? To see Akuma, you had to make it up to M. Bison without losing a single round. Unfortunately, SFIIT had arguably the toughest AI of all of Street Fighter II's incarnations, making this an incredibly difficult feat. For some reason, the games that force you to go totally undefeated to see their final boss were usually the toughest around (see Art of Fighting II, in which every opponent was like a boss). If you did accompllish this, however, you got a rare treat for it. Your match with Bison would start normally, except that the music sounded different, and Bison's character portrait was blacked out. Before the match would start, Akuma dashes in, kills Bison, and challenges you. That's pretty old news, and you can read about it on Wikipedia. But what about it was cool?

Finding good youtube videos of this is fairly difficult, but a few do exist.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qdF58NP2B7U&feature=related
And the Japanese version, in which he actually speaks:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=o8Up9XAZmF4 (this video makes beating him look easy. It isn't, but people tend not to want to upload videos of themselves getting their tails kicked).

Complete, absolute surprise. Try to imagine yoruself as an arcade gamer back in 1994 who's good enough to breeze through the CPU challenges. Just how would you react to this surprise?


Everything looks normal here. Except for Bison's chin.


Most gamers would not notice the blackk-out portrait, or just think that it's a glitch. The new music, though, is noticeable.


Hey, who's that?


Not Shown: Butt-kicking


Aw, crap.


I mentioned earlier that this rendition of Street Fighter was tougher than the others. This is quite true, and it certainly holds up for Akuma. Despite how the video clip makes it look, he is incredibly difficult. Many of Akuma's moves have infinite priority, he is very fast, and the damage is atrocious. His fierce Dragon Punch, for example, has priority over anything, comes out with no warning, and does nearly 50% damage. Of special note, Akuma had no super meter, nor did he possess a super move. Before he fights you he kills Bison off-screen, leaving you to imagine how it happened, but that later became his famous "Raging Demon" attack. I kind of like its initial conception not as an attack, but just a random slaughter. It helps the "Oh, crap" part of the fight.


This is the result of one attack.

I have played games in which he did nothing but the quick, low Dragon Punches in a row, effectively rendering himself invincible. He was not just a head-swap of Ryu with sandals, as Akuma also had a few new moves, such as his now-infamous teleport, the ability to toss two fireballs in mid-air (were there any other aerial projectiles in that game?), and the fact that he just kind of wins by existing. Akuma was unfair and beat the stuffing out of you, but by then you felt you deserved it. Say goodbye, winning streak!


See how Bison has no health left? Keep in mind that this player hadn't lost a match before this fight.


Another point is the music. Akuma's theme has been remixed often, but nearly every new version of it emphasizes its "asian" sound (not that there really was one in SSF2T). The original, as low-tech as it is, contains a driving, dangerous "final battle" intensity that is completely missing from all of its remixes. And the less that is said about his theme music in Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, the better. Akuma's theme music in Super Street Fighter II Turbo enhanced the fight as a "final battle" incredibly well. It's surprisingly hard to find an MP3 of this theme when compared to other Street Fighter music.


Akuma's identity was kept a complete secret in-game. Notice that his name is not bemeath his health bar. They did something similar in the Game Over screen by blacking out his face and not giving him a win quote.


Don't worry, Bison. It's okay to cry.

I managed to find some acknowledgement of his existence in Bison's ending, although it goes by pretty fast if you're not paying attention.


No, actually you just fought him.


to be continued

[Ridureyu]

continuation


So essentially, in Akuma's first appearance his name was "The Ancient One." That's cool. He also made an appearance at the end of the credits.


Another gaming landmark: Akuma's first use of his Constipation Stance

You were left completely in the dark as to who this guy was. True, it wasn't long before Capcom revealed a long, winding backstory about how he was Ryu and Ken's master's brother, and was possessed by Dark Hadou or whatever, and went around killing people, and sunk a submarine, and keeps challenging Ryu, and stuff. Ignore all of what came after, and look at his first ever appearance. You did not know who this man was. You did not know where this man came from. All that mattered was what he was going to do to you, and that you were in the toughest fight of your life. Akuma was a nightmare, and the mystery behind him was a really good thing, especially when you consider how much he's been overused since. In his first appearance, however, Akuma was the epitome of cool.




Not one of Akuma's finest moments.


Also not one of Akuma's finest moments.


The less said about this, the better.


Akuma's finest moment

[Nathander]

I've got one. Heavy spoilers are on the way for a 14+ year old game, by the way. Just warning you.

Final Fantasy VI - Kefka Triumphant

In recent year, it has come to be that far too many people consider Final Fantasy VII to be the shining moment of the series, and thus, for Sephiroth to be the best of the main villains in that game. In my humble opinion, this is fairly flawed, especially if we're going to be talking about main villains. In that case, Kefka would be the superior one. Let's take a look at Sephiroth and Kefka for a moment, to make this case.

Round One - Mass Destruction Challenge:

Sephiroth - Burns a village, leaving two (technically three) survivors.



Kefka - Poisons the water supply of an ENTIRE KINGDOM, leaving only one survivor.



Winner - Kefka

Round Two - Important Kills:

Sephiroth - Kills the head of a company you were fighting anyway, the population of your hometown, a giant snake, a bunch of his own clones, and then Spoiler Below

Aeris/Aerith/one of the girls who found Cloud attractive for God knows what reason

.

Kefka - Indirectly, he kills the lost love of one of the main characters and the father figure of a main character. Alright, now that we've got the indirect out of the way, lets get to his direct kills:

-The entire kingdom of Doma, minus one
-An entire magical race
-General Leo, one of the few good men of the Empire Kefka "served"
-The Emperor he himself swore fealty too, who he kills by tricking the Emperor into the proximity where he can be attacked by three god-like beings that now respond to Kefka's command. After weakening him, Kefka then jumps on the Emperor's neck to break it and then kicks him off of the Floating Continent, which is several thousand miles in the sky.
- And the last kill that bears discussing will be talked more in Round Three.

Winner - Kefka

Round Three - Standing Up To Heroes:

Sephiroth - Manipulates the heroes fairly well for awhile, including tricking the main character into bringing him the item he needs to summon a world-destroyer. Unfortunately for him, as most stories go, the heroes eventually come back and defeat him before his plan can come to fruition.

Kefka - See, here's where things in Final Fantasy VI get interesting. Most of the time, the climax of the game is where the villain shows his whole "here's how I'll rule/destroy the world plan, mwahahahaha" schtick, and the heroes come and defeat him. Ultimately, while the villain looks like he might win, the heroes stop him.

That's not how it works in FF VI though. You see, Kefka DOES win.

He reaches what he needs in order to summon a catastrophe, but instead of the heroes stopping him, the simply delay him for a short while. While the heroes escape death, Kefka still successfully destroys the world and ascends to godhood over the World of Ruin he's created, where he simply starts picking off the survivors of humanity at his leisure. Now, while some other stories will let the villain have an upper hand like this, it'll only be for a short while. Kefka, however, manages to maintain his position of power for a year before the heroes can regroup and stop his second stage of plans, which is to simply level the planet as a form of memorial to the idea of nihilism. On top of this, Kefka even has a cult formed around him, who worship him both out of fear and respect, desire for power, and pleading not to be killed by him.

For how moody and (honestly, to a degree) melodramatic Final Fantasy VII was, Final Fantasy VI honestly overshadowed it in a sense of well-done bleakness. That, and the fact that the villain wins the first time you REALLY need to stop him, is a hard hitting sequence in video game history.

So, third round Winner - Kefka.

Oh, and Kefka also has an awesome theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmmZyTwVVqY

And, in my opinion, the final boss music for the fight with him in his four staged god form at the end of the game blows FF VII's "One-Winged Angel" out of the water:
Part One - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ios6zLDR8AI
Part Two - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MRGt_PvyT8
Black Mages' Cover Part One - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id6PMJx31Uc
Black Mages' Cover Part Two - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_k_hWln9Xk

Yeah, okay, I guess the moment I was talking about wasn't so much the fact that Kefka won, but just how awesome a villain Kefka himself was. Still, I felt it needed to be said, since it can't be said enough.



Shine on you crazy diamond.

P.S.: Don't think I was intentionally poo-pooing Sephiroth. While he was a great villain in his own right, and VII a great game, I just have a naturally preference for VI, even though VII was the first FF I ever played.

[some guy you dont know]

sonic the hedgehog- marble zone.

i personally think this level is very much ignored in comparision to others, like labrynth and green hill. its personally my favorite of the game, and i feel it gets left out alot.

i love the way its designed. and the music really adds to the feel. and, the caterkillers. those things are annoying, yet always fun to watch. the boss fight was easy, although it was only the second stage. not falling into the lava is hard sometimes, espicially during the boss battle. i could go on, but i feel that my point has been made.

[Mr_Bloo_Veins]

STREET FIGHTER EX Plus Alpha- CYCLOID-β's ending

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YQYaxpbrCuo&feature=related


Best CG ever, I don't care what anyone says.

[taranchula]

Originally Posted by Mr_Bloo_Veins

STREET FIGHTER EX Plus Alpha- CYCLOID-β's ending


Best CG ever, I don't care what anyone says.

Young man, the intro to Soul Edge/Blade (PSX) would like to have a word with you...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aqFjUfUcDs8&feature=related

This by the way is also my choice for today's unsung video game moment.

This intro video has never failed to get me pumped for a few rounds of thirty two bit weapons based brawling. Awesome music and high production values (for it's time) make this one intro movie I rarely ever skipped.

[Medikor]

Great work on Akuma, Ridureyu. I'm with you about him being a great character that has suffered from far too much exposure. It makes me glad that the new Street Fighter movie will be about Chun Li instead of Ryu and Ken.
And I agree with absolutely everything Nathander has said regarding Kefka. I find myself in that very same debate now and then and I couldn't have said it better myself!. Two thumbs way up, Bud!
I'll have to come back here so I can contribute my own unsung game moments because I can't think of any off the top of my head right now.

[Ridureyu]

SNK vs. Capcom Chaos: The following dialogue exchange:




Yes, that is the Metal Slug alien. This game isn't as good as most of SNK's other fighters, but it's delightfully insane.

[Medikor]

I think I'll have to say that one of the greatest unsung moments in gaming is F-Zero's Captain Falcon appearing as a playable character in the first Super Smash Brothers.
How the world survived before the introduction of the mighty FALCON PUNCH! and Falcon's depiction of pure manliness is nothing short of a miracle.
Here is a rare glimpse of the result of two FALCON PUNCH!es collide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5fVa...eature=related

[cartman414]

Amen to Kefka and Final Fantasy VI, Nathander. With FFIV DS not too far off, I so hope they get around to remaking VI.

One unsung moment, or rather, gaming series that comes to mind, at least outside of Japan, is Puyo Puyo/Pop, a puzzler franchise featuring a young sorceress named Arle and a motley crew of adversaries. The basic mechanics involve dropping sets of colored blobs called Puyos and matching them in sets of 4 or more, causing them to fall and possibly chain with other Puyos.

Puyo Puyo/Pop is often credited with starting the vs. puzzler subgenre, of which Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is the most well-known example. And it's easy to see how the phenomenon started here, as the fun really takes place in vs. mode, where two (or more in certain releases of the game) players try sending the other garbage by setting off combos of their own.

The first Puyo Puyo/Pop game saw release the US in the form of two separate localized forms: Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine for the Genesis/Mega Drive and Game Gear, and Kirby's Avalanche/Ghost Trap for the Super NES. Both console versions are available on the Virtual Console. Earlier this year, the Genesis/Mega Drive version of the sequel, Puyo Puyo Tsuu, was also added to the English regions of the Virtual Console.

To find out more about the Puyo series and the series of which it was an offshoot, Madou Monogatari, check out the Hardcore Gaming 101 pages (http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com).