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Personal triumph, the best kind. We’ve all got one haven’t we? The mate who is good at every game ever made. Mine is called James; we’ve known each other since forever, we’ve not always hung around with the same people but we’ve always been friends.We have a lot in common, similar tastes, a similar sense of humour and a love of video games. One thing separates us however, our skill levels. There was always a massive gulf between our playing abilities, yeah sure I could hand a lot of people their backsides in a lot of games but I couldn’t even come close to his level. During 6th form, a couple of times a week we’d nip off up to his house during free periods and play games.
We played games of all genres, fighting games, shooters, puzzlers, driving; any game you can think of, we played it and I got hammered pretty much every round. To many this would be a disheartening experience but not to me. This was a challenge, a gauntlet permanently thrown down, a golden fleece for the taking and I knew deep down that one day I would get that all important victory. Sure I’d beaten him the odd time at a couple of minor titles like Gundam Battle Assault and Super Monkey Ball but I’d never had a decisive victory where it mattered, our main event; 2D fighting games. No matter which game we played whether it be Capcom vs SNK, Street Fighter Alpha 3 or even Darkstalkers; He would win hands down each time. I made it my mission to beat him, I played day and night. I played so much that I developed a callus on my left thumb, I had to win. This was a clash of two great powers. This was like Rocky vs Drago, Char Aznable vs Amuro Ray and Mario vs Bowser all rolled into one.
Then one day I laid down a challenge; we were to face each other at Capcom vs SNK 2 using the same character, a decisive test of skill. I of course made sure I was playing on home turf and selected one of my characters; Haohmaru, for this mighty duel. So there it was; the stage was set, the two fighters squared off against one another hands gripping our pads as though they were weapons, an extension of ourselves, a link between the physical world and our electronic alter-egos….waiting for the bout to begin. I leapt forward with my usual opener... DAMN! Blocked!, jump out, block, hard punch, jump, crescent moon slash! DAMN! blocked again The fight continued with both fighters leaping around the stage attacking and counter attacking in a 2D dance of death. Hard punch! blocked!.hard punch, hard punch, hard punch! YES! Guard crash now to split him in two... SUPER COMBO, YES! Now he’s on the run! Both fighters gave as good as they got. Haohmaru’s powerful attacks knocking huge chunks out of each fighter’s energy with each blow exchanged
Finally after several rounds of evasion and counter attack we came to the final deciding round, the one round that would declare who was the master of Haohmaru’s counter-offensive fighting style; but of course that’s not all that was on the line. My very pride was at stake; I couldn’t let him beat me with one of my own characters… The final round was as brutal as those that preceded it, both warriors trading painful blows. This was more than a video game; it was a duel, a fight to the death. Only one fighter could emerge victorious, and indeed, one did. That’s it I’m so close, one more hard punch and he’s gone, damn! Missed!, just one more attack! block! jump! Attack!......YES! YES! YES! GOT HIM!... I’d won, I’d finally beat him. Come to think of it, it wasn’t the most decisive victory. Even though the battle was fought very much on my terms it came right down to the final round and frankly could have gone either way but that didn’t matter at the time; I’d finally got him. Since leaving school I’ve never really been able to capture that spirit again, I’ve never faced a more worthy foe. We’ve since fought against each other in real life on the fencing piste where we enjoy just as much competition as we used to in the digital battlefield; but for lack of a gaming rival I’ve never been able to recapture those gaming skills. Maybe one day I’ll find myself a new opponent or perhaps, just perhaps we’ll square off in front of the tv one more time. April 2006
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