Hello, it's me.
I come to you today because I've realized out of every possible game mechanic out there, nothing beats a nice parry. When there's a flash of light, I hit the parry maneuver, and there's a satisfying clang it's the tingliest feeling. I live for it. The enemy gets staggered, I do a cool combo, and the dork-ass enemy tries to attack again. Nope, get parried. It's great.
So what are some good examples maybe I'm unfamiliar with? Games that I mean:
- Sekiro
- Metal Gear Rising
- Sifu
- Ninja Gaiden 4
- Granblue Fantasy Relink
I also have tried Ultrakill but it's just too overstimulating for my puny pea brain. It's a neat game though.
The first time I went to Japan I made it a mission to find a grimy arcade with 3rd strike in it. Eventually I did, a little place in Kawasaki that was very retro in its choice of games. I got seated and started popping in 100 yen coins, doing some warmup as Makoto (my main forever ). Whole room was full of yellowing cabinets, dim lights, cigarette smoke, it was the exact thing I was looking for. Then those magical words, "here comes a new challenger!"
Now if you're unfamiliar with arcades in Japan, you usually don't share a screen. Rather, your opponent sits at their own cabinet across from you. You don't see who you're playing against. So I was hyped. My opponent instantly chooses Ryu. So I think, ok, maybe this is just some casual player looking for a basic kinda match. I'm not that good at street fighter, so maybe this will be perfect for me!
I think I had over 10 matches with this person, who I can very confidently say was the most skilled Street Fighter player I've ever encountered. I got my ass beat. Perfect anti-air, techs out of every command grab, hadoukens to my face exactly after wakeup, and oh my god the parries. My opponent would do red parries against my EX and special moves, with consistency. Air parries even. I did manage to win a game or two, but never a full match. It was one of the simultaneously most fun and humbling experiences I've ever had.
So I get curious, right? I need to meet this person, or at least see who I'm up against. I didn't know what to expect. I get up and go to the vending machine, take a glance over, and there's my opponent. She was an exhausted looking middle aged office lady with half a cigarette, already queuing up a match with someone else. I chatted with her a bit in my broken Japanese, told her she's incredibly skilled. She gave me a simple oh, thanks.
If you're still out there, bored chainsmoking Japanese woman, you're a legend.
Hell yeah, that's kinda beautiful