LearnedLeague One-Day Special Recap: Fighting Games, by AndrewH
Will Harley come away with a Flawless Victory, or will they be unable to overcome Sheng Long?
Greetings, scrubs, noobs, and champs alike! This is Harley, better known to llamas as AndrewH, coming to you with an EVO-lutionary recap (OK I’ll keep the inside baseball jokes to a minimum here). I’ve been in LL since LL87 during the height of the pandemic and following a series of near misses was finally promoted to Highland Rundle C a few seasons ago, where I have been firmly in the middle of the pack.
When I saw there was and 1DS about fighting games coming up, I immediately knew I had to write the recap for it. While I’ve never been particularly great at them (I’m firmly in the “can beat my friends, but will get my butt kicked the second I try to go online” skill level), these games, from their absolutely buckwild lore to the intense skill and strategy it takes to play them at a professional level to the surprisingly wholesome and close-knit community that has sprung up around them, I’ve never regretted picking up a copy of the newest Netherrealm of Arcsystem button basher. Now let’s see how much of that passion actually translates to trivia!
1DS Recap
1. The seminal fighting game is generally considered to be Street Fighter 2, which created most of the genre's mechanics and introduced iconic characters like Ryu, Ken, and Chun-li. During its translation into English, several characters had to have their names swapped around due to a potential punch-out legal fight with what famous athlete?
Pre-answer thoughts: Oh nice! Starting up with a question straight up my alley. As one of the longest-running fighting game franchises (35 years this August!), SF, particularly the second one, has massive amounts of wild development stories, and I know most of them! Originally, three of the major villains of this entry were a criminal mastermind named Vega, a masked Spaniard called Balrog, and a particularly angry boxer named M. Bison. However, given the litigious nature of one Mr Mike Tyson, these were all rotated around, giving us the maniacally evil criminal mastermind M. Bison we all love to this day
Correct answer: Mike Tyson
% incorrect: 4
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. This feels like a pretty well known piece of trivia, plus the reference to punch-out should get this one decently scoring
Points earned: 15
Post-answer thoughts: Wow this one played way easier than I was expecting. In retrospect, the direct reference to punching and the fact the game was released in the 90s does quite limit who it could be.
2. Fighting game franchise Guilty Gear is known for its many references to rock and metal music. What iconic rock frontman is referenced in the name of and on the clothing of series protagonist Mr. Bulsara, AKA Sol Badguy? Picture description: Art of the head and shoulders of a brown haired man in a red high collared jacket and red metal headband. On the headband are two partially visible words, with only the letters CK and OU readable.
Pre-answer thoughts: And oof we go straight from an instaget to one I’m gonna have to guess. Guilty Gear is a franchise I’ve only gotten into recently (at least partially due to two characters coming out as various types of non-cisgender), and I’ve never been able to keep the various references straight. He looks a little like Axl Rose, but I’m pretty sure there is a character who was just called Axl. Hmm…I think Bulsara was Freddie Mercury’s real last name? And the appearance isn’t dissimilar? I think I remember him having some move called Killer Queen as well, so why not.
Correct answer: Freddie Mercury
% incorrect: 71
Was I correct? Yes!
Did I money? Yes. Given the amount of reaching I had to do for this one, and the fact Freddie Mercury’s original name of Farrokh Bulsara is not that well-known, I believe this one will play very hard and I need to take risks to get the championship
Points earned: 86
Post-answer thoughts: Looks like my moneying gamble paid off here! From skimming the Guilty Gear wiki, Sol’s real first name is Frederick, and the full inscription on his reads “Rock You”, rather than the more vulgar first impression that the image might give. Knowing those particular clues make the references much clearer. Also it turns out that Killer Queen is actually a character from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, not Guilty Gear. GG has some of the wildest characters in the fighting game business, including a man tied to a living bed called “bedman”.
3. SNK's flagship fighting game series is King of Fighters, known for its unique movement mechanics and 3-person fighting teams. Originally, this series was primarily a crossover series of their other previous fighting games - name either of the two fighting game series incorporated into the first King of Fighters.
Pre-answer thoughts: And we’re back to my comfort zone. As a Terry main in Smash Brothers, I would be remiss to not remember that KOF started off as a crossover between Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury. I’ll go with Fatal Fury for my main man Terry
Correct answer: Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury
% incorrect: 74
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? Yes. This is a fighting game fan’s fighting game. I doubt anyone who plays this casually will get it. But also this is just a hard set to money
Points earned: 89
Post-answer thoughts:
4. Mortal Kombat is (in)famous for its gory Fatality finishing moves, messily executing a defeated opponent. However, many of the Mortal Kombats have had alternate,special endings to a match. Name any one of the other finishers in -lity that have appeared since the series started in 1992.
Pre-answer thoughts: And the hits keep coming! MKX and MK11 both took over my life at various points of the last decade, so I instantly remember the other special endings were Brutality (a special death animation for finishing a match in a specific way), Animality (where the fighter turns into an animal and mauls there opponent), and my personal favorite and the one I’m going with, Babality (where you turn your opponent into a literal crying infant). Other games have also had Friendships (where you eschew combat and offer your foe a token of camaraderie) and Hara Kiri (where the loser offs themselves to deprive the victor of the honor), but those don’t fit the prompt.
Correct answer: ANIMALITY, BABALITY, BRUTALITY, QUITALITY
% incorrect: 31
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. If it was naming all four, that’d be another story, but I feel like Babalities are fairly infamous, and even if you had no idea, you could probably logic your way to Brutality
Points earned: 15
Post-answer thoughts: Ah I forgot about Quitalities! That’s when your opponent rage quits an online match and they just explode. Less interesting than most of the other -alities. For those with a strong stomach and a penchant for grindhouse, I’d recommend looking up just how creative they can get with ways of making a fictional person not be alive anymore
5. The world of 3D was a rough transition for most of the fighting game genre, and fighting games with 3D movement are effectively a separate sub-genre. While the most popular game series in this space is generally Tekken, the first 3D fighter was probably this Sega series (Spelling must be correct!)
Pre-answer thoughts: Now I’m not particularly much a fan of 3D fighters, but the reference to Sega as well as the insistence of correct spelling easily gets me to the answer being Virtua Fighter, a franchise I know very little about other than its infamously high skill ceiling. On to the next question!
Correct answer: Virtua Fighter
% incorrect:
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. Was flipping back and forth on whether to money this one or Fatal Fury or another one coming up later, but this one seemed mildly gettable if you’re familiar with the genre.
Points earned: 15
Post-answer thoughts: Not much else to say other than that in the Virtua Fighter spinoff Fighters Megamix, one of the unlockable characters was the car from Daytona USA. Really
.
6. Speaking of Tekken, the series has an iconic motion named after the bobbing movement of the characters, and shared with a much better known version from the Super Smash Bros. series, particularly Super Smash Bros Melee. Name that movement!
Pre-answer thoughts: I’ve never been a huge fan of Tekken either (I prefer my fighters 2D with anime spectacle rather than 3D and technical), but I AM a smash nerd, and from here can narrow it down to either wave-dashing or wobbling. Given the reference to it being MUCH better known in smash, I think wave-dashing will be the smart answer
Correct answer: Wavedash
% incorrect: 72
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? Yes. This is the only question asking about fighting game tech, and while it’s decently well-known tech, it’s still more obscure than more general knowledge questions about franchises
Points earned: 87
Post-answer thoughts: Good thing I didn’t go with my gut instinct of wobbling! The fact that that particular piece of tech is pretty well confined to just the Ice Climbers, and my mental image of Tekken characters making silly wavey dashes helped me get this one.
7. Sometimes things go a little different than you planned. The fighting game characters of 3D series Dead or Alive have wound up being more famous for their spinoff games playing what less painful (and less clothed) sport?
Pre-answer thoughts: Hoo boy. From its very inception, Dead or Alive had been accused of marketing based entirely off sex appeal, and that certainly didn’t go away when they released a Beach Volleyball spinoff. Not too much else to say here so I’m off to the next one
Correct answer: Beach Volleyball
% incorrect: 14
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. Given the notoriety of this particular game, plus the hint of it being a less clothed sport than the already not-particularly clothed sport of fighting made this question eminently gettable in my estimation.
Points earned: 15
Post-answer thoughts: There’s a reason Dead or Alive’s most prominent technical breakthrough was its soft body physics, and I will leave it at that. Ick.
8. Name the character this iconic (and memetic) theme is for, and make sure not to let your hair get messed up by the sonic boom.
Pre-answer thoughts: Didn’t even need to listen to the tune but hitting play did confirm that this in fact Guile’s theme, a tune which, if you believe memes, can go with just about anything. That is one tasty jam though, and the references to hair and sonic booms just confirms it
Correct answer: Guile
% incorrect:
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. Never bet against memes is my experience, plus referencing his signature move made this my bet for second highest get rate.
Points earned: 29
Post-answer thoughts: Looks like this played a little harder than I thought it would, but not too much. In retrospect it does require specific knowledge in a way that a few of the other questions did not. That said, anyone who has not seen some of the classic “Guile’s Theme goes with everything” videos that are out there, I’d recommend giving it a look. It really does just fit perfectly.
9. Fighting games often include guest stars in their casts. Soul Calibur 2's console releases, for example, included the pictured guest character, Necrid. Which popular comics artist spawned this monstrosity? Picture Description: A green-skinned, muscular humanoid man with a large orb with orange lightning in it taking up the center of his chest, wearing armored pants and shoes. He is raising one hand with large claws toward the camera
Pre-answer thoughts: Now I don’t know much about Soul Calibur (the lore there is way too intense for even me), but boy does that character design sensibility look familiar. The reference to comics and spawning reconfirms my suspicion that this man was created by the father of edgelords himself, Todd MacFarlane. 90s comics were a mistake.
Correct answer: Todd McFarlane
% incorrect: 50
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? Yes. This is the question that requires the most obscure and outside knowledge to answer, and even if people did make the connection from the word “spawn” to the comic of the same name, I don’t think most people outside the comics sphere would be able to remember good old edgy boy Todd as the creator.
Points earned: 65
Post-answer thoughts: Hey, at least it wasn’t Liefeld. I can only take so many pouches and belts.
10. Don't let this question break your combo. Mick Gordon is the acclaimed composer of the soundtracks for DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal. Before that, however, he composed tracks for the latest iteration of what fighting game franchise?
Pre-answer thoughts: Hmm, not a ton to go off here. The American name and reference to being before 2016 eliminates a lot right off the bat. Hmmm…breaking combos? Oh. This is Killer Instinct, origin of the infamous “C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!” yell. Plus, the most recent game came out around 2013, so the timeline matches up.
Correct answer: Killer Instinct
% incorrect: 69
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. That first clue about breaking combos is a dead giveaway if you can spot it and make the connection. If I, as someone with basically no KI knowledge can get it, it’ll probably play on the easier end
Points earned: 15
Post-answer thoughts: And there goes my perfect moneying. Perhaps I’d assumed that “C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER” was more well known. Or maybe the clue was more subtle than I thought. Or maybe people just don’t remember KI. Well, so much for my perfect score.
11. Project L is an in-development fighting game spinoff of what massively popular multiplayer online team game and multimedia franchise?
Pre-answer thoughts: Oh this is one I’m gonna have to puzzle out. The L here is definitely going to be important. Online Team game implies that it’s some sort of MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) or something along those lines. Hmm… didn’t League of Legends recently release a TV show? That would qualify it as multimedia. Plus the L and reference to being massively popular fits. I doubt I’m going to come up with a better answer, so I’ll just move on.
Correct answer: League of Legends
% incorrect: 43
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? Yes. This is the other one I was going back and forth on. I might live to regret this, but this does seem like it might play slightly harder.
Points earned: 43
Post-answer thoughts: And it turns out I was right to second guess myself! Though in a hilarious turn of events, the other question I was considering moneying instead of this one (the Virtua Fighter question) had the exact same get rate, so I’d be in the same spot no matter what I picked.
12. The "hyper fighter" fighting game subgenre is characterized by multi-character teams, flashy and intense action, and long, extremely damaging combos. The most prolific game series in this genre are a series of Vs. games started in 1996, pitting what company's characters against Capcom's original characters?
Pre-answer thoughts: Multi-character teams, flashy action, biiiig combos, vs Capcom? It’s Mahvel, baby! Let’s finish off this quiz with a Level 5 X-Factor and put down Marvel with confidence (ok fine, I got that all out of my system).
Correct answer: Marvel
% incorrect: 15
Was I correct? Yes
Did I money? No. This basically amounted to “Can you recall that the game Marvel vs. Capcom exists?” and given that Marvel is Marvel, I’m banking on a high get rate
Points earned: 15
Post-answer thoughts: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was the first console fighting game I ever owned! It’s also the reason I fell in love with Deadpool, MODOK, She-Hulk, and Rocket Raccoon years before their respective movies/TV shows came out.
Total Points: 490/526
Result in 1DS: 6/768 (99th percentile)
Overall thoughts: So close and yet! Well, either way I can’t complain. This was by far my best performance ever in a One-Day special, and I had a blast wracking the dragon-punch-inputting, “Get Over Here!” yelling, reversal-executing section of my brain for all the details. My compliments to the smiths, and if there’s ever another heavily video game focused One Day, you folks might just see me back here for another recap!