The 9X Evo champion took it on the chin but like us, he’s still amazed when someone pulls the Daigo Parry off. “You ain’t Daigo” – Famous last words.
New Year, new you. Unless you’re Justin Wong, who has already been Daigo parried three times on stream just ten days into the year. The fighting game legend shared the trio of stream highlights on his Twitter over the past few days.
With Justin uploading the first highlight on Jan 4th, in under two weeks, three separate players have managed to pull off and replicate one of the most clutch and challenging manoeuvres in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: The Daigo Parry.
Three Contenders
The first clip is perhaps the most uncanny to the legendary Moment 37. With his opponent, capge, on a Shoto character, Ken, and with a slither of health, Justin calls out “You ain’t Daigo.” The Ken player proceeds to hit the perfect counter and win the round.
Five days later, and it happens again. This time it’s a bit different. Jwong’s and his opponent’s health are in great shape, and it’s a mirror matchup. The super from Jwong is a buffering mistake. This makes it look like he’s just throwing out the super for no reason, and after hitting the 14-point parry, his opponent Randomator, can jump over the last tick of the super with Chun-Li.
Then, just a day after that, the third one drops. This time it’s another Shoto, Sean, and both players are on a sliver of health. “Why am I so scared of that?” questions Justin, only to be given a reason. The Sean player hits the seven-point parry for the first half, then rolls through and executes a grab.
“That doesn’t count” Justin adds. And you could definitely argue that. Instead of hitting the full 15-hit parry, the Sean player took a safe play (and smart) play. Still, it’s three times in 10 days Jwong has been hit with a worrying case of deja-vu.
What is the Daigo Parry?
Justin Wong is one of the most famous and successful players in fighting game history. His iconic Chun-Li, his nine EVO titles, his domination of Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes—Jwong has plenty of memorable accolades. So it’s a shame that the thing most often connected to his legacy is EVO Moment 37 and the “Daigo Parry.”
For the uninitiated, Moment 37 is a highlight of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike semi-final from EVO 2004. With JWong and Daigo Umehara tied one round each, and Daigo down to a slither of a health, JWong’s attempts to hit Chun-Li’s super. What happens next is incredible. Daigo parries the first seven kicks with perfect rhythm. Then he parries the next seven. He jumps, and blocks the final kick of the Super’s combo, hits his own super and wins the match. It’s a piece of FGC mythology.
If you want to learn the Parry, you can in Training Mode
This incredible highlight became so ingrained in the game's culture that in later releases of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, there was a training mode that made you recreate Moment 37. But the unexpected side effect of this was that it created an army of anti-Jwongs who can execute the Daigo Parry against any unsuspecting Chun-Li players.
Jwong is Still the Best
If you think getting Daigo Parried a few times is enough to tilt Justin Wong, you’re wrong. Justin came back and won that match against Ken in the first clip. And in both other clips, it was only round one, with Justin having plenty of time to mount a comeback.
For every Daigo Parry that works out, there’s dozens more that fail miserably. If you’re not sold, hunt down a copy of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, and try that drill yourself. There are seven perfect parries, followed by another seven, and a jumping block. It's no joke, especially when you realize that parries require you to tap the direction and press buttons simultaneously.