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Street Fighter pro Justin Wong discusses the Daigo Parry, 37 Reloaded, and more

Ten years ago, the Daigo Parry happened. This past weekend, the fighting game community celebrated. Before that, Justin Wong spoke to our own Sam Leichtamer about Evo Moment 37, 37 Reloaded, and everything in-between.

Ozzie Mejia

November 25, 2014 12:15 PM

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Last weekend was a moment of celebration for fighting game players and fans of all stripes. It marked ten years since Evo Moment 37, better known to many as the "Daigo Parry." To celebrate, the folks at Super Arcade and Level|Up organized a special anniversary tournament that included an exhibition between the two players that helped make the moment happen: Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara.

For those unfamiliar with the unforgettable sequence, Wong and Umehara faced off in the latter stages of a Street Fighter III: Third Strike tournament (not in Grand Finals, as is a popular misconception), with Daigo down to a sliver of health. Justin went in for the kill with Chun-Li's 'Houyoku Sen' Super Art move, but Daigo parried every single one of the nine strikes, taking no damage and going on to win the match. It is a legendary moment and one that even non-fighting game fans have come to recognize and appreciate.

Prior to the long-awaited rematch, Justin Wong took a moment to talk to our own Sam Leichtamer. Among the topics discussed are the lead-up to 37 Reloaded, how Moment 37 changed fighting games, Justin's mindset at the moment of the Daigo Parry, how he continued on as a competitor, and how Twitch has changed competitive gaming.

For those curious as to how the rematch went down, visit the Super Arcade Twitch stream of the event. And indeed, just as Justin told Sam, he did set the stage for the Daigo Parry one more time.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?