But God, can he piss you off so much when he doesn’t do what you want him to do.
And those corners…God, the corners…
Still, if anything is encouraging, it’s knowing that even some the top players of Vega like Jozhear and Zeus still get their asses handed to them not due to their own skill but because of simple, purposeful design flaws in the character on part of the developers because Vega’s just that badass. Those two players make playing Vega look like poetry and it’s a beautiful thing to watch, it really is.
Vega’s a highly technical character, I get that. Its why many players don’t go near him. That’s why its all the more satisfying to watch a Ryu, Akuma, Oni, Cammy, El Fuerte, Juni or Yun obliterated because you have to work that much harder to beat them if you’re playing an opponent who’s even half-decent. And I like Vega’s technical nature: it’s just that his actual moveset and counters and defenses are near zil when it comes to characters like the above. Lag (actual or suspicious), the controller not responding the way you want it to because of the design of Vega’s combinations for his moves and the fact that certain situations are near-impossible or ARE impossible to get out of like being floored or cornered by most characters all serve to most players off ever seriously playing the character.
And if you’re new like I am to SSFIVAE, it can be even more frustrating when some little shite uses a character like Dan, keeps going “oh gawd, oh gawd, you’ve got a high BP (like it matters…), let’s see how this works, yep he got me…” and then “Yes, I got you!”, beating you by spamming special moves or cheap combos when you’re in the “fighting by instinct” learning stage, it can be so godamm irritating when you should have floored the little shite. I know, I know, you gotta keep persevering and all that and that’s what I do – writing this after having just beat a B-rank Chun-Li and me being a C-rank Vega at the moment – but knowing that there is an actual ceiling for Vega against other characters that even the best of best will always hit at tournament-level just tells its nothing to do with skill but that it really is to do with the design of the character and their moveset.
By the way, that example of the little shite above? Yeah, that happened to me. Bad times.
I’m sure there’s something else I’m missing about Vega. I’m sure I’m making a lot of mistakes and I know I need to up my game and that I will be making poetry sooner than I think – I’ve already had a few moments (had a German player using El Fuerte saying “get the fuck back here – fuck you!” when I beat him by just dodging his cheap body slams and dashes – so satisfying to beat the fucker) . I’m also sure there’s only so much the character’s capable of against the rest. And all because Vega’s just too badass NOT to be deliberately weakened. I don’t blame Capcom: people like to play Ryu and Ken and your average player will not continue with Street Fighter if they can’t win with cheap hits and combos so its a good business decision long-term. It really does take that much more skill to play with Vega.
Vega. You gotta love 'im.
P.S. Any advice or tips on the character or just war stories with Vega you have to tell are very welcome.