Saturday, October 26, 1991
Rikki Kiwashi, a young corporate worker in his twenties, had recently become obsessed with ZEPS. The moment he got his hands on the console, he was hooked. He played it every chance he got, and just last week, he had splurged on three new games. Yet, despite owning multiple titles he just play one of them, he found himself glued to one in particular—Final Fight. He had already beaten it several times, but the sheer thrill of the gameplay kept pulling him back.
Lately, he had even started mastering the game, refining his skills to the point where he could defeat the first three bosses without taking a single hit. But what intrigued him the most was a mysterious hint on the black-and-gray Z-card that came with the game. It read:
"Defeat the Kidnapper Cyborg without a scratch, and you will meet me."
Rikki grinned. "That must mean I need to beat Belger without taking damage… and something special will happen!" His heart pounded in anticipation.
Wasting no time, he powered on his ZEPS and booted up Final Fight. As usual, he chose Cody as his fighter. Cody was his go-to character—not too fast, not too slow, just the perfect balance. With a determined smirk, Rikki dove into the game, his fingers instinctively navigating the controls with precision.
He plowed through the levels, taking down each boss effortlessly. Thrasher, the wiry thug with glasses? Defeated. Katana, the relentless swordsman? Cut down once again. Abigail, the towering brute? No match for him. Finally, he reached the final stage, standing before the mechanical menace himself—Cyborg Belger.
"This is it," Rikki muttered, gripping his controller tightly. "I have to do this perfectly."
Belger launched his usual barrage of long-range attacks, but Rikki was already prepared. Instead of simply dodging, he countered every projectile by spamming Cody's attack, causing Belger's shots to deflect. Blow by blow, the battle intensified until, finally, Belger let out a mechanical screech and exploded into pieces.
"YES! I did it!" Rikki cheered, throwing his fists in the air. He had defeated Belger without taking damage! Rikki then thought 'i wonder if my prediction is true'
The usual victory screen did not appear. Instead, the stage remained dimly lit. Cody stood victorious, but something was different. A shadowy figure suddenly emerged from the darkness—a man clad in a black gi with a gray helmet. His visor gleamed menacingly as he tossed Guy and Haggar aside with ease.
"Your two friends are pathetic. Let's hope you're not as weak as they are," the mysterious warrior said in a deep, commanding voice.
Cody clenched his fists. "Who the hell are you?! What did you do to them? And—have you hurt Jessica?!"
The figure scoffed. "I have no interest in harming the girl. I'm here for one reason—to test your strength. They failed miserably. Now, it's your turn. If you lose, I'll kill the girl."
Cody roared in anger. "WAAAH!"
The battle began.
Rikki's eyes widened. "A hidden boss?! No way! Wait… is that the same guy from Excitebike?! The one who flips like Kamen Rider?!" Rikki only play 4 games so far Super Mario Bros, Excitebike, PunchOut and Final Fight, and so far he only encounter Zabo-man in Excitebike because Zabo-man not really hidden in there.
He barely had time to think before Zabo-Man lunged forward with a blindingly fast three-strike combo. Rikki tried to dodge, but Zabo-Man tracked Cody's movement perfectly, landing two devastating hits.
"Damn! That attack just shredded my health!" Rikki gasped.
Seeing an opening, he made Cody retaliate with a full combo, knocking Zabo-Man down and chipping away 1/10th of his health. But his greed got the better of him—he rushed in to continue attacking as Zabo-Man stood up. Big mistake.
Zabo-Man suddenly erupted in a golden energy burst, sending Cody flying backward and deleting another chunk of his health bar.
"What the hell?! That's broken!" Rikki groaned.
The battle raged on. Rikki learned to dodge the three-strike combo, patiently waiting for an opening. Then, out of nowhere, Zabo-Man charged his fist, and a glowing white circle appeared in his palm.
"What's he doing now?" Rikki wondered aloud.
Zabo-Man slammed his fist into the ground, causing the screen to shake violently.
"Wait—oh no, is this an AoE attack!?"
Two seconds later, the ground cracked, launching Cody into the air and instantly depleting his health bar.
"AGHHH! What was that?!" Rikki yelled in frustration. The words You Lose! flashed on the screen.
A prompt appeared:
Fight Again?
Rikki slammed the 'YES' button. "Alright, I get it now. I just need to time my jump."
With newfound determination, he challenged Zabo-Man again. He dodged the earthquake attack this time, and the battle continued. When Zabo-Man's health dropped below 30%, his visor turned golden, and a blue lightning aura radiated from his body.
"Not bad, not bad… but now, witness my true power!" Zabo-Man declared.
His speed doubled. His three-strike combo became a four-strike combo. He leaped to the edge of the screen, executing a backflip kick that sent a crescent-shaped lightning energy blade hurtling toward Cody. It connected, taking out 7/10ths of Cody's health.
"OH, COME ON!" Rikki shouted. "THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
Despite the overwhelming difficulty, he pressed on. Zabo-Man's health dwindled to a sliver—only 1/10th remained.
Zabo-man come to edge of the screen and Charge his fist and put his glowing fist forward!
"BEHOLD MY ULTIMATE MOVE! METEOR FIST!" Zabo-Man roared.
His fist pulsed with energy before unleashing a barrage of glowing projectiles across 70% of the arena. Rikki barely managed to avoid them, only to realize—
"WAIT, HE'S NOT DONE?!"
A second wave launched. This time, the safe zone was in the middle of the screen. Rikki panicked, missing his timing, and Cody was annihilated in an instant.
"AGHH! AGAIN?!"
Victory at Last
Rikki gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to let this go. He fought Zabo-Man over and over, dying repeatedly, but each time, he got a little better. He memorized every attack, every pattern. Finally, after multiple attempts, he won.
"YES! FINALLY!" Rikki shouted, tossing his controller onto the couch in pure relief.
On-screen, Zabo-Man nodded approvingly. "I knew you could do it. You're cool." With that, he vanished.
Cody and Haggar regained consciousness and rescued Jessica together. The END screen appeared.
Rikki leaned back, grinning. "That was insane… but man, what a cool hidden boss!"
With adrenaline still pumping, he decided to dive into another game. After all, it was still the weekend.
To be continued…
*PEGASUS Ryuseiken! , Power Stone! , now Zabo-man steal Saint Seiya iconic skills , what will happen to Seiya later lol, IDGAF*