Badawesome Moments in Gaming Part 1

Inspired by the late Nintendo Power's "That Was Awesome!" section, this new ongoing feature highlights some of my favorite moments in video games that aren't just awesome, but badawesome. There will of course be spoilers.

Link Stabs Ganondorf in the Face - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN, Wii U)

People get stabbed in video games, sure. But how man characters get stabbed in the face? And by a kid? Gannondorf has the honor of being one of the few Nintendo characters to have the final blow being delivered straight on his mug. The game's cel-shaded, child-like visuals only make this scene all the more jaw dropping. 

Cloud Unleashes the Omnislash on Sepiroth - Final Fantasy VII (PS, PC)

After defeating Safer Sepiroth, the man in black mentally drag's Cloud off for one-on-one match. The two stare each other down as the screen flashes back and forth to give you a look at each man's battle face, with Cloud having a serious mad on. If this is your first time making it here, you may be thinking what sort of spells to use, but you won't need them. All you'll need is Cloud's Omnislash, his strongest attack to send Sepiroth packing. Normally you'd have to take enough damage in battles for your Limit Break meter to fill but as here, it slowly builds up on it's own to where you can easily access it. After all the BS this dude put Cloud through, it was beyond satisfactory to just cut into Sepiroth with the attack power that rivals that of the Knights of the Round summon. 

Zero's Introduction - Mega Man X (SNES)

You remember the intro stage to Mega Man X? Sure, ya do. Everything is going swell until you run into a brick wall named Vile. No matter how many times you hit this guy, he just keeps coming. Eventually X get's downed and just when Vile is about to finish off Dr. Light's greatest creation, Vile gets an arm of his Ride Armor shot off and we quickly see the shooter. It's Zero! Suddenly Vile's bravado fades and he runs away like a scared little puppy. If there is ever a list of the greatest game introductions of all-time, this one deserves a high spot on the list.

Raiden Reborn - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)

Prior to meeting up with him again, Snake briefly converses with Raiden via codec and it's clear from his tone of voice that Raiden is not the same man we knew from Metal Gear Solid 2. Snake and company are about to get slaughtered by a Gekko unit when Raiden shows up. Decked out as a cyborg ninja, Raiden makes short work of the Gekko troops, looking like the biggest BAMF of all-time all the while he does business. Needless to say, the gaming community could no longer treat Raiden like a scrappy.