G, or the evolution of power-hungry characters in fighting games

Another year, another EVO and another few character reveals for some popular fighting games. I’m going to talk a little bit about G, the new character unveiled for Street Fighter V. We’re going to talk about the design roots of the character. If you want the punchline here it is: G is the self proclaimed “President of the World.” His design is rooted in American Imperialism. It’s as simple and as complex as that. Think about it for a moment. The absurd stovepipe hat and filigreed coat and tails hasn’t been en vogue in more than 150 years. G is a juiced up Abraham Lincoln and demanding of more patriotism than Uncle Sam.

   

G’s motives may be noble but there is a dark undercurrent carrying his inclusion in the series. Any man that forces himself as a leader on the global stage is a narcissist, a despot or a tyrant. G has delusions of grandeur and sadly, the physical properties to make him appear superior to normal people. G is a reflection of several world leaders that we are dealing with right now, especially in the USA. I’ll get to this comparison in a bit. Did you notice that G is covered in golden marks? They look like golden tattoos. In the original design notes these golden patches were shaped after the continents. Without his jacket you would be able to see that each golden patch outlines the nations of the world. The cover his arms, torso and neck. Visually it is an interesting look. There is a lot of contrast with gold, especially over bare skin. Gold has actually been used in cosmetics going back thousands of years. Some makeup artists actually apply gold leaf to to the skin for aesthetic reasons. I don't know if these markings on G are makeup, tattoos or even a skin condition.

Before G was introduced there was a lot of speculation to his design. He has a very unique look, however it is not completely original. Above I mentioned that he already takes cues from Lincoln and Sam, but in the fighting game world there have been others like him. Steven Chavez posted a theory that Du Nguyen and Xavier had circulated on Twitter. Namely that G was actually Greg, a character from Bloody Roar, a game by Hudson Soft released in 1997. Bloody Roar was a unique fighting game. There were masters of various arts in it, this was nothing new to the genre, however these characters also had the ability to transform into animal-like avatars. Audiences have seen werewolves and even werebears in popular culture but Bloody Roar also gave us weretigers, wererabbits and even weregorillas. Plus this game was another title built on 3D technology. Hudson Soft was not know for their fighting game library but they proved that the shift in fighting games from 2D to 3D was more than a fad. The similarities between G and Greg were eerie. Top hat, bodybuilder physique, large beard were all spot on. Plus there was an ape teased in Ed's ending in Street Fighter V. It stood to reason why some in the fighting game community saw this as the alternate form of G.

 

I've said it before and I'll continue saying it. No character design exists in a vacuum. Influences from pop culture help color each design. It doesn't matter if you're an artist in Japan, the US or anywhere else in the world. Whether consciously or subconsciously the artists creating these new fighters are all putting in their own insight and tastes. This can sometimes include elements seen in other fighting games, action movies, comics or cartoons. Changes in music, movies and even politics helped shift the public perception of fighting game characters. In the earliest days of the genre fighting games featured martial artists. They were easy to create and were universally recognized as being fighters. As the genre took off so too did the types of characters that could be considered fighters. The industry tried different things out and audiences responded accordingly. Robots, aliens, dinosaurs, demons and superheroes were all used to replace the tried and true kung-fu archetypes. G is the latest version of a more contemporary design. His look is rooted in ultra wealthy and ultra powerful villains.

Fatal Fury (1991) introduced the world to Geese Howard, a martial arts master that was also a crime lord that ran the fictional South Town. He was a break in tradition from the boss characters that were simply martial artists. Geese could have been a bad guy in a modern action movie. One which featured drugs, cops and murder instead of fantasy swordplay. Howard wasn't the first villain in a fighting game to be the kingpin type. Belger, from Capcom's Final Fight in 1989 and Mr. X from Sega's Streets of Rage were also mobster-type villains. Geese was unique in that he was in a fighting game and a powerful opponent. SNK pushed the concept of powerful leader even further in Fatal Fury 2 (1992). Wolfgang Krauser von Stronheim, the half-brother of Geese Howard, was the new sponsor of the King of Fighters tournament. SNK wanted Krauser to have the look of a European aristocrat. He was wearing a cape and sporting golden armor in his character intro. He did not have the same moves or techniques of Howard but he was still a powerful opponent. It was not the first or last time the aristocratic design would be featured in their extended universe.

King Leo, the main villain in SNK's Savage Reign (1995), also sported royal colors and golden armor. With his ornate mask and elaborate headdress he pushed the idea of eccentric villain even further. A somewhat subdued doppleganger named King Lion also appeared in the same game. Within two years SNK had established that rich, powerful, and corrupt men were the new boss templates. Sagat from the original Street Fighter (1987) was still an icon but he represented the first generation of villain. Someone with a limited role outside of fighting. Vega / the Dictator from Street Fighter II (1991) would become more influential to the story and boss designs for the universe. Vega, like Geese Howard, was not a traditional martial artist. Because of that he could be placed in much more interesting locations and force the playable characters to appear out of their element.

 

Without a doubt the biggest shift in villain designs happened in 1994 with the introduction of Rugal Bernstein. The newest benefactor of the King of Fighter's tournament was a groundbreaking opponent. SNK learned from all the design notes that went into Geese and Wolfgang and created a hybrid of the two. He had the size and power of Krauser, with the balanced techniques of Howard. Plus he was a very sharp dressed man. He didn't wear armor or any other martial arts costume but instead wore black and red tailored suits. Nobody looked half as fresh as Rugal when he debuted. SNK wanted him to stand out and they succeeded. Despite being a new to the universe audiences instantly gravitated towards his design. Nobody else in the genre looked or fought like him. His wide arcing kicks and powerful punches could take down the strongest opponents. SNK demonstrated in the game that Rugal could easily take on a team of three fighters, even if that group included Terry and Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi, the stars of the original Fatal Fury. To help frame how much influence this new boss had had the studio created one of the most memorable stages ever.

 

Rugal flew the best team in his tournament to his personal aircraft carrier, named the Black Noah. As a background detail this is important. An aircraft carrier of its size costs around $6 billion, when fully loaded with aircraft, supplies and a private soldiers that number rises to almost $30 billion. Now consider that we don't even see the extent of Rugal's personal wealth. We have no idea how big his private army is or what he actually controls. We do know that he has enough money and influence to buy a navy and even decorate the bridge with paintings, lavish rugs, a grand piano and keep a pet panther there. This level of opulence makes for fantastic storytelling. It helps frame Rugal's impact on the world. He is much more important to the SNK universe than just about any other villain. The King of Fighters '94 was a major milestone for the genre. It connected the timelines and characters from the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting series. Also it connected the characters from arcade gems Athena (1986), and Ikari Warriors (1986). Other fighting games would be influenced by the direction of these new fighting games and especially from the new villain archetype. The introduction of Heihachi Mishima in Tekken (1994), and Gill in Street Fighter III (1997) solidified the shift in this design. Karate fighters and kung-fu masters were no longer doing battle against other martial artists, they were now literally saving the world from tyrants.

 

Capcom was actually close to creating their own version of Rugal. An ultra powerful, aristocratic, multinational, authoritarian villain. They were not the only studio that was on the same path. Dream Factory (developers behind Tobal No. 1) also happened to be headed in the direction of a blonde-haired, red suit wearing villain. Whether coincidence, zeitgeist or something else entirely the Antonov made his debut as the "first champion" of King of Fighter's tournament. He appeared as a cigar chomping mogul in the King of Fighters XIV (2016). His design is nothing new. Years ago I mentioned that he was pretty much based on a comic book character called Asimov.

   

Antonov is a master of the Siberian Gold Fist. An almost unparalleled form of boxing. He is the most recent retelling of the power hungry despot but his roots are a bit on the nose in this current political climate. It is well known that Russia has been dealing with oligarchs for some time. A few very wealthy and very influential people are consolidating power, killing their political enemies, dissenters, members of the press, and destabilizing rival nations. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Antonov is the Putin of fighting games, any more than G is the Trump of villain designs. Both however are instead a reflection of the changing global perceptions. Antonov and G are examples of how power corrupts. A decade ago the world still saw the USA, specifically the US leadership favorably. An example of this in fighting games was with the character Andrew.

 

Andrew debuted in Samurai Shodown 6 (2005). The series by SNK was based around the time where firearms were changing the world. Guns were replacing swords, the era of the samurai was coming to an end and cowboys and indians ran the wild west. Andrew was a new American character, he was actually a young president that enjoyed fighting. His design was a mix of fantasy and aristocracy. The Japanese artists took tremendous liberties with his look. Soldiers in the early 19th century didn't look anything like this anime character. Had SNK done a little homework they would have realized that the continental army didn't have long red coats. Those were the colors of the British uniforms during the American Revolution. Blue however was already assigned to the other American character, the blonde ninja Galford. SNK went heavy with the pandering. The inclusion of the White House as a stage and an epic electric rock guitar version of the Star Spangled Banner-meets-Stars and Stripes Forever for his stage music were as gung-ho USA as you could possibly get. Despite being presented in a patriotic light there was something authoritarian about the character.

Andrew confessed to Galford in the story mode that he didn't fight for freedom as much as he fought for domination. He was trying to create a literal "New World Order" a sort of United Nations where unfortunately votes were not exactly equal. It would be Andrew that ultimately called the shots. This character was inspired in part by Andrew Jackson, soldier and seventh president of the USA. He stood up to a British officer as a young man and carried the scar from his fight. Plus he participated in many duels. As inspiring as this sounded he was also responsible for one of the worst atrocities of any administration on US soil. Jackson pushed for the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which lead to the forced relocation and murder of thousands of Native Americans. This became known as the Trail of Tears. A version of that was retold in Samurai Shodown 6 with Andrew conquering South America and making sure that Europe and Asia all followed his lead. The developers at SNK knew that the US could be as imperialistic as the British and made sure to push the character in that direction. It was a light jab that predated the design of characters like G.

As for the gold over skin. Maybe it's a jab by Capcom at a certain president spending too much time with spray tans. Or maybe it's just a way to show off the neat effects that the Unreal engine can pull off. Sort of like the glowing tattoos of Necalli. I don't think it really makes or breaks the character. The solid black costume is a bit boring, despite the filigree and cut of the jacket. His top hat is painfully absurd, but no more than a red-skinned Turk or green-skinned Brazilian beast man. So is G a good design or a bad one? Me, I don't care much for his look. I do expect to see more villains with this shade of political coloring in fighting games as well as in other genres. Politics have always been a part of the genre. Whether it was saving President Ronnie in Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja (Data East - 1988) or having Zangief dance with Mikhail Gorbachev at the end of Street Fighter II. The next generation will end up putting orange-skinned politicians in their stories. Mark my words. What do you think of this character? Does he work for you? Why or why not? If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #1

I'm proud to say that I was there for the first Street Fighter and was a fan of Capcom since 1984 with the debut of a shooter called 1942. It's hard to believe that I've been following Street Fighter for 30 years. I've met many great people thanks to the series. I made an awesome friend during many heated Street Fighter II battles at the local arcade. I even became the best man at his wedding. I know I'm not alone when it comes to Street Fighter building long-term friendships. I have always believed in the greatness of the fighting game community. Street Fighter is one of the reasons I've been writing online for more than a decade. It will always have a special place in my heart. I've loved the various Capcom fighting games since they debuted, Final Fight, Darkstalkers, Rival Schools, Saturday Night Slam Masters, Power Stone, and on and on. I've followed the developers and their careers once they left Capcom. The Street Fighter team assembled the roster of the greatest fighting game icons we'll ever know. When the majority of the team left Capcom they forever changed the genre. They went to other studios, notably SNK, and they created their own studios like DIMPS and ARIKA. These people built a library of characters, control systems, and game play elements still used to this day. They inspired an entirely new generation of programmers, writers, artists, animators and designers. Street Fighter literally changed the world. With all the praise I give them I know the studio can always do better.

For my final day of the Street Fighter celebration we're going to honor the one that got away. Or thinking more positively, the one that might still find his spot in the lineup. The game series has done a good job at representation. There have been fighters from every corner of the globe, male and female, of every skin color and age featured in the Street Fighter universe. Some were good guys, some were bad guys, and some were victims of circumstance. Many were fantastic but a few were not well done. To be honest every now and then Capcom fell flat on their face. It broke my heart to look at the concept art for Street Fighter IV and see a strong, young, black character in the final stages of design.This character was supposed to be an arch rival to Ken. Only we got Rufus, the joke character instead. The young black man, nicknamed King Cobra took all the elements that made Ken and Ryu unique and incorporated them into his design. He wouldn't have been the only new rival in the game. Juri took a lot of cues from Chun-Li and for some reason that worked with audiences. I have a feeling that King Cobra would have gotten the same amount of love from audiences. It hurts to look at this character this character and wonder what if?

In the planning stages of every Street Fighter not every design was a hit, some were ugly, boring, borderline racist or just horrible. Some of these characters made it into the series but many more were left out of the game. This wasn't exclusive to Capcom. Every lineup had their own growing pains. Many figures were left on the cutting room floor for a reason. At worst the designers were culturally insensitive, at best they were being lazy. Every now and then you could find discarded characters that hit all the right notes. If you saw them in the sketchbook you might wonder why they were left out the game. It's a sad realization that these fighters would most likely never appear in the series. You should always have hope. Street Fighter has made it to 30 years because the most passionate people at Capcom wouldn't let it die. It will continue growing and evolving as long as those energetic voices keep hope alive. Maybe one day we'll see King Cobra in the game. He could be the face that carries the series for another 30 years. You never really know. As always if you enjoyed this blog. Street Fighter is a series worth exploring and explaining. I hope you've revisited some memories during this lengthy series. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #2

Street Fighter has been one of the all-time great fighting game franchises. Part of the reason for its popularity had to do with the World Warriors featured in Street Fighter II. With a hundred or so characters being added into the Street Fighter universe over the past 30 years I would argue that Chun-Li is the most popular one (with Cammy being a close second). Chun-Li is an absolute icon, not only in the fighting game community but for the video game industry as a whole. She's a role-model to women and an inspiration to men. She's a complex character with a fantastic design. A brilliant fighter with a style all her own. She didn't start out perfect in the development stages of Street Fighter II. The planners wanted a kung-fu master in the game, as Lee and Gen had represented different Chinese schools previously. Also they didn't want the new character to be a guy. The first draft of Chun-Li, then called Zhi-Li was very traditional, almost to the point of being a cartoon stereotype. Chinese characters and Chinese-inspired costumes were somewhat popular in Japan in the mid '80s. Thanks in part to the series Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi and 3x3 Eyes by Kaoru Wada. Both of those runs debuted in 1987, the same year that the original Street Fighter was released.

It would take a few years for their influence to be felt at Capcom but once it was there the China Daughter would make her way into the Street Fighter universe. There was something missing with the original Chun-Li concept. She was a little too simple, a little too generic. The studio was playing it safe with the lineup. That was when designer Akira "Akiman" Yasuda decided to give her a radical makeover. She was turned from a prodigious girl into a grown woman. She became an undercover cop that had infiltrated the Street Fighter tournament. Her flowing costume was a disguise. She had wrestling boots on and heavy spiked bracelets to add some contrast to her blue silk uniform. She wore tights over her exposed thighs which allowed her to kick and remain modest at the same time. Akiman was a proponent of her legs being her main weapons. She was given the Hyakuretsukyaku aka Lightning Kick and the Kaitenteki Kakukyakushuu aka Spinning Bird Kick as her special attacks. Akiman would forever be known as the father of Chun-Li and the person that painted her best portraits.

Audiences fell in love with Chun-Li at first sight. She was young and energetic. Blindingly fast and able of doing things that none of the other World Warriors could. Despite being an adult she still had some hold overs to her youthful origin. She would jump and giggle with each victory. She would cry with every loss. Even her ending showed that she had a life outside of fighting, which was a stark difference to most of the male characters. After avenging the death of her father she celebrated her newfound independence and went out with her girlfriends. An alternate ending was added where instead of dating she went into police work. She set a standard that would be hard, if not impossible to beat. The best female designs in the Street Fighter universe have borrowed from Chun-Li. Cammy, Blare Dame, Pullum Purna and Juri all took cues from the first lady of Street Fighter. Whether it was costume elements, build or even back story, there was something that connected many of the designs together.

When the studio decided to create a younger version of Chun-Li for the Zero / Alpha series they changed her costume to be an homage to the jumpsuit that Bruce Lee wore in his final movie, the Game of Death. Her spiked bracelet became a weighted bracelet and her wrestling boots were turned into sneakers. It was a clever way of showing her in a more youthful light and celebrating the influences that Capcom designers used when creating the character. Chun-Li is without a doubt one of the biggest reasons why the Street Fighter series has made it to 30 and will keep on going. Do you have a favorite version of Chun-Li or game she appeared in? I'd like to read about it in the comments. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #3

For the 30th Anniversary of Street Fighter we've talked about Ryu, the hero of the series. We've  talked about Sagat, his great rival and the template for a memorable martial arts boss. We've even talked about Vega / The Dictator as a way of redefining what a final boss villain could be. With every fighting game that's ever been and that will ever be, there is one boss that is considered the gold standard. His name is Gouki. You might know him as Akuma. He represents the peak of the mountain, the ultimate fighter if ever one existed. Designed with a frightening appearance he has elements pulled from Asian mythology, including demons, the afterlife, and even lions. His origins are part of a larger narrative. He is the estranged brother of Gouken, the master of Ken and Ryu. He murdered his master and his brother in a fit of rage. He is as complex as he is intimidating. The best renditions of the character coming from the talented hand of Bengus, one of Capcom's best artists.

The origins of Gouki are obscure, owing more to an April Fool's prank rather than clever planning. The long defunct EGM magazine invented a character named Sheng Long who was supposedly the master of Ken and Ryu. He could only be fought under certain conditions. Capcom decided that they should introduce a version of this mythical fighter in one of the final Street Fighter II upgrades for the arcade. His debut in Super Street Fighter II became the stuff of legend. He only showed up at the end of the game if certain conditions were met. He absolutely destroyed Vega before the match started. His moves were far more impressive than Ken or Ryu's. He could throw fireballs while leaping, he could even teleport across the screen. He showed that even the best Street Fighter bosses were far beneath him. His popularity really took off as he was formally added as a playable character in the Street Fighter Zero series. He had his own story and ending to help explain his purpose in the universe. Gouki wasn't the main boss for every character in the Street Fighter universe and that made sense. He wanted to fight the best ever, and in particular see if his brother's students were any good. He was reclusive and you had to work hard to find him and even harder to beat him. He embodied every quality that made for a memorable final boss.

No studio was able to recreate what Capcom had stumbled into. After 30 years we have yet to see a boss character in the series that holds a candle to Gouki. Part of the reason why is because most developers, including the current Capcom stable, have a limited approach to their villain designs. They often create one-dimensional bosses, pure evil with amazing powers and no redeeming factors. Gouki was a murderer, that would never change, but he fought with his own code. He didn't kill everybody he ran into. He was obsessed with a worthy challenge. This was best explained in a drawing by Bengus. Gouki, selling fruit, probably by the side of the road. Earning some money to buy provisions and supplies. He could take whatever he wanted but he was no thief. He only became a monster when a fight was at stake. Gouki looked supernatural, he looked demonic but the thing that made him better than every boss character was his humanity. Gouki could have been a real person with a killer's instinct and that is truly frightening. It may be 30 years before Capcom ever creates a villain as memorable. What do you think about this character? Please let me know in the comments section. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #4

It's been 30 years of Street Fighter and nobody is talking about Gen. We have to give this grandmaster of kung-fu the attention he deserves. Gen is one of the original opponents in the series, the best fighter in China. He has popped up just a few more times since his debut. His return to the game, in Street Fighter Zero / Alpha 2 (1996), was easily his best appearance. Gen became the first character to offer players two completely different fighting styles, that of the mantis or crane. Players could alternate in between rounds their style by holding down different buttons. This meant completely different move sets, super moves and strategies. Imagine how unpredictable this made him in tournaments. Gen was a call back to the classic fighting archetypes that inspired the original Street Fighter line up. Remember how Dhalsim (#30 on my list) was based on the Yoga Master in the Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)? Gen is a nod to the various white-haired masters from martial arts cinema, including Executioners from Shaolin (1977), Born Invincible (1978), Abbot of Shaolin (1979), and Fist of the White Lotus (1980). The ancient kung-fu techniques had been featured in cinema but rarely used in actual games until Gen. 

The legend of the white haired master went back to the earliest days of the martial arts in China. Gen was derived from a number of movie heroes and villains but even those characters were inspired by historical figures. The most likely root was Bak Mei, one of the founders of the Shaolin school. He was allegedly a survivor of the Shaolin massacre during the Qing Dynasty. He was one of the Five Elders, the survivors of an assassination attempt against the monks. They eventually rebuilt the school and preserved the early martial arts. This group also began developing new schools of fighting based on predatory animals like tigers and eagles. Gen was derived from those classic heroes. He had superhuman strength and speed despite his age and made us believe that these fabled masters might still be hiding in China. He represented the last living member of an ancient lineage. Hiding in plain site, wandering in the back alleys of the oldest corners of Shanghai. Where a centuries-old market had been paved over by a modern, indifferent world. Only a few clues remained of what was once there. A few crumbling signs, posters and ads, left to fall in disrepair in the shadows like the rest of ancient China.

Gen was symbolic of the mythical martial artists. He was just like the characters written about in wuxia, or classic hero stories. These were the ones that inspired revolutions. The handful of masters that led poor people to victory over corrupt regimes using only their fighting skills. These larger-than-life characters killed tigers with their bare hands, could run over rivers and along treetops. The people that were romanticized in stage plays and films. The kung-fu characters inspired people all around the world. Especially the developers working at Capcom in the '80s. His abilities were fantastic but sadly they were out of place. Gen was the last of his kind. A holdover from the 19th century, a person that had a connection to the original masters. His time was rapidly running out and he wanted to be killed in a fight and not by the ravages of age and disease. His legacy did carry through thanks to some talented students he trained. There may never be another character as important to the history of Street Fighter as Gen. For that we salute you on this anniversary and hope that your legacy will live on.v> If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!