Ryu Final, the real Street Fighter III and IV, part 2 - A 1UP classic from January 31, 2008

Good morning friends, there's not much news to report today. Some family issues that I will see about later in the day, plus lawn mowing of course. Things are holding steady but right now I have to get back to work, one of the projectors blew a bulb so that's going to cost somebody money. Let's get back to the second (and final) book of Ryu Final. WARNING: if you would rather wait for the translated issue next month then skip today and tomorrow's blog. I will be talking about everything that happens in great detail.

This comic begins with a rock pile and a stick. It is a grave marker. The red headband of Ryu is tied onto it.

This story does not begin with Ryu but the lessons learned are just as important as everything we saw in the first book. This is the story of Sagat, rather the lessons of Sagat. As the story starts we see Hugo's diesel truck parked outside of a temple in the heart of Thailand. Hugo is taking swings at Sagat. Although he towers over the mighty Thai, he is unable to land a solid hit on him. Sagat is motionless and allows Hugo to throw punches that don't seem to faze him. In a fit of anger Hugo lifts the stone head of a Buddha and throws it down on Sagat. It shatters into a million pieces and this gets a reaction. Sagat takes down the mighty giant with one kick. He then remembers his life of fighting.

We are taken back to a period in time when Sagat was at his most dangerous. He had survived the dragon punch from Ryu and was recovering in Thailand. Furious with himself he takes his aggression out in the jungle. Knocking down trees and trying to make his techniques stronger. Adon watches from a distance, ashamed that the tiny Ryu could have done this to his master. Although bandaged up Sagat has a would that will not heal. He doesn't stop long enough to think about the consequences of his actions until he accidentally knocks a tree down onto a child. He takes the child to a temple where the monks take him in and try to help. The monks warn Sagat of what he is becoming.

Although he survived a potentially fatal blow he survived. Whether is was his size, his determination or his will that kept him alive is unknown. What worries the monks is the scar has been left in the Shoryuken's wake. It is not the physical scar but the emotional one. They warn Sagat that revenge and hatred is what is fueling him now. That hatred is going to eat him up from the inside, that scar will never heal if Sagat remains possessed with a desire to kill. Sagat lived for a reason, there is tremendous potential for him but he seems to miss his purpose. It extends beyond the fight. The monks say that poachers are killing and trapping tiger nearby. Sagat should be defending his homeland. So he leaves the child behind and goes into the jungle.

We see poachers stalking a tiger who instead kills one of them. Before the tiger can pounce on the other Sagat kicks it in the head and scares it off. The poacher thanks Sagat profusely for which he rejects. Sagat has found a new target for his aggression. He begins slapping the poacher all over the jungle. As he does so the scar on his chest opens up and he starts bleeding. While Sagat pauses to clutch his chest the poacher grabs a young villager from a nearby tent. It is the child that Sagat accidentally hurt. The poacher holds him hostage. Sagat throws his hand in between the gun and the child. The poacher fires a round into his hand. Sagat grabs the poacher with his free hand and lifts him into the air. The poacher fires a few more rounds into the torso of Sagat.

Sagat can easily kill the poacher but he chooses not to. He had just cause and unlike Ryu, this person was a criminal willing to murder Sagat in cold blood. At that point Sagat has chosen his path, he will not let rage consume him, he will not use muay thai as a means to have his revenge. He will not stain the name of his beloved country. The bandages fall away from his chest as he holds the poacher aloft. The massive scar on his chest has stopped bleeding. Sagat has matured as much as Ryu in the universe. He has learned many lessons and he perseveres. He is proof that even a mortal wound can be overcome.

Ryu and Oro know where their path will lead. In Ryu's memory the reader is taken to the past again to witness an important moment in SF continuity. Nakahira shows us the fight between Gouken and Gouki in all its violent glory. Ryu and Ken are young, about the age they were in Zero if not a little younger. One day Gouki just begins shooting fireballs at his brother from high atop a ridge in the woods. Gouken senses these strikes and jumps out of the way. They begin battling all over the woods in a very cinematic fashion. They hurl special moves at each other but Gouken is eventually overtaken by his brother. He is beaten and killed when Gouki punches his hand through his chest. Gouki takes the string of giant beads from the body of his brother and places them around his own neck. Ken and Ryu call out for their master but it is no good. They can barely hold themselves back but they know neither of them is remotely a match for Gouki. He warns them and then walks off. The memory remains with Ryu for a long time and now is the time to do something about it.

It is now the present and Ryu returns to Thailand for a rematch. Ryu and Oro pass a couple of teens farming near the temple. The villagers that Sagat saved many years ago are growing up. Sagat waits for Ryu, the battle between the tiger and dragon has been a long time coming. Sagat is stronger than he's ever been, Ryu has been training harder than ever. Of all the rivalries in Street Fighter this is the oldest. Nakahira tells us what happened between them during the SF III continuity. This is important because the beef was not settled in canonical terms or in the videogame, Sagat was not in III. Both Ryu and Sagat prepare for the fight with Oro and the teens acting as spectators. There is a storm brewing but neither Sagat nor Ryu will let the rain stop them. They square off and begin fighting when the lightning strikes nearby.

The battle is over in a few hits.

Both strike each other quickly, over and over, but Sagat manages to land a devistating knee. He sends Ryu crashing through a sleeping Buddha statue. Oro was the only one that was able to perceive the blows and know when each struck the other. Ryu looks beaten but Sagat takes a knee and concedes defeat. Ryu does not understand. Both men were capable of taking the fight much further. Sagat has taken a knee because his old wound has reopened. He knows now that the path of the warrior is not validated if he must fight to the death. Ryu learns that every battle does not have to end with him crippling or knocking out his opponent. He must take the fight as far as it has to go and no further. Ryu must not becomes that which he despises. Ryu and Sagat come to an understanding after that. Ryu and Oro leave Thailand. Sagat bandaged up again, the teens holding an umbrella over his head and watching an old adversary walking away. This might very well be the last time Sagat is supposed to be seen in continuity, the end of an amazing chapter in the history of fighting games.

Ryu and Oro make it to Japan where they reunite with Ken and Sean. Ken and Ryu prepare to end another chapter in the series. They set fire to their masters temple. It is a majestic castle that has been in the background of every Street Fighter game. Sadly this is the last time we shall see it standing. Ryu and Ken square off to determine who must challenge Gouki as their dojo burns in the distance. Ryu connects with one well placed strike. Suddenly the temple explodes and collapses. Gouki descends on a pile of rubble. The two great warriors pause to study each other.

In a way it is funny that the path Ryu has wandered on for years takes him back home. Gouki finds irony in the little boy he saved has grown into a capable warrior. They both laugh a little. It is the only time you will ever see a smile on Gouki, it is slightly unnerving. Ryu tries to catch Gouki with a dragon punch. Gouki grabs Ryu's hand and crushes it.

The fight is brutal and although Ryu has grown and learned a lot in the past few years he is still no match for Gouki. Gouki beats Ryu and hits him with the legendary Shun Goku Satsu or Instant Hell Murder. The finishing strike is a punch through the chest, just like he gave his brother and master. To make sure that Ryu is done for he drops a fireball from the hand that went through him. This explains the flash of light that you see at the end of the videogame version. Ryu spits up blood in the face of Gouki. He is wiling to return the favor in kind and do something that his master was not willing to. Ryu places his palm on the side of Gouki and shoots a fireball right through him. Gouki pulls his arm out and both men stagger back.

Ryu is bleeding profusely and wonders how Gouki can remain standing. Gouki tears off his gi and we can see the gaping hole in his torso. Gouki is hollow inside, he has been completely consumed by the Dark Hadou. All that remains is a rage-filled shell of his former self. Ryu curses the monster for killing his master and killing himself.

They strike each other once more. Gouki connects first. As soon as Ryu hits the face of Gouki he becomes consumed by fire. Gouki turns away from Ryu and staggers into the flames of the burning temple. The demon is defeated but at the ultimate price. Ryu collapses and Ken runs to his side. He is unresponsive as Ken yells his name. Ryu is dying.

The epilogue. We see Alex sitting in an alley, distraught. Earlier that day he had a match with Ken at Madison Square Garden. Alex was a big up-and-coming fighter in the MMA circuit. In SF canon he even knocked out M. Bison in a MMA fight. He gives Ken a good battle in the final but is ultimately defeated. Alex is disappointed in himself, not for losing to Ken but because he realizes that he is still not strong enough to fight Gill, whom he really wishes to battle and avenge his family. Alex's adopted family finds him sulking in the alley and helps him. A few days later Alex seems to be doing better when he runs into Ken and his family. Ken advises that the only way to get better is to go around the world and learn from the best. Little Mel reaches out and gives Alex the red headband of Ryu, knowing that Alex respects the legendary fighter greatly. Ken and Alex part ways.

We see Alex months later in the hills of Japan. We assume that he has already done extensive traveling. Learning from Birdie, Zangief and Adon as per the canon. He stops at the ruins that was formerly the temple where Ken and Ryu trained. It is a sad scene now, nothing but rubble remains. There is a pile of rocks marking a grave and a post. Alex kneels and ties the red headband to it. He wishes that he could have learned from the best, to have sparred with Ryu once.

We see a silhouette appear on the horizon. We don't know if it's a memory or Alex's imagination. He turns around.

Ryu is standing there, smiling. His hair unkempt. A large circular scar on his chest.

THE END.

Now do you know why I am so critical of the Udon books? Why can they not write or draw anything as epic as Ryu Final? So what can we make from the end of this book? Well aside from the near-impossible surviving from a punch through the chest we can take many things for the future of the series in canonical and videogame terms. His surviving a death blow was foreshadowed by Sagat at the beginning of the book. Ryu returns not as a messiah but as a true martial artist. Ryu has learned to harness the power of a killing strike in his Fist of the Wind and seems to have finally completed his journey. From this point on he should hold a place of great importance in the universe, the transition from fighter to master. From this point on Ryu is no longer the intro into the world, or should not be. I am speaking in manga and videogame terms. From this point on Ryu should be something more... What should we expect if Capcom creates a true Street Fighter IV and not a II.5? 

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Ryu Final, the real Street Fighter III and IV - A 1UP classic from January 30, 2008

Welcome back friends. We're here to talk about Ryu Final, the last book Masahiko Nakahira created for Street Fighter. The book was set in the SF III continuity, to be precise it is set during 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. Nakahira never did a SF II book for Capcom, those were covered by Masaomi Kanzaki and Mami Itoh. So how does Nakahira's story go? How does it progress? If you read it once then go back through you'll notice that everything that went into this story was done so deliberately. Every character, location, fight and moral was done with forethought. Nakahira is a genius when it comes to plotting the events of his book. He doesn't just plot out a linear story but carefully intersects flashbacks which keeping you turning the pages. The weakest part of his story is better than anything I've seen with Udon. Overall it is perfect storytelling and great art combined. Let's touch on the events of the first collected book.

This comic begins with a rock pile and a stick. It is a grave marker, but for whom?

Ken and Ryu are much older, stronger and wiser than when we last saw them. They are possibly at the peak of their abilities. Ryu begins the tale, he is training in the shadow of his old dojo. He remembers the lessons learned from his master Gouken. Nakahira presents Ken and Ryu younger than they appeared in the Zero books, as young as they appear in some Udon flashbacks. The sage advice is not lost on Ryu as he remembers, in Jedi style, that he and Ken are part of the living, breathing world, not apart from it. It is up to Ken and Ryu to catch a falling leaf, the task sounds simple but has profound meanings. In almost all the Nakahira books you see a big oak tree and leaves come up time and again. The leaves and lessons of Gouken also return in the ending credits of SF III: 3rd Strike. The cycle of growth and change, the eternal strength with roots deepening as they grow. The hard training of Ryu and the trees that shake with his blows are inspired by actual accounts of Mas Oyama's tremendous power.

Ryu is fully confident in his abilities and decides it is time for him to return to the circuit and prove himself. His first stop is San Francisco where the understudy of Ken, Sean, taxis Ryu to a yacht. Young Mel, the son of Ken and Eliza is crying because he's afraid that Ryu is going to beat his father. After a few formalities the classic rivalry gets underway. The outcome isn't even close. Ryu is soundly beaten by Ken and can't even manage to get a hit in. Somehow his best friend and rival has surpassed him. Ken has worked harder than Ryu and has become a true martial artist. The reason is told in flashback.

Ken had challenged the man-god Gill and was beaten within an inch of his life. He came to the realization of his purpose as he was lying in a pool of his own blood. He could not allow this defeat to happen, he would never allow himself to be defeated in combat by anyone. His life was not forfeit as he remembered his wife and son. They were his foundation and Gill be damned for trying to sever those ties. The fight became a stepping stone for Ken. From that point on Ken realized he was not only fighting for himself, but for his family and with that conviction he would never fail them. With his remaining strength he leveled Gill with a dragon punch and did the same to Ryu. A clear-cut victory.

The scenes and plot with Gill were covered in the shortest span of time. Nakahira knew the important part of the story was not in trying to explain the plot of SF III but instead allowing the reader to discover how much the cast had grown. Ryu walked away from the encounter a little humbled but grateful. He knew now that he had room to grow. So he said farewell to his friends and set out again. While sleeping in a park he was awoken by Oro, who was trying to walk away with his duffel bag. Ryu tries to teach the old man a lesson but is instead beaten by the aged master. To make things fair Oro even puts one hand behind his back and still manages to beat up Ryu. FYI: remember that Capcom has been trying to use a one-armed boxer in their series because their template for SF II, the Master of the Flying Guillotine sparked the idea. Ryu becomes progressively angry with his aged opponent and finally decides he's had enough. Ryu tries to counter with a fireball but he is instead knocked silly when Oro unleashes a massive Yagyou Dama, or two handed fireball the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. It turns out that Oro was testing him. Hoping to find a student worthy to train. Ryu is the one and from then on he is under the hard tutelage of the 140-year-old master. He begins by making Ryu carry a massive boulder on his back with Oro riding atop.

At this point of the story Ryu has pretty much hit rock bottom. This is important because he must be rebuilt as a person and as a fighter. The battles he has had in the past, against opponents like Sagat and Vega should have made more of him. Instead he is still locked in the rigid system taught to him by his master and unwilling to progress. It is up to Oro to show Ryu his true potential or kill him in the process. Somewhere in Germany Ryu's first battle turns out to be against the giant Hugo. The battle is brutal on Ryu as Hugo dominates him for most of the match. Pounding him into the ground and throwing him like a ragdoll, Hugo is a force of nature against Ryu. Nakahira uses exaggerated perspective to make Hugo appear 20 feet tall rather than the 7'8" he is. This is in the same dramatic technique that Tetsuo Hara would do to make gigantic opponents for his Kenshiro to battle. After losing for most of the match Ryu is able to defeat Hugo with a well placed dragon punch to his stomach.

It is not easy for Ryu to win battles. Unlike the Udon books where fan-favorites can knock out opponents in one hit, nothing comes easy in the Nakahira books. This importance of this fight is to show him, and the reader, that there will always be bigger and stronger opponents waiting for the challenge. Ryu will always bring out the best in his opponents and he can't always out-muscle them. The moral of the Hugo battle is that strength is tempered by technique. Ryu continues his training with Oro from there, having earned the respect of Hugo and Poison. He travels south and eventually encounters Yun and Yang. The brothers are brash and inexperienced fighters. The determination of the young kung-fu masters is a parallel between Ryu and Ken's legacy. Even though Yun and Yang are beaten by Ryu they will not quit. Ryu is reminded of how stubborn he was in his youth as well. Yun and Yang establish the core of the Ryu story.

In flashback we see a young Ryu, much younger than he's ever been presented. His build is skinny, his hair unkempt, but he has a determination that impresses Gouken. He wants to prove that he is worthy to learn under the master so he says he will strike out to chase away a bear terrorizing the local villages. Gouken discovers his bloody duffel bag a few days later. Gouken fears that the bear has killed Ryu. This adventure, like much in the life of Ryu is inspired by the fictional retelling of the life of Mas Oyama, better known as the Karate Baka Ichidai anime. In particular the battle here is between Ryu and a dangerous bear, the same thing that happened to Yoshiji Soeno in the cartoon. We catch up to Ryu in the woods and see that a bear is indeed slashing at him ferociously.

The bear pounces on Ryu and is about to finish him when he is struck from behind. The force of the punch travels through the head of the bear and stops inches from the face of Ryu. It is a wild-haired Gouki that has saved Ryu and killed the bear. Gouken arrives to take Ryu away. Gouki cares not for man or beast, saving Ryu was an afterthought. It was that day where Ryu saw the face of evil. He saw that the techniques he wanted to learn was lethal in the wrong hands. These were techniques that could easily be used to kill if left unchecked. In present time Ryu thanks Yun and Yang for the fight and hopes to see them again someday. Like they Ryu has room to grow and many more battles to come.

The next battle Ryu faces is nowhere near as easy as the battle with Yun and Yang. Dudley the boxer, the undisputed heavyweight world champion, wishes to challenge Ryu. You would think that with Oro as his new master he would have become a better fighter by now. Dudley beats the tar out of Ryu and has a counter for every move. Ryu is simply not fast enough to catch the champ with his guard down. Even his dragon punch is caught and countered. Round 1 goes to Dudley but Ryu will not stay down.

This is the abstract part of the book, the weakest reason for a character to be introduced. Elena is brought in an aside and doesn't fight in any way. She is in Africa, a continent away from where Ryu is. Yet she, like every other fighter in the world is connected. It all goes back to the lessons that Gouken planted into the young Ken and Ryu. They are part of this living world, their roots have grown deep and they have more potential than they realize. It is up to them to wake up to that and release their true potential. With that Ryu comes to his senses and catches his second wind. The leaves in the mighty oak tree in the background shake. Ryu plants his feet and prepares a new fighting stance. Oro and Dudley are intrigued at this newfound intensity in Ryu.

Oro wonders how Ryu will face his opponent now. Dudley is the culmination of the boxing arts, possibly the oldest fighting arts in the world, dating back thousands of years. Boxing is a refined sport, called the sweetest science by practitioners. Embracing the culmination of the art Dudley represents a fighter in the purest sense of the word. He is taller than Ryu and has a longer reach than Ryu, there is no way he can get caught by Ryu's blows. A pure fighter cannot be defeated by traditional strategies and technique. Ryu has learned that he is not fast enough for a special move, he has also learned that he can't always out-muscle his opponents. In order to evolve he must be willing to change his strategy. He decides to use the force of a killing strike but use it in a new way. In one strike they go at each other with everything they have.

Dudley was aiming for the head of Ryu and failed to notice that Ryu's punch was headed for his hand. Ryu has learned to harness the power of a killing strike but not in the way that was used against Sagat. The force of the blow destroys Dudley's boxing glove and breaks the bones in his arm. The force of the blow also travels through Ryu's arm and tears part of his gi off. Ryu remained grounded and the remaining energy returned to the Earth. Dudley concedes defeat. Ryu has learned the fist of the wind, a technique unique to him. He is now ready for an even greater challenge.

End of book 1.

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Gouki in Street Fighter 6, the greatest fighting game villain has returned

Hello friends, I want to say thank you for visiting the blog, even though I am posting old 1UP blogs on Monday, and Wednesday, and trying to come up with new content on Fridays. I noticed in the past week I’ve gotten a significant bump in views following the release of the new Gouki / Akuma reveal trailer for Street Fighter 6, and more recently the first character voice trailers for the next Garou City of the Wolves. I put together a few words on what I picked up in the first trailer.

The first thing we saw was a variation of the cave stage, which had been used as the backdrop to Gouki since the days of Street Fighter Zero / Alpha almost 30 years ago. I have a feeling that the location presented in the trailer will be his actual stage in the game. Gouki has always lived as a hermit. Away from society, mediating, and training to turn his body, and mind into steel. There were a number of details in the trailer that meant a lot more to the Asian community rather than western audiences. We could tell that the stage was designed to be as intimidating as the character himself. It reminded me of the Garuda stage from Fighting EX Layer.

The other thing that stood out to me was that Gouki’s hair has finally gone from red to white. In the early leaked SF6 concept art he looked as intense as ever, but he still had red hair, with some white streaks which were a carry over from SFIII. The finalized version had all white hair, and even white fur on his costume. This was important for several reasons. First off it separated his appearance from that of any other game in the series. The other was that Capcom was willing to continue refining a design until the very last reveal. Remember all the details I pointed at from the original Lili concept art? A lot of that was changed by the time the game was released. Lili’s new look was both culturally sensitive, and culturally relevant. Gouki had several changes, more subtle than Lili’s, but also gave his appearance more of an impact.

When we first got a good look at Gouki in the SF6 trailer we could tell he was designed to inspire fear. He had always been an imposing villain, however in previous incarnations he was not frightening. In order to tell audiences that they should be afraid the team at Capcom made him much more visceral. His body was more shredded, with veins, and muscles rippling over an entirely new 3D model. From a storytelling perspective they did the reveal slowly. We saw his frame, his massive torso, his thick arms, and his club-like fists. He looked like a nightmare brought to life. When the studio revealed him for Street Fighter V they literally just gave us a trailer made up of cool moves. By telling us nothing about his library of attacks in the SF6 trailer it would give audiences a chance to discover how truly powerful he was in person.

The other thing that the updated look do was signal that his transition from beast-like human into a literal demon. I had talked about it multiple times in the past, but Gouki’s design was based on that of a lion. Going back to Street Fighter IV the studio has transitioned his look into two phases, he went from inspired by a lion, and Nio, to being based on an oni. The white hair, and leathery skin made him a plausible human-turned-demon. In fact the whole trailer was filled with design cues from ancient Japan.

The cave where Gouki is training has several oni statues in the background. These are sometimes confused with the nio, which were the guardians of the gates of the afterlife. Oni were some of the various types of demons the roamed the countryside in ancient Japanese traditions. They were often seen wielding a spiked club, a kanabo. There were a few short shots in the trailer that would be easy to miss if you didn’t know to look for them. When Gouki lets his rage flow though his fist we can actually see a glowing spirit envelop him.

It almost appears that he is wearing the frightful mask of the nio. We can see the large eyes, curved brow, and open grimace. The focus of his rage was actually a few quick flashbacks of Ryu. To long-time fans of the franchise it was the confirmation that he was obsessed with Ryu. The pupil of his former master, and his own brother was certainly under his skin. Gouki was boiling with a supernatural rage. Punching at immovable statues, honing his strike to razor sharp precision. When he went for a shoryuken we could see him enveloped with a red aura. For a fraction of a second we could see Ryu in a white light performing a similar dragon punch, but he looked serene by comparison. It was a yin / yang opposite approach to the powerful strike. Gouki had become the living oni, the living nio.

This was the thing that I loved the most about the best of the Street Fighter designs. They were archetypes, inspired by equal parts real heroes, and mythology. The studio was creating plausible fighters with historical context. Certainly demons didn’t actually roam the Japanese countryside centuries ago, but consider that perhaps there were wild men, hermits built like brick buildings back then as well. There were people that enjoyed lifting heavy stones in order to prove their physical superiority. Those that lived off the land, killed animals with their bare hands, and only rarely interacted with villagers. Then there was the case that these settlers were from China, bringing over Buddhism, as well as the martial arts traditions. These types of outcasts could easily have inspired the rumors that there were fearsome ogres that lived on the outskirts of towns. Or Gouki was genuinely possessed by powers from the spirit world. It was the type of mystical ability that ARIKA used when creating Street Fighter EX, Fighting Layer, and Fighting EX Layer.

The fighting game archetypes that Capcom had developed over the past 35 years were icons in the gaming world. The artists, and designers at other studios could also exploit these visual storytelling cues when coming up with their own roster. Of the three greatest fighting game boss designs in my book, with Gouki being first, I would argue that Silver was the third best. He worked as a fighting tournament villain because he used many of the same elements as Gouki, however he was western based. I had had discussed Silber previously on this blog. As a quick primer in case you weren’t even born in 1999 when Buriki One was released. The insanely strong German created his own fighting form, and traveled the world seeking out opponents. He would fight wild animals to prove his ability, and had been painted smashing the face of a polar bear in official SNK art. He was very much cut from the same cloth as Gouki.

The animal pelt Silber wore on his gi was not to be confused as the fur lined jacket of a mafioso like Mr. Big. By a similar token Gouki had evolved past his black gi. His appearance in Street Fighter 6 was more feral than ever before. Losing his humanity to the Dark Hadou, the evil force that propelled him forward. That drove him to kill his master, and his brother as well. By having him shirtless with white hair the studio had amalgamated the Oni design from Super Street Fighter IV with his more recent Lion Mane SFV look. I don’t think the company would ever bring back the Shin-Gouki, or Oni characters as essentially Gouki in SF6 was a blend of the alternates. I am certainly interested in how he will be used in the story. I’d like to know your take on the character. Tell me in the comments section please. Now I have to make time to talk about Garou: The City of the Wolves for a future blog. As always 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!

The greatest fighting game boss returns to Street Fighter 6, a look at Gouki

Gouki / Akuma is slated to return in Street Fighter 6. Of the countless fighting games that have come out over the past 40+ years there is one boss character that I consider the greatest of all time. I’m certain that many would agree that Gouki is the bar by which all fighting game bosses are measured. There have been many great boss characters throughout history. Revenge against Geese Howard drove the plot in the Fatal Fury series. Then there was the villainous Heihachi Mishima, and his attempts to kill his own son in the Tekken tournament. Plus Bilstein set the galaxy on fire in Star Gladiator, and his ghost came back to continue his path of destruction in Plasma Sword. Despite all those great titles Gouki was still head, and shoulders above the competition.

I’ve written a lot about the origins of this character, and his impact in the series. I considered Gouki the third most important character in the franchise. If you are new to the Street Fighter franchise Gouki is a master of Ansatsuken a fictional fighting art known as “Murder Fist.” He killed his brother Gouken, and their master Goutetsu to claim the title as the best in the world. Ken, and Ryu, the stars of the game, were trained by Gouken. So you can guess that his appearance helped motivate the lead characters. Gouki’s look was based on the mythological Nio, the guardians of heaven, and hell. Their statues can be seen at entrances to Buddhist temples. Not only that but he was created using the features of a lion. The flat nose, the sharp teeth, and red clay skin was all done to make him look like a supernatural being, while still being a plausible real person.

This animal look was expanded in Street Fighter V. The studio went ahead and grew out his hair, and gave him a beard in order to make it look like a full fledged lion’s mane. He was still wearing a rope belt, rather than a traditional black belt. His hands were wrapped in cord, rather than punching gloves. Plus he wore the beads of his master around his neck. Every design element placed on the character meant something, including the type of knot used on the belt. These were all very important details whether the audience knew it or not. For Street Fighter 6 the designers at Capcom decided to remove his top, and give him a cape of animal fur instead. I can almost imagine him training in the mountains of Japan, surviving in the harshest of conditions with this new getup. He looks less like a spiritual being, and more like a caveman now. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing. He is still has a physically imposing presence, and looks like he could break any returning character in half.

The latest version of Gouki looks amazing, but diffuses all of the design elements that made him iconic in the first place. If the newest version of Gouki were the one that first appeared in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, then I don’t think his impact would have been as big as it originally was. Gouki’s black gi was the opposite of Ryu’s white gi. His hair was red, and fiery. He wore a rope belt, and oversized prayer beads. This was a karate master that was as close to demon as we could get. Once the character was established the studio could adjust his appearance. Previously it was simple things, like streaks of white hair in Street Fighter III. Then it became a beard, and longer hair. Now it’s the mane, and streaks of white hair. I think by moving away from the karate uniform it breaks the best elements of his original design. Not to mention that the animal fur was almost the same shade as his skin. Thus muddying his primary colors. I’m not completely on board with the new design team at Capcom steering all the original World Warriors away from their original costume designs, and colors. Some appear better, like Zangief, Dhalsim, and Blanka. But changes to Ken, and Gouki seem to diffuse the impact that they used to have. That’s what I think anyhow, what are your thoughts on the newest look of Gouki? Do you care how the characters appear at all? Or are you more concerned with the game play? Let me know in the comments section please. 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!

The Tekken 7 reveal, superb fighting game storytelling...

The Tekken 7 trailer released last year was one of the greatest video game trailers of all time. It turned out to be only half of the story that was planned for the game. There were things spoken of in the original trailer that explained a lot about the main characters, Heihachi and his son Kazuya. It also introduced us to Kazumi, the mother of Kazuya. She narrated the trailer and we could see that was leaving a message to someone. Thanks to some well placed edits the audience assumed that the mysterious person in the background was Heihachi Mishima. When he opened the door to the dojo viewers assumed that this was the night that Heihachi had had killed his wife. It was great framing, we could sense the tension as if Kazumi were trapped in some sort of domestic hell.

Through every version of Tekken the audience knew that the father and son hated each other. Heihachi was afraid that his son would turn on him and take over the family business. Heihachi had done that to his own father after all. There was reason to be afraid of Kazuya but it was more than just a jealousy that caused this. Kazuya had a "Devil Gene" which allowed him to turn into a powerful monster. Audiences assumed that this was a gene that skipped a generation. It turned out however that Kazumi was the one that passed the "Devil Gene" down to Kazuya.

Kazumi had actually planned on killing the leader of the Mishima clan herself. However she also left some specific instructions, if she could not stop Heihachi then she was leaving the task to someone else. The trailer immediately cut to Kazuya and Heihachi staring at each other from within an erupting volcano. Audiences assumed that she was leaving instructions for Kazuya. They assumed that some day he would be strong enough to avenge her death.

Father versus son, a wife betrayed, a mother assassinated. This was something right out of a Shakespeare play! Even the setting featured in the trailer was important. The volcano was used again and again throughout the history of Tekken. Both Heihachi and Kazuya had taken turns trying to kill each other over the past 20 years by throwing each other into an active volcano. I had actually talked about the volcano and the origins of the characters on an earlier blog. If this were indeed the last battle then it had to be one for the history books!

The ending of the trailer, where Kazumi revealed that despite everything she loved Heihachi and he loved her was one of the most powerful moments of any game cinema. The team at Namco wanted to make sure that audiences were paying attention. All of the loose ends created in every sequel would be tied up and they even promised that this would be the end of the Mishima Saga. Kazuya would kill Heihachi or the other way around and the story would be concluded. Those that hadn't seen trailer could watch it below. 

 

It turned out that Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada had something even greater in mind for the game. The second half of the story arc was unveiled on the heels of the Capcom Cup and EVO fighting game tournaments. Tekken 7: Fated Retribution would be the name of the new expansion. The trailer for the game completely blew away everything that fans of the series thought they knew.

It began very similarly to the previous trailer and we could hear Kazumi leaving instructions. Except that this time it was obvious that she was telling someone they had to kill Heihachi, but Kazuya was only a child at this point. So she was talking to someone else.

The mysterious figure in the doorway spoke. It wasn't Heihachi as many gamers had assumed. Instead it was the person tasked to kill him. As soon as he spoke the long-time Street Fighter fans had a reason to freak out. The baddest character in all fighting game history had returned. This character was absent in all known footage of Street Fighter V. He was indebted to Kazumi, how would certainly have to be explained!

This martial arts assassin had killed his master and brother in canon. If Kazumi could not kill her husband then rest assured that the mysterious figure would. But this reveal was not enough for the producer of the series. At the end of the trailer Kazumi left a very specific instruction. After killing Heihachi he would be tasked with killing her son.

It now made sense that the Mishima Saga would really be concluded. An outside fighting game character universally recognized as powerful enough to actually be able to kill both Kazuya and Heihachi was brought in. It was possibly the only way that Tekken fans would have believed the outcome.



Katsuhiro Harada pretty much dropped the mic on the critics with this reveal. The new trailer was pretty much a knockout punch to everyone that wasn't already on board with the game. He hid in plain sight one of the greatest fighting game villains of all time and tied this character masterfully into the series. It was something that Street Fighter IV and V producer Yoshinori Ono seemed incapable of doing. It demonstrated a certain level of planning and design that required both patience and maturity. These were things that I cannot say Ono possessed. But don't take my word for it, watch the first and then second trailers and tell me what you think. Did the trailers for Street Fighter IV or V give you the same level of anticipation? Do you think that this approach is something that Capcom is lacking? Or will Street Fighter be fine without the heavy-handed drama? Let me know in the comments section. I’d like to hear about it on the comments section. As always 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!