The Street Fighter 6 pre-order trailer, a look at Marisa, the modern gladiator

One of the things that I despised in SFIV, and SFV were over-the-top characters, moves, and animations. They often broke the fourth wall, and turned the fighting game into a series of sight gags. The way that Abel would spin opponents over his head with ease was one example. But also the way Rufus would bounce, or F.A.N.G. would flap his arms, and fly all over the stage. These silly animations took me out of the game. In the previous blog I mentioned that Marisa was a second take on one of the cringiest characters in the franchise. I honestly believe that she was a way to make up for Hakan, the Turkish oil wrestler. Let’s examine the roots of both characters.

Yağlı güreş is an actual form of wrestling from Turkey. It’s among one of the oldest forms of wrestling in the world, and certainly deserves some respect. In Street Fighter IV any appreciation of the art was thrown out the door. Making a joke character out of Hakan was more than likely a call from Producer Yoshinori Ono. His sense of humor colored both SFIV, and SFV. I think it was unnecessary what the studio did with Hakan. If you have a moment I want you to review the idiotic special moves given to the character. Hakan would slather himself in oil, and slide across the screen. He would squeeze opponents until they slipped out of his arms, or roll with them on the ground with the frenetic energy of a Beyblade. Remember the amount of detail that I mentioned went into the judo moves of Manon in the previous blog? Well, none of that went into the moves of Hakan. Instead we have a beet-red character with a strange haircut that continuously breaks the fourth wall with his attacks. I believe that the SF6 team wanted to show more respect to the Mediterranean this time around. While at the same time revisiting many of the same elements that worked for Hakan.

The obvious connection between the two is the area of the world that they inhabit. Turkey, Greece, and Italy share a long history in the grappling arts, we are talking about thousands of years of cross-pollination with the wrestling arts of the East, and West. Their respective cultures helped plant the seeds of modern wrestling, boxing, and even MMA. From a storytelling perspective their body types have to show what type of fighter they are. Both Hakan, and Marisa are very muscular. They do not wear boxing gloves, or boots. So we can tell they are likely very powerful grapplers, with some striking thrown into the mix. Both also have odd hair styles, which are reminiscent of ancient warrior helmets. They also each share a golden lion motif in their design. There is a lion in the decorations of Marisa’s stage, as an actual lion parades in the background while wearing a golden mask. Hakan wore a gold lion on his belt, and his brand of oil featured a lion as well. The ways that each character was presented demonstrated the new direction that the franchise was taking.

Everything related to SF6 shown so far was a love-letter to the series, and the genre as a whole. The developers were not trying to make gag characters, or special attacks this time around. They respected the martial arts that they were trying to capture. At no point were any of the SF6 cast revealed to be joke characters, with silly styles. Yes they could be carefree like Dee Jay, energetic like Kimberly, or flamboyant like Juri, but they were all serious about their craft. Audiences can tell by looking at Marisa that she is heavy hitter. However she is also a multidimensional character whose background shapes her appearance. According to the official bio she is “An up-and-coming jewelry designer from Italy who claims ancestry to ancient Greek warriors. As a child, she was inspired by a vision of the Colosseum in its prime. Today, she seeks glory with a smile—and an eye for beauty.“

In my first take on the character I called Marisa a gladiator. All of the superficial elements placed on her told a story. The cut of her hair, the plates on her shorts, even the sword jewelry all spoke of Ancient Rome. Seeing her in action in the SF6 trailer shows that the team wanted to make her an awe-inspiring fighter. Several of her poses are taken right out of the history books. Her step over grab into a punch was immortalized in Greek statues that highlighted the roots of Greco-Roman wrestling. These were not the only things that we could make out in the pre-order trailer. Marisa is very tall, not as tall as Zangief, but still a titan in build. She’s actually shown picking up an adult African male lion in the footage. These lions weigh over 400 lbs. and are nowhere near as docile as a house cat.

The mythological figure Hercules, father of pankration the original form of MMA, was said to have wrestled the Nemean Lion, the Erymanthean Boar, and the Cretan Bull during his famous labors. These wild animals were bigger, more ferocious, and stronger than their regular counterparts. Marisa is a callback to the Greek hero, and moreover is making the lion motif part of her identity. It makes more sense in her context than as a mascot on a bottle of olive oil, wouldn’t you agree? In her stage we see other warriors, possibly actors, wearing costumes reminiscent of ancient soldiers. The blade logo featured on their shields, as well as the jewelry piece hanging around the neck of Marisa is reminiscent of the Lambda symbol found on some Spartan shields.

I think that part of the reason that the SF6 team went so deep in the creation, and details of Marisa was because of an earlier Capcom game. Shadow of Rome was a title from 2005, that believe it or not was produced by Yoshinori Ono. It centered around gladiatorial combat in the ancient Roman era. It was violent, barbaric, and played very much like a spin-off of Monster Hunter. Both of which I assume shared the same engine. The sights, and sounds of the old world were faithfully captured. The fashion, armor, weapons, and combat of the title were fairly accurate. There was a lot of creative license with many of the encounters, but as a whole it did a good job of turning the brutality of gladiator battles into a fun game. It was forgotten, partly because the original God of War did a better job at recreating the mythical era that same year.

Marisa is a very interesting character that seems to maintain the same level of care that the other new faces in SF6 have. She doesn’t seem to be a joke character, nor does she have any silly moves like Hakan. A bit of planning, and some respect for the subject matter is what it takes to make a good character design, into a great one. These are the things that I believe Mr. Ono was lacking in SFIV, and SFV. As of this moment I will probably main Zangief in the game, but as I did with Alex in Street Fighter III, I will be looking at Marisa to act as my secondary heavy hitter. What do you think of the character reveal? What do you think of the new characters revealed so far? Who are you eager to see, and what are you eager to try in the game? Let me know in the comments section please. 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!