Fatal Fury City of Wolves, a new game system, and new character revealed!

Not long ago SNK released several trailers with new information for Fatal Fury City of the Wolves. This was the successor to the arcade classic Garou Mark of the Wolves. This was a game that I talked about with every new tease. I thought it was funny that each time a game trailers came out from Capcom, or SNK that my blog would get a significant bump in views. Even though I hadn’t written anything new about Street Fighter 6, the King of Fighters, or any other of games from those studios I still managed to double, or triple my daily views whenever there was any footage released by the publishers. It was humbling more than anything thinking that people that did web searches got pointed to my blog because I had written about them on, and off for years.

I’m going to highlight the things I was able to pull out of the two most recent trailers, those being the REV system, and the voice reveal trailer. I had no idea what the REV system was about, but according to Game Informer: “The REV system serves as City of the Wolves' big new addition, giving players enhanced attacks to bolster their offense. REV Blows are powerful, near-unblockable supercharged attacks; REV Guard serves as an enhanced block; REV Arts are flashy cinematic combo attacks; and REV Accel is a speedy assault of sorts.”

It made sense that the Garou team would be looking for ways to innovate the game play in the sequel. The King of Fighters universe had the tradition of a second “Spirit” bar going back to the Art of Fighting from 1992. Remember that the characters, and game play mechanics of Fatal Fury, and the Art of Fighting were ideas that The Godfather of fighting games Takashi Nishiyama had planned at both Capcom as something that might work in the Street Fighter franchise. Every studio since had been exploring ways to change up the game. V-ISM, Alpha Counters, Rage meters, Revenge meters, Super attacks were all variations on the spirit bar. What made the SNK games different was that you could charge this meter manually, and even drain your opponent’s by taunting them. I had a feeling that the REV system was the logical evolution of that classic mechanic.

I don’t usually talk a lot about strategy, offense, defense, and attacks. There are plenty of people on YouTube that can talk about frames, counters, and strategy. I’ve always been more focused on the visuals of fighting games. The first thing that stood out to me were the stylized graphics featured in the voice actors trailer. I noticed that the characters had lines, almost crosshatches on their skin, and clothing when the camera zoomed in on them. It made them look like they were hand drawn. This level of detail was not lost on me. Having multiple fighting games developed on the Unreal engine made them all look the same. In order to stand out a lot of studios had to develop their own graphics engine. Even if they used Unreal it was still possible to make their characters stand out from their competition by modifying the light, models, and textures used on the characters. The games that used classic 2D sprite proportions, but created in a 3D model definitely stood out from the rest. This was the topic of GuiltyGearXrd's Art Style : The X Factor Between 2D and 3D, a GDC presentation from 2015.

I genuinely loved what I was seeing in the Fatal Fury City of Wolves trailer. The studio managed to recreate a lot of the same stylized figures that were featured more than 20 years ago in Garou, but now in 3D. The level of care that went into creating the visuals should not be understated. It took much more than lighting a 3D model. If you looked carefully the characters didn’t necessarily have realistic shadows. The darkest parts of the figures were designed to highlight muscles, folds in clothing, and even the lines of hair. On the edges there was just a hint of a contrasting light, that caused the edges to stand out from the background. This light source did not wash out the shadows that the art team wanted to preserve on the character models. This must have taken some clever programming to achieve.

The other thing I noticed in the trailer, aside from the amazing looking bright flashes of light, and color when performing special attacks, were actually the ways in which speed was conveyed. The models were blurred when attacking, this was an old trick that I remember seeing during the development of Street Fighter IV back in 2008. What was different however were how strong the blur effect was depending on the speed of the attacks. When a character ran they were blurred a little. The same thing when they were knocked back. However if they were performing a quick special attack the blur effect was even stronger. For the people that don’t understand the distinction between graphics, and aesthetics in fighting games I wrote a three part series earlier on the blog. Here are the links. The aesthetic versus graphics debate, part 1…, The aesthetic versus graphics debate, part 2…, The aesthetic versus graphics debate, part 3....

The character reveal trailer highlighted four returning faces; Terry Bogard, Rock Howard, Tizoc, and Hotaru Futaba. The new person in the lineup was named Preecha, and she appeared to be a Muay Thai specialist. SNK had a tradition of introducing girl characters out of left field in several of their fighting games. For example in the King of Fighters 2000 the studio featured Hinako Shijo. The diminutive girl with taped up fingers practiced sumo wrestling. She could manhandle the largest characters, and shove them with almost supernatural force. It certainly broke tradition, and made for an interesting shift in the way fighting game characters would be received. Before Hinako’s debut when most of us thought of sumo we could only imagine fat men like E. Honda from Street Fighter, Taka-Arashi from Virtua Fighter, Akatsuki-Maru from Buriki One, and Ganryu from Tekken. Hinako had actually followed tradition going back decades. Female judo, Muay Thai, and boxers had been featured in SNK titles as early as the ‘90s. Also there was also a trend of featuring girls that had a unique look, and form of fighting. I discussed this in the Odd Girl Out blog. These characters that broke tradition included Lucky Chloe, Emi, Area, and now Hinako.

SNK was again shaking up the traditional roles with a female Muay Thai practitioner. That form of fighting was brutal in its effectiveness. It was an ancient tradition that was honed in the battlefield. It was a perfect counter to karate in manga, and anime which was seen as a refined martial art. That was one of the reasons why Sagat had that style against Ryu. The most fearsome, and earliest fighting game bosses was a Muay Thai monster. He was the template that Fahkumram from Tekken 7 was cut from. Now we had a young lady that was capable of delivering traditional clinches, elbows, kicks, and knee strikes. If you were not familiar with the different forms of fighting I covered it previously on the blog as well. Here’s the link where I talked about the history of Muay Thai, and Tae-Kwon Do characters in fighting games. Preecha was not the first female to use that form, that would be Chompoo from Capoeira Fighter 3. But two distinct characters in the 45+ years of fighting games let you know how rare it was to assign traditional forms to girls.

SNK had a couple of star Muay Thai practitioners going back to the birth of the series. Joe Higashi, and Hwa Jai made their debut in the original Fatal Fury. Hwa was a villain in the first game, but would return more recently as a playable character in KOF XIII. Given that Joe was a friend of Terry, and Andy Bogard I would say it was possible that he was the teacher of Preecha. There were several reasons why thought this was the case. The first was the most obvious. In the sprite art for Garou Mark of the Wolves 2 from more than 20 years ago we could see Joe Higashi was in arm, and leg casts. Clearly he was not able to fight at that point, but he was accompanying a Muay Thai, possibly kickboxing girl. This was the template that would be revisited for Preecha.

The other thing about having a younger Muay Thai fighter in the game was due to tradition. Many of the characters in the Garou series were young masters of a particular form. They were essentially the new guard, picking up where the icons left off. Even in the sister KOF series Kyo Kusanagi had already surpassed his father Saisyu. Rock Howard was the son of series villain Geese Howard. Yet Rock was mentored by Terry. This meant that his fighting style was a mix of the two, and in time would probably eclipse both of their accomplishments in his battles. The game also featured Kim Dong-Hwan, and Kim Jae-Hoon, the sons of Tae-Kwon Do master Kim Kaphwan, Hokutomaru was a very young ninja master, and understudy of Andy Bogard, the younger brother of Terry. I wouldn’t be surprising to see Lilly Kane appear in the series, the compassionate little sister of the villainous Billy Kane.

Although Marco Rodriguez was an adult, he was still the heir apparent of Ryo Sakazaki, and the Kyokugen form of karate. Of the original three heroes of Fatal Fury only Joe was lacking representation in the Garou series. I think that was now resolved. The thing about each of the new characters was that they were still lacking the complete library of moves, strength, and stamina of their masters. In the voice trailer we saw that Preecha had a number of amazing moves. She had all of the fundamental Muay Thai strikes, and more important she was performing the moves correctly. There were no missteps, or sloppy attacks. What was noticeable was that she did not have the hurricane uppercut of Higashi, the one that caused a small whirlwind to fly across the stage. She did however have the punch portion worked out, just not the projectile.

Preecha was a popular name in Thailand, it meant “wise.” But how do you tell audiences that she was wise, or smart? We got a hint of that with her glasses, which were typically presented on smart characters in popular media. To highlight her youth we got an explosion of color. Each of her fingernails were alternating pastel colors. Then there were the colorful streaks in her hair, with sensible bangs to keep her hair off her face while fighting. Did you notice her arm bands? The traditional pra jiad arm bands were symbolic of the culture. Preecha had purple bands with orange, and sky colored links. Purple was the colors assigned to a lower-level fighter. The colors of the bands could be similar to the colors of belts in karate, or Tae-Kwon Do. In Muay Thai purple meant she was an intermediate fighter, the alternate colors were complimentary to her hair, and outfit. Traditional Muay Thai featured hands wrapped in knotted cord, which were much more damaging to opponents. We could see her hands were wrapped in cord as well, however these were actually gloves made of cord, so that she could put them on quickly. I think the most interesting detail in her outfit could easily be missed.

Preecha had taped ankles, however she also wore slouch socks, which was an integral part of kogal, or gyaru fashion. According to Wikipedia “Kogal refers to the members of the Gyaru subculture who are still in high school and who incorporate their school uniforms into their dress style. These high school girls are characterized by the typical bleached hair, make-up, shortened skirts, and wearing of loose socks.” Preecha doesn’t fit the role of fashionable teen, but she does represent the same youthful energy of other characters in Garou. This was the most important part of SNK character designs, when compared to the Street Fighter cast. I did a multi-part series breaking down the approach from the studio. The links are below.

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design... part 1 

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design... part 2 

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design... part 3 

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design... part 4 

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design... part 5 

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design... final part 

I’m eager to find out more about Preecha’s story, how she plays overall as I enjoyed playing as Joe in earlier entries. I’m eager to see who else is waiting in the wings of this highly anticipated sequel. Anyhow those were the things I was able to pull from the trailer. What things did you notice? Were there any character you were waiting to be revealed? Tell me about it 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!

Manon in Street Fighter 6, representing a style over 200 years in the making

Today we’re going to look at Manon (originally listed as Mimi in the leaked concept art), a new character in Street Fighter 6. She hasn’t been officially announced, like some of the other ones I have previewed so far. So everything I’m going to talk about it just to place her in context. I think that understanding the roots of a character, their design, and especially their fighting art can help you appreciate them a little bit more. Manon is a leggy female fighter, she seems to be kick based. I mentioned her briefly on my symmetry blog. I said she looked like a balance to Juri. She was a sort of “good” version of the evil striker. It’s her implied form of fighting that I think is long overdue for the series. Manon hails from France, and based on the cut of her uniform it is likely that she represents a form of kickboxing known as Savate.

Savate translates to “old shoe” in French. The style of fighting is a few centuries old, and was created by French sailors. I do not believe for one second that the sailors just happened to invent a new form of fighting on their own. Quite the contrary, I think they picked up a number of lessons from various older forms of combat. In my history of the martial arts I mentioned that Buddhism started in India, and moved east. The monks helped pollenate the fighting arts throughout Asia. What I never talked about in the blog was how the fighting arts did not solely pollenate in one direction. Grappling was the oldest of fighting arts, with striking arts evolving from them. The differences between Muay Thai, and Karate were very distinct. One form was considered older, more lethal, while the other was more scientific in approach. Those nuances were applied to characters like Sagat, and Ryu, and in the process made them icons. They represented a pure style of their respective art.

The thing about the fighting arts, and their practitioners, is that many fighters throughout history were not content studying one style alone. The best fought against, and learned from different schools. In the process becoming MMA practitioners a few centuries before the term mixed martial arts was coined. These fighters in turn created new schools of fighting. Perhaps they taught a form of karate that included the kicks of kung-fu, the punches of boxing, with the knee, and elbow strikes of Muay Thai. Perhaps they taught the grappling techniques of Mongolia, with the throws of judo, and the joint locks of ju-jitsu. Masters of the fighting arts went back, and forth between different provinces, as well as continents. They dissected different forms, and found what worked for their method. I have no doubt that Savate was born from French involvement in global trade.

The “Silk Road” made famous by Marco Polo was only the beginning of Europe’s fascination with the East. Seafaring nations including England, Portugal, Spain, and France looked to set up trading routes all throughout the Indian Ocean. France specifically had been trading in Asia since the early 1500’s. Like many of the other nations of Europe they too looked to expand their empire. France colonized parts of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and created French Indochina in 1887. I have no doubt that the French sailors that had been traveling through the ports of Thailand, Malaysia, and Burma were exposed first-hand to the ancient fighting arts of Muay Thai, as well as silat, and Muay Boran. Almost three hundred years of picking up techniques from port, to port, and refining them while on a ship helped make savate a distinct fighting style.

Savate is more akin to kickboxing than Muay Thai. The emphasis is on controlling distance, leaving space for kicks, and punches. In Muay Thai the fighters try to close the distance and kill an opponent with knees, and elbows. The uniform of the practitioners is also distinct. We picture a white gi, and black belt when we think of karate. We think of shorts, and corded wraps for Muay Thai boxers. In savate practitioners wear very light shoes, boxing gloves, and tights. I’m sure that the tights are part of the reason why it isn’t more popular with the men in the US. At the same time I’m surprised that Manon does not wear tight pants, shoes, or gloves. However part of what makes a Street Fighter design unique is that they only try to caricature the fighting art, not make it completely accurate. Manon’s uniform has about as much in common with Savate, as Juri’s does to Tae Kwon-Do. While you may not be aware of savate in US pop culture, its influence has been here for generations. The villain Georges Batroc the Leaper debuted in Marvel comics in 1966. This mercenary was played more recently in the Marvel films, and television shows by MMA legend Georges St-Pierre.

As far as video game adaptations there aren’t many notable savate heroes. Remy in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike was the first savate fighter in SF history. However most of his moves were poached on the techniques employed by Guile in SFII. Aside from that Ubisoft tried to represent the style in 2013. The Fighter Within debuted for Xbox One Kinect. The character Vincent “Vince” Taylor was a kickboxer, and savate practitioner. The Brit had a gentlemanly look about him. It helped capture the “proper” spirit of the French art. Sadly this game was a miserable experience. Character designs aside, there wasn’t a saving grace to it. The control, and game play left many wondering if Ubisoft just published a game that was still in beta. That’s why few people ever talk about it, or what the studio was going for. I am hoping that Manon sets a new standard. Already I love her design.

As I mentioned at the top of the blog she seems to be a balance to Juri. Like the other female stars her hair has a unique color, and shape. Her long legs, and exposed thighs were made for some fancy kicks. How those kicks will be different from Elena, Chun-Li, Cammy, and Juri remains to be seen. Either way the tireuse (female Savate practitioner) looks heroic. She wears the colors of her nation right on her costume. Look for the blue, white, and red dashes along her shorts. She also seems to be wearing a gold medal, with a ribbon also made in the national flag colors. A bit of trivia for you Savate was an exhibition event in the 1924 Olympics. I don’t think Manon is supposed to be 100-years-old. Instead Capcom is showing us that she’s the best in the sport, and a match for the World Warriors. I am eager to find out more about this character, and her special moves as the release date gets closer. What do you think of the character? Are you a fan of the striking arts? Is there a form of fighting you wish was in the series? I’d like to read your takes 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 #6

At one point in time, 30 years ago to be precise, the world's strongest fighter was named Sagat. That title didn't come with a trophy or a belt. It wasn't celebrated on television or reported in the newspapers. It was only by word of mouth that his reputation traveled. People around the globe eventually learned of the man. Those that knew their history, were familiar with underground fighting scene knew who the real world champ was. It was understood that the seven-footer was the most dangerous man on the planet. How long did he hold the reputation? Perhaps years, but more likely decades. He lost his left eye in a fight. He killed the man that took his eye in that fight. He was never the same after that, not physically and not mentally. One day a young kid from Japan beat Sagat in a fight. His reputation exploded. Sagat disappeared after his defeat. Some thought he died. He was actually recovering and training. He had become more dangerous than ever before when he returned. 

When it comes to fighting game design there may never be a better template to work from than Sagat. The bald, eyepatch-wearing giant was a master of Muay Thai. It was one of the longest-lived and certainly most lethal of the South Asian fighting arts still being practiced today. Fighters can not only punch and kick but can also grapple their opponents and use knee and elbow strikes. In some versions of the sport the punching gloves are replaced by braided cord which causes massive cuts to their opponents. Matches are often very violent and very bloody. It's actually amazing that Sagat didn't kill more men in the ring based on his style. From a design standpoint there was a problem with the character. Somebody so monstrous could only be used as the final boss one time. It was shocking to see someone that big and fast in the original game. It would have however been anticlimactic if he were the final boss two times in a row. The new final villain in the game, Vega / The Dicatator was so unique that he rewrote the book on final boss design. Sagat remained in the series as the eternal rival to Ryu. He returned in Street Fighter II as a sub-boss. He had changed considerably. He had a massive scar across his torso and a new move, the Tiger Punch that he created to destroy Ryu. 

By all accounts Sagat should have died after the events of the original Street Fighter. The Shoryuken or Dragon Punch that Ryu used against him was supposed to be a lethal strike. The punch was powerful enough to split boulders. It was a sacred technique known only to Ryu, Ken, and their seniors Gouken and Gouki. Sagat was almost cut in half but he survived and somehow became a more powerful in the process. It was a profound bit of storytelling and character evolution. Sagat was inspired by real world fighters and comic book characters, but somehow he rose above them to become his own legend. On the anniversary of Street Fighter I want to remind you all about the original champ. As always if you enjoyed this blog and 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 Days of Characters; #19

The greatest heroes in Street Fighter are only be as good as the villains allow them to be. If we're celebrating the most influential fighting game series of the past 30 years we have to celebrate the bad guys as well. Adon is a fantastic character and somebody that I just love to hate. In the story of Street Fighter Adon is a master of muay thai. He is the understudy of Sagat and possibly the best pure muay thai specialist in the universe. Adon has an arsenal of kicks, elbows and knee attacks known as the Jaguar strikes. His mentor Sagat named his most powerful moves after the tiger. When Ryu defeated Sagat to become the strongest fighter in the world it signaled to Adon that his time had come. The tiger had lost his teeth and the era of the jaguar was just beginning. 

Adon is lean and muscular. His moves are flashy and his personality absolutely shines in every animation. When he beats an opponent he drops to his knees in celebration of how awesome he is. Adon is a very arrogant character. He has a wide smile and a face that's just begging to be punched. I mean, just look at it! Of course just because he's arrogant doesn't mean he's not dangerous. Do not confuse Adon for a joke character like Dan Hibiki. Dan thinks he is a greater fighter than he actually is. This mentality usually means he gets beat up in the canon of the universe. Adon doesn't just boast about his ability in the game and various comics and manga, he backs it up with lethal precision. In all of Thailand he is second only to Sagat in the rankings. As far as muay thai and the Street Fighter universe is concerned he is the second most dangerous fighter in the world. Adon is way above any other muay thai fighter, or most fighters in general, he is at the elite level. His power and speed are so amazing that he can take on fighters two or three times bigger than he is.

Adon doesn't have the size or strength of his mentor but what he lacks in raw power he makes up for in precision. Adon is quick on his feet and can trade kicks faster than most people can punch. Also as the young master Adon has room to grow and become more dangerous with age and experience. The idea of the young surpassing the old has been an important part of the Street Fighter mythos. Adon reminds us of that lesson. He also serves to remind us that not every character in the universe is humble or good. Some people are happy causing pain and suffering to their opponents. Adon is this type of villain. In the next entry we will look at a character that actually played both sides of the fence. As always if you enjoyed this blog and 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!

Hiding the master in plain sight, the genius of SNK's character design...part 2

Fatal Fury introduced audiences to the SNK school of fighting game design. Audiences could now choose between traditional masters like Joe Higashi, street fighters like Terry Bogard, or a hybrid fighter like Andy Bogard. By contrast the Capcom school of design was rooted closer to featuring only martial arts archetypes. The fighters all wore costumes that looked classic, they each represented a certain school of fighting. Almost none of the characters in Street Fighter II wore street clothing, whereas many of those in Fatal Fury did. This boiled down to the people that were developing the games. Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto put literal street fighters in the original Street Fighter. People like Mike, Joe and Birdie fought in their everyday clothing. These things carried over into Fatal Fury’s cast. It was Yoshiki Okamoto, Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda that decided to focus on archetypes for Street Fighter II. SNK boss Eikichi Kawasaki wanted his fighting games to be the biggest and the best, his new title, developed by Mr. Matsumoto was the most ambitious.

 

Mr. Matsumoto wanted The Art of Fighting (AoF) to be more cinematic, to look and feel like an action movie. To be more visceral than any game before it. Like Street Smart and Fatal Fury there was a mix of the traditional martial arts master and the street fighter as playable characters. The fictional Kyokugenryu Karate style was placed on both Robert Garcia and Ryo Sakazaki. The two were evolved from the Ken and Ryu template respectively. This new game was really pushing the power of the Neo Geo console. It featured more color, more detail and sprites bigger than the competition’s. Not to mention that it had graphics that zoomed in and out of the action. These sprites could also reveal damage. Characters bruised and their clothing tore from round to round. There was even a slight RPG element as characters could grow and evolve thanks to the lessons learned in the bonus stages. The genius of this game came in the planning stages. If SNK wanted to dethrone Capcom as the best fighting game developer then they had to offer the best experience. Although Fatal Fury and the Art of Fighting looked and played differently they were part of the same shared universe. This meant that at some point there would be a crossover game featuring a massive library of established characters.

 

The entire cinematic feel of AoF was not lost on audiences. The figures in the game had more realistic proportions and looked less cartoonish than their rivals. It was much easier to get pulled into this world as bits and pieces of the story were revealed in between every stage. Yuri Sakazaki, the young sister of Ryo had been kidnapped. It was up to Ryo and Robert to find and save her. Every person that the duo faced had been hired or bribed by Mr. Big, a South Town mob boss. Each encounter brought them one step closer to the truth. At the end of the journey Ryo found out that the kidnapper was a martial arts master known as Mr. Karate. At the climax of the game Yuri stopped her brother from killing Mr. Karate. She cried out that man was their father. This was an exceptional plot twist and something that set up a sequel. It turned out that both Mr. Big and Mr. Karate answered to Geese Howard. Now that Yuri was safe there would be a reckoning between the Sakazaki family and Howard. Imagine how confident Geese must have been in his abilities by also starting a war with the Bogard brothers at around the same time. Story points aside the AoF game is one of the perfect examples of the SNK school of design. I’ll begin with one of the best masters hidden in plain sight.

 

A while back I talked about how the traditional Muay Thai master ended up in fighting games. I called Chompoo the first notable female Muay Thai master in a fighting game. This angered a lot of SNK fans because the character King predated her by more than 20 years. In context I was talking about actual Thai fighters that dressed in the traditional fighting uniforms. Chompoo had the shorts, taped up hands and feet and even headdress. I was not talking about characters that knew Thai boxing. With that said let’s actually look at the elements that went into making King and why she had a fantastic design. First off she wore a suit, close to that of a bartender in a high class restaurant. She had the familiar stance, hands up for striking and moving on the balls of her feet. If you had asked any other designer to create a female Muay Thai master you probably would have ended up with someone that looked more like the character by Saeed Jalabi. Saeed hit all of the traditional notes perfectly. The shorts, headdress and even wrapped cords of older, classical forms of the Thai boxing arts. Any audience member could look at the design and know instantly this was some sort of fighter. Even if the gamer was not familiar with the fighting arts they could still tell a few things about her. The athletic frame, toned muscles, wrapped hands and feet were meant for striking. This was not a ceremonial costume but one for competition.

 

By contrast look at the design that Toshiaki Mori came up with. The SNK designer would become one of the most influential artists of all time. Most people would recognize him by his pen name, Shinkiro. He didn’t approach his designs the way one would have expected. What made his work so great was how down-to-Earth every figure was. When he was helping create the costumes for the AoF cast he knew to make each character fit the story. As Robert and Ryo made their way through South Town the people they fought reflected a certain part of the city. The thugs looked like biker gang members, those in the military wore fatigues. Having a half-naked Muay Thai fighter in a classy restaurant would not have made any sense. But what about one dressed like a bartender? The uniform was central to the character. Modern martial arts movies featured characters that wore deceptive clothing. One the first examples was the tuxedo that Robert Baker wore when he fought Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury (1972). Bruce Lee helped bring classic wuxia or Chinese hero stories into the modern era. The same thing was true of the suit that Benny Urquidez wore when he fought Jackie Chan in Wheels on Meals (1984).

 

The suit was deceptive but that was only one layer of Shinkiro’s design. King looked like an effeminate man, or perhaps a boy. Audiences had been conditioned to expect 99% of the people they fought to be men. Up until that point Fan from Yie Ar Kung-Fu was the only female opponent in a fighting game and Chun-Li from Street Fighter II was the only playable female character. Audiences expected a female martial artists to be wearing a traditional dress. That whole idea was turned upside down if players tore the blouse off of King with a special attack. That was when it was revealed that she was wearing a bra underneath. That violent act made the game feel far more mature than any other title. This sort of turn was something that you would expect in a movie and certainly not in a game. SNK hid the reveal right until the end, going so far as to name the character King instead of Queen. In doing so it made the design very memorable. This master of the fighting arts was hiding in plain sight. She would be the perfect example as to what set SNK apart from the competition.

 

If you have been reading my blogs for a while then you know that I like to dig into the influences behind the various characters. For King the most obvious comparison would be with the martial arts star Cynthia Rothrock. Since 1985 Cynthia had been featured in a string of movies, mostly produced overseas. Women hadn’t really been considered for leading roles in most Western-produced martial arts films. There have been exceptions of course in other action films such as the Black Widow from the Avengers films, Furiosa from Mad Max or Gazelle from the Kingsmen. Those characters were almost always in a supporting role and not the stars of the film. In Hong Kong however women could be the stars of the film. This was a tradition going back to 1928. Heroes came in all shapes (see the chubby Sammo Hung), sizes, and colors even. When Cynthia couldn’t land a role in a US film she was almost always guaranteed to find a spot in Hong Kong. The same thing was true for Ron Van Clief. As a black martial artist, and Army veteran he faced tremendous racism in the USA but was a welcome star in Hong Kong cinema.

 

Cynthia’s trademark short haircut, lightning fast kicks and array of martial arts moves made her a stand out star. She had been actively involved in martial arts for a long time and was trained in different schools, including Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Eagle Claw, Wu Shu, and both Southern and Northern Shaolin. She was able to hold her own against many men and women artists from Hong Kong, some of which learned fighting and acrobatics from the Chinese Opera, just like Jackie Chan. Cynthia often played a street smart cop, nicknamed China O’Brien in one of her more famous recurring roles. She was such a formidable figure that I would argue she not only influenced the design behind King but also Blue Mary, who turned up in the Fatal Fury series. This made Cynthia one of the rare real world figures that inspired the creation of more than one character, in more than one game series.

 

Cynthia was not shy about using her good looks in the roles she played. When the part called for it she would show some skin, tastefully of course. The people working at SNK were keenly aware of how the actress sexed up some of her parts or modeling shoots. Shinkiro did not outright try to make King a voluptuous, overly sexualized character. It would have destroyed any surprise waiting for audiences when they first saw her. It was the other artists working at the studio that started putting her in form-fitting suits, they turned her vest into a bustier and starting pushing her breasts out further and further. She would not longer appear androgynous following the AoF. Blue Mary had always been presented as the more sexualized of the designs. She was top heavy with an exposed midriff, wearing uniforms that were not standard law-enforcement. A very skimpy white top and denim bottom was created as an alternate costume for her in King of Fighters (KOF): Maximum Impact 2 Regulation A. This costume was inspired by an outfit worn by Rothrock in a modeling shoot. However we should confuse the two. The design behind King and her planning extended far into the lore or the SNK universe.

 

On the surface King was a very simple design. She had the skills and grace of a top bartender but with the power of a no-nonsense bouncer. On top of everything she was not going to remain as a bit player in South Town. The figures in the SNK universe had room to grow and the did in the various KOF sequels. The Sakazaki family opened Kyokygenryu schools, with Ryo entering tournaments to help spread its name. Andy and Terry Bogard travelled the globe following the trail of Geese Howard and making new allies along the way. King made fast friends with the other leading females in the KOF series. She partnered with the ninja Mai Shiranui and Kyokugenryu prodigy Yuri Sakazaki to form an all-women team. This was a first in fighting game history. She also partnered with them to open a club in a later timeline. King had taken her experience, including learning from Capoeira master Richard Meyer and his infamous Pao Pao Cafe, and applied it to her own business. She was ambitious and was destined to be a major player in South Town, yet unlike Geese Howard she was going to do this without resorting to extortion. King was an exceptional character design and easily one of the greatest fighting game characters ever created, female or otherwise. Artists and developers try to break into the genre should learn from SNK and see how they were able to hide these martial artists in plain site. The studio was able to hide masters in many ways. We will explore the ways they were able to do this in the next blog. As always if you enjoyed this blog and 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!

How fight culture became fighting game history, part 13

Capcom featured Muay Thai as the final style that gamers had to overcome in the original Street Fighter. Released in 1987 each stage told a story about the culture that Capcom was trying to recreate. The designers did not have the internet to rely on, perhaps they would watch some tapes or look at travel guides for reference material but they didn't have the luxury of digging too deep while creating the levels. Each stage was nonetheless quite memorable, especially for the final opponents in the game. The reflecting pool, sunset orange sky and seated Buddha were serene. They sharply contrasted the aggressive style that Muay Thai master Adon would become known for. A similar observation could be made of Sagat and his level. The beautiful temple backdrop beguiled a fighter that was feared by his peers. To impressionable gamers in Japan and the United States these were caricatures of Thailand that seemed true.

The designers at Capcom had done a wonderful job at setting a standard that all future fighting games would be measured against. Although both characters practiced Muay Thai both Adon and Sagat had very distinct variations on the form. Adon used leaping heel strikes against players while Sagat focused on quick punches and rising knee strikes. Like the level backgrounds themselves these attacks were caricatures of reality. From a character design standpoint both fighters were very unique personalities. Adon was not a humble understudy, he had grown tired of living in the shadows of his mentor. He hoped to defeat Sagat and assume his status as the worlds greatest fighter. Sagat on the other hand was a cold, calculating and brutal master. He had taken the life of an opponent in combat and his reputation had colored his presence in each and every game within the series. These details would become important to the evolution of the franchise as well as the genre.

In 1991 Sagat would return in Street Fighter II' as a sub-boss. Other developers took notice of the genre and created their own version of a fighting game. Takashi Nishiyama was a Producer at SNK, he was previously a planner on the original Street Fighter. He wanted to create his own fighting game for the Neo Geo arcade platform. Instead of two main characters he helped create three main characters for players to choose from, one of which was a Muay Thai fighter named Joe Higashi. The game also featured a hot-tempered Muay Thai opponent named Hwa Jai. Fatal Fury was released at the end of 1991, the same year that Street Fighter II came out. Higashi and Jai would turn up again in various SNK games but they would not be the only Muay Thai masters in the universe. Other game studios would also try to incorporate the fighting art into their own releases. Also for the Neo Geo platform but developed by ADK there was a fighter named Shura. He was featured in World Heroes circa 1992, it was one of the first blatant clones of Street Fighter. More than two decades later the first notable female Muay Thai master would make her debut. Chompoo appeared in Capoeira Fighter 3 circa 2004. The character had a host of traditional moves, elbow and knee strikes, that were made fantastic when combined with leaping and tumbling attacks. The most recent Muay Thai master in the 2D, or rather 2.5D genre was inspired by several of the SNK icons, The blonde-haired Prayuth made his debut in 2013. The Chinese developers at Tencent had borrowed liberally from the icons created by both SNK and Capcom in their game the King of Combat.

 

Something that the most successful studios learned to do over the '90s was to add depth to their cast. Audiences might think that a fighting game character did not need a backstory, a history or even origin. Yet Capcom, SNK, Namco and Sega each learned that a memorable fighting game franchise needed more than a colorful cast or some fancy graphics. The game needed to be balanced, the control dialed in, music catchy and sound just right. The fighters needed to be memorable, they had to be more substance than flash. In order to achieve that the studios had to put as much planning into their design as they would for a AAA adventure star. The characters would not simply be just fighters, they had day jobs and families to go to. Some were soldiers, some were gang members and some were even aristocrats. These histories would not necessarily be spelled out for gamers though. The stages, the rivalries, the dialogue and occasional cut scene would reveal the motivation behind the best characters. Some of these histories would be unveiled over the course of several games, spanning 10 or even 20 years. The best fighters would become icons to the gaming community.

 

Something that contributed to the evolution of the genre was the shift from 2D to 3D graphics. As the various fighting arts were adapted to 3D they had to undergo some changes. The strikes of the artform were often simplified and some lost their presence. One technique that worked very well in 3D was Muay Thai. Namco introduced the Muay Thai hitman Bruce Irvin to audiences in 1995. The character featured in the Tekken series would gain a following. A few years later, in 1999 to be precise, SNK introduced their first 3D Muay Thai master. The character did not have the youthful brashness of Adon or rather Joe Higashi but he was still a part of the Fatal Fury universe. The middle-aged Payak Sitpitak was a more level-headed person, a fighter and family man. In canon he was talked into entering the Buriki One tournament by Higashi. Payak lacked a flashy style, to be fair the entire cast in the game was actually grounded in more realistic attacks than the 2D fighters. Payak was still a dangerous man who let his hard strikes do all the talking. The Neo Geo platform was not great at rendering 3D graphics, especially when compared to Namco's proprietary System 11 arcade board. These were the steps that the studios needed to make in order to reinvigorate the genre. Unfortunately the teams working at Capcom on the Street Fighter series were rehashing 2D sprites and falling behind the 3D development curve. Even Sega, a long-time rival to Namco would eventually add a Muay Thai fighter to their franchise. The ever-cocky Brad Burns made his debut in 2003 with Virtua Fighter 4.

 

Muay Thai was considered one of the "exotic" martial arts in early fighting games. Its evolution was unique given the region that it came from and how native customs mixed with Hindu and Buddhist cultures to shape the art. Something similar happened in the far North where different cultures adapted the fighting arts of China and Japan into something unique. The Korean system of Taekwondo (TKD) was seen as a modern striking form, it did not come into its own until the late '40s. At the same time it enjoyed an appeal almost as exotic as Muay Thai. SNK was a perennial rival to Capcom, especially in the fighting game genre. The planners and some staff working on the Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting and King of Fighters games were ex-Capcom employees. They wanted to diversify the fighting styles featured in their games and provide a bigger library of characters than what was featured in the Street Fighter series. In order to do this they looked at other popular striking arts and no form came to mind more immediately than TKD.

The style of fighting was very calculated, it reflected the nation of origin. Korea was a culture that based its language on mathematics, the importance of science was not lost on the people. In Taekwondo kicks were the main attacks. Practitioners did not only learn all the types of kicks they could perform but which were the most effective at different ranges. The form was distilled from Okinawan Karate and Chinese Kung-Fu however there was a distinct fight science to the art. Students had to learn how to angle opponents, restrict their movement, find openings and isolate weak spots. Practitioners learned to be light on their feet and remain in a constant state of movement. This was not a fighting art developed from warfare so the strikes were optimized for speed and efficiency rather than lethality. It was especially important in point-based tournaments. From a gaming standpoint the sweeping kicks looked amazing when animated by studio artists. The lion's share of TKD fighters were featured in SNK games through most of the '90s. Kim Kaphwan started the tradition in 1992. He was a new star in Fatal Fury 2. Kim was notable not just for his amazing kicks but because he was the first to have children appear as fighters as well. His sons Dong Hwan and Jae Hoon debuted in 1999's Garou Mark of Wolves. Muay Thai and Karate looked unique depending on the practitioner, the same could be said of the TKD fighters. The Kim children were not simply clones of their father but instead had their own personalities and moves.

 

Enemies and allies of the Kim family were added to other SNK games. Seo Yong Song from Buriki One (whom also debuted in 1999), Jhun Hoon from King of Fighters '99 and May Lee from King of Fighters 2001 were all distinct practitioners and proud Koreans. The layers of storytelling that went into the rivalries and relationships helped add depth to the universe and made the characters stand out. Audiences enjoyed the diversity they were presented with. Taekwondo was one of the fighting arts that made the transition from real life to 2D seamlessly. When technology allowed the form to be presented in a 3D fighting games it was a perfect fit. Part of the reason that the moves looked so well in 3D was because they were not traditionally animated. Instead there were athletes and martial artists performing motion capture animations for the programmers to work from. Baek Doo San was the first in a TKD master in a major title. He appeared in Tekken 2 in 1995. Namco went the extra mile and had an actual Olympian perform the moves for Baek and his understudy Hwoarang in Tekken 3, released in 1997. Panda from the 2008 game Capoeira Fighter 3 was the first female 3D TKD practitioner.

 

Sega's Virtua Fighter was the only major 3D series yet to feature a TKD master. According to canon Sarah Bryant, who debuted in 1993, was accomplished in Jeet Kune Do. In later iterations she added the French art of Savate and TKD to her repertoire. Rival studio Tecmo was also late in bringing the Korean fighting art to fans. Dead or Alive 5 was released in 2012 and introduced a mysterious TKD fighter known only as Rig. His moves were familiar to audiences because of the other TKD characters that came before him. The 3D mold created by Baek Doo San would not be broken until 2010. While Panda did set the precedence most fighting game fans would identify the assassin Juri Han as the most revolutionary new TKD character of the past 20 years. The character actually had many design elements pulled from Chun-Li however that was besides the point. The powerful kicks, blinding speed and brutal moves made her stand out from her peers. She became such a powerful icon that a few short years later the studio Tencent would more or less copy her design. Lee Won Hee debuted in King of Combat in 2013. She had a blend of moves from Juri but also from the Kim family and other TKD gaming pioneers. What was interesting was that there was a male South Korean Judo grappler named Lee Won-hee that was the World Champion in 2003 and Olympic Gold Medal Champion in 2004. I am not sure why the Chinese developer would use the same name.

 

Pop culture had a lot to do with which styles would be featured in fighting games. The more well known arts would be included in almost every franchise developed. The games that deviated from the formula, or made up their own fighting arts were hit or miss with audiences. Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do were standout forms from the early days of the genre. So how did the classic fighting arts remain "untouched" even as technology changed? Find out about this shift on the next blog. As always if you enjoyed this blog and 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!

How fight culture became fighting game history, part 12

In every culture and in every story tradition a myth would sometimes be rooted in reality. It helped our ancestors cope with the unknown, the mysterious and bizarre. When it came to the martial arts the tradition of myth was supremely important. It helped turn local fighters into legends and military warlords into god-kings. Imagine how word of mouth helped create the fables of men that were able to break stones with a punch, were able to kick down trees and even run over water. The impossible was possible to a handful of people. It's secrets became highly sought after. As the martial arts spread throughout Asia the mythologies of each culture helped shape its evolution. The Buddhist monks of India and China were some of the strongest forces that helped shape the history of the martial arts. In the previous blogs I had mentioned how Kung-Fu travelled through China and reach the shores of Japan where it was adapted and transformed into Karate. But what happened to the art form as it went through South Asia? How did it differ from the other fighting arts? How did its founders become legend?

Something that contributed greatly to the development of the fighting arts in South and South East Asia was actually the terrain and weather. The further south in Asia had a much higher level of precipitation. During the monsoon season rainfall could be measured in meters rather than inches. Portions of Japan and China were well within the monsoon belt as well but the majority of the rainfall was concentrated over areas closer to the ocean, such as Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma). Of course the surrounding islands and peninsulas of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines were no strangers to wet climates. This heavy rainfall translated into lush vegetation, thick jungles and heavy forest canopies. Travelers had to be wary not only of wild animals but also of bandits that could be hiding at every step of a journey. This terrain also changed the way wars were fought and won. Larger armies from the North used to controlling massive areas of space with the aid of advanced long-range weaponry such as catapults and crossbows were at a loss in jungle settings. Due to the dense vegetation the wars in the South were fought in close quarters, man-to-man. The armies that combined practical close-range weapons with deadly martial arts training were all but guaranteed victory. The way men fought and trained in the martial arts in the South was much different than what Bodhidharma took with him into China. Heavy armor favored by Chinese, Mongolian and Japanese forces were too cumbersome to use or even wear in the hot tropics. Fighters had to be free to move, use the terrain to their advantage, and strike whenever and wherever an opportunity presented itself. As Budhhism traveled through Bangladesh, into Myanmar and Thailand the fighting forms of the monks were dissected and portions were combined with native techniques. The hybrid of systems worked extremely well with stick, sword and shield fighting. Even without weapons the forms that grew from the tropic regions was deadly in its efficiency.

 

The art of "Eight Limbs" had a lineage that went back thousands of years. The bare hand fighting forms which made liberal use of elbows, knees and clutches were brutal. They were dangerous in the arena as they were in the battlefield. The form known as Muay Boran in ancient times was practiced by the personal bodyguards of the kings. It eventually went beyond the walls of the imperial palaces and changed into what the modern world now knows as Muay Thai. There were countless regional iterations of the striking arts, called Mai Mae, Luk Mai Muay Thai, Bokator, Kun Khmer and Pradal Serey. Each one could be identified for its many victories on the battlefields as well as in the fighting arenas.

Yet that was not the only offshoot fighting art that evolved in Asia. In Indonesia Pencak Silat, sometimes called Silat was a word used to represent the indigenous martial arts of over 800 styles from the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. Betawi for example is an aggressive striking form whereas Cimande is focused on flowing combinations. The main forms originated in Sumatra and Java. Silat was used to defend the natives from Northern aggressors as well as from foreign invaders. It incorporated many unique stances, tight sweeping strikes and rapidly changing angles. These kept opponents off guard, baffled invaders and made sure that the Indonesians enjoyed their independence for centuries. The style, like those from the other coastal countries in Asia would not have worked while wearing armor or yielding heavy weapons. It was about being light and fast so swords were more like daggers and shields were light and portable. When the British, Dutch, French and other imperial armies began to colonize the port towns the Indonesians did their best to preserve the art form. The would-be conquerers from the West did their best to supplant the languages, temples and cultural icons of the Asians but this did nothing more than make them dig in deeper to preserve their heritage. As a result Silat not only survived into the modern era, its practitioners were still considered some of the most lethal fighters in the world. Pencak Silat, like Muay Thai was descended from combat, it was not a form for sport, exercise or self-improvement. It was meant to kill and thus retained its dangerous overtones.

Silat could not necessarily be considered one of martial arts directly influenced by the Buddhist monks traveling through Asia. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation on Earth and has been for some time. The evolution of Silat was nonetheless influenced by traders and settlers from Northern regions. Kung-Fu developed striking arts that were inspired by the grace and beauty of nature however the fighting arts in South East Asia were inspired by centuries of bloody conflict. As such the fighters from South Asia gained a reputation for being dangerous combatants. The masters of kung-fu and karate could find a way of having a friendly sparring match, perhaps the first to drop an opponent or even the first to land a solid strike could be declared the winner. By contrast those that fought in Muay Thai tournaments were looking to break opponents. Blood was the measure of success, fighters would wrap their knuckles in cord and sometimes crushed glass so that they would be able to tear the flesh off opponents. Even modern matches have lost little of the lethality of ancient rules. Some strikes have been outlawed in organized competition but even without these strikes only the most dedicated fighters could hope to achieve a level of champion. For those that want to see what sort of brutal punishment the top fighters could unleash against each other take a look at the infamous "Elbow Fight" between Sakmongkol and Jongsanan at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. It was the fifth time that the two had fought each other. Round after round the two ate elbows like a kid eating candies at Halloween. Fans of this level of fighting could be considered sadistic while the fighters were clearly masochists. No amount of punishment could satiate either group. The spectacle of professional competitions and the legend of underground Muay Thai tournaments spread far and wide throughout Asia. Only the most foolhardy martial arts master would dare seek out these men in a fight. More "refined" cultures like those in China and Japan looked down on the barbaric combat from the South. This repulsion for the hyper-violent Southern eventually turned into legend. The only way that a master of the "modern" arts could prove their skill was to seek out new challengers, especially those from Thailand.

In cinema kung-fu had become a mainstay of fighting forms. Action films the world over relied on the classic Asian arts to make heroes appear unstoppable. Yet every decade there seemed to be an artist to come out of nowhere, using a different art and redefine how movie fight should look. Muay Thai rose to prominence on the heels of the film Ong Bak in 2003. In it director Prachya Pinkaw made a moderate-budget film that highlighted the fighting and stunt abilities of Tony Jaa. Tony became an overnight sensation in action film circles and created a buzz that was comparable to the early days of Jackie Chan and even Bruce Lee. Almost a decade later director Gareth Evans featured Silat through the skilled hands and feet of Iko Uwais, The Raid which was released in 2011 demonstrated how an art form at least a millennia old could amaze audiences that had grown up on expensive special effects.

The films of Tony and Iko were two examples of how the fighting arts were still integral to pop culture. This was not a new trend. In the late 19th and early 20th century pop culture would take the regional biases against different fighting forms and the stereotypes about their practitioners and turn them into fodder for stories, comics, movies and eventually video games.

It was not enough for a video game that the Muay Thai master was just an average person. As the final opponent in Street Fighter he had to become much more imposing figure and present a genuine challenge to audiences. The designers at Capcom made the one-eyed fighter into a seven-foot giant. He had a reach advantage, a strength advantage and used a fighting form that was considered more dangerous than karate. The name Sagat was based on Sagat Petchyindee, a Muay Thai fighter that dominated tournaments in the early '80s and undoubtedly made its way into the psyche of the Japanese developers. Although Sagat has always been illustrated as an incredibly muscular man in Street Fighter II he was much lankier. There was another Muay Thai legend that likely inspired this design. Dieselnoi Chor. Thanasukarn was 6' 2", possibly 6' 3" tall, and had a considerable reach and size advantage over most of his opponents. Although he was thin he packed a powerful knee, a "Sky Piercing Knee" according to legend. The character of Sagat was known for his knee strikes as well so it is entirely possible that Dieselnoi had a hand in influencing the developers on Street Fighter. Dieselnoi was such a formidable champion that after several years at the top he was forced into retirement when he could not find an opponent in his same class. Although to be fair Sagat Petchyindee was one of the few to ever defeat Dieselnoi.

There was something about Thailand that kept designers returning to the region. It was romanticized in comics, its location considered exotic and mysterious to the more industrialized nations in Asia. The inclusion of Hindu temples and Buddhist shrines presented the perfect backdrop for the Street Fighter game series and even the animated films and television shows. Adon, the cocky understudy of Sagat had stages built on the Chaopraya River. The temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom were also used in the backgrounds for Adon's stages as well as the secretive location of the dictatorship Shadowlaw. The reclining Buddha of Wat Lokayasutharam, whose weathered features were awe-inspiring in real life looked fantastic when adapted to the game series.

Ryu was the star of Street Fighter and karate was presented as the ultimate fighting art but the genre would never have been the same without the inclusion of Muay Thai. This survey of the real world fighting forms will take a closer look at the Muay Thai heroes and villains from gaming in the next blog. As always if you enjoyed this blog and 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!