Who will be the last fighting master left standing?

Have you ever wondered who would be the last fighting game character left standing if they all went at it battle royal style? Or maybe it would be better in tournament style because that's what they are used to. I'm talking about just the human characters going at it. Robots, demons, mutants and giant dinosaurs would not be invited to this fight. There have been many heated debates and some great fan match ups online. So far there has not been any consensus. I'd like to think that one fighting game actually answered the question 20 years ago. For once I'm not talking about a title from Capcom, SNK or Namco. A little known developer called Sunsoft came out with a game in 1995 that featured a cameo too great to be ignored. Their game was called Galaxy Fight: Universal warriors. It was set in the far future and featured human and humanoid aliens fighting for good, evil or various other reasons against a powerful alien called Felden.

The game had great graphics for the time. The characters were detailed and colorful. The game engine used sprite scaling to zoom in or out of the fighters depending on how close they got to each other. The studio went on to create a few more fighting games that were related to each other. Waku Waku 7 came out in 1996 and the team broke up shortly after and joined up with independent developer SANTACLAUS in 1998 for Astra Super Stars. The fighting games that the team created were very light hearted. They didn't take themselves too seriously and every subsequent fighting game they published was more cartoonish than the last. Galaxy Fight was the one that was the most earnest but even then it was a little bit silly. Sunsoft wasn't afraid at taking a jab at the designs and tropes used by other studios. The two humans in the lineup were a futuristic ninja named Kazuma and fighter named Rolf the "Hero of the Galaxy." Audiences noted that the two leads looked very much like Ginzu the ninja and title character from Captain Commando, a brawling game developed and published by Capcom in 1991.

Sure in Japan there were hundreds of shows, cartoons and comics featuring ninjas and characters in power armor but these two looked too much like the Capcom stars to be more than a coincidence. The game revolved around fighters in the future, they had access to modern technology like Rolf's flame thrower, and of course the unexplained powers from various alien species. The real surprise in the game was a hidden character named Rouwe. This character was only accessible after not losing any round and playing a near perfect game. Rouwe represented the "old school" fighting game hero. He was way over 100-years-old and yet there was something eerily familiar about the character. The way he moved, the way he fought and the way he looked that reminded audiences of someone else. Or to be fair this character reminded audiences of the stars of two of the earliest fighting game franchises. He was either Ryu from Street Fighter or Ryo from the Art of Fighting.

The name Rouwe was nebulous on purpose. Perhaps this character was indeed an elderly Ryu or Ryo and the name was a typo. Sunsoft left enough clues in the game so that the character could be interpreted as either star. All of the trademark fighting moves were present from both stars.

There was a variation of Ryo's one-handed fireball, the Ko'ou Ken.

The famous hurricane kick of Ryu also made an appearance, this time however Rouwe also used it to throw a nasty backhand at opponents as well. Who said you couldn't improve on the moves?

Rouwe had a powerful double punch that looked very similar to the pose for the hadoken fireball.

Of course both Ryu and Ryo had a tremendous uppercut. The one that Rouwe used looked closer to Ryu's version. Sunsoft wanted to make it obvious that there was one archetype that would always be the king of the hill. It didn't matter how many fighting games had been developed or would ever be developed. You couldn't really improve upon perfection.

Age may have zapped the size and strength of Rouwe but his technique was flawless. He could hold his own against humans 1/5 his age and of course against various alien champions. It turned out that he was such a powerful master that even his own punching bag had grown sentient.

Rouwe decided to teach this bag how to fight as well. This character was named Bonus-Kun and would turn up in the other Sunsoft fighting games. The designers at Sunsoft were certainly on to something. They knew enough to discolor the gi from years of living in isolation on an alien planet. There was not much left of his uniform in fact, the pants were now shorts from decades of kicking and the vest was threadbare. The look of the character was eerily similar to Gouken, the master of Ken and Ryu. Here's the clincher, the Bengus concept art of Gouken wouldn't be published until after Galaxy Fight had debuted. Was this a case of art imitating game or a coincidence? I'll let you decide.

So do you agree with Sunsoft's prediction? In a hundred years will Ryu or Ryo be the only fighting masters left standing? I'd like to hear your thoughts. 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!

The Ken reaction, part 2...

In the previous blog I had mentioned that fighting game characters were memorable when they had uniforms and costumes that were made up of solid color. It was a tradition started by Karate Champ and championed by the Street Fighter series. The reaction to Ken's updated look in Street Fighter V has divided many fans. It's for good reason too, this is more than a cosmetic change for the character. It's a solid shift from what has worked well for almost 30 years.

Ryu retains his familiar costume, a white gi, red sparring gloves, a red headband and a black belt (that is beginning to fade). Ken is still primarily wearing red but his top is pulled around his waist. He has a black sport top on now with red trim. His gloves have gone from yellow to black and he is now wearing black sleeves on his feet. Combined with his extra long hair this is a big shift from game to game and even for the entire series.

 

A few things that concerned the fans were valid. Ken no longer had a primary color associated with him, his two colors were complimentary but they reduced the visual impact he once had. The other thing that concerned fans were how the red and black combination had been seen previously on other blonde American fighters. Primarily Jacky Bryant from Virtua Fighter and Paul Phoenix from the Tekken series. Both were considered derivative of Ken but now the opposite appeared true.

 

Something else that may have concerned audiences was how similar the makeover was to fan concepts for Mel Masters, the son of Ken, if he were in the series. Of course he was expected to wear red to honor his father but would have added his own touch as well. Perhaps a black top or black tape on his hands and feet. Black was one of the few colors that worked to compliment or contrast red which was why it turned up on so many characters. These fan ideas were many years old and I'm sure many wondered if the artists at Capcom had been keeping tabs on what interested audiences, especially gamers in the West.

There had not only been heroes that were dressed in red and black. One of the great all-time villains from SNK continuity wore a costume very similar to Ken's updated look. Rugal Bernstein was the organizer of the original King of Fighters Tournament. The game debuted in 1994 and was a revolutionary title. It's use of tag teams was a refreshing change of pace from the typical 1-on-1 battles. Rugal himself was very powerful, as was the case with all SNK boss characters. He was also tall and very strong, giving him an advantage whether opponents were close or far away. The developers made good use of his reach by assigning him many kick-based attacks.

Ken and Ryu had always had the "hurricane kick" in their arsenal. Ken had specialized punches and kicks that actually set his opponents on fire going all the way back to Street Fighter Alpha / Zero in 1995. With his updated look in Street Fighter V he had some changes made to his library of kicks. Several of them now had sweeping arches. These new kicks reminded me greatly of the kicks Rugal would perform. Granted they could have been coincidence. I get the feeling that in the subconscious of the new designers they remembered Rugal and Ken from the same era and combined them into this new fighter. But that's all speculation.

 

I can understand the concern that long-time players have with the character. He's been presented in one way for so long that the new Ken may be completely "unplayable" in the eyes of traditionalists. Capcom would not do that to one of the main characters. A supporting character like Birdie on the other hand may have an even more dramatic look and control shift. The thing is that Capcom pioneered the idea that fighters could change from game to game. Street Fighter II and Alpha were worlds apart. Ken was very different between the two. Other studios saw a cosmetic change as a way to keep things fresh. SNK experimented with this in the King of Fighters series. A man costume and an alternate costume could both be considered canon. Ryo's alternate costume designs, including changes with his hair and facial hair, from a few years back were not unlike Ken's makeover.

 

In other cases SNK was able to completely redo a character's look and still have it work within the game series. Perhaps the makeover was because a lot of time had passed. Such was the case with Terry Bogard between the original Fatal Fury timeline and the events of Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Terry still played like Terry despite his new look. It was accepted by King of Fighters Maximum Impact that the main character could have two distinct looks. With the news that some of the original costumes will be available as DLC in Street Fighter V then I have a feeling that was what Capcom was going for with Ken. Some time has passed between Street Fighter III and IV so all the characters are expected to look a little different. So again, I understand the concerns of audiences young and old with the new look of Ken but the game is a long way from being finalized. Let's not forget about the eventual Ultra and Super versions that will follow and continue to shape the costumes and evolution of each character. If you have any concerns with the direction of the series I'd like to hear them in the comments. 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!