Terry Bogard‘s entry into the Street Fighter canon is just around the corner. And with him joining the roster, that would also mean Capcom is going add a story segment into their World Tour mode. I can’t wait!
Yes, I do know a lot of gamers don’t think the lore in fighting games is all that important. But, for a lot of us, the story is one of the things that keeps up coming back for more. Yes, balance between the characters should be the focus and the game mechanics should be fun. Still, a good story about why these guys are fighting can help out a lot.
In fact, a lot of fighting games today do put a lot of emphasis on their story. Games like Mortal Kombat have tried to make cinematic experiences to convey their story. Sadly, there are some plot lines which eventually get forgotten for one reason or another. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look back at these bits of lore which never gotten any form of resolution.
Akuma appearing in Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7 was a huge deal for a couple of reasons. One, he was part of the base roster and not some kind of DLC character. Two, he featured heavily in Tekken 7’s Story mode where he gets involved in between the feuding father and son duo of Heihachi Mishima and Kazuya Mishima. His reason for getting involved in this family matter is Kazumi, Heihachi’s wife, asked Akuma to promise to kill both her husband and son. The problem is Akuma never said when he would accomplish the task. As he keeps on looking for the ultimate fight, he opted to wait it out for both of his prey to get stronger and Akuma feels now is the right time to see if his patience was worth the wait.
The final fight in Tekken 7’s story mode has Akuma facing off against Kazuya in his Devil form. After a long battle, both of them attempt to end the fight using their best attacks, with Akuma throwing a massive Messatsu Gohadou and Devil Kazuya firing a Devil Blaster. The two projectiles hit each other and explode, leading to the volcano erupting and then… cut to black.
So, what happened here? In Tekken 8, they never really talk about what happened after this. While it’s obvious Kazuya survived as he is in that game, it’s never explained what happened to Akuma. It’s hard to believe he died during the volcano’s eruption as, well, he is Akuma. Still, where Akuma is during Tekken 8’s story is never really touched on. I guess we’ll have to wait for Bandai Namco and Capcom to talk to each other first before we find out.
The Dragon Spirit in King of Fighters‘ NESTS Saga
You could say SNK was ahead of its time as a lot of their fighting games gave a strong focus to the lore. Among all of the fighting games SNK made, their King of Fighters series probably takes the cake when it comes to them trying to tell an epic story. They’ve taken the time to develop a formula as it usually takes them three full entries in the King of Fighters series to tell one entire cohesive story. That’s a lot of planning involved and we fighting game fans appreciate all the effort.
While the main focus of each trilogy is on the “Hero” team of each saga, that doesn’t mean the other characters and teams don’t get their own bits of lore to chew on. The Ikari Warriors team had their importance expanded upon with their leader, Heidern, serving as some kind of mastermind for the good guys and Leona being connected with the Orochi.
However, one subplot that SNK never fully developed was the entire Dragon Spirit storyline. It all started in King of Fighters ’99 at the start of the NESTS Saga. Although the main focus of the NESTS Saga was squarely put on K’ and rightfully so, there was a secondary story focused on the Psycho Soldiers team involving Sie Kensou and Bao. It’s hinted that their psychic powers are connected somehow, with one of them draining or absorbing a mysterious energy called the Dragon Spirit from each other. Throughout most of the NESTS Saga, Sie Kensou was unable to access the Dragon Spirit while Bao was freely able to do so.
In the King of Fighters 2001‘s ending for the Psycho Soldiers, it seems as if Sie Kensou now has better control of the Dragon Spirit. Discovering this, Ron, one of the villains of the Saga, intends to find a way to release this power and use it for himself.
Sadly, after this, the entire Dragon Spirit storyline has basically forgotten. They still hint at it from time to time, like when he fails to be part of the King of Fighters 2003 tournament or when he enters the King of Fighters XIV to test the results of this training. Ron still looms in the background but is sure taking his sweet time to launch his evil machinations about the Dragon Spirit!
Rose‘s Terrifying Future Vision in Street Fighter V
It definitely looks like Capcom put all their eggs in one basket when it came to storytelling in Street Fighter V. After they released their “epic” story mode with A Shadow Falls as, after they put that out, they pretty much gave up on trying to tell a cohesive story with all their future DLC characters!
This means a lot of plot threads are currently left dangling from Street Fighter V. Things like Sagat slowing being overcome by the Satsui No Hado, what happened to the new female version of Seth and who the heck is G? However, the story I feel has the most importance to the lore that Capcom added to Street Fighter V involves Rose and her vision of an apocalyptic future.
After the events of A Shadow Falls, Rose no longer feels M. Bison spirit or his Psycho Power anymore. However, she feels a different kind of energy. It’s not necessarily an evil force but she feels something destructive about it. She finds the source to be connected with G and, after a battle, receives a vision of a dark future where the entire world will face some kind of cataclysm. As it’s already too late to avert the disaster, Rose sends a message to herself in the past in the hopes of changing the planet’s fate.
Now, while it does hint Rose sent the message to herself during the events of the Street Fighter Zero/Alpha games, it’s never stated what this message is and what is she supposed to change. It’s either a time loop where the Rose from the past didn’t succeed or it’s still something Capcom is brewing up. Of course, it could be they just wrote something up quickly because they had to push the character out the door to meet the deadline. Still, I do wish Capcom would get around to explaining what this was all about!
What other forgotten storylines from video games can you think of? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 