Inspired by much of what has been going on recently in gaming channels, what follows are my suggestions for bare-minimum overhaul to the cast of Street Fighter (4). This means: mitigating racial stereotypes, reducing female objectification, and fixing tonal inconsistencies that go along with them. These are also an attempt to bring the visual design of the characters more in line with their background material. I have no delusions about Capcom suddenly turning over a new leaf. These are merely some ideas.
Abel - Fine.
Adon - Weird, but fine.
Akuma - Fine.
Balrog - Fine.
Cammy - A bad joke from a bad decade. Give her something that looks like an MI6 agent trying to blend in, not someone trying to get herself arrested at the airport.
Chun-Li - Give her something an actual Chinese police officer would wear. Now you have a “good guy” character who’s a member of one of the world’s most reviled security forces. Free characterization!
Cody - What is this, Shawshank Redemption?
Crimson Viper - If she’s a CIA special agent, she’d look like this.
Dan - Sure, why not.
Dee Jay - Feels like you’re overcommitting on the Jamaican-ness a little. Like, a little bit.
Dhalsim - Did you know there are many varieties of martial traditions in India? Maybe clean up his look and use one of those. Instead of going for Indiana Jones villain. It’s kind of hokey.
Dudley - Hey, you based him on a real person! That’s pretty nifty.
E. Honda - Fine.
Elena - So comically, banally racist I’m surprised no one ran into the artist’s office and threw him out of his chair when this got faxed up to the creative leads. Without changing her look, or fighting style–which is an embarrassing appellation in the first place–you’d need to make her Afro-Brazilian. Look, built-in class commentary! And give her some clothing. You’ve just made an Afro-Brazilian woman better than every female character in Max Payne 3! Congratulations! If you aren’t willing to fix this, lose her. She’s an embarrassment at every level, otherwise.
El Fuerte - Sure, okay.
Fei Long - Is Bruce Lee. We should all be so lucky.
Gen - Saruman the White might look conspicuous walking around in his Enter the Dragon outfit, but, hey, so long as Fei Long is here, whatev.
Gouken - Looks pretty cool for a grandpa.
Guile - Maybe give a close-cropped hair option. I get it I GET IT the hair is classic. Just saying.
Guy - Okay.
Hakan - Why is this Turkish guy the color of a fire engine and why is he wearing a porcelain bowl on his head?
Hugo - I’ve never known what you were going for with this guy beyond, “We saw Andre the Giant in Princess Bride.”
Ibuki - She’s okay except the exposed hips are a grab-point for anyone in close-combat with her and are about as potentially hazardous as boob-plate.
Juri - She’s supposed to be an assassin targeting VIP in East Asia? She’d probably be wearing a Chinese business suit most of the time; not what looks like parachute pants and a large decorative napkin.
Ken - Fine.
M. Bison - I’m not getting “dictator,” so much as “cosplaying a dictator,” out of the B-son these days, but I can understand not wanting to make him look completely like Augusto Pinochet.
Makoto - I’m so impressed by how understated and practical Makoto’s design is I’m wondering what the hell happened over there. Was everyone except a couple interns out sick with stomach flu?
Oni - Sure.
Poison - Start referring to her using correct pronouns and, in general, treat her like a character and not a joke/monster. You’re an international company with numerous HR departments. Act like one.
Rolento - Uh, okay?
Rose - I guess we needed a “wizard.”
Rufus - LOL, FAT JOKES! But seriously, is this guy from The Hangover 3 or something?
Ryu - Fine.
Sagat - Fine.
Sakura - Hey, so, schoolgirl stuff is kind of creepy, okay? Can we stop encouraging that? Is that a tough hill for us to climb over a species?
Seth - Boss fight, fine.
T. Hawk - Lose the war bonnet and paint. The moccasins, too. Instead of made up joke techniques based on 90s cartoons Indian warriors you could try a real thing instead.
Vega - Okay, you get one freebie.
Yang & Yun - Cool guys who like x-treme sports! Fine, whatever.
Zangief - Is great. Don’t go changing, buddy.
Caveats:
If you’re wondering why I’m okay with, like, green monster-dudes and demons, but not okay with MI6 agents in bikinis, that is because the former are designed to be fantastical, and the latter is designed to facilitate arousal (read: boners).
If you’re wondering why I’m okay with clone monsters and people having magical powers, but not racial caricatures, that’s because the former are fantastical, and the latter is ugly shorthand that casts some people as stupid jokes.
If you’re worried this will make Street Fighter seem less “fun,” I don’t know what kind of fun is predicated upon the amount of inexplicable T&A plus stereotypes available at any given moment in a game.
If you think I’m motivated by grotesque liberal bias and “social justice warrior” activism, know that this is, at the bottom of it, an exercise in how to help Capcom make more money. Representation in character design is not only a nice way to make people feel like your game doesn’t think they’re gross idiot props–it also encourages them to spend money on your product.
But hey, it’s not like Capcom would want that.
Right?
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ques0-fresc0 liked this This is the worst fighting games-related article I’ve read on tumblr.com in 2013. Happy New Year!
Surprised you think Balrog, El Fuerte, and Zangief are better representations of the other characters you criticized.
robothyena reblogged this from robothyenawasteland and added: This bare-minimum ground-floor “sprucing up” of the cast of Street Fighter is a) likely to get people rather mad at me,...
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