Fighting Game Characters - Separated at Birth

PART 2

Jackie Chan & Lei Wulong

jackiechan-leiwulong-snake.jpg (62602 bytes)

Simply identical.

It's no secret that Namco originally created Lei Wulong as an homage to the legend, Jackie Chan. From his classic Kung-Fu attire to his Supercop-inspired get-up, Lei Wulong is easily the best and most fleshed out fighting game character tribute to Jackie Chan. The homage to Jackie only became more apparent with each Tekken sequel, as Lei Wulong received more and more moves inspired from actual fight scenes in Jackie Chan movies. Now that's attention to detail in a fighting game!

Bruce Lee & Fei Long, Liu Kang, Marshall Law, Kim Dragon, Long

Don't you dare call any of the above fighting game characters "rip-offs"! The designers simply wanted Bruce Lee's legend to live on with their designs. These tributes to Bruce Lee proudly portray Bruce Lee at his finest... especially the likes of Fei Long & Marshall Law. Namco's Marshall Law in the later of the TEKKEN series is undeniably the most authentic representation of this legend, due to his wide array of accurate moves & poses based on scenes from Bruce Lee movies. Furthermore, Marshall Law's son, Forest Law also represents Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee. Kim Dragon and Liu Kang? You guys are cool too. In Xuan Dou Zhi Wang, Long is also a pretty accurate homage to Bruce Lee... and is one of the only characters above who actually uses Nunchakus in-game. Rest in power, Bruce!

Fedor Emelianenko & Abel

There's a great possibility that Abel from Street Fighter IV is loosely based on the badass MMA fighter and world champion, Fedor Emelianenko. At the very least, after seeing the image (above) with Fedor in his blue Gi about to pound his victim into submission... it's pretty impossible to deny Abel's likeness to Fedor.

Kazushi Sakuraba & Gai Tendo

Japanese MMA icon Kazushi Sakuraba and Buriki-One's hero, Gai Tendo, share a clear resemblance. I even found the photos where Sakuraba is wearing the same color gear as Gai. Interestingly, some sources suggest Gai Tendo is mostly based on the protagonist of the manga/anime Baki The Grappler... but it's also very possible Gai's design also took some inspiration from Sakuraba — who was a rising star during the time Buriki-One was released (and was / is well-known for his bright orange hair).

Mas Oyama & Ryu

Capcom designers Manabu Takemura and Takashi Nishiyama were responsible for creating the Ryu we know and love from Street Fighter. In an interview, Nishiyama confirmed Ryu's original inspiration came from Japanese martial artist, Mas Oyama — a character played by real-life martial artist, Choi Young-Eui. Mas Oyama first appeared in the Kung Fu series Karate Master by Ikki Kajiwara. In the series, Oyama's rival was a bald Muay Thai fighter, a character who influenced Sagat's design. Even though Ryu's inspiration came from Mas Oyama early on in Street Fighter's development, this photo (left) compared with Ryu's Capcom Vs. SNK 2 illustration (by Kinu Nishimura) is a direct homage!

Royce Gracie & Jacques Ducalis

The French Judo master from SNK's Buriki-One definitely resembles Brazilian Jiujitsu icon, Royce Gracie. While Jacques isn't "entirely" based on Gracie, Judo and Jiujitsu definitely have their similarities.

Jet Li (as Wong Fei Hung) & Lee Recca

Lee Recca from SNK's The Last Blade series is nearly a replica of Jet Li (as Wong Fei Hung) from some of his classic martial arts movies, such as: Fong Sai-yuk and Once Upon a Time in China.

Sam the Seed & Chin Gentsai
(Submitted by Izacc Paul Rivera)

"Sam the Seed" is a character from the movie Drunken Master (1978)... Chin Gentsai from the KOF series is obviously directly based off of him. Interestingly... Chin's student is Kensou, while Sam's student is Jackie Chan in the Drunken Master. Jackie Chan's character in Drunken Master (Wong Fei-hung) and Kensou also share some similarities.

Steven Seagal, Baek & Robert Garcia
(Submitted by criatura_catodica & others)

Steven Seagal, in his earlier "skinny" days, definitely shared some strong resemblances to fighting game characters like Robert Garcia from Art of Fighting and Baek Doo San from Tekken 2. Out of the two, I'd say Robert is the stronger resemblance to Seagal... especially his flashy, swanky clothing style.

Since Seagal is a martial arts icon, one can't denounce this as simply a coincidence. For the record, Seagal is an awesome martial artist and Aikido expert... this guy will f*ck you up in real life, regardless of his belly fat!

Continue to Part 3!

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