Fighting Game Characters - Separated at Birth

PART 2

Cham Cham & Felicia

This one is interesting... Both Samurai Shodown 2 and Darkstalkers came out in 1994. Darkstalkers introduced cat-girl Felicia in July and SS2 debuted cat-girl Cham Cham only a few months later in October. Technically Felicia came first, but was this a coincidence or did SNK come up with Cham Cham in less than 3 months (because they saw Felicia and wanted a cat-girl in their game too)???

Judging by Cham Cham's fleshed out fighting style and other "original" qualities... I highly doubt it.

However, the fact that Cham Cham's second player color in SS2 is "blue & white" (just like Felicia's default color) is ironic. Even if they did create Cham Cham before even knowing about Felicia, SNK might have whipped up that color on purpose... just to mess with Capcom. Just a theory of mine.

Once again, they do fight very differently and are unique designs in their own right. Also due to the fact that "cat-girls" are popular anime archetypes, I'm calling coincidence on this one.

Robert Garcia & Dan Hibiki

This is a true "Capcom VS SNK 90's feud" classic... and one of the first! in the awesome 90's, Capcom created Dan Hibiki to blatantly mock SNK's Robert and the Kyokugen style (used also by Yuri & Ryo Sakazaki from Art of Fighting). This was Capcom's "payback" for SNK's own rip-offs from several Capcom's creations (some of which you'll find directly below).

Guile & John Crawley

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This is one of SNK's original character "rip-offs" from the early 90's. After the huge success of Street Fighter 2, SNK had the audacity to create their own "blond-haired army-guy," and even gave him a similar outdoors air base stage. The original Art of Fighting came out just one year after Street Fighter 2 was released... there's no denying it. SNK should have just gone ahead and given John American flag tattoos as well.

It was shameless, even for the time, but that's SNK's "early days" for ya.

Ryo Sakazaki & Ken Masters

A non fighting game fan probably couldn't even tell these two apart by looks alone. Ken and Ryo have very different personalities and fighting styles, although they do have some similar moves as well. It's also ironic (and awesome) that they eventually appeared in the same game... more than once at that! Whether or not the original dev-team of Art of Fighting ever admitted it, they were definitely inspired from the likes of Ryu & Ken when they created Ryo Sakazaki.

Roy Bromwell & Terry Bogard

Capcom wasn't finished getting SNK back for all of their "copycat" designs in the early 90's... ohh no. In 1997, Capcom unveiled Roy Bromwell in Rival Schools, whom is clearly inspired by the likes of SNK icon, Terry Bogard. Not only do their looks match, but Roy shares many of Terry's attacks in his fighting style.

While some may "scoff" as this in a negative way, I always enjoyed using Roy in Rival Schools because I formerly played Terry quite a lot in KOF games.

In case you didn't notice, their names also share similarities... both first names end in "Y" and last names start with "B"... Haha, niiice one Capcom.

Mai Shiranui & Maki

Really Capcom? Still not done? Hahaha... actually, I think this one may not have been on purpose. The "konoichi" outfit they both wear really isn't uncommon... it's the color scheme that makes them seem so similar. You could describe Maki as simply a "female Guy" from Final Fight 2, so her outfit also makes sense in that regard. There are some subtle differences here and there, and their fighting styles are completely different, but the resemblance is clear.

The Hulk & Blanka

Obvious similarities here... they both suffer from the overly-green disease, both wear shorts, both prefer being barefoot, and neither of them can speak English very well.

They even have a similar fighting stance in their respective games! lol. It was apparent that Capcom also realized the likeness, as Blanka made a cameo in Hulk's MSH VS SF ending (below).

Good thing Blanka has that wild orange hair, or else he might be mistaken as Hulk's retarded brother... or is Hulk the retarded brother? Hmm, that's actually a tough one.

Kazuya Mishima & Demitri Maximov

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Dragonball Z's Vegeta might've started the hairstyle, but Kazuya and Demitri didn't have much of a resemblance (besides the pointy hair) when they debuted in their respective games. Years later, Kazuya became more and more like a "vampire" and started wearing snazzy purple suits... and thus, started to resemble Demitri.

The only difference between them these days (besides their fighting styles) is that Demitri doesn't have eyebrows... but ironically enough, one of Kazuya's customizations in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection allows him to have "no eyebrows".

And if that's not enough, they can both turn into alternate demon creatures with wings! These two are most definitely separated at birth, and I believe it's a pure coincidence.

Maxi, Vulcano Rosso & Amano Hyo

The "Elvis style"... slicked back hairstyles, sideburns, and snazzy outfits... nothing much more to say here. Looks like the three big character design companies (Namco, Capcom, and SNK) crossed paths yet again, but I don't think they intentionally copied each others designs here. Especially since all three of these fighters have vastly different fighting styles.

Hayato & Sol Badguy

Let's see... they both have spiky brown hair, a plate-like headband, a futuristic sword and similar attire.... Coincidence? It's a tough call. Star Gladiator came out in 1996 while the first Guilty Gear came out in 1998... were the Guilty Gear designers closet Star Gladiator fans? Both designs are definitely cool and original in their own right, but it wouldn't be surprising for Arc System Works to look to Capcom for some inspiration.

Iori Yagami & Remy

Iori Yagami's Japanese goth style defined the King of Fighter series in the mid 90's. When Capcom was looking for some inspiration for the last installment of the Street Fighter III series in 1999, no doubt they knew who Iori was. Hence, Remy definitely shares a likeness to Iori. They even have similar "moody" personalities. The white symbol on his black jacket is also similar to Iori's white crescent moon on his black jacket. Even though they've got some things in common, they're definitely a lot different also... and two awesome character designs if you ask me.

Continue to Part 3

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