King (Tekken)

King (Japanese: キング, Hepburn: Kingu) is the name of two fictional characters in the Tekken fighting game series. The characters were inspired by the pro wrestler Satoru Sayama,^[2] as well as Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta,^[3] a Catholic priest who became a masked wrestler in order to support an orphanage. The character of King has been in all the Tekken games to date, with King I being in Tekken and Tekken 2, and King II debuting in Tekken 3 and being in every subsequent game since. Reception of the character has been very positive since the beginning of the series, with King described as a "fan favorite" and considered one of the series' most iconic characters.

King
Tekken character
King II in Tekken 8
First appearance	King I Tekken (1994) King II Tekken 3 (1997)
Created by	Seiichi Ishii (King I) Katsuhiro Harada (King II)
Voiced by	Kōji Tsujitani (Drama CD) (King I) Masayuki Hirai (Tekken: Bloodline) (King II, Japanese) Leandro Cano (Tekken: Bloodline) (King II, English)
Motion capture	Minoru Suzuki^[1] Osami Shibuya^[1]
In-universe information
Fighting style	Professional wrestling, Lucha libre
Origin	Mexico
Nationality	Mexican

Character backstory

King I

The first King used to be a ruthless street brawling orphan with no care in the world except for fighting. In one of his fights, King was grievously wounded and collapsed in front of a monastery. The Marquez priests saved him from death. After recovering, King became a Catholic priest and renounced his old fighting ways. He then became a man with a mission; he dreamed of building an orphanage for street children, hoping to save them from becoming the kind of person he used to be. Eventually he was successful in building an orphanage, but funds were tight. To bring income to the orphanage, King fought in wrestling matches, donning his now iconic Jaguar mask to conceal his identity and acquiring the title "Beast Priest". It was at this time that King came to the attention of his future rival Armor King, one of a wrestling Tag Team who also wore Jaguar masks. Early in his career King accidentally crushed the eye of Armor King during a match. King has won many titles since, whilst the injury caused Armor King's career to plummet. King entered the first King of Iron Fist Tournament and after defeating Armor King managed to place third, winning enough prize money to continue supporting the orphanage. After a child died in his care, King became depressed and, giving up his jaguar mask, returned to the street and became an alcoholic. He would have died had he not been convinced by his old friend and rival, Armor King, to again wear the jaguar mask and join the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. King trained intensely and recovered from his alcoholism. He battled Armor King in a rematch at the tournament and was defeated. After the tournament, King participated in both pro-wrestling and martial arts tournaments to win money for his orphanage. He also taught his fighting skills to the children under his care as a means of self-defense. Sometime later on, Ogre, the God of Fighting, was awakened from an ancient ruin in Mexico by Heihachi Mishima's Tekken Force. Ogre attacked several martial artists around the world, including King, who was killed.

King II

The second King was a street urchin who was brought up in the first King's orphanage. Until the age of 24, this wrestler worked hard with King until one day, news broke of the first King's death at the hands of Ogre. Seeing that the orphanage would crumble into ruin (the money gained from King's wrestling matches was the only funding received), this man donned the mask of King and imitated his style.^[4] However, since his technique was learned just from watching King, not training with him, he lost every competition he entered.^[4] One day, however, another man with a mask visited the new King, introducing himself as an old friend. This man revealed himself to be Armor King, who was interested in finding out if the rumors of a new King were true. For four years, the two of them trained, and the new King learned quickly, maturing into a forceful wrestler with extreme power, known as King II. By this time, the now 28-year-old wrestler was a worthy heir to the throne, however, he longed to punish the one responsible for the original King's death. With rumors of the "God of Fighting" circulating, Armor King revealed to his student that the elusive entity was the one most likely responsible. Armor King watched as the new King, fueled with rage, set his sights on avenging his foster father's death and proving himself worthy of wearing the mask.

After the third King of Iron Fist Tournament, King (now 30) discovered that his master, Armor King, had been killed in a bar fight. The perpetrator, Craig Marduk, had been arrested in Arizona and was sent to prison. Upon Marduk's release (bribes paid by King himself), King sent a letter challenging Marduk to the tournament in Tekken 4. He defeated Marduk in the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament, sending him to the hospital, where King followed him to deliver a deadly blow. However, he decided to spare him after seeing a portrait of Marduk and his elderly parents. King was later enraged to find out that what appeared to be Marduk was defeating opponents in a black jaguar mask (identical to Armor King's), and that he had issued a televised challenge to King. Believing it to be truly Marduk disgracing his master, King entered the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament to settle the score once and for all. King would meet Marduk in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 where he claimed to want to fight King fair and square (which confused King since what he heard and saw televised was foul play), and their subsequent battle resulted in another victory against Marduk and the start of their friendship and King's belief that it was not Marduk he saw televised. However, after the tournament, Marduk was brutally attacked, and he told King that the assailant was apparently the man he was convicted of killing, Armor King. Determined to learn the true identity of the man in Armor King's mask, King and Marduk entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6. King visited his late master's room, and found out from his old picture that the other Armor King had a connection to him. By the time he arrived at the cemetery where Marduk and other Armor King are, King and Marduk found out that he is the vengeful younger brother of the original Armor King himself.^[5] King returns as a playable character in Tekken 7, with an alternate costume based on New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestler "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada being available for him in 2017. After Marduk and the younger Armor King ended up hospitalized themselves for ignoring King's peaceful treaties, King enters the tournament for not only their hospital bills and try to make amends with each other, but also the orphanage he resided too. Once Marduk and Armor King II recovered, but realizing the peaceful amends might not go well if they keep fighting each other, King sets up the match between them, in order to avoid any sort of possible bloodshed, starting from suggesting Marduk to send a challenge letter titled retirement match once Armor King II fully recovered after Marduk does.^[6] After Kazuya openly revealed himself as a devil to the world and announced The King of Iron Fist tournament, King, due to his experience with Armor Kings as the activists against Heihschi and Kazuya's tyrannies joins Jin Kazama's side, especially after finding out Kazuya set up the tournament finals at Rome to ambush Zafina and absorbs Azazel which was sealed inside her to become a true devil. His opponent at quarter final is Steve Fox, During a battle at Yakushima, King is enlisted at Victor Chevalier's platoon, with a mission alongside Shaheen and Steve to distract Sergei Dragunov's G Corporation platoon away from him, so Victor can engage Dragunov in combat, and won, despite the Russian's escape from being killed by the UN's French Admiral. After Jin's victory, King and some other fighter, including ones who previously aligned with Kazuya begin to help restoring Manhattan, Leroy Smith's hometown, while celebrating the world's freedom from G Corporation's tyranny.

In video games

Design and gameplay

King is known for the jaguar mask he wears. His face has never been seen in full. Pro wrestler Minoru Suzuki originally performed motion capture for King.^[7]

King is a character that has more of a defensive approach rather than a full blown offensive one. King has to be played carefully since he has a limited range and is very unsafe. King relies on quick strikes, good movement, and a very good view on punishment. In-game, he is known for his speed and has an arsenal of over 200 moves in his command list. Being a professional wrestler with lucha libre influences, King has many powerful throws at his disposal, and has a lot of strong counterattacks.^[8] King is notable for hi^[9]s chain throws, which he's had since Tekken 2, when he was one of the very few characters to have them. He also utilizes duck throws, ground throws and air throws, uncommon for characters in the Tekken series. Benjamin Turner from GameSpy called King's chain throws "ridiculously intricate".^[10]

As of Tekken 5, King seems to have drawn more wrestler-inspired moves into his repertoire. Additionally, King has been able to perform the Sharpshooter since Tekken 2. Other moves he uses include the Frankensteiner, while his "Muscle Buster" pays homage to Suguru Kinniku's "Kinniku Buster".^[3]

Other appearances

King appears in the non-canon Tekken games Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Card Challenge, Tekken Advance, Tekken Resolute, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition and Tekken Arena and as a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken, with his official tag partner, Marduk. King also made an appearance in the Namco crossover Namco × Capcom with Felicia from the Darkstalkers series as his fighting partner. King appears as a default playable character in the free-to-play game, Tekken Revolution. King appears as a Spirit in the Nintendo crossover video game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.^[11] King appears as a playable character in Fist of the North Star Legends ReVIVE.^[12]

In other media and merchandise

King I makes a cameo appearance in Tekken: The Motion Picture as one of the tournament competitors. He has no spoken lines, and it is unknown how he progresses through the tournament. He is last seen being carried by Armor King I off the exploding Mishima resort. King II's dossier is briefly seen in the CGI film Tekken: Blood Vengeance when Anna Williams opens a file containing dossiers on various persons of interest.

King II makes an appearance in the anime adaptation Tekken: Bloodline. King II is a competitor in the third King of Iron Fist Tournament where, like in the games, he was originally an orphan under the original King before King I's death at the hands of Ogre. King II is regarded as rather intimidating by the other competitors due to his animalistic nature and continual silence. King II's noble nature is hinted at, however, when he discreetly visits Ling Xiaoyu in hospital after their match to make sure she is well; though the act is misinterpreted by Jin Kazama and her at the time. Rumors surrounding King II are only fully dispersed when Julia Chang reveals King II's good nature to Jin. Determined to continue his hero's legacy and save his orphanage, King II quickly becomes the tournament's dark horse, using his formidable skills to defeat Craig Marduk, Ling Xiaoyu, and even tournament favorite Paul Phoenix. Despite this, he is ultimately defeated by Jin in the tournament finals, who (having heard of his opponent's background) proceeds to gift the prize money to him; much to King's surprise.

Epoch Co. released a 1/10 scale King action figure, based on his appearance in Tekken 3. The figure comes with a removable champion belt.^[13] Epoch Co. also released a 12-inch King action figured base on his Tekken 4 appearance.^[14] In 2017, King was one of the five Tekken characters to receive a Funko Pop.^[15]

Reception

King placed fifth in IGN's "Ten Best Fake Wrestlers In Videogame History", with author Bill Barnwell noting the realism of his mask.^[3] IGN also states that "no one can deny the intimidation his animal head puts out".^[16] King was featured in the "Our 10 Favorite Video Game Character Rip-Offs" article by Complex, noting his similarities to the Japanese professional wrestler Satoru Sayama and commented "The thing that always creeped us out about King is that his mask made it look like he had an actual jaguar head."^[17] Complex ranked King as "The 12th Most Dominant Fighting Game Character", commenting " Anybody who knew how to pull off King's chain grabs ran the Tekken arcade cabinet".^[18] Complex also ranked King as the 4th best Tekken character, commenting "A fierce competitor with flashy moves, King II is famous for his massive chain throws, which drain an opponent's entire life bar."^[19] GameDaily placed King at #4 on their list of "Top 25 Wrestling Characters of All Time" and comments "King knows how to kick butt in the Tekken series".^[20] In a GamesRadar article for Street Fighter X Tekken, they stated "a new wrestler (and former member of his (Armor King) orphanage) picked up the jaguar mask and trained to avenge him. Eventually King II became the equal of his inspiration as a fighter and performer."^[21] King was also ranked as the fifth best video game wrestler by GamesRadar, where they note "King is notable because he gives the developers an excuse to animate almost every single wrestling move known to man."^[22]

In the official poll by Namco, King was ranked as the 20th most requested Tekken character to be playable in Tekken X Street Fighter, at 6.47% of votes.^[23] King is also the most popular Tekken character in Japan.^[24]

In Digital Narratives and Linguistic Articulations of Mexican Identities in Emergent Media: Race, Lucha Libre Masks and Mock Spanish, author Daniel Calleros Villarreal was critical of the lack of proper speech and faceless nature for King and Armor King, stating "[They] do not speak in a game produced by a developer that is recognized for integrating an important diversity of linguistic components into their character's representations...the Mexican subjects represented in Tekken are dehumanized, given that they do not speak nor their visual construction features a human face. The realistic feline masks, associated with the inability to speak, places [them] in the same category as other sub-human, anthropomorphic characters of the series.^[25]

References

1. . Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
2. "In Japan, Wrestling Masks Aren't Just for Half-Naked Dudes in Boots". Kotaku.com. 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
3. Barnwell, Bill (2011-09-14). . Sports.ign.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
4. "Tekken 3 Special Update". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 92. Ziff Davis. March 1997. p. 81.
5. "Tekken 6 - Characters - King". Tekken.namco.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
6. "Tekken 7 X New Japan Pro Wrestling Collab. Trailer Feat. Kazuchika Okada!". "The Fighters Generation" channel on YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
7. Good, Owen (August 7, 2023). "Tekken boss confirms iconic fighter King's strange origin". Polygon. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
8. . Guides.ign.com. 2009-10-30. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
9. Good, Owen (August 7, 2023). "Tekken boss confirms iconic fighter King's strange origin". Polygon. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
10. "GameSpy: Tekken 5 - Page 1". Ps2.gamespy.com. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
11. Berg, Ricky (2021-06-28). "Tekken series Spirit Board features ten spirits, 14 character cameos total". nintendowire.com.
12. "『北斗リバイブ』×『鉄拳7』コラボが5月31日開幕！ 一八、平八、シャオユウ、キングが参戦". dengekionline.com (in Japanese). 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
13. "King Action Figure by Epoch preorder at PuzzleZoo.com – A Unique Toy Store of over 10,000 Toys!". Puzzlezoo.com. 2011-10-14. Retrieved 2012-01-03.^{[permanent dead link]}
14. Epoch. "Tekken 4 Series 1 12" Figure King: Toys & Games". Amazon. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
15. Pereira, Chris (January 23, 2017). "Tekken's Own Line of Funko Pop Figures Arrives This Year". GameSpot. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
16. "King". Guidesarchive.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
17. "What It Look Like? Our 10 Favorite Video Game Character Rip-Offs". Complex. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
18. "12. King — The 50 Most Dominant Fighting Game Characters". Complex. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
19. "4. King II - The 20 Best Tekken Video Game Characters of All Time". Complex. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
20. . Archived from the original on October 27, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
21. "Street Fighter X Tekken roster: Meet all 55 characters". GamesRadar. 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
22. Gilbert, Henry (November 3, 2014). . GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
23. . Fb.namcobandaigames.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
24. @Harada_TEKKEN (April 27, 2021). "in Japan? King (on average in the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
25. Villarreal, Daniel Calleros. Digital Narratives and Linguistic Articulations of Mexican Identities in Emergent Media: Race, Lucha Libre Masks and Mock Spanish. The University of Arizona.