Style Select: Sumo In Fighting Games

Comments · 1.3K

• KA

  @kamikaze4172 · 4 years ago

  Interestingly, Sumo's so deep in tradition, that a man who passed out in the ring either died or nearly died because the medical staff closest were women. They're not allowed within the ring

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• YO

  @yosoyflips · 4 years ago

  I'd still like a female sumo to be a big girl. There's definitely room for a joke anime character like Hinako, but i just also like the idea of a girl being bullied for her size turning to the sport as a source of motivation and inspiration. Maybe she's meek and demure. Maybe she's positive and confident. Maybe that's a character arc. Also fine with slim people, regardless of gender, excelling at the sport as a joke/novelty. Like people who imitate kung Fu movies except they happen to like sumo. Lastly, a superstar Sumo, someone who holds traditions but adds some suave, flamboyance, and arrogance to their presentation.

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• TH

  @TheNekoGentleman · 4 years ago

  I actually had the chance to ask the question to my Japanese teacher a while ago (Late 2000, during said Yakuza Scandal), and her answer was simple: Sumo is basically treated as a religion, frozen in time, its tenent almost sacred. The few times a scandal rocked the scene, it was almost a matter of national security and pride, and they were often swept under the rug. I&apos;d bet the issue with Sumo is not that it&apos;s boring because the developers want it to be, but because they almost have to, lest they get severe, massive backlash from the more traditionnal sides of the country.<br><br>For example, your idea of a Yakuza Sumotori would be in some japanese circles the equivalent of making a Nazi a good guy / protagonist in the west. And outside of Stronheim and MAYBE Akatsuki, I don&apos;t know of such an example. However, the gaijin idea is sound, as there is somewhat of a precedent in Akebono Taro, the first Non-born japanese to reach the highest rank in the discipline.

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• SI

  @Silvershire · 4 years ago

  The sad thing is that Ganryu could have become something close to your Yakuza idea if they didn&apos;t do the whole creepy obsession with the Changs thing: his original story was that he was dishonorably discharged from the sport of sumo because of illegal gambling and became a bodyguard for Kazuya. People tend to forget that he used to be a villain because they&apos;ve just turned him into an unfunny joke.

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• AN

  @AnthanKrufix · 4 years ago (edited)

  The thing about Ganryu is that he actually started as such a better character than he is now....<br>Originally he was an up and coming prodigy, however he ran into some heavy gambling depts which caused him to enter the first Tekken Tournament... He didn&apos;t win, however during the tourney he managed to take Kazuya to round three, which impressed Kazuya so much that he employed Ganryu as a major enforcer in the Mishima Zaibatsu, Ganryu was literally a main character in Tekken2... However he fell in love with Michele and proposed to her, which she politely rejected, and Ganryu.. politely accepted and left her alone.<br>... During Tekken 3 and 4 Ganryu quit working for the Mishimas and went to have his own sumo stable and was working down diligently at his job.... But then he saw Julia on TV and decided to sit down so hard on the idiot ball that it got lost permanently up there and now suddenly he was the most dim-witted stalker simp who&apos;s entire character became the guy who makes funny faces when he gets rejected, and his plot relevance became a footnote at the end of whatever Julia is doing..<br>The Tekken 1 and 2 Ganryu&apos;s plot was literally told on a postitnote sized paragraph in the leaflet which came with the game disc... and they still made a better character than the Ganryu in Tekken 5 onwards.<br>What.. the fuck..

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• NE

  @Neoxon619 · 4 years ago (edited)

  Your point is even more illuminated by the fact that Honda isn’t exactly that popular of a character despite how iconic he is. That said, I do like some of your ideas on how to do a unique spin on a sumo character. Though the last one could still benefit Hinako with a story rework in KoFXV.

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• EZ

  @EZPZ_SoBadItsGood · 4 years ago

  The Gaijin Sumo character is actually something that played out in real life. One of the greatest sumos was Konishiki Yasokichi who was born in Hawaii under a different name and was discovered by accident at a funeral he was attending. He almost &nbsp;made Yokozuna, but was passed over (allegedly) because of either him not being Japanese or not acting in a japanese way.

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• NE

  @neoawesomeon · 4 years ago

  One thing I’m surprised about is how games with sumo characters aren’t incorporating an exaggerated version of what the style is made for: winning through knockdowns &amp; ring outs. Obviously going exactly for these aren’t the best thing, but when translated to a fighting game, these can easily be turned into wall combos and otg attacks. If sumos want to get the opponent to the edge of the ring to win, make the moveset have plenty of wall bounces, high knockback, corner combos, ect. Also, if sumos want to get their opponent on the ground, give them a tool for massive otg damage so they are incentivized to play like a sumo. The gameplay of these characters doesn’t ever feel like anything more than character that has shove animations instead of punches most of the time.

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• RO

  @rolandoruiz7659 · 3 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dve9Fo4irAk&amp;t=494">8:14</a> Basically you’re looking for the Japanese version of Spider-Man’s Wilson Fisk.

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• BR

  @braystar8578 · 4 years ago

  I assume Sumo is just &apos;hard&apos; to depict as cool while also being as authentic as possible due to the nature of it. But it doesn&apos;t help that the most interesting character is Hinako who is most notable for being a small Russian-Japanese schoolgirl. But that, at least, shows the power of designs. If you had a cool Sumo Wrestler as you described with the first two ideas, even the more basic of moves will look cool because you have the, well, character of the character to personalise those basic moves. Also fancy effects.

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• TU

  @tubazo1989 · 4 years ago

  I agree that the culture we are raised in has an influence in what we consider cool or lame. I wonder if Japanese kids grow up thinking being an American Football Lineman is inspiring since I&apos;ve always seen Sumo and Linemen as culturally similar. A huge part of both sport, a large body shoving and pushing the other, and the &quot;all or nothing&quot; commitment lifestyle to maintain the stature.<br><br>Plus popular culture didn&apos;t do any favors. The high flying acrobatics of Ray Mysterio lead to an awakening of USA folks who discovered Mexican Lucha.....whereas the closest we got to Sumo pre-internet was Rakishi&apos;s booty.

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• MA

  @malbo- · 4 years ago (edited)

  The thing about hinako is that well, she&apos;s a kof character, storywise the only kof characters allowed to have any amount of depth to them are the protagonists of each saga or the characters close to them. Which is why we have such iconic and beloved characters as the fatal fury or art of fighting ones that have just been comic relief for decades. Snk really doesn&apos;t care about giving their characters compelling storylines

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