Sometimes a fighting game character can get an extra spot due to a robot arm or being possessed.
Here are the best altered characters.
This time, theyre making a big deal out of it by including Evil Ryu and Violent Ken.
Alternate fighting game characters make it easy for developers to fill up the roster.
Sometimes they can be inspired concepts that build on what makes the characters interesting.
Sometimes they can be the laziest attempts to add more fighters.
Hell, maybe theyre both.
Weve picked our top twenty altered fighting game characters.
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- They have to be considered the same person.
Hes just a demon.
- They have to play different from their normal version.
The laterMortal Kombatgames introduced revenant versions of dead characters and despite having different skins, theyre totally the same.
ONI
Akuma stands in the shadow of theStreet Fighteruniverse as the ultimate wildcard badass.
Hes ruthless and vicious, but with a sense of honor.
He looks far more fearsome than his normal counterpart and adds more stakes as a hidden final boss.
Then again, Akuma is still a better design.
DEE
Despite being so damn good, theDarkstalkersseries quickly became increasingly lazy and repackaged.
The Japanese-only release ofVampire: Darkstalkers Collectionfeatured a new character named Dee.
At first glance, the idea of a new fighter should be celebrated, but not so fast.
Dee is Donovan Bane, once an honorable protector of the disturbed girl Anita.
Dee is supposed to be what Donovan becomes.
Sounds rad, but hes also really just Donovans head put on Dimitris body.
Its not the worst mashup, but Capcom probably could have put some effort into this one.
He even has a prototype version of his regular sword.
Sol has no time for your goddamn time paradox.
And so, he once again goes after the heroes with a partner to fall back on.
In-game, Voing follows Hol around in a box like hes Solid Snake.
His Mr. Karate persona is an extension of that.
Then it became a running gag in which hed act like a mysterious doofus and annoy his family members.
No longer a joke, he shows his full potential and easily cuts through his challengers.
SLIM BOB
WithTekken 6, Namco unleashed Bob onto the world and I will always love them for it.
Said answer turned out to be, Get really fat.
Bobs ending sees him become a huge success story, but then he pulls a reverse-Elvis.
Success makes him lose weight and, in his eyes, this turns him into a shadow of himself.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2features Slim Bob as a playable character.
His moveset remains mostly the same, and what he gains in speed, he loses in range.
His attitude also takes a hit as he sulks over his skinniness.
CORRUPTED SHINNOK
Ive always thought that Shinnok is a lame villain.
He sounds cool on paper, but he just doesnt have any air of sinister big bad to him.
THIS is what Shinnok should have been from the beginning.
God help you if you lose and he goes for his Fatality.
It goes on forever and is straight-up viscerally horrifying.
His winpose is no picnic either.
OROCHI SHERMIE
King of Fighters 97introduced the New Faces Team and with them came a neat twist.
Of the three, Shermies change is the most jarring.
She goes from a fun-loving teen girl chatting on her cell phone to a stoic lightning witch.
Her attacks suddenly have more of an electric taste to them, including her grapples.
I wonder if her eyes look any different.
DEVIL KAZUYA
There are a couple Devil characters inTekkenlore, but who wore it best?
Doesnt take too long to figure that out.
Jin Kazama whines about what hes become, but his father Kazuya owns to it.
Kazuya absolutely loves the fact that he can transform into a purple god with lasers.
He stays just as rotten as normal, but now he can fly and shoot projectiles.
In short, Capcom needed a new hook.
And so, upon defeating Apocalypse, youd face Cyber Akuma.
Akumas become both a Horseman and a Herald.
He really makes the most of those Marvel crossovers.
OROCHI
The first fourKing of Fightersgames build up to a confrontation with the ancient god Orochi.
Orochi, in his purest, reptilian form, cannot be killed.
He can only be sealed away.
Luckily for the heroes, Orochi never gets to show up in his true form.
Instead, he possesses the body of Chris from the New Faces.
Chris, the annoying young boy who otherwise totally sucks.
Chris ends up having two transformations inKing of Fighters 97.
He starts off as his smirking, positive self.
Then he becomes the flame-wielding worshipper of a destructive god.
Finally, he becomes the god himself in the big final boss fight the series spentyearsbuilding up to.
An invincible god is now a floating child in khakis, taking out three enemies at a time.
At least he improved on Chris body and gave him some rocking abs.
Interestingly enough, the very concept of Evil Ryu was created by Masahiko Nakahira for theStreet Fighter Alphamanga.
He didnt show up in-game untilStreet Fighter Alpha 2.
Since those days, fans have created mock-ups of cyber ninja sprites colored in blue and with ice powers.
Cyber Sub-Zero was such a simple concept to play with.
Dude has ice bombs and shit.
Then theres his ending, which for some reason has zero narration.
Shao Kahns ghost takes over Cyber Sub-Zeros body and we get Cyber Sub-Kahn.
SHADOW DIO
Dio Brando is an awesome and scary villain.
No wonder he has so many underlings.
Who would want to fuck with a guy like that?
And hes a vampire, too!
Truth is, as cool as Dio is, Shadow Dio represents the fear of the unknown.
His face is constantly shadowed out.
We know hes bad news, but we arent sure how outside of his ability to teleport.
In-game, Shadow Dio saunters around uncaring and with his face still darkened.
Theres less emphasis on The World and more on his expert skill at throwing multiple knives at once.
Hes more fun to play as and feels so much more sinister.
RIOT OF THE BLOOD IORI YAGAMI AND LEONA HEIDERN
Going to lump these two together.
Sure, Iori is a jerk, but he isnt the kind to needlessly slash up his allies.
And if you have Iori on your edited team?
Polnareff is able to defeat Anubis-wielders Chaca and Kan by the skin of his teeth.
Then he ends up picking up the sword himself.
Black Polnareff is such a badass design.
All we knew was that he worked for Shinnok as his herald.
Hell, he wasnt evenreferenced.
There was a good reason for this.
It just so happens that the two of them worked for the same bad guy without knowing it.
Noob has more of an identity than simply like the current one but not as good.
MECH ZANGIEF
Being the resident strong guy is great until youre outclassed.
Just ask Ben Grimm or Colossus.
Yeah, hes a mighty grappler, but hes in over his head against these giants.
As Mech Zangief, the chrome-skinned wrestler is now practically unstoppable.
He can barely jump, but he also powers through damage without falling back and rarely falling down.
His super armor comes in exchange for his inability to block.
He also has the power to spit blue flame like a total boss.
It just keeps showing up, barely hindered, over and over again while the story repeats.
Kind of like why theNightmare on Elm Streetmovies kept getting dumber.
Hes already a broken dude, but on some level he means well.
As Nightmare, he becomes a living extension of Soul Edges will and suddenly looks sweet as hell.
Siegfried later escaped the swords influence and accept his horrors, ultimately walking the path of redemption.
Nightmare assumed its own form and the two became obsessed with destroying each other.
Shao Kahn and Darkseid merged into Dark Kahn.Marvel vs. Capcom Infinitefeatures the being Ultron Sigma.
Neither of those amalgams matches God Rugals level.
Despite being cheap as all get-out, Rugal Bernstein is one of the best boss characters in fighting games.
Then Capcom went and put him in theirCapcom vs. SNKgames and made his design even more stylish and suave.
InCapcom vs. SNK 2, they hit another level by making Rugal the rival of Akuma.
If Rugal wins, he dangles Akumas dead body over his head and absorbs his energy.
Rugal goes full-on Mega Man as the ultimate Capcom/SNK end boss.
