Summary
Fighting game seriestend to focus on both a roster of playable characters, and a narrative in which to involve them. However, the two goals can sometimes run counter to each other. An overarching narrative may lead to the death of a certain character, even if they are a fan-favorite. Some fighting games, usually crossovers or other non-canon events, will briefly circumvent this and have dead characters be playable.
Other times, however,fighting games will reverse that death and return a character to the world of the living in canon.The exact method by which this is achieved may vary. Sometimes a character’s death is directly undone, other times it’s merely retconned. Either way,these fighters have all been given another lease on life.
In perhaps one of the most infamous examples,Mortal Kombathas killed off and revivedits flagship heroon more than one occasion. As this series revolves around literally killing the competition and has a revenant as its breakout fighter, this is somewhat less shocking in context.
Liu Kangwas initially killedbeforeDeadly Alliance, by the titular pairing of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, making it the first game in the series where he was unplayable. However, his “death” was short-lived as his spirit and body returned separately inDeception. While his spirit was still heroic and teamed up with Ermac, his resurrected corpse was used for evil purposes. InArmageddon, he was one of many characters to die once more.
The first reboot had Liu Kang killed around the end of the first game,Mortal Kombat(2009). This is the unfortunate result of a fight he has with Raiden where the God of Thunder tells him they must allow Shao Khan to merge the realms. This leads to Liu Kang becoming one of Quan Chi’s many undead servants inMortal Kombat 10. This undead version of Liu Kang is fused with another counterpart, as well as Raiden, leading him to become the Fire God Liu Kang inMortal Kombat 11. It is this incarnation of the character that we see inMortal Kombat 1.
The longstandingBlazBlueantagonist was killed duringChronophantasma.His killer was Hakumen, a warrior whose soul was housed in an armored samurai body known as the Susanoo Unit. Hakumen used a time killer technique which eliminated all ofTerumi’sremaining time as a living being. However, by focusing on a small bit of time which was not eliminated, he is able to preserve himself inCentralfiction, but he is still in desperate need of a body before the time ends, withhis past vessel, Hazama,refusing to re-fuse.
Terumi eventually destroys Hakumen’s soul and merges with the Susanoo Unit, becoming his original form, Takehaya Susanoo. However, even in this form, he becomes weakened enough for Ragna the Bloodedge to kill him once more. WithCentralfictionbeing the last mainline game in the series so far, it is unclear if Terumi or Susanoo will stay dead permanently in the main timeline or resurrect themselves once again.
Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection
This wealthy industrialist was unseen during his time spent initially alive. Instead, the majority of the conflict across theTekkenfranchise was left up to his descendants. Originally a profiteer during World War 2,Jinpachiregretted this direction for the Mishima Zaibatsu and instead wished to focus on martial arts. Unfortunately, his son, Heihachi, stole his company from him, and imprisoned him in the Mishima family’s temple, Hon-Maru. He existed mostly as a lore character, with his friend, Wang Jinrei, fightingthe surviving Mishimasfor his sake in earlierTekkengames.
He was later reanimated by an unspecified “devil” or “spirit” inTekken 5(not to be confused withthe devil gene), where he serves as both the final boss and the host of the fifth King of the Iron Fist Tournament. Unlike many characters who took their resurrection in stride, Jinpachi sought to end his own life, aware of the devil taking him over. If the player decides to quit after losing to him, his own ending shows him being consumed completely by the evil spirit possessing him. However, canonically, he was killed once more and turned into dust.
Like Jinpachi,Charliealso existed as a lore character before becoming playable. He was a captain in the United States Air Force and a close friend of Guile, who was killed by M. Bison. This becomes a motivating factor forGuile’s personal grudgeagainst Bison inStreet Fighter 2. Charlie himself later becomes playable in theStreet Fighter Alphatrilogy, a series of games taking place betweenStreet FighterandStreet Fighter 2. He is killed off in most endings that involve him across the three games. The ending inStreet Fighter Alpha 2, ironically the one where Bison is the least direct in killing him, was retroactively considered the canon ending.
He returns inStreet Fighter 5, after being declared dead by the US Army. It is revealed he was resurrected by Gill, the leader of the Illuminati, for the purpose of wiping out Bison. Instead, he sacrifices himself in an effort to aid Guile and others in destroying him, by absorbing a large amount of his psycho power and exploding. It is unclear if Charlie is currently alive. His death is all but stated outright, yet his official status is “unknown.”
The King Of Fighters
The King of Fighters XV
Since its debut in 1994, the KOF fighting game series has been driving the world to new heights of excitement with its appealing characters and unique game system. Six years have passed since the last title in the series, and now KOF XV surpasses all of its predecessors in terms of graphics, systems, and online experience!
For a while,The King of Fightersmanaged a long-running story where characters, typically major antagonists, were regularly killed off across the timeline. This was accomplished in part due to “Dream Match” games likeKing of Fighters ‘98: Ultimate MatchandKing of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match. These games take place outside the timeline, allowing for popular characters who were technically no longer alive to be playable in a certain capacity.
However, the “Dream Match” model seems to be retired for the moment.The King of Fighters 13was not followed by an anthology roster consisting of every character from the Tales of Ash saga. That said, this was the game Vice and Mature, previously killed in96,returned in a tangible form to team up once more with Iori Yagami. However, they are still technically considered “dead.“The King of Fighters 14set the stage for many more returning villains with its own final boss, Verse.
Verse was an entity created by the erasure of Ash Crimson erasing himself in13.It consists of negative energy and numerous souls. When faced with certain foes, souls associated with them emerge from Verse. Examples include Krizalid telling K’ he is the original and Leona Heidern’s birth father, Gaidel, saying he will always watch over her.
After its defeat in14, many previously deceased or disappeared souls burst out of the creature and were reborn on Earth. Many of these characters became playable inKing of Fighters 15, including Rugal Bernstein, Goenitz, Ash Crimson, and the New Faces Team from98. Those are just the characters who are currently playable. Many others previously thought to be deceased now have the potential to return in future games in some capacity.
