GOING INTO THE ARCHIVES: CHANGES BETWEEN THE ARCHIVE/SECRETS SAGAS AND NORMAL STORYLINES
For those who want to be technical and
say how the Archive/Secrets saga jacks up the original storylines set by Capcom and SNK (or just to follow the storyline a
little bit better), this is just to let you know WHAT was changed and admit that there were changes made to make things happen. This way we won’t have any arguments about how a certain character came out
the way they did, huh? If things STILL don’t seem right to you after this,
then you might not want to keep reading the story if you don’t approve. Besides,
most fanfictions deviate from the main storyline anyways. You have to accept
that. Expect this section to have quite a bit of updates as time goes on.
The 7/9/2005 edition
SAKURA KASUGANO
- Sakura’s Alpha 3 storyline never
occurred. Her (Archives) story begins after Alpha 2, and during that time which
normally would be the Alpha 3 line, she was participating in Project Justice (Rival Schools storyline). This is where she meets Darrell and from there, she totally breaks off from her original storyline. She does participate in the Mark of the Millennium tournaments (Capcom vs. SNK 1 &
2), but everyone knows those games are not cannon.
- We all know that Sakura was not the
one to finish off Bison in the manner that was implemented in New Archives 1. In
the real storyline, she had Ken for help, and they only weakened Bison. Same
for Ryu, until Charlie sacrificed himself when Bison retreated into his base and finished him off.
- Also, Sakura never met Akuma and definitely
not Gill or Rugal.
- Sakura never officially tapped into
the Satsu no Hadou and became Dark Sakura (Sakura Satsu). Dark Sakura is the
what-if character from the Marvel vs. Capcom series, so technically, her connection with Sakura “Satsu” is just
in the Archive/Secrets series.
DARRELL MARKIS
- Doesn’t exist in the normal Street
Fighter timeline (original character)
HINATA WAKABA
- No remote changes other than the fact
that she meets Darrell during Project Justice (Rival Schools). Since Capcom basically
ended the Rival Schools story, her line starts just afterwards with her role in New Archives 1. One footnote, when the Taiyo school team finally catches up with Hyo Imawano the first time, Hyo is wounded
from the fight with Darrell, where in the normal timeline, he was 100%.
BATSU ICHIMONJI
- No changes (see Hinata)
KYOSUKE KAGAMI
- No changes (see Hinata)
ROY BROMWELL
- No changes
TIFFANY LORDS
- No changes
RAN HIBIKI
- In the Archive/Secrets saga, she is
related to Dan Hibiki, whereas for real Capcom says they are not related.
AKIRA KAZAMA
- No changes
DAIGO KAZAMA
- No changes
YUN LEE/YANG LEE
- In New Archives 1, Yun and Yang (who
were around 15 or 16 at that time) know Sakura (who was 17), whereas for real they have never met. In fact, it would’ve been quite impossible, for at that time (being right after the Alpha timeline)
and III didn’t occur for another 10 years or so, Yun and Yang would have to be around 7 or 8 at that time if you want
to be technical about it.
- It is rather unknown as to if Gen is
Yun and Yang’s grandfather. Capcom explains that Gen did show them some
techniques, but as to being related, there is no comment. Also, there is no clue
as to who their mother, grandmother, or father are (although it is a little hinted that Lee from Street Fighter 1 is their
father). Capcom didn’t spend time on the SFIII character’s bios,
so a lot of things are incomplete.
- Oh, and Yun and Yang don’t really
have a long-lost sister (Yin) or even an aunt in Shanghai. Yin is an original character
and the aunt is an angle for her which explains her stay in Shanghai while Yun
and Yang went about their business..
YIN LEE
- Yin doesn’t exist in the Capcom
universe (original character)
RYU
- Ryu’s Alpha 3 timeline never happened
(where he was brainwashed by Bison and fought Sagat, Sakura, and Ken). In fact,
the entire Street Fighter II storyline comes in conflict with New Archives II. Basically
look at things like this.
SFAII
> NA 1 > SF II > NA II
This
way, Bison is resurrected twice; once after New Archives I when Sakura kills him to host the Street Fighter II tournament,
and once again after Akuma kills him to return in New Archives II
- Ryu teams up with Darrell against Akuma
in NA I. Of course, Ryu never (officially) encountered Akuma again since SFAII.
KIM KAP HWAN (and KOF in general)
- Kim (and a majority of the KOF cast)
was taken after KOF 2001 and before KOF 2003. If you want, you can say that Secrets
of the Illuminati occurs in the year 2002 (since that is a dreammatch year with no storyline).
Beforehand, no other changes occur to Kim other than the fact that he participated in the Turn of the Century tournament
in New Archives 1.
- Now that we’re on the subject,
remember that the KOF ages are all OLDER than SNK says they are, because... well... in KOF, NO ONE GETS OLDER. That means everyone is the same age as they were in the previous game.
The only progression that can be hinted is that Kyo graduates from high school between 1997 and 1999 (hence his costume
change). This change was to make things realistic and to accompany the Capcom
age changes.
MAY LEE
- No changes
TERRY BOGARD/ROCK HOWARD/GEESE HOWARD
- And, ladies and gentlemen, we’re
at the infamous KOF/Fatal Fury conflict, starting with Terry Bogard. SNK really
messed up the timeline here, since Terry is supposed to be the King of Fighters (in the Fatal Fury timeline) and he isn’t
defending that title in that timeline until Mark of the Wolves, which happens in 2008.
During that time, he’s supposed to have Rock Howard accompanying him, BUT in KOF 2001, we see a young Rock with
him, and he doesn’t seem any older than 7! Now, if we go and add 7 years
to that (2008), then Rock will be 14 around the time of MotW, where in that game he’s around 16 or 18. Whoops.
- Speaking of the Howards, we now go to
Geese. Now, in Fatal Fury, Geese is supposed to be DEAD. End of story. That’s the motivation for Second Southtown
and Rock’s uncle, Kain. However, in KOF 97, we get Geese! Also, in KOF 2003, the Outlaw team (Ryuji Yamazaki, Billy Kane, Gato)’s motivation revolves around
Geese speaking to Billy. Basically, he’s supposed to be alive in KOF, but
dead in Fatal Fury. Big question mark, huh?
- But, lo and behold, we’re not
done! In New Archives II, don’t a brainwashed Sakura, Kaoru, Hinata, and
Darrell do away with Geese and beat up Terry, setting up (a 12 year old) Rock’s beginning angle for SotI around 7 years
later for the good of Shadowloo? Of course it never happened for real, and that
story itself had a weak plot.
SHUI MEI-LING/XIAO FEN
- Ok, we all know Mei-Ling and Fen, Rock’s
companions, are original characters, but still, this must be said (especially in Mei-Ling’s case). Mei-Ling was based of a character from a very little known Nintendo 64 game called Fighter’s Destiny,
also named Meiling. Seeing that the company that made the game basically went
under, I decided to “borrow” their character and alter her so that she was new in a sense. The two girls share similar moves, and Mei-Ling’s hyper art is a combination of Meiling’s two
special techniques (when her opponent was dizzy). Yes, the name was taken from
Fighter’s Destiny. However, the characters in Fighters Destiny have NO
storyline, whereas Mei-Ling has one, making her different enough to be original from her counterpart. Also, Mei-Ling is also somewhat based off of Mei-Ling from the famous Bruce Lee movie, Enter the Dragon.
- For Fen, her fighting style is mimicked
from certain martial artists from other video games. Her Yamenekosougi is based off of Jann-Lee’s Dragon Knuckle from the Dead of Alive series. Her Hoan’youin is based off of Marshall Law’s three hit knuckle combo from Tekken. Her super art, Shishiku, is based off of Jam Kurandoberi’s Ryuujin special move from Guilty Gear.
CAMMY, DRAKE, AND NOEL WHITE/M. BISON
- In the Street Fighter storyline, Capcom never said that Cammy retired from Delta Red after SFII, nor
did they say that she was had kids. Noel and Drake are original characters, but
one would like to notice the ages. In SotI, Cammy is 35 while Drake and Noel
are 16 a pop. So... one would think that “Oh. Cammy had birth when she was 15?” I’m going to
take this time to explain things a little clearly (and yes, this is going to change Cammy’s storyline when she was with
Shadowloo. WARNING: WHAT COMES NEXT WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS FOR AN UPCOMING
CHAPTER IN SAGA 1. BE PREPARED TO WITHSTAND THAT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW NOEL AND
DRAKE’S STORYLINE MORE CLEARLY). When Cammy was under Bison’s control,
Shadowloo’s scientists underwent another project to go along with the Doll Project called the Psycho Seed. Since all of the Dolls were female, Bison opted for them to eventually give birth to even stronger dolls
with this project, and for a start test run, Bison used the young Cammy, enhanced Shadowloo soldier. Due to this project, Cammy is forced to get pregnant by having sperm injections that are linked back to
Bison himself and gives birth to Noel and Drake (who originally aren’t named at all) and goes about her normal duties
until she fights Dhalsim (who starts to knock her out of Bison’s control) and finally Chun-Li (who finishes the job). Upon recovering, Cammy sneaks back into the Shadowloo main base and recovers her newborn
babies before the base blows up from the Bison/Charlie altercation. From there
she moves to London, England and attempts to live a normal
life with her newborns but she still had to find out about herself. Enter Bridget
Craft (who appears in chapter 4). Before the Street Fighter II tournament, Cammy
leaves young twins Noel and Drake (who she now named) with Bridget to take care of while she goes off to find out about her
past, joining Delta Red in the process. After the SFII tournament, Cammy retires
and reunites herself with her offspring. So... yes... Cammy is the mother...
and Bison is the father of Noel and Drake White.
CHARLIE, ACE, CHUN-LI, GUILE AND M. BISON
- This story change begins with the end of Alpha 3, where the trio fight Bison and when Charlie sacrifices
himself to hold off Bison so that he can die in the explosion. In Archives/Secrets,
Charlie survives the blast, where in the normal storyline, he doesn’t. That’s
why he’s still around, period. This also ends Guile’s “avenge
Charlie” angle for SFII, instead he enters the tournament to finish the job that Charlie started (who was severely injured
from the blast).
- Now to move onto Chun-Li. After SFII (which in the Archives
story, she wins), she stays with Interpol longer than she does in the normal storyline to close out the remainder of the Shadowloo
case. During that time, she gains a partner in Ace (who uses the last name Willows). Ace is assigned from the US government to accompany her and find out more
about Shadowloo, where as in Street Fighter EX, he’s not exactly in that role.
However, Chun-Li still opens up her orphanage and makes time to spend her time and efforts there.
- Oh, and in the Archives/Secrets sagas, Chun-Li uses the family name “Xiang”, which was used
in the live action movie “Street Fighter”
KAIRI, MAKOTO, IBUKI, HOKUTO AND NANASE
- To make things clear first, the EX series is NOT related to the normal series.
- In the EX series, Hokuto and Kairi kill each other after 3 consecutive battles (with Nanase barely making
it there to watch the last blow of the last match before she could stop them). Of
course, with all three of them being alive, that fight never occurred...
- ...since that was needed for them to participate in the SFIV tournament (which also didn’t happen). Without Kairi, Sakura wouldn’t have gotten her push for SotI, and also it would’ve
left the four females without a story at all (>.>).
- For those who read New Archives 1, they may remember that Ryu and Makoto teamed up with Kairi for the
tournament. Yes, this is filler, and yes, you can notice that it is the same,
silver haired psycho version, only he never said anything. Don’t take it
seriously. If you want, you can forget that that even happened.
WANGTANG AND MITSUMI
- For those who noticed this, yes, the Wangtang that Mitsumi Yao talks about is the same Wangtang from
the obscure fighting game, Power Stone. One is to wonder how they could even
co-exist, for Power Stone happened in the 19th century while the story was set in the 20th /21st. Basically, I took advantage of a loophole that was created in Capcom’s Power
Stone II. In that game, two stages of the game were a space station and a sky
scraper set in New York City, both very much in the present times. I don’t think Capcom was
thinking a lot in the game design for that game, just worried about making it multi-player and such. Due to this, this allowed for the passage of Wangtang and his original character girlfriend, Mitsumi. Bascially, their hometown of Tong-An is still set in the magical glow that it was
in the 19th century with no technology changes, but exists in the present.
- Also, you may notice that Wangtang and Mitsumi team up with Yun and Yang in New Archives 1 for the Turn
of the Century tournament. This was due to the fact that New Archives 1 was supposed
to have a side story entitled “Triple Dragons”, a crossover of Street Fighter and Power Stone starring the four,
taking it from the Lee’s meeting with Sakura’s group and ending at the tournament, telling about what was missed
due to the focus drawing away from the tournament after Sakura’s team was eliminated.
However, the story didn’t get any feedback at all (especially with the fact that my other SF story, Ryu’s
Retirement, overshadowed BOTH that and NA1 in reader reviews and interest... ) so I took it down.
Battle Terminology
Normal Moves
- These moves are universal to all characters and is their basic attack list, not involving a lot of Ki use at all.
Normal moves consist of physical attacks with punches and kicks and hold no really special attributes. This might slightly vary depending on a person’s fighting style, but overall its just the standard
punches and kicks.
Command Moves
- These moves are very much like normals, only these are mostly extensions from normal moves to be used as fakeouts and combo
linkers. They also might have special priorities.
For example, Sakura’s Flower Kick is a move that is an overhead, although she’s in standing position.
Throws -
Throws are special, close quarter attacks in which one fighter grabs the other to do a certain action. Throws are unable
to be blocked, however, they can be broken up and disrupted before they’re executed.
Special Moves
- Special moves are the signature moves. The Hadoukens, the Lightning Kicks and
whatnot. These moves are purely unique to every fighter and require a bit
of personal ki to use or some special movement that isn't found in normals or commands. A special move tends to do damage
wither an opponent guards it or not.
EX Special Moves – There are certain special techniques that can be amplified by adding more ki or effort into it than normal. Said moves are called EX Attacks. Although
a majority of the cast has at least one EX’able move, certain ones (like Kyo) have more than one, while others (like
Akuma) don’t have any at all.
Level 1/2 Super Arts - These special techniques are more powerful than any of the above and, as a result, require quite a bit of that fighter's
Ki/effort to achieve. These moves are really special and hold more priority than the lesser three in most cases. They’re even broken up into two separate levels, level 1 and level 2, and a
level 1 move can be canceled into a level 2 (explained later)
Level 3 Hyper Arts - Hypers are the ultimate attack for any fighter. Each character has at least one hyper attack, however, some
(i.e. Kyo, Mitsumi, Chun-Li), can hold more than one in their arsenal. Hypers deal out a ton of damage, even more than
Super Arts and can really change the pace of a fight in one shot. However, hypers require the most ki usage/effort out
of all the other types of attacks, so the executor must be careful when and where to use a hyper, for if it misses they can
be out of luck.
Parry - Parrying
is a technique in which the fighter blocks an attack with either a hand, a knee, or another part of the body to throw
off the attacker's momentum and totally nullify damage, whereas a normal defense merely prevents most damage. Parrying
can also be used as a reverse, enabling the parrier to go on the offensive. Not
that ki attacks cannot be parried.
Ki Absorb (aka Just Defense) – This technique is the ki-styled equivalent to the parry. Done
by guarding a projectile or ki attack at the last moment, the impact will be negated and the person on the defensive won’t
take any damage. Also it’ll help raise their super level as well. It is a very advanced technique that needs to be done perfectly to work.
Momentum Cancels - A momentum cancel happens when a fighter stops a motion for an attack in favor for another movement, wither it is
an attack or a movement. An example is Ryu. If he throws a Hadouken, then quickly cancels out of the form to try
either a backward dash or a Shinku Hadouken super art, that is a momentum cancel. Cancels generally require a small
usage of ki to use, since it goes against the normal nature of the attack, and it takes a whole lot more energy to cancel
a move and just move out the way rather than adding more directly to it. Also, the ensuing attack is more likely to
lose power due to the sudden hastiness to perform in within the cancel time. Doing
multiple cancels one after another also isn’t totally wise, since it’ll quickly drain the performer’s energy. There are various types of cancels and chains, which will be explained now...
Attack Cancel
– While performing any normal or special attack, a fighter can go against the normal direction of the next attack and
stop on a dime, permitting them to mix things up or keep a combo going longer than it should.
This is the most fundamental form of canceling because (by theory) it’s easier to do than the others. Note that several of these types of cancels one after another will fatigue the attacking fighter easily,
so it cannot be abused, since it does take an excessive amount of energy compared to other cancels.
Super Cancel
– This is when a fighter interrupts a special move for a super attack or hyper attack.
This is normally useful to land attacks that normally are hard to get to work.
It does take quite a bit of work to accomplish, however it does require some knowledge on the attack’s priorities
to make sure they chain correctly.
Dream Cancel
– This is a slight modification to the super cancel. This is when a character
lands a level 1 super art and then cancels it into a level 2 Super or a Hyper attack.
This, of course, takes more energy than a Super Cancel.
Mystic Cancel
– This is the most powerful form of canceling, which cancels a level 2 super art for a hyper attack. Ultimately this is will definitely bring the pain upon opposition that fall for this. However, this will almost certainly require the most effort to accomplish, performing a Mystic Cancel guarantees
the Hyper will hit, but it will not only totally drain a person’s super meter, but also lower the damage output a bit.
Tag Chain
– When a team of fighters are fighting, this is possible. While one individual
is performing an attack, it can be canceled and instead of adding more, the individual switches out to his or her partner. This requires concentration and execution by both teammates to get right.
Guard Push
– A defensive tactic, while a fighter is being attacked while blocking, he/she can push outwards with their body in
timing with the incoming attack to put some distance them. If timed right, this
can also stagger. It’s a great surprise tactic that not only takes concentration,
but a little ki as well, and is generally used to get some distance between the two fighters.
Guard Break
- Not to be confused with a guard crush, a guard break occurs when a fighter who is blocking an attack suddenly stops blocking
and either moves out of the way or counter attacks. A guard break can also stem into a parry, however, guard breaks
are very risky. If a person is too slow to move, the attacker can still attack him or her without restraint.
Guard Crush
- When an attack is blocked, no matter what type it is, it takes some effort for the attack to go on being blocked.
When a fighter blocks too often, their defenses will grow weary. Any more attacks to the guard wll result in a guard
crush, in which the blocker's defenses will give out and leave him open to attack. Once a person is guard crushed, it
becomes harder for him or her to defend against attacks, making him or her rely on other means of defenses (i.e. parry).
Certain characters wield moves that either hasten this guard crush ability or cause it instantly (Ryo's Tenchi Haouken is
a perfect example).
Stagger -
Certain moves ensure staggering (i.e. Fen's Wind Drill command move). When a move like this hits cleanly (no blocking),
the person hit will be off balance for a short time, enabling more opportunities to strike during that short period of time. However, performing the same stagger move twice will usually knock the opponent down.
Stunned/Dizzied
- When a fighter is hit constantly without putting up a defense or is hit in a critical place, that person can become dazed.
When dizzy, the fighter is weakened and unable to make any movements until either he or she recovers fast enough or his or
her opponent hits them. This is the position that all fighters try to avoid! You'll be surprised how easily a
fighter can be dazed if he or she doesn't watch it. Also, to add to that, techniques are made to make dizzying easier
(Ryu's Denjin Hadouken is an example).
Safe Fall
- When a fighter is knocked to the ground, yet rolls quickly back to his or her feet, this is called a safe fall. A
safe fall prevents the opponent to set up any more offenses. Safe falls can also be done in the air, in which the fighter
flips out of the hit stun and prepares a safe landing. If high and quick enough, they can also counter attack immediately.
Note that certain moves cannot be Safe Fallen afterwards.
Counter -
When a fighter hits his or her opponent just as he or she is about to get hit, this is called a counter. Normally, depending
on the counter move and the attacker's move, this can either break the opponent's momentum or can even go as far as to instantly
stun them. (For an example, picture this. If Noel counters one of Ken's harder punches with a hard punch of her
own, then Ken can get as far as having just a minor stagger. However, if Noel counters Ken's Shoryuken with a Cannon
Spike or a Cannibal Counter, Ken can be instantly dizzied for a short time. How's that for a counter attack?)
Trading -
In rare moments of the battle, the two fighters can trade hits. Now, there are two ways to trade hits. One way
is if the fighters meet each other's attack with equal force (As if Darrell and Kyo both try to punch each other and the fists
collide with one another). In this case, both punches nullify each other and neither attacker takes damage, except in
cases where one character is more fatigued than the other, where the stronger's attack might overpower the weaker's.
However, the other type of trade is when both fighters attack with moves that cannot "collide" and both hit their targets
at the same time (i.e. if Yun's Kobokushi trades with Yin's Senkyutai). In this case, both attacks act as counters and
can even cause staggering or dizzying, even if it normally couldn't. Also note that certain attacks can't trade under
normal circumstances, like a normal and a super art, or a super art and a hyper art. In most cases, the 'stronger'
attack or the move with the most priority beats out the weaker.
Taunting
- Taunting is the... light-hearted part of a person's arsenal. Taunting can either be just a simple physical jest (Ryu
fixing his handguards, Athena's yarning, Nanase fixing her ribbons, etc), a simple verbal remark (a "Hey, Come on, come
on!" from Terry or a, "Is this all you can do?" from Leona), or a... really, really ugly taunt (Joe "mooning" his opponent,
Blanka scratching his butt, etc.). Taunting doesn't really have any benifits besides boosting that fighter's confidence
and letting the other fighter know just who's "on top" here. Just don't be a Dan...
Physical Rating
- This shows how hard a person can hit with a physical attack at their maximum. Basically, this shows how much damage
a punch thrown by Alex can do to you.
Ki Rating
- This shows just how much "inner energy" a figher has. Ki enables fighters to perform really special moves, as
in firing off ki blasts, electricity, fire, powering their own body, etc. The higher the rating, the more effective
that person's Ki is.
Vitality Rating
- This shows just how long a person can stand in a fight before he or she can't take anymore and is down and out. Basically,
its good to have a good raiting in this, however, not everyone's built like a horse like Hugo and Vexx...
Overall Rating - Pretty much self-explanitory... This shows how good the fighter is as a whole.
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