skullgirls
Skullgirls is a 2012 fighting game originally created by Lab Zero Games, now managed by Hidden Variable/Future Club and now published by Autumn Games/Marvelous AQL. It is notable for its hand-drawn 2D animation, its crisp controls and netcode, and its jazzy soundtrack. It also has a mobile game adaptation, and has had two major updates/rereleases titled "Skullgirls Encore" and "Skullgirls Second Encore."N story
Skullgirls is an urban fantasy story that takes place in a 1940s Hollywood-inspired setting called the Canopy Kingdom. Every seven years, the Kingdom is ravaged by a monstrous entity called the Skullgirl. Said Skullgirl was, at one point, someone who got their hands on the legendary magical artifact called the Skull Heart and made a wish. Only those with completely pure hearts can make a wish without becoming the Skullgirl, and many of the wishes made are in hopes of defeating the Skullgirl. Cycle of violence storyline, no?Like other fighting games, Skullgirls does not tell one definitively canon version of its story over the course of the game. Rather, it is constructed as a patchwork of semi-related stories as they're experienced through the playable characters. Most of the playable characters are aligned with some faction, such as the Mafia, the fascist monarchy, the Catholic Church of Body Horror (no shit, eh?) or the circus, which is also the Mafia. Most of these factions, for one reason or another, either want the Skull Heart or want the Skullgirl dead. Events that one character experiences may play out differently, or may not happen at all, for another character. It's the arcade mode storytelling style; if you've played fighting games before, you know what's up.
N characters
The best way to understand the story of Skullgirls is through its playable characters. Each of them has some tie to the Skull Heart - some more direct than others. When the game first released, only eight characters were playable, although over the 12 years that it's been out, the cast has climbed to a respectable 18 through DLC and updates. For the sake of brevity, and to provide a jumping-off point, I've written some bios for the original gang below.Click images to learn more. Links open in new tab.
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Ryu
First Game: Street Fighter (1987) Ryu is a karate man and the original "main character", so to speak, of the Street Fighter franchise. He is loosely tied to every plot thread they've introduced, which means that, in a Barbie-esque sense, he's done it all, babey. He has mastered his craft, travelled around the world, overturned numerous wicked folk, probably killed several people, and grown a sweet beard. He is supposed to be this cool, Bruce Lee-type figure that's fleshed out enough to participate in the various plots, but still vague enough for kids of the late 80s and early 90s to project themselves onto. |
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Ken Masters
First Game: Street Fighter (1987) Ken is Ryu's friend and rival, and the other main guy from the first game. Unlike Ryu, Ken is a goofy American. This means that he's allowed to do Goofy American Things, like ruining his life and losing all of his money in crypto. (Yes, this is canon!) He is the most popular character in SF6 right now and boy am I ever getting tired of fighting him. Ken is the character you pick when your go-to Mario Kart choice is Luigi. He is an okay dude, maybe! |
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Chun-Li
First Game: Street Fighter II (1991) Chun-Li was the first playable woman and holds the title of "Strongest Woman in the World". She is a kung-fu master and also an Interpol agent, because M. Bison, head of Shadaloo, killed her father. Why'd he do that? Doesn't matter; as of SF6, Chun-Li has adopted a kid and taken a sabbatical from Interpol to be a kung-fu teacher, which is pretty cool of her. What you really need to know is that she kicks people and seems very nice. |
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Cammy White
First Game: Super Street Fighter II (1993) If you thought Chun-Li's concept was a bit convoluted, you ain't seen NOTHIN yet, hunnie. So, Cammy is a clone assassin created by Shadaloo. Sometimes she's actually not, and she's an operative from something called Delta Red who got brainwashed into becoming a clone assassin, which isn't how clones work, but whatever. Anyway, now she's an M16 op for the Brits. Cammy likes cats and suffers from a 24/7 tension headache, partly from her immense trauma and partly from trying to sort out what her backstory is actually meant to be. People like her because she's a badass hottie, which - I mean, fair enough, you go, girl. |
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M. Bison
First Game: Street Fighter II (1991); playable in SFII: Champion Edition (1992) Bison was introduced as a boss in SFII, but didn't become playable until SFII: Champion Edition came out a year later. He is the main villain in that very 80s way, wherein you ask him what his villainy entails and he answers "Yes." He uses dark psychic brain tricks to, like, sell drugs and overthrow world governments and whatnot - you know, villain shit. If nothing else, he is incredibly iconic. He's also probably dead again, but I don't think anyone out there genuinely and earnestly believes that; we'll probably see him back in SF6 at some point or another. |
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Cammy White
First Game: Super Street Fighter II (1993) If you thought Chun-Li's concept was a bit convoluted, you ain't seen NOTHIN yet, hunnie. So, Cammy is a clone assassin created by Shadaloo. Sometimes she's actually not, and she's an operative from something called Delta Red who got brainwashed into becoming a clone assassin, which isn't how clones work, but whatever. Anyway, now she's an M16 op for the Brits. Cammy likes cats and suffers from a 24/7 tension headache, partly from her immense trauma and partly from trying to sort out what her backstory is actually meant to be. People like her because she's a badass hottie, which - I mean, fair enough, you go, girl. |
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Cammy White
First Game: Super Street Fighter II (1993) If you thought Chun-Li's concept was a bit convoluted, you ain't seen NOTHIN yet, hunnie. So, Cammy is a clone assassin created by Shadaloo. Sometimes she's actually not, and she's an operative from something called Delta Red who got brainwashed into becoming a clone assassin, which isn't how clones work, but whatever. Anyway, now she's an M16 op for the Brits. Cammy likes cats and suffers from a 24/7 tension headache, partly from her immense trauma and partly from trying to sort out what her backstory is actually meant to be. People like her because she's a badass hottie, which - I mean, fair enough, you go, girl. |
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Cammy White
First Game: Super Street Fighter II (1993) If you thought Chun-Li's concept was a bit convoluted, you ain't seen NOTHIN yet, hunnie. So, Cammy is a clone assassin created by Shadaloo. Sometimes she's actually not, and she's an operative from something called Delta Red who got brainwashed into becoming a clone assassin, which isn't how clones work, but whatever. Anyway, now she's an M16 op for the Brits. Cammy likes cats and suffers from a 24/7 tension headache, partly from her immense trauma and partly from trying to sort out what her backstory is actually meant to be. People like her because she's a badass hottie, which - I mean, fair enough, you go, girl. |
N my characters
Click images to learn more. Links open in new tab. |
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