Hwoarang
| Hwoarang | |
| |
| Origin |  South Korea
|
| Voiced By | Toshiyuki Morikawa (T3-T4) Greg Dale (T4) Sang Hyeon Eom (T5-TTT2) Chris Rickabaugh (SFxTK) Tomoaki Maeno (SFxTK) |
| Fighting Style | Taekwondo |
| Age | 19 (T3) 21 (T4, T5/T5:DR, T6/T6:BR, TTT2) |
| Blood Type | O |
| Height | 181 cm (5' 11") |
| Weight | 80 kg (176 lbs) |
| Occupation | Street thug leader (T3) Soldier (AWOL) (T4) Resistance Leader (T6) |
| Hobby | Yachting (good at all sports) (T3) |
| Likes | Rock music, street fighting, and arguing (T3) his mentor Jin Kazama Steve Fox |
| Dislikes | Ogre Kazuya Mishima Mishima Style Fighting Karate (T3) Devil Jin (T5) G-Corporation (T6) Kazuya Mishima (T6) |
Contents
Introduction
Hwoarang (Hangul: 화랑; Hanja: 花郎 Hwarang; Japanese: ファラン Faran) first appeared in Tekken 3, and returned in all subsequent games. He is the Taekwondo student of Baek Doo San, and entered the third Tournament to get revenge on Ogre for "killing" his master. He has also become Jin Kazama's rival after the two fought to a draw in one of Hwoarang's street matches.
Like many rivals of the protagonist of a fighting game (such as Street Fighter's Sagat) he is often portrayed as an arrogant and brash person, who initially had a win streak of some sort and had failed to beat the protagonist. Like many rivals he has also shown some friendliness to his rival, Jin on many occasions. He has also shown himself to be one of the strongest characters in the series as he had defeated Jin, who by then had already won 2 tournaments straight. Despite his brash and cocky nature he has shown great integrity, a drive for fighting strong opponents (primarily Jin) and rejecting a great amount of power. (all of which are also commonly seen in rivals).
He is often called cheap by people due to the fact that he will usually kick and rarely punches(this resulted with people mashing his kick buttons). For players however he is considered as one of the hardest characters to use as he has a high amount of stances and thus needs to be analyzed properly. Due to his flamingo stances and which foot is forward stance he is considered by players as a good poker with fast strings (which is also seen in Taekwondo users like Juri Han and Baek). He also retains variations of many moves he learned from Baek such as his Hunting Hawk and Dynamite Heel. He also edited moves like Baek's Sky blaster to his Sky rocket.
He's known for his distinctly orange and auburn hair. Though he can show aggression and belittlement to people, he has shown humility and concern for those who he cares about, most evidently Baek. Like Jin, fans also consider him as a "pretty boy" but to a lesser extent. He has also shown himself as one of the most popular characters in the series since his Facebook page has more than 10000 likes as of April 2012. His outfit will always consist of a biker themed outfit with googles or his blue or white Taekwondo dobok (with the exception of Tekken 4). All his outfits except his military uniform seem to feature a red hawk emblem which is in reference to Hwoarang's nickname Blood Talon. These can be found in the back of all his biker outfits along with his dobok and pants for his standard Taekwondo uniform
His title in the original trilogy is Blood Talon.
Games in order of appearance:
- Tekken 3 (1997)
- Tekken Card Challenge (1999)
- Tekken Tag Tournament (1999)
- Tekken Advance (2001)
- Tekken 4 (2001)
- Tekken 5 (2004)
- Tekken 6 (2007)
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (2011)
- Tekken 3D Prime Edition (2012)
- Tekken Card Tournament (2013)
- Tekken Revolution (2013)
Other appearances:
- Tekken: The Motion Picture (1997)
- Street Fighter X Tekken (2012)
History
Gameplay
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Story
- Prologue (Manual)
- A student of Tae Kwan Do who works out at Baek Doo San's dojo, Hwoarang makes a lot of money through dishonest gambling wagers. As part of what's called a fraud team, he and other members pick fights for money. They manipulate the odds by concealing their true strength. He escalates the odds against him and makes what appears to be a foolish wager. His opponents soon realize they're the real fools when Hwoarang soundly beats each and every one of them.
- One day, members of the Mishima Group came to town, including among them Jin Kazama. Hwoarang talks them into his game and is matched against Jin. Hwoarang embarrassingly can only manage a draw. He hangs his head in disbelief at the first blemish in his perfect career. Sickened at the thought of having to tell his teacher Baek the bad news, Hwoarang vows to practice every day to guarantee that it would never happen again. Then, terrible news. The God of Fighting claims Baek as yet another victim.
- Hwoarang now has a purpose in life. He will participate in the tournament, beat Jin Kazama and seek revenge against the God of Fighting.
- Ending, Rival (Unofficial Synopsis)
- Hwoarang is sitting down in an alleyway, holding a trophy (that is a gold version of Heihachi's head). He is ready to toss it away when he notices Jin being pursued by the Tekken Force. Jin is then cornered by the Tekken Force. As a distraction, Hwoarang throws the trophy into the area, and then beats up the Tekken Force. When he turns to face Jin, Jin has already begun his transformation (into Devil Jin) and leaps out of the warehouse. Hwoarang smiles as he trembles with excitement.
Trivia
- Hwoarang's bosses in the Tekken Force side game are (in order of appearance) Eddy Gordo, Forest Law, Jin Kazama, and Heihachi Mishima.
- In the rare "Tekken 3 Symphony Orchestra" calendar by Namco, Hwoarang is seen rollerblading while wearing formal black clothes and carrying a cello in its case.
Gameplay
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Story
- Prologue (In-Game Text)
- Back in his homeland of Korea, Hwoarang was drafted into the military and assigned to a SpecOps unit. Although his success in various missions was highly regarded, his penchant for disobeying rules and orders gave his senior officers more than a few headaches.
- Hwoarang felt a strange emptiness within him. He recalled longingly of the days hustling money in street fights, the rush of hand-to-hand combat, and his fight against Jin Kazama. The military could not quell these yearnings.
- One day, the announcement of the next Tournament reached Hwoarang's ears. For the first time in years, his blood began to stir. He would defeat Jin, Heihachi Mishima, and anyone else who dared to stand in his way of claiming Mishima Zaibatsu as his own. Bursting with anticipation, Hwoarang slipped out from the military base and headed for the Tournament.
- Epilogue (In-Game Text)
- Hwoarang won the Tournament, and now Mishima Zaibatsu was his to control. But to everyone's surprise, he immediately sold off Mishima Zaibatsu to another company. He then left on another journey--there was one last task he had to finish.
- Ending, "Fin Hwoarang" (Unofficial Synopsis)
- Hwoarang walks into the Parking Area where Jin is waiting. When Jin asks what Hwoarang wanted, Hwoarang replies that he didn't get a chance to fight him during the Tournament, so he was going to fight Jin here. Jin states that there is no reason to fight; Hwoarang, however, states that he does. The screen turns white and the fight commences.
- In the next part of the scene, both Jin and Hwoarang are panting in exhaustion after the fight. Before a word could be spoken between the two, one of Hwoarang's commanders from the South Korean military come and he is surrounded by several soldiers. In the effort of aiding Hwoarang, Jin beats up two of the soldiers. Hwoarang whistles, and then beats up some of the other soldiers. The commander, furious that Hwoarang is trying to escape, tells the soldiers to open fire. Jin and Hwoarang take cover behind a blue car. Hwoarang tells Jin that he got his "ass kicked out there," and that Jin can get the chance to even the score at the next Tournament. The two exchange smiles. The car finally explodes and the commander orders a cease-fire, only to find that Jin and Hwoarang have escaped.
Trivia
- Hwoarang has short and 'styled' hair for the first and last time.
- Hwoarang is seen out of his two stereotypical costumes (biker and taekwondo outfits) for the first time.
- Hwoarang speaks English when he confronts Jin for a fight, with Jin responding in English as well. In later games, they only speak Korean and Japanese, respectively.
Gameplay
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Story
- Prologue (In-Game Text)
- Hwoarang, Jin Kazama's rival. Near the end of the previous tournament, The Korean Military arrested Hwoarang. At the Korean embassy, a man claiming to be the ambassador passed him a letter. "I've received this letter for you from the military. Take a look."
- Hwoarang couldn't believe his eyes. "Get me out of here now," says Hwoarang. Next day, Hwoarang flew to Korea to complete his training. Now done with his military service, Hwoarang is ready to finish Jin Kazama!
- Interludes (Unofficial Synopsis)
- Stage 4 Baek Doo San: Hwoarang meets Baek, who says that Hwoarang went out without permission, but Hwoarang says that there is someone he needed to defeat. When Hwoarang wins, Hwoarang tells his master that he will train hard, and then leaves.
- Stage 8 Jin Kazama: Hwoarang challenges Jin to a fight, which Jin accepts. When Hwoarang wins, Jin tells him that Hwoarang wins the fight. Hwoarang boasts that he is stronger than Jin, but Jin leaves, and says that he has other things to do, despite Hwoarang asking him if he is ashamed. Hwoarang yells "This is so boring! This sucks!"
- Final Stage Jinpachi Mishima: Hwoarang wanders in Ground Zero and Jinpachi is behind him. He is impressed that Hwoarang has made it this far. Jinpachi introduces himself, and says that his goal is to eliminate all existence. He changes into his devil form, and the screen turns white. (Note: This interlude is similar to most characters.)
- Epilogue (In-Game Text)
- Hwoarang finally defeats his rival, Jin Kazama. What is up next for Hwoarang?
- Ending, "Taekwondo Fall" (Unofficial Synopsis)
- Hwoarang is riding along the highway on a motorcycle. Upset that Jin didn't feel anything after losing to him, Hwoarang states "This sucks." As he rides along, he spots Devil Jin up ahead. Before he could come to a complete stop, Devil Jin destroys his motorcycle (with what seems to be telekinesis). Devil Jin begins to approach Hwoarang, who painfully gets from the ground and raises his guard. Before the scene ends, a grin is seen on Hwoarang's face.
Trivia
- Hwoarang's sub-bosses are Baek Doo San and Jin Kazama.
- The Heihachi trophy that was seen in Hwoarang's Tekken 3 ending is available as a customizable item for him.
- Hwoarang has the most win animations in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and Tekken 6, with a total of ten win animations each. However, one of his win animations would only show up after defeating Jinpachi Mishima in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.
Gameplay
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Story
- Prologue (In-Game Text)
- Hwoarang succeeded in defeating Jin in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. However, in the next instant, the defeated Jin let out an inhuman roar and Hwoarang was thrown through the air by violent winds. Sprouting black wings, Jin stood before him... looking just like a devil. Extremely outmatched, Hwoarang was prepared for death as he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he was in a hospital bed. After hearing about what happened from Baek Doo San, Hwoarang pushed away the nurse and quickly rushed to his teacher, begging for more training.
- After he left the hospital, Hwoarang trained with more vigor than ever before. Intent on defeating his former rival, he left for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6.
- Ending, "The Visions" (Unofficial Synopsis)
- As Hwoarang defeats Azazel, he extracts a magenta-colored orb from the monster's body. But as he looks upon it, the orb begins to consume him with its dark power (shown by it spreading over Hwoarang's body) but as he struggles in pain, Hwoarang exclaims that "I'm..not like...him!" as brief visions of Devil Jin loom in his mind. With that, he tosses the orb on the ground, thus being released from its corrosive power before destroying it under his foot and walking away.
- Scenario Campaign (Unofficial Synopsis)
- In the Scenario Campaign mode, Hwoarang is a boss at the Industrial Highway 357 stage. He also is the leader of the independent resistance forces which also include both Miguel and Baek.
Trivia
- Hwoarang's name is pronounced incorrectly as "How-rang" instead of "Hwa-rang"
- Hwoarang's Stage 1 and Stage 2 opponents in "Arena" mode are Steve Fox and Baek Doo San.
- His Item Move feature is a soccer ball, which Hwoarang kicks at his opponent. Another shows him hitting the opponent with a baseball bat.
Spin-offs and Related Games
Hwoarang is a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament, a non-canonical Tekken game.
Gameplay
This section is empty. You can help by expanding it.
Story
Tekken Tag Tournament is a non-canonical Tekken game containing no plot.
- Ending (Unofficial Synopsis)
- Hwoarang is talking to Jin Kazama in what appears to be Paul Phoenix's Tekken Tag Tournament stage. Hwoarang's words can't be heard. Jin does not appear to be interested in what Hwoarang is saying.
Trivia
- Hwoarang's Stage 7 sub-boss is Ogre.
- If you team up Baek and Hwoarang and they lose, you will see Baek lecturing Hwoarang who is on his knees (and "spins" his head as though he might be sleeping at the time).
Hwoarang will be featured as a playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, a non-canonical Tekken game.
Gameplay
This section is empty. You can help by expanding it.
Story
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a non-canonical Tekken game containing no plot.
- Ending
- Hwoarang starts preparing himself on his motorcycle, and Jin arrives shortly after. The two start their engines and when the blue light flashes both Jin and Hwoarang begin their race. The two end up going past and in between cars and trucks with both racing neck and neck. Jin decides to use a truck's ramp to allow him to get past Hwoarang, who counters by increasing his bike's speed. Hwoarang however passes Lei, who is armed with a speedometer that says that Hwoarang is speeding. Lei later catches Hwoarang who says that it was actually Jin's fault. Jin then jokingly passes the two as Hwoarang still attempts to convince Lei that Jin was the one who went over the speed limit.
Trivia
- Hwoarang has a special tag throw with Baek, where if he is the lead character he will use a "Human Cannonball" to push his opponent to Baek who promptly responds by kicking the opponent's upper torso then both of them kick the opponent's head from behind [1]
- He has a special win pose with Devil Jin where Hwoarang will begin cracking his knuckles in front of Devil Jin.
- He has a special tag throw with Steve where he will perform a "Human Cannonball" Steve will then peform Gut Drill while Hwoarang Simultaneously performs Sky Rocket. [2]
- He has a special win pose with Jin where he will assume his fighting stance and tries to taunt Jin into a fight but he is ignored
- His item move has him produce a flurry of kicks and he ends by performing a Just Frame Skyrocket on the opponent. Strangely he uses his left foot when he uses the Just Frame Skyrocket instead of his right foot.
- He has a special continue screen with Baek where he scolds Hwoarang repeatedly [3]
- He has a special win pose with Baek where he will stand straight as Baek begins to lecture him
- During pre-Unlimited Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Hwoarang was infamously known for being able to use one his unblockables, "Power Blast" as a staple Tag assault filler. This eventually led to Hwoarang's combos with other characters reaching unfairly new levels, as the entire combo would drain out at least more than half an opponent's life bar in a single combo, or entirely wipe out the opponent's health bar if the Hwoarang user would jump and rely on a tech trap instead. [4]
Hwoarang will be featured as a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken, an upcoming crossover game between the Tekken and Street Fighter franchises.
Story (Official Site)
A young man who usually fights with a cool composure, but in reality is a hot-blooded man looking for a good fight. In the past, he was prone to hustling people into street fights, but under the guidance of Baek, he is now fully devoted to his training. Hwoarang enters a mixed martial arts tournament as per Baek's request, but the tournament ground is reduced to rubble as a war erupts over Pandora. The fired-up Hwoarang forms a temporary alliance with Steve to exact revenge on their attackers.
Story (In-Game Text)
Ordered by his master, Baek, Hwoarang entered a mixed martial arts tournament for additional training. As his match with boxer Steve Fox was about to begin, they were attacked. What was to be a competitive bout between two skilled fighters has turned into a battlefield for the Mishima Zaibatsu and Shadaloo.
Hwoarang: What the hell were they thinking?
Steve: Well that's Shadaloo for you... You'd think they would have better things to do than to interrupt our fight. I guess we'll have to call this one a draw for now.
Hwoarang, furious that he was not able to fulfill his master's wishes, and Steve, furious that someone would interfere with his match, decide to team up, and set off for their quest for revenge
Hwoarang: I'm coming to kick you're face in!
Steve: Very colorful. Try and save that kind of thing till we actually find them.
Hwoarang: Please that was just practice.
Rival Battle
Hwoarang and Steve run into Poison and Hugo who are fighting over to eat hotdogs (Hugo) or Chinese food (Poison). Steve attempts to break up the fight and while threatening to call Baek if Hwoarang refused to help, accidentally gropes one of Poison's breasts. The latter, now furious, attacks Steve and Hwoarang.
Ending
Steve and Hwoarang finally obtain the box which Hwoarang remarks that he had done solo and states that Steve may had even been better off wearing a cheerleader's outfit. Steve then asks Hwoarang if he could take on a new opponent on his own which Hwoarang jokingly retorting that he could take on 100. Suddenly a bright light appears and the two end up confronting 100 Akumas. The two just say "Oh Hell" before they are hit by Akuma's trademark "Raging Demon".
Epilogue
It is later revealed that Hwoarang had successfully escaped the "Akuma onslaught", this resulted in giving him significantly increased speed, to the point where he wins a new mixed martial arts tournament with ease. Later it shows that he is actually considering to return to the Antarctic to face the 100 Akumas.
Trivia
- Hwoarang was the Tekken character that was in the fourth teaser trailer.
- Hwoarang's official tag partner is Steve Fox. Their special intro has Hwoarang making a kick saying that and Steve will win in a single strike, but Steve begins to worry about teaming up with Hwoarang. When Hwoarang looks to Steve, Steve just points at their opponents.
- Hwoarang's title is "Free-wheeling Kicks".
- He along with Steve's rivals are both Poison and Hugo.
- He is the only character in the game that only has one attack animation, which is to kick. Strangely all his punch buttons will cause him to kick as well.
Hwoarang is featured in the free-to-play online game Tekken Revolution as an unlockable character, added in the July 16, 2013 update ([5]). As with the rest of the cast, his appearance and moveset are carried over directly from Tekken Tag Tournament 2, although the inputs for some of his moves have changed (detailed below).
Special Art/Critical Arts
Cheap Shot Snap Kick: d+3+4.
Spinning Axe Kick to Right Stance: f,F+3.
Sky Rocket: f,N,d,d/f+4.
Spinning Trip Kick: SS+4.
Backlash:3+4,3~4.
Trivia
- As mentioned above, Hwoarang's "Cheap Shot Snap Kick" has had its command changed from its usual f+3~3 to d+3+4. His old d+3+4 strings are now relegated to u/b+3+4. This makes Hwoarang the character with the most changes, input-wise, from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to Tekken Revolution.
Videos
Character Trivia
- Hwoarang is the only person to win an official tournament match against Jin.
- Hwoarang's name is based on the Hwarang, a group of elite male youth in Silla, an ancient Korean Kingdom.
- He bears the nickname, Blood Talon, and the pseudonym 'BoB', allegedly because gamers have difficulty in writing his name correctly. Another theory is that it is derived from the pre-release Tekken 3 art by Namco where he was seen on a motorcycle, but without any name given, he became known simply as Boy on Bike.
- Hwoarang's rivals in Tekken Card Challenge are Jin Kazama, Forest Law and Heihachi Mishima.
- A character named "Iron Surfer", played by Stephen Fung, in the Hong Kong Martial Arts movie "The Avenging Fist" bears a strong resemblance to Hwoarang, and the movie itself is known for its many allusions to Tekken. The resemblance to Hwoarang is both in looks and fighting style ([6] and [7].
- All of his prologues and epilogues except for those in Street Fighter X Tekken involve Jin Kazama/Devil Jin.
- His Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion ending is similar to Ganryu's and Yoshimitsu's, however, unlike them, he does not transform into a devil.
- In Street Fighter X Tekken he along with Lili and Asuka are the only Tekken characters that use their Player 2 costume instead of the Player one costume.
- In a poll asking Tekken: Who is your favourite character? by DigitalSpy in September 2012, Hwoarang was voted the second favourite character with 8.9% of votes, behind Nina (10.5%) and ahead of Jin (7.3%).[8]
- In Tekken 6, if one would use Hwoarang's baseball bat Item Move on Alisa, instead of her being swatted away like other characters, she will collapse with her head being knocked offscreen.
- Hwoarang's current rank in ITF standards is 1st dan.
Quotes
| Pre-fight | Win-quote |
|---|---|
| Yeah yeah. Shut up already. | Not too fast, are you? |
| Come on! | That's it? That all you've got? |
| Pre-fight | Win-quote |
|---|---|
| One hit and you're down. Bring it! | You're no challenge at all. |
| You're barely enough for a warm-up. |
| Pre-fight | Win-quote |
|---|---|
| I won't hold back! | Hold on for a second there! Those weapons are a serious handicap! (Vs Alisa) |
| We'll finish this together with one strike! | I just told you, I'm NOT trying to get in your way! Just stay down for a bit! |
| I think you just found out, but that body of yours is not perfect. | |
| Ugh, you’re having too much fun with this. How do you fight someone like you? | |
| Your moves aren’t bad, but when it comes to kicks, I’m the top dog around here! | |
| I guess what they say is true about bitter old men going senile... (Vs Heihachi) | |
| Worthless clone! You're not even worth fighting again! (Vs himself) | |
| Time to send you back to the scrapheap, you big piece of junk. | |
| I knew this day would come! And now we know who is the strongest fighter! (Vs Jin) | |
| Protecting what you love is nice, but getting in other people's way isn't. | |
| I can't believe you're Jin's father. Don't bother getting up, we're done. | |
| It's over, bud. Let's see that jaguar mask cry. | |
| I don't care if you're from the forest or the zoo, just scram! | |
| I can’t let you get off easy, even if you are an enemy of the Mishimas. | |
| Get-rich-quick scheme? Are you serious? And people call me a child? | |
| You wanna arrest me? Just try and beat me first… Old man. | |
| The hell is a rich girl like you doing fighting? Women... | |
| I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be worthy, but that bod is just for show. | |
| Going up against an unknown enemy is easy. You just go full tilt from step 1! | |
| I thought you were gone. Well, whatever, I'll take care of you for my master. | |
| Jeez, man, you give adults everywhere a bad name. Get your act together! | |
| I don't know who's ordering you around, but tell 'em to lay off me! | |
| See? You see that!? Now you know who's the best of the best! | |
| Hope you're not around when I take down Jin. I hate to see girls cry. | |
| That sword... That was you? Are you even human? |
Character Relationships
- Student of Baek Doo San.
- Enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 to avenge his master by killing/defeating Ogre/True Ogre for supposedly having killed Baek.
- Rivals with Jin Kazama, who he fought to a draw before The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, and defeated in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, although he himself was defeated by Devil Jin immediately afterwards.
- Was seen fighting Steve Fox in the intro of Tekken 5, and is his official tag partner in Street Fighter X Tekken. (Non-canon)
- Leader of the Resistance in the Scenario Campaign of Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, members of which included Baek Doo San and Miguel Caballero Rojo.
- Was seen teaming up with Lili against Jin in a teaser for Tekken 6, which was later revealed to be non-canon.
- Acquaintance of Ling Xiaoyu and Eddy Gordo.
Notes
