No "Shooting," No Guile?

It had to be said: California truly was a blessed land that bred outstanding people.

El Segundo City, Los Angeles, California.

Konami's American branch was based in this small city.

Red "Konami" lettering hung on the company's pure-white logo wall.

At the end of the corridor, an important strategy meeting was underway in the conference room.

Tanaka, the American branch's marketing director, wore a neatly pressed suit. He pointed at the figures on the whiteboard, his expression eager.

"Gentlemen, the numbers don't lie. GAMENOVA's success proves that the commercial potential of the arcade market is still far from fully tapped."

"According to news from headquarters in Japan, Kung-Fu Master, which was only released recently, is already selling like crazy on the Famicom. Kids absolutely love this kind of exhilarating fighting game."

"So..."

He rapped his knuckles hard against the whiteboard, making everyone in the conference room pay their utmost attention.

"We're going to port it to arcades and roll it out across North America! This is a chance to rake in money by the sackful!"

"If a small company like GAMENOVA can do it, we certainly can too!"

Tanaka knew that although North America's attitude toward home consoles was still very ambiguous, things would be entirely different if they ported it to arcades.

"We'll make the visuals brighter, crank up the sound, and add a couple more stages."

"The market is recovering right now. Whoever moves faster gets to claim the gaps!"

They had to bring over those excellent titles already proven in Japan as quickly as possible and cash in before North American game companies caught on.

Ultimately, under Tanaka's insistent urging, the meeting reached a decision.

Work on the arcade port of Kung-Fu Master would begin immediately.

The goal was to fill arcades across North America in the shortest possible time!

"You're that sure Konami will make an American arcade port of Kung-Fu Master?"

"Even if it isn't Kung-Fu Master, they'll pick something else, Sam."

Inside the studio, Lin Lixin stood behind the lights, watching Brandon Lee record fighting moves as he chatted casually with Sam.

"You're a veteran gamer, aren't you? Don't you know what Konami is like?"

Lin Lixin rolled his eyes at Sam. With the arcade industry booming like this, how could Konami possibly resist jumping in?

"The moment they spot a business opportunity, they latch on and find every possible way to squeeze out the last drop of commercial value, until everyone starts feeling sick."

Lin Lixin really didn't have much of a good impression of Konami, a company devoted purely to business.

Sitting on so many excellent IPs and still managing to ruin every last one was truly beyond most people.

If pachinko and Yu-Gi-Oh! weren't keeping it alive, it would long since have been a company fit for the dustbin of history.

Right, I need to secure Castlevania and Silent Hill early too.

"Hiyah!"

Brandon Lee's cry interrupted Lin Lixin's thoughts.

Heredity really was frightening. For an instant, Lin Lixin even had the illusion that Bruce Lee himself was performing those moves.

Brandon Lee exhaled lightly and cleanly retracted his kicking leg. His entire body didn't sway in the slightest; his footing was as solid as if it had been set in concrete.

The camera crew had captured every one of those moves.

These recordings would all become valuable development material.

"Guohao, sorry for the trouble, but let's record that side kick separately once more."

Lin Lixin checked the footage and gave Brandon Lee an instruction.

He had already decided what special moves to design for the Bruce Lee character.

The one-inch punch, the side kick, and nunchaku.

"Okay."

Brandon Lee deftly assumed his stance, bouncing naturally back and forth across the floor.

This footwork was precisely what Bruce Lee had incorporated into Jeet Kune Do after drawing from boxing and other fighting techniques, keeping their essence and discarding their dross.

Lin Lixin watched Brandon Lee's footwork closely, then suddenly looked taken aback.

"Footsies?? So this was where it came from?"

One of the most important concepts in modern fighting games had actually drawn its inspiration from Jeet Kune Do.

Footsies meant using movement, pokes, and probing to keep yourself outside your opponent's effective attack range.

"Hah!"

An exceptionally clean kick stopped precisely in midair.

Sam watched, dumbfounded, and unconsciously stole a glance at Lin Lixin. For some reason, he suddenly shivered.

"Do all you Chinese people... know kung fu?"

"...Yes. I rode a panda to school, too, and I flew here to North America on a sword."

"Cool."

Schwarzenegger finally received the call from Lin Lixin that he had been longing for.

Without even asking for the specifics, he hurried to the studio with his agent, Dave.

"Mr. Arnold, long time no see."

Lin Lixin greeted him with a smile and ushered Schwarzenegger toward the dressing room.

"This time, I'd like you to serve as the model for a selectable character in the game. I call him 'Guile.' He's a tough-guy soldier."

Schwarzenegger's eyes lit up. He immediately told Dave to handle his business affairs and followed Lin Lixin into the dressing room.

The moment he entered, he saw a neatly folded green camouflage uniform on the table.

And a yellow... wig?

If someone added a handle to that thing, it would practically be a broom.

"Uh... Mr. Lin, what's this?"

"Oh, this is the wig for Guile, the character I designed. You'll wear it for the recording in a bit. What do you think? Pretty cool, right?"

Lin Lixin fought back a smile and personally helped Schwarzenegger put on the wig.

Without that bizarre wig, the uniform alone would have made him look outrageously cool.

"Mr. Lin, I think it would look a little better without this hair..."

"No!" Lin Lixin's expression turned serious as he immediately refused. "This is the soul of it, Arnold. This is the soul!"

Brandon Lee was still responsible for designing Guile's moves.

Although Lin Lixin clearly remembered all of Guile's special moves, he found it difficult to describe them precisely.

But as long as he told Brandon Lee what he remembered, Brandon Lee could always design exactly what he wanted.

Though Schwarzenegger was heavily muscled, his whole body a size larger than Brandon Lee and Lin Lixin put together, he wasn't skilled in fighting, let alone street fighting.

Fortunately, Guile was a charge character to begin with, and his movements were methodical and solid, so recording them wasn't particularly difficult.

"Mr. Arnold, next is the final move, the Sonic Boom. Cross your arms quickly like this, as though you're hugging something in front of you."

Brandon Lee consulted the move sheet and began guiding Schwarzenegger through recording the last item on the list.

Lin Lixin suddenly spoke up, interrupting them.

"Hey, Arnold, remember to shout 'SHOOTING!' when you use this move. The louder, the better."

Throwing projectiles was an attitude.

No "SHOOTING!" meant you hadn't played Guile.