Josie Rizal: Jose Rizal Inspired Game Character?
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Hailed as the greatest national hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal was a man of strong convictions who sacrificed his life for the nationalist cause. During his time Philippines was under Spanish colonial rule and Rizal advocated for peaceful reforms in his home country. Rizal was not just a nationalist, he was a multifaceted personality who was a qualified doctor, writer, and an artist who could draw, paint, sculpt and carve. He was a prolific writer and poet who through his eloquent writings inspired the nationalists for peaceful reforms as well as armed conflicts where the need arose. Born into a family which valued education, he was encouraged to study well and gain knowledge about a variety of subjects. Even as a youngster he was known to harbor thoughts of political freedom and individual rights which were considered radical by the zauthorities who frowned upon him. A well-traveled man, he became involved in the Propaganda Movement where he joined other Filipinos who wanted reforms. He also wrote about the dark aspects of Spanish rule in a book which was banned in Philippines. Even though he was a supporter of peaceful reforms, he was exiled from his home country, and later on convicted of sedition and sentenced to death. The execution of this young nationalist fuelled the Filipinos’ desire for independence further.
With all of these known historical and important facts for our national hero, would you consider him becoming a video game character that you would soon control in battling different kind of nemesis? Well at the time that Jose Rizal was born until today has not only been making an honor and fame from his majestic works but also through the different things associated with him and one very interesting thing that he is being related to is becoming a game character in a very famous game called Tekken.
Tekken which is Japanese for “iron fist” is a fighting game franchise created, developed and published by Namco (later Bandai Namco Games). Beginning with the original Tekken in 1994, the series has received several sequels as well as updates and spin-off titles. The series has also been adapted into three films and other media.
The series' official English name is always written in all-capital letters (TEKKEN, abbreviated to TK). There are 6 main installments to the series, one installment having an updated version that also made a home release, two non-canonical installments, and a seventh mainline game in the works.
The premise of each game in the main series documents the events of the King of Iron Fist Tournament, hosted by the Mishima Zaibatsu corporation. The prize is typically control of the company, which then allows the winner to host the following tournament. After beating the game with each character, an ending cutscene is unlocked and usually one of the endings from each game becomes the continuation of the story into the following installment. The story has largely revolved around the Mishima clan curse.
Two of the games were considered breakthroughs and among the greatest games of all time, one of which also being the second best-selling fighting game to date. The series itself is the best-selling fighting game franchise in history
Filipino Tekken 7 players are in for a treat as they will have a chance to use a Filipino character in the said game.
The character is named “Josie Rizal,” a play on the name of the country’s national hero. She is a kick boxer who is also adept with the Eskrima technique.
In the trailer released on Sunday, Josie is seen wearing a gold dress and a blue skirt with gladiator sandals. She is also accessorized with gold earrings, bracelets and a red headband. She also spoke in English.
In a report by EventHubs.com, Josie’s character design was made by Mari Shimazaki, who is known for coming up with the character design for Tekken 7’s Kazumi Mishima. Mad Catz’s Mark “Markman” Julio was also consulted for the character design of Josie. Tekken project head Katsuhiro Harada said that Julio, who has Filipino blood, told him about Filipino culture and “offered advice that shaped many of the character’s traits, including her name,” the report said.
Josie was launched along with two other Tekken 7 characters: Jin Kasama and Devil Jin. The Filipino kick boxer is yet to have a release date on when she will be launched in the game.
MANILA, Philippines—The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) on Thursday clarified that they do not have an official stand on the issue of a new Filipino character in the video game Tekken 7.
In a statement, NCCA Chairman Felipe De Leon Jr. said that while the issue of Tekken 7’s “Josie Rizal” has reached their office, they have yet to form an official stand on the matter.
The name of the said character, which is a play on the name of the country’s national hero Jose Rizal, has drawn flak from netizens.
“While the Commission is still studying what actions it may take on the issue of the name and image of Dr. Jose Rizal being dragged into this, we may safely say that NCCA has not issued any statement on the matter,” De Leon said. He also denied that the stand of a previously quoted official on the matter does not represent the stance of the commission. NCCA will coordinate with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) before it releases its statement.
“The Commission shall issue an official statement soon on what actions it will take upon studying the legal aspect of this matter, in coordination with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP),” he added.
Netizens were not happy with the statement of the NCCA, saying that issuing an official statement on a trivial matter is unnecessary. Facebook user Jonx Ingeniero said: “there is no need to study actions for it… you and your department will be making a mountain out of a mole hill… there is no legal aspect, no name being dragged, no reputation being tarnished.”
Other users said that there are other national issues that need to be addressed by the government.
William Fann from Facebook said: “Gamers of Tekken 7 will know that this is only a tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal and does not portray any bad image to our Philippine Hero. Instead of filing actions for this, how about we act more on China’s bold acts on taking our islands?
Facebook user Angee De Sierra added: “Before this – Please work on removing the DMCI bldg, behind Rizal’s Monument in Luneta okay?!”
The creator and game director of Tekken has threatened to “delete” Josie Rizal, a new Filipino character in the globally famous franchise, if the government pushes for the name change.
In a tweet, Katsuhiro Harada said on Thursday he would delete the character from the game if the National Commission on Culture and the Arts would issue a statement forcing him to drop the character’s name. Responding to a tweet by Chris O. Easley (@Ulect) which said: “NCCA is just concerned about the name, the character should not be deleted just change the name!” Harada said: “No. If it happens, I’ll delete her.”
In an earlier statement, Harada said that Josie is special for the Filipino gaming community and if she does not get support from Filipinos, it is very easy for the gaming company to delete her. “Josie [is] for (the) fighting game community. But Josie is very special for (the Philippine) gamer community.” “If Josie can’t get supported in the Philippines, we give her up anytime. Tekken 7 arcade board has a network update system. We can change plan and change characters anytime and quickly,” he said. Harada added that he got 90 percent positive feedback from fans and Filipino gamers on Josie Rizal. Some netizens disapproved of the character’s name, saying that it tarnished the reputation of national hero Jose Rizal. The NCCA said on Thursday that it had no official stand yet on the issue and that it would release an official statement after consulting with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
I should be excited to see my country represented in an incredibly popular video game. But I actually have mixed feelings on Josie Rizal. Before I delve into my thoughts on Josie Rizal, I do have to mention that she isn’t the first character to represent the Philippines in a fighting game. My fellow countrymen keep on forgetting about Talim from Soul Calibur 2. Talim actually beats out Josie Reyes as the first “Pinoy” fighting game character by a decade! Oh, and, according to the official European Tekken website, the enigmatic Mokujin comes from the “Filipinos.” But I don’t take that much stock into that story.
Anyway, let’s go back to the topic at hand. Josie Rizal. The first thing that struck me about the character wasn’t her design, her fighting style or her voice actress (buy I will get to that); the thing that I immediately noticed was her name. Josie Rizal? That sounds incredibly like Jose Rizal, the name of the Philippines’ most popular National Hero!
For some weird reason, the fact that her name sounds like “Jose Rizal” kind of turns me off a bit. Oh, I’m not a huge history buff and I’m not demanding they change the name or anything like that. It’s actually an okay name in my book. I just feel like Namco and Tekken head honcho, Katsuhiro Harada, is just laying the Filipino thing a little too thick by making the character’s name sound like Jose Rizal’s name. It’s probably something I’ll get used to in the future.
I also noticed that, in the character reveal video, Josie Rizal speaks fluent English. Maybe it’s a testament to the character’s educational background, upbringing and what not but I feel it is kind of lazy. I’ve always been impressed with the level of detail Tekken characters get. Not with their looks and overall design. Rather, I’m really impressed with the level of detail Namco goes through when Tekken characters have to speak.
Usually, in most fighting games, the characters only speak either in English or Japanese. In Tekken, however, that’s not the case. In the more recent entries of the franchise, Namco took great care in making the characters as “authentic” as possible. And that included making sure most of the characters in the Tekken roster actually speak using their native tongues and accents! Granted this kind of thing only happened after Tekken 5 and not all characters do this; Eddy and Christie technically should speak Portuguese and Lili only started speaking in French in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. But I was honestly expecting Josie Rizal to say a few Filipino words at the least! Still, we did only get a quick glimpse of the character so maybe they’ll add a few phrases/words in her mother language in the future.
For me, her overall look and character design… well, it’s weird! The skin tone/colour is pretty much on point; Josie Rizal is dark skinned like most “pinays.” So, they got that right. The outfit, however, is kinda out there! It’s the most “patriotic” yet very patronizing at the same time.
I guess I have to break things down a bit to get my point across. First, look at the colour scheme she has on. Yellow top. Blue mini-skirt. A big red bow on her head. Gold gladiator sandals. It’s certainly colorful and bright. But these colors were chosen for a reason: these are the exact same colors of the Filipino flag! Also, most of the jewelry and trinkets she has on are symbols you can see on the Philippine flag. Her necklace, earrings and belt buckle are actually good facsimiles of the “sun” that’s on the flag. The stitching patterns on her yellow blouse and blue miniskirt look like the same kind of embroidery you’d see on the “baro’t saya,” the native female formal attire of the country.
I really appreciate all of the attention to detail Namco put into her outfit by making it distinctively Filipino. But all of those patriotic symbolism does come at a price for Josie Rizal: her personality. Usually, the outfits/costumes a character wears in video games is also representative of their attitude and personality. So, right now, all I do know about Josie Rizal is she’s really, really, really patriotic as she went to all the trouble of making her outfit a pastiche of the Filipino flag. Besides that… I guess she’s extremely emotional because she cries after she wins a fight?
If it seems I’m being overly-critical about Josie Rizal, that’s because I am! This is me just nitpicking on the character. I actually like her overall design! She doesn’t look too much like a typical Filipino female but she didn’t need to be, anyway. All she had to be is a really good fighter and, from what I’ve seen in her introductory video, Josie’s going to kick some serious butt! I’m really excited to see her in playable form and check out what other tricks she has up her yellow embroidered sleeves!
On a side note, Mark “Markman” Julio, MadCatz’s Community and Sponsorship Manager, helped with Josie Rizal’s conceptualization. The guy has some Filipino blood in him so I don’t think there was one iota of malice when he developed her. And I don’t think I could’ve done a better job in actually getting a Filipino, much less a female Filipino, into Namco’s flagship fighter! So, from the Filipino gaming community: Thanks, MarkMan!
