Terry Bogard

Terry Bogard

Terry Bogard (テリー・ボガード, Teri Bogādo?) is the main protagonist of the Fatal Fury fighting video games. He has appeared in each of the Fatal Fury games and The King of Fighters series, and is one of the characters chosen to symbolize the SNK company in crossover games, merchandising, and advertisements. He seems to fit many Japanese stereotypes of an American character in terms of appearance, personality, and dialogue (his in-game vocabulary is generally limited to American colloquialisms, such as "Okay!" and "Hey, c'mon, c'mon"). He is Andy Bogard's brother. Both were orphans adopted by Jeff Bogard. He is often referred to as Legendary Hungry Wolf (from Garou Densetsu, meaning "Legend of the Hungry Wolf"). He has a pet monkey named Ukee (precisely SNK's previous mascot character before Terry). He has a knack for scoring while playing basketball, which explains the creation of his "Power Dunk" move. His official nicknames are Legendary Wolf (伝説の狼, Densetsu no Ookami)[1][2][3] and Hero of South Town (サウスタウンヒーロー, Sausutaunhīrō).[4]

Profile

Full name: Terry Bogard Date of birth: March 15 (1971); • 22 years old (FF2) • 23 years old (FF3, KOF'94) • 24 years old (KOF saga) • 25 years (RBFFS) • 34 years old (Wild Wolf) • 35 years (Mark of Wolves) • 37 years old (FF:CotW) Place of birth: United States Height: 182 cm Weight: 77 kg (RBFF, KOF'94~'98) 82 kg (RBFF2, KOF'99~2002) 81 kg (Mark of Wolves) 83 kg (KOF 2003~XIV) Blood group: O Family/Relationships: Jeff Bogard (adoptive father, deceased) Andy Bogard (brother) Blue Mary (love interest) Ukee (pet monkey) Job/Occupation: None (does part-time jobs to get by) Likes: Jeff's gloves, vintage jeans, Ukee (Mark of Wolves) Dislikes: Slugs Hobbies: Playing video games, trawling, painting murals (Mark of Wolves) Favorite Food: Fast food, clubhouse sandwiches made by Rock (Mark of Wolves) Strong in sports: Basketball Special Ability: Accurately guessing a woman's body measurements just by looking at her, making 50 triple annotations in a row (Mark of Wolves) Hates: Cigarettes Favorite music: rock, heavy metal; country (Mark of Wolves) Fighting style: Martial arts, Hakkyokuseiken techniques of Qi

Development

Terry originates from the original Street Fighter fighting game published by Capcom. In an interview, Hiroshi Matsumoto mentions the Caucasian man wearing a leather jacket during the opening sequence of Street Fighter. Despite appearing in the opening, he was not included in the actual game. At the time, they had already decided that the main character of Street Fighter would be a dougi-clad karate fighter, but the developers wanted to include the Caucasian man in the next game if they had the chance. This mysterious man ended up being Terry's base model.[5] In Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Terry received a redesign because the developers thought his design was outdated. [6] Nobuyuki Kuroki mentions how many of the staff who worked on The King of Fighters XIV came from the Fatal Fury series, so the staff had sentimental feelings towards Terry and Geese. [7] Eisuke Ogura showed difficulty in finalizing Terry's new design and Terry's model was recreated and polished up to four times, along with many iterations by the motion capture team. [7] Due to the hard work and positive feedback from fans, Kuroki was satisfied. [7]

History

Fatal Fury: It was Geese Howard: Terry and Andy were orphans who grew up on the streets. They were soon adopted by Jeff Bogard and eventually lived in South Town. When Terry was 10, he witnessed his father's death at the hands of Geese Howard. Knowing they needed more training to face Geese, the brothers made an oath to spend a decade honing their martial arts before attempting to avenge their father. Unlike his brother Andy, who left South Town to train in Japan, Terry chose to roam in his home country, combining skills learned from his father, his father's mentor Tung Fu Rue, and skills picked up on the streets. A decade later, crime lord Geese Howard would host a tournament, dubbed "The King of Fighters". Terry, Andy, and Muay Thai kickboxing champion Joe Higashi would enter for the purpose of facing Geese. The ensuing battle would eventually see Terry defeating Geese, and for some time, it was thought that Geese perished during the battle. The following year saw Geese's half-brother Wolfgang Krauser take control of The King of Fighters tournament, and bring this Southtown-exclusive tournament to the international stage. The finals of this new tournament would once again see Terry fighting the sponsor and he would eventually defeat Krauser. During this event, he befriended many of the contestants and became a hero of Southtown.

Sometime later it was revealed that Geese had survived his encounter against Terry. The Bogards and their friends learned of Geese's intentions to retrieve the legendary Jin scrolls, Terry challenged him again and defeated him. Afterwards, Geese fled. Terry confronted Yamazaki, then challenged the Jin brothers. Standing now as the victor, Terry was once again the champion. However, Geese had escaped with the scrolls in his possession. During the next game, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Terry managed to make it all the way through the tournament to Geese for a final conflict. At the end of the fight, he knocked Geese off the edge of Geese Tower, but grabbed Geese's hand and attempted to stop him from falling. But this would not turn out to be so, as Geese knocked Terry's hand away, plummeting to what is believed to be his final death. Sometime after their final conflict, Terry encountered a boy by the name of Rock Howard (Geese's son). Taking him under his wing, he would teach him how to fight as they traveled around the world together. It was Rock Howard: After the events of the Real Bout Fatal Fury saga, the story shifts to Second Southtown. Kain R. Heinlein, who was raised in Second Southtown, claimed the town as his own and threatened to throw the town into chaos again so that people could "enjoy life" once more. Around 10 years after the events in the Real Bout Fatal Fury saga, the "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem" tournament (hosted and sponsored by Kain) would be set in motion, and Terry and Rock were invited to participate in the tournament.

In Rock's ending, Terry approaches the ruins of a mansion and discovers that Rock is now Kain's mate, and knows that he must trust Rock's decision about staying with Kain for a while. Terry then leaves the vicinity, knowing that Rock has finally left his lair. After this, Terry is presumed to have resumed his lone wolf life, leaving an uncertain future ahead of him. It is unknown if Rock's ending is canon, however. In his own ending he wanders around Second Southtown thinking about what Kain told him about the nature of humanity. He decides that life is "all about the heart" and that's why Kain was wrong. Sometime after the Maximum Mayhem tournament, Terry is approached on a day off by Blue Mary on her motorcycle. Discussing Rock's whereabouts and the rumors persisting around him regarding Second Southtown's rise to city-state status, she offers him a ride to the Pao Pao Cafe, to discuss the current case she's working on. In his development blog for the KOF: Maximum Impact 2 video game, Ureshino states that he knows nothing about Rock's mother or the true heir to Geese's legacy, but suggests that he would likely be in conflict with Terry.

The king of Fighters: In The King of Fighters series, SNK used the same backstory of Terry in the games Fatal Fury: King of Fighters and Fatal Fury 2, in which after defeating Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser, he received an invitation to enter a new tag team fighting tournament called The King of Fighters '94. Since then, Terry has been in many installments as the captain of Team Fatal Fury. Although the team members have changed over the years, Terry has always been present, and is notable as one of the few characters to appear in every King of Fighters game so far. He also has a rivalry with Ryo Sakazaki, a trait that is mostly unique to this series. Her eventual death was portrayed during The King of Fighters '99, where she stayed at the NESTS base. She did not come into contact with any of her friends or loved ones until a year later. In her time away, Terry tracked down the NESTS men who were chasing Blue Mary. He decides to help her in her work by teaming up with her in the tournaments of The King of Fighters 2000 and The King of Fighters 2001.

He organizes his teams with various members over the following years, being the one to enlist Tizoc's help in the events of The King of Fighters 2003 and Duck King's help in the team for the events of The King of Fighters XI. To catch up and reunite the legendary South Town trio, he teams up with his brother Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi once again in the events of The King of Fighters XIII. Before their reunion, he had to endure a long trip back to the city and fell asleep at the station. He then called Mary to take him to Pao Pao Cafe, and cheerfully arrives over 30 minutes late. His usual lateness and attitude for any tournament upsets Joe, knowing that he and Andy have their own responsibilities besides the tournament. Although Terry does not understand why his friend is upset, he has a practice match with him at Pao Pao Cafe. Knowing that his fan Alice and Geese will be participating in the new tournament, Terry joins in to monitor the former's progress and keep an eye on the latter.

Personality

Terry Bogard is an incredibly charismatic man, cheerful and kind to everyone around him. He holds no ill will toward anyone other than Geese Howard, the killer of his adoptive father. His relationship with Andy is one of respect, acknowledging his younger brother as his fiercest rival. He feels a sense of kinship with Blue Mary over her loss, and the two developed a long relationship. He treats Rock Howard as his son, but allows him to choose his own path in life. He mockingly calls Rock "Rookie." He is also very knowledgeable about what's going on on the streets.

Powers

Perception: Can sense the presence of people nearby. Ergokinesis: Terry has an incredible power of energy, which he uses by collecting Gaia's qi energy. Gather Qi: Can gather Qi energy from Gaia, Mother Earth. Power Surge: Can fire an energy projectile that travels through the ground, or form an area-of-effect blast known as a "Round Wave". Power Geyser: By punching into the ground, Terry can do a more powerful version of "Power Wave", creating a massive geyser of energy coming from beneath the ground. He can summon additional rows of geysers with a single punch, punch a few more times for an extra each, or swing his fist around to create more in a single blow. Energy Attacks: Can use qi energy to increase the damage of his normal attacks. Burn Knuckle/Quick Burn: Can surround his fist in energy to deal a ferocious blow. Crack Shoot: Can surround his legs in energy and use it for a powerful arcing axe kick jump. Create Fire: Can create fire through an enhanced version of his "Fire Kick" move.

Skills

Acrobatics: He is very skilled with acrobatics in his fighting, using movements such as "Crack Shot" and "Rising Tackle". Adaptability: Due to his training in various fighting techniques, he can adapt to any opponent he faces. Resilience: Can withstand a lot of punishment when fighting against brutish opponents like Wolfgang Krauser and Grant. Survival: He lived and grew up on the streets of South Town and other parts of the United States where survival was a daily battle.

Fighting Style

Terry uses a mix of boxing, karate, kung-fu, kickboxing and street fighting moves to create a unique fighting style, mixed with the qi techniques learned from his master at Hakkyokuseiken, Tung Fu Rue. He had also learned martial arts directly from his adoptive father, Jeff Bogard. Other sources claim that his fighting experience was also gained from fighting on the streets for years to hone techniques appropriate for himself, where he tried different fighting methods to suit his tastes. He is an all-around fighter, with an extensive knowledge of many martial arts techniques. He utilizes many variations of strikes, such as hooks and uppercuts, and can also kick with ease. Most of his techniques are themed with the word "power" in their names, through moves such as "Power Wave", "Power Drive", "Power Shoot", and "Power Geyser". Two of his signature moves, "Crack Shoot" and "Power Dunk", were inspired by Terry's love of basketball, with the latter move being enhanced in The King of Fighters XIV and renamed the "Star Dunk Volcano". In the years that followed, Terry also developed a technique that ties into his wolf theme, named "Buster Wolf". He also in some instances creates a technique that has the same button layout as Geese Howard's "Deadly Rave" move (as a possible homage), known as "Rising Beat", which first debuted in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos. He also pays homage to Geese's son, Rock Howard, by having his own version of his stronger version of the "Shine Knuckle" move, "Rising Force" (which acts as his HSDM/MAX2DM move).

His well-rounded style is also reflected in his playstyle, where he has very well-rounded normal attacks and is a very basic character to play. However, one notable downside is that his special moves all have a lot of delay in their execution, forcing him to play a bit carefully when it comes to trying to deal serious damage.