Eddy Gordo

Eddy Gordo
Eddy as he appears in Tekken 5
Series	Tekken series
First game	Tekken 3
Voiced by	Roger Craig Smith(Tekken 6)[1]
Motion capture	Marcelo "Caverinha" Pereira [2][3]
Portrayed by	Lateef Crowder [4]
Fictional profile
Birthplace	Brazil [5]
Fighting style	Capoeira [5]

Eddy Gordo (エディ・ゴルド, Edi Gorudo^?) is an Afro-Brazilian video game character in the Tekken fighting game series by Namco. He made his debut in the arcade version of Tekken 3 in 1997 and his first console appearance was in the 1998 PlayStation port of the title. Eddy has since appeared in every game thereafter (albeit he is not a participant in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 story-wise), although he shares the same character slot as Christie Monteiro in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5, but regained his own slot in subsequent games beginning with Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.

Eddy's storyline from his debut through Tekken 5 revolved around his quest for revenge for the murder of his parents, culminating in the defeat of Kazuya Mishima during the events of Tekken 5. From Tekken 5 onward, Eddy's plot focused on his and Christie Monteiro's search for a cure to an unknown illness that Christie's grandfather, Eddy's Capoeira master, was suffering from.

Eddy was the first Capoeira practitioner to appear in the Tekken franchise, followed by Tiger Jackson, an alternate costume for Eddy in Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament, and Christie Monteiro, Eddy's replacement in Tekken 4. Eddy has received heavy criticism in the fighting video game community for the simplicity associated with Eddy's play style and has been considered a skill-less character, leading to criticism of Eddy by sites such as GameSpy^[6] and Now Gamer.^[7]

History

Character development

The Tekken 3 development team wanted to include a Capoeira practitioner for Tekken 3 and turned to the development artists to create the character. It was desired by Masahiro Kimoto, one of the game designers of Tekken 3, that the Capoeira character be female but the artist that was tasked with the character's design deemed the female character too difficult to create and instead created Eddy. Kimoto later stated that his favorite character from Tekken 3 was Eddy, because of the challenges in his development.^[8]

Marcelo Pereira, a Capoeira master from the United States, was the motion-capture artist for Eddy Gordo during Tekken 3.^[8] Pereira stated that Namco had heard of him as a result of his 1995 International Capoeira Seminar held in San Francisco, and that he felt honored in being chosen by Namco to represent Capoeira in Tekken 3. Marcelo Pereira reported that during the development of Tekken 3 he had been injured, as a result the acrobatic movements he performed were restricted. He also claimed that he performed "about 20%" of what he was capable of performing because it was necessary to have "another skillful capoeirista" to perform some movements in Capoeira. Additionally, Pereira criticized Namco's naming choices for Eddy Gordo and his moves, noting that Eddy is not a Brazilian name and that "Gordo" in Portuguese meant "fat" and the movements' names were not "traditional" like the names he had called them during development.^[2]

Appearances

Eddy Gordo first appeared in Tekken 3 and appeared in the following title, Tekken Tag Tournament. In Tekken 4, Eddy Gordo was omitted from the roster and was replaced with Christie Monteiro, another Capoeira practitioner, but appeared as an alternate costume for Christie and without serving any purpose in the storyline.^[9] In a GameNow interview discussing Tekken 4 Masahiro Kimoto stated that Eddy was replaced because, initially they had intended to create a female Capoeira character in Tekken 3 but instead changed to a male character due to artistic limitations. In Tekken 4, the team was able to successfully create "an attractive female character" who practiced Capoeira, so they chose to replace Eddy with her.^[10] Eddy Gordo later served as a character costume swap for Christie in Tekken 5,^[11] and became a separate character once again in the Tekken 5 update, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection; however, while he did have his own character customizations, his moveset remained identical to Christie's.^[12][13] Eddy Gordo appeared again in Tekken 6, and its update, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, but his moveset has remained similar to Christie's, only differing in move properties such as speed and distance.^[14] Additionally, in Bloodline Rebellion, Eddy serves as the boss for the 28th level of the Scenario Campaign Mode, the "Tekken Force 4th Special Forces Operational Group Compound".^[15]

Fictional history

Eddy was born into one of the richest families in Brazil. When Eddy was 19 years old, his father was killed while trying to destroy a Brazilian drug cartel known as the "Organization". In his last breaths, Eddy's father asked Eddy to take responsibility for his death. Eddy went along with his father's last wish and served eight years in prison, during which he met an old man who taught him Capoeira. For his eight years of prison, Eddy practiced until he became a master. Upon his release, Eddy heard about the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3 and the Mishima Financial Empire(MFE), the sponsor of the tournament and a conglomerate compared to a "large slice of the world" which is owned by Heihachi Mishima.^[16] He decided to enter the tournament, believing he could either convince the MFE or take control of it and force it to help him get revenge on his father's killers.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

In Tekken 4, it is learned that while Eddy was in prison he learned of his master's granddaughter, Christie Monteiro, and made a promise to his master to teach her Capoeira when Eddy got out of prison. After the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Eddy found and taught Christie Capoeira, who became impressive at the martial art after two years of training. Soon after Christie's training, Eddy left, saying, "Those responsible for my father's death will pay." ^[22] Christie Monteiro entered The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 to find Eddy, as this was the only clue that could lead her to him.^[23]

Prior to Tekken 5, Eddy learns that the master who taught him Capoeira in prison is about to be freed. Eddy goes to his release but discovers that his master has become a weak and frail old man, not the great Capoeira master he had studied under. After he takes his master to a hospital, Eddy learns that he is dying from an incurable disease that will give him less than six months to live. There is hope, however, if the Mishima Zaibatsu's technology and resources could be put to use. Knowing this and hearing the announcement of the fifth King of Iron Fist tournament, Eddy and Christie enter with the hopes of saving Christie's grandfather.^[24] During the tournament, Eddy encounters Kazuya Mishima and defeats him in battle, avenging Eddy's father's death.^[25]

At the conclusion of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, Eddy spoke alone with Jin Kazama. Jin offered to lend him his money and resources to save his master's life in exchange for his allegiance with the Mishima Zaibatsu. Knowing that this could be the opportunity he had been looking for to save his master's life, Eddy complies. As the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 approaches, Eddy himself has become involved in a number of criminal activities in the name of the Mishima Zaibatsu.^[26]

Endings

Tekken 3

Outside Eddy's mansion, a shady looking character arrives. Eddy is seen in his room, who shortly leaves. Eddy goes into the headquarters of the Organization at midnight. A few men try to kill Eddy, but he evades all attacks and defeats them. Though he can't be heard, Eddy demands that a man, who was seen outside of Eddy's mansion, reveal the identity of the person who killed his father. The man points to a table. Eddy walks over to it, and he sees three photos of Kazuya Mishima.^[27]

Tekken Tag Tournament

Eddy and Tiger are seen performing capoeira moves.^[28]

Tekken 4

Christie has defeated Heihachi Mishima and won the tournament. Immediately, she is swarmed by excited journalists, but her attitude is very melancholy. Then, in the audience, she sees Eddy Gordo, who has a sling on his arm. Gleefully, she runs up to him and gives him a hug, crying, "Eddy!".^[29]

Tekken 5

Christie and Eddy wait and pray while Christie's grandfather undergoes his operation. Finally, the "Operating" light goes off and both of them stand as the doors open. The scene changes, and Eddy and Christie are outside in the sunlight practicing their Capoeira moves against each other. Suddenly, Christie's grandfather steps in, stopping one of Christie's kicks. It is clear that his operation has gone well, and Eddy steps aside as Christie and her grandfather begin to practice their Capoeira moves against each other.^[30]

Tekken 6

Christie is seen praying at her grandfather's grave. Eddy then appears. When Christie sees Eddy, she slaps him and says, "Where have you been? You're too late." Eddy remains silent as Christie hugs him. Eddy is seen squeezing his hand, then throwing the Mishima Zaibatsu insignia pin on the floor, furious for Jin Kazama for not being able to treat his master. The ending is identical to Christie Monteiro's.^[31]

Tiger Jackson

Tiger Jackson in Tekken 3.

Tiger Jackson is a palette swap character "unlocked" by selecting Eddy Gordo with the Start button in both Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament. (Tekken 3 requires the player to complete the game with 17 unique characters first). According to the Tekken 6 Art Book, which came with the Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion Bundle, Tiger Jackson was one of the unused names and concepts of Eddy Gordo from during the development of Tekken 3.^[32]

Tiger is also a character in the game Pac-Man Fever. It is not known if Tiger is considered "canon" in the official story. Tiger Jackson appears in the background of the Pool Party stage of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection.^[33]

Tekken 3 Ending

Tiger is shown dancing at a disco.^[34]

Tekken Tag Tournament

Tiger point's at the sky and says inaudible words and begins dancing. This ending takes place in Xiaoyu's stage. ^[35]

Cultural Impact

Other appearances

In the 2010 live-action film Tekken, Eddy is portrayed by Brazilian capoeira fighter Lateef Crowder. He participates in the Iron Fist tournament and is pitted against Raven and is defeated by Raven. Critics praised the accurate portrayal of Eddy toward the games,^[36][37] but criticized the brevity of Eddy's role in the film.^[38] Unlike the games, he has no relation to Christie Monteiro.^[39]

Dane Cook refers to Eddy Gordo in his CD, Retaliation. Cook jokes about when someone gets struck by a car it "sends you flipping through the air like Eddy Gordo from Tekken when someone doesn't know how to do combos and they're just hitting the buttons randomly."^[40]

Promotion and Legacy

In 2003, Epoch Co. released an Eddy Gordo action figure as part of their Tekken Tag Tournament toyline; the toy featured interchangeable hands and a display stand.^[41] With the release of Tekken 6, Eddy received a trailer showcasing his moveset for the game and describing Eddy as "A Brazilian superstar, fighting Capoeira."^[42]

In a SkySports interview, professional wrestler Kofi Kingston stated, "...guys like Eddy Gordo are very unique characters. When he was introduced into the Tekken series he was the guy everybody was talking about. People knew about Capoeira but they didn't really know what it was all about as far as moves and stuff." ^[43] He also stated in an ESPN interview that, "I watch a character like Eddy Gordo in 'Tekken' and his capoeira style, and it's characters like that that I like to take from because of how they stand out." ^[44] Professional wrestler, MVP, attributed one of his moves called "Malicious Intent" to Eddy Gordo, calling it "a variation of one of [Eddy's] spinning kicks." MVP also considers Eddy Gordo as one of his favorite video game characters.^[45][46]

Eddy has been constantly criticized for his easy playability. In one article from MTV.com, they nicknamed him, "Eddy 'Button-Masher's Savior' Gordo." ^[47] BradyGames attributes his "masher" stigma to the character's "...constantly shifting stances and unpredictable nature...", but says that it only applies to casual play. It continues to say that at competitive levels, the random actions of button mashing ..."lead to heavy punishment more often than not."^[14]

In a humor article by GameSpy, Eddy Gordo was regarded as one of The World's Worst Warriors calling him such things as, "...cheating scumbag." and stating that, "Eddy Gordo is the worst thing to happen to fighting gamers since repetitive strain injury." ^[6] Additionally, Eddy was listed by Now Gamer in their "Top 10 most hated gamer characters ever" calling Eddy and Ken (Street Fighter) both "overly-powered and cheap," citing that for Eddy's command list it should only contain "pictures of both kick buttons" because mashing the kick buttons could give automatic wins to the player, and ended by calling Eddy, "a skilless-husk of a character."^[7] In contrast, WeDoTech.net rated him the second best fighting video game character of all time, stating that he was the best character in Tekken 3 and noting his break-dance styled moves as one of his best aspects.^[48] Also, Gaming Target rated Eddy second in their "Top 11 Tekken Fighters" in which they cite his moveset as one of his best aspects, saying that, "his moves are more alluring to watch than anyone in Tekken."^[49] In the same article, Gaming Target also called Eddy the most stunning character in Tekken 3 for his "break-dancing-like attacks."^[50] In a "12 match-ups we want to see in Street Fighter X Tekken" article by GamesRadar, they listed a match-up between Eddy and Dee Jay, exclaiming "The battle right near the beach, boyeee!".^[51]

See also

• Christie Monteiro
• Kazuya Mishima

References

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