User:Cukie Gherkin/Characters in the EX series


 * https://itsfantastic.moe/street-fighter-ex-developer-interview/
 * https://www.reddit.com/user/penmaster3000/comments/qfazp5/street_fighter_ex_interview/
 * https://www.arika.co.jp/special/sp_interview/inter_fexl/inter_fexl03_en.html
 * https://www.arika.co.jp/special/sp_interview/inter_fexl/inter_fexl02_en.html
 * https://www.arika.co.jp/special/sp_interview/inter_fexl/inter_fexl01_en.html
 * https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3563
 * https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=3557

The EX series, consisting of the Street Fighter EX trilogy, their expansions, and the later entry Fighting EX Layer, is a series of video games developed by Arika, a company formed of former Capcom employees, primarily featuring characters created and owned by Arika. The only exceptions are characters from the Street Fighter series, which appear in the different version of Street Fighter EX, EX2, and EX3 feature characters from the Capcom-produced Street Fighter series, and Fighting EX Layer features Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury series, among others.

Concept and creation
When designing Fighting EX Layer, the team made a point of having the cast operate under uniform conditions, leading them to cut systems during development that are only used by one character.

Character appearances by game
The chart below details character appearances in the EX series by game entry. In cases of a character only appearing in a particular version of the game, such as EX+, special note has been made in each instance.


 * Notes

In addition, several characters have appeared from other series in EX series titles, namely from the Street Fighter franchise. Terry Bogard was added to Fighting EX Layer as downloadable content due to the staff hearing about his popularity outside of Japan. These appearances however are not canon to that franchise, and references to them were removed from the backstories for the EX series characters with the release of Fighting Layer EX.


 * Notes

Allen


Allen Snider (アレン・スナイダー). Allen appears as a secret character in the original Street Fighter EX and as a regular character in Street Fighter EX Plus and EX Plus α, is a fighter who was said to be the strongest freestyle karate fighter on the American karate circuit, until he experienced his first defeat against a young Ken Masters at the All-American Martial Arts Tournament. Ken told Allen that he was only a "big fish in a small pond". Motivated by these words, Allen sets out to prove that he can be the best not only in America, but in the world. Although absent in Street Fighter EX2 and subsequent games, he makes an appearance in the Arika-developed arcade game Fighting Layer, where he seeks to defeat the strongest opponent on South Island. Allen returns in Fighting EX Layer, determined to defeat the recently revived Garuda to prove himself.

Blair


Blair Dame (ブレア・デイム), appears as a secret character in the original Street Fighter EX and as a regular character in Street Fighter EX Plus, EX Plus α, and Fighting EX Layer. She is the daughter of a wealthy European family. She fights wearing a light blue leotard and long boots. In addition to receiving a formal education, Blair has trained herself in various combat sports, believing that one day she will need to know how to defend her loved ones as well as herself. She travels the world to hone her skills with her bodyguard Cracker Jack, whom her mother has hired to protect her. Blair is acquainted with Pullum, as they are both members of the International Debutante Club. Her butler is called Sebastian. Like Allen, Blair appears in Arika's arcade fighting game Fighting Layer, in which she takes a sudden trip to South Island. She is also mentioned in Jack's ending in Street Fighter EX3.

Blair is ranked 53rd in a worldwide Street Fighter character poll held between 2017 and 2018.

Cracker Jack


Cracker Jack (クラッカー・ジャック), also known as C. Jack or just Jack, is a bat-wielding former bouncer from Las Vegas, known for his unstoppable punches. While being pursued by an unknown organization, he becomes Blair's bodyguard to travel the world and flee his pursuers. In Street Fighter EX2, his younger sister is kidnapped by an underground fighting champion named Bharat. In Street Fighter EX2 Plus, he continues to be pursued by the mysterious organization, and by the end of Street Fighter EX3 he seeks refuge in Blair's mansion. In Fighting EX Layer, Jack escapes the organization by leaving Blair's employ and fleeing to America.

Cycloid-β and Cycloid-γ
Cycloid-β (サイクロイド-β) and Cycloid-γ (サイクロイド-γ), both appear as secret characters in Street Fighter EX Plus and EX Plus α, are a pair of cyborgs that use the special techniques of other characters. Beta primarily uses command-based special moves, while Gamma specializes in charge-based moves. Both characters were based on test models used for motion capture during the development of the game. Beta is an untextured blue polygonal model resembling a male human, and Gamma is a green wireframed model. In the Japanese version of Street Fighter EX Plus α for the PlayStation, Gamma is given an additional back-story, a weapon secretly developed by Pullum's father Balba to annihilate a huge criminal organization. In Street Fighter EX2 Plus, an unidentified Cycloid model appears in one of the bonus rounds.

Doctrine Dark


Doctrine Dark (ドクトリン・ダーク), whose real name is Holger (オルガー), is a German-American mercenary seeking revenge against Guile. His back-story for Street Fighter EX2 establishes that he was raised in a mercenary training facility, where he was trained in the use of weapons similar to Rolento's, such as knives, grenades, and wires. Dark once served in the American armed forces. He was in a special forces unit led by Guile when it became involved in a scuffle against a rival unit led by Rolento. Holger was the sole survivor of his unit, but suffered tremendous physical and mental scars. He seeks revenge against Guile, feeling that he did not train him sufficiently. During the development of Street Fighter EX, the developers nicknamed him "Mr. Foul-play" (反則くん). In July 2011, a video from an Arika 3DS test project, called Fighting Sample, was released featuring Dark. In Fighting EX Layer, Dark appears as a villainous character influenced by Garuda's negative energy.

Doctrine Dark was among the 20 fighters GamesRadar wished were included in Street Fighter X Tekken.

Darun


Darun Mister (ダラン・マイスター), makes his first appearance as a hidden character in the original Street Fighter EX. He is a popular wrestling champion from India who seeks to challenge other wrestlers such as Zangief and Victor Ortega (from the Saturday Night Slam Masters series). He agrees to become Pullum Purna's bodyguard, hoping to use the opportunity to travel the world and fight many wrestlers. He is absent from the original Street Fighter EX2, but returns in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, in which he obtains another opportunity to fight against more wrestlers around the world after Pullum becomes a princess. In Street Fighter EX3, he has a special ending if the player finishes the single-player mode with Zangief as his tag-partner. Darun returns in Fighting EX Layer.

Garuda


Garuda (ガルダ) first appears as a non-playable boss character in the original Street Fighter EX, but becomes a playable character in subsequent installments. He is a demon dressed in samurai-like armor who wields a sword hidden within his own body. According to his back-story in the original Street Fighter EX, he was created by the souls of dead men who were consumed by the Satsui no Hadō, although his revised back-story in Street Fighter EX2 suggests that he has an accumulation of negative feelings such as anger, hatred, envy, treachery, and despair. Garuda's form is said to change depending on his opponent: he takes a strong form against warriors seeking strength and feeds on the hatred of warriors who are seeking vengeance. Garuda returns as the antagonist of Fighting EX Layer.

Hokuto


Hokuto (ほくと) is the daughter of the Mizugami (水神) family, who was trained in the family's style of kobujutsu, which has been refined into her personal style that resembles the art of aikijujutsu. She was known as Shirase (しらせ) as a child. When Hokuto turned 17, she was sent on a journey to find her older half-brother Kairi, who went missing years before. Unknown to Hokuto, the true purpose of her journey was not only to find her brother, but to defeat him. She has been implanted with the "Seal of Blood" (血の封印) to exterminate her brother. In the original Street Fighter EX, Hokuto wears a blue-white outfit resembling that of a Japanese archer, and white hachimaki around her long hair. In EX2, she wears a hakama and ties her hair in a pony-tail. She reverts to her original design in EX3. In addition to her regular version, an alternate version named Bloody Hokuto (血の封印を解かれたほくと) is featured as secret character in Street Fighter EX Plus. Bloody Hokuto returns in Fighting EX Layer, now going by her original name of Shirase.

Kairi


Kairi (カイリ), first appears as a secret character in the original Street Fighter EX, is depicted as an amnesiac who was initially conceived to be the main character in the EX series. Kairi was born to the main house of the Mizukami family and was trained in the family's traditional art of karate. He appears in the original EX and its re-releases with long black hair and a scar over his left eye. He lost his memories while fighting an unknown challenger and now walks the "Path of the Shura", fighting to survive. He learns that he is the elder brother of Hokuto, who has been on a mission to find him. In EX2, his hair has changed from black to white as a result of his constant battles. After confronting Hokuto and Nanase, he recovers his memories and learns that he was responsible for the death of their father. Kairi returns as the protagonist of Fighting EX Layer.

Pullum


Pullum Purna (プルム・プルナ) is the daughter of Balba Purna, an Arab multimillionaire and inventor. She decides to travel the world with her bodyguard Darun when she overhears her grandfather whisper the name "Shadaloo", believing that it is the name of a person. Unknown to Pullum, the reason why her grandfather is worried about Shadaloo is that she has a blood relative working for the organization who is a candidate to become a Shadaloo executive. She is absent from the original Street Fighter EX2 but returns in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, in which she inherits a kingdom after the death of a relative and decides to travel the world once again with Darun to search for her missing father. Pullum's theme tune was later used in the game Technictix. Pullum returns as a downloadable character in Fighting EX Layer.

Skullomania


Skullomania (スカロマニア) is the secret identity of Saburo Nishikoyama (西小山　三郎), a third-rate businessman from Tokyo who works to support his wife and children. He adopts his superhero identity when a client asks him to dress up and pose for a superhero attraction at his department store. Donning a full-body skeleton suit, Skullomania sets out to fight evil for real. In Street Fighter EX2, his costume is redesigned, adding a red scarf and a red letter "S" in front of his mask, along with white gloves and boots and a belt. Skullomania reappears in Fighting EX Layer, having settled back into life as a salaryman but finding himself unexpectedly transforming into his superhero persona without any memory of doing so afterward. With new powers also developing as well, he sets out to find the reason behind these sudden changes.

Many elements of Skullomania are homages to the Showa era tokusatsu genre of Japanese action shows in general and Kamen Rider in particular, specifically the red scarf and belt since Street Fighter EX2, and prominence of flying kicks in his fighting style. He makes later appearances in the PlayStation 2 music game Technictix and in Fighter Maker. As a nod to Skullomania, Capcom gave El Fuerte a similar skull costume in the Halloween pack for Street Fighter IV. A female version of Skullomania appears as a special guest character in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy.

Among the cast of characters introduced in the Street Fighter EX series, Skullomania is the most popular. He is ranked 16th in a worldwide Street Fighter character poll held between 2017 and 2018.

Area


Area (エリア), first appears in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, is a young girl hailing from the United Kingdom with braided hair and glasses. She is the daughter of a scientific inventor, and her intellect is said to surpass his. When her father's inventions fail to sell, she modifies them as weapons and tests them in combat against the world's greatest martial artists. In battle, she wears a pair of high-speed rollerblades and a mechanical right arm codenamed "Cancer" (キャンサー). In Fighting EX Layer, disappointed by her inventions' lack of fame, she seeks out fellow inventor Balba Purna, coming into contact with his daughter Pullum along the way.

Hayate


Hayate (ハヤテ), makes his first appearance in the original Street Fighter EX2, is a samurai from the village of Kukunoichi (木霊村), hidden within the mountains. He is following the footsteps of his father, a legendary hero who once saved his home village from the demon Orochi (巨蟒), and is one of the few Street Fighter characters to use a sword in combat. At the end of the original EX2, he vanquishes the demon his father once sealed and saves the local shrine maiden, becoming the new guardian deity of Kukunoichi. Hayate is the only character from the original EX2 who was absent in the arcade version of Street Fighter EX2 Plus. He was re-included in the PlayStation version of the game as a hidden character. A new Hayate, the descendant of the original, appears as a playable character in Fighting EX Layer.

Nanase


Nanase (七瀬), first appears as a hidden character in the original Street Fighter EX2 and becomes a regular character in Street Fighter EX2 Plus and Street Fighter EX3, is the younger sister of Hokuto. She was raised to be a successor to the Mizugami clan. Nanase is a skilled master of bojutsu. Nanase becomes worried about Hokuto after she leaves the shrine where they live and does not return. She then learns from her grandfather that she has a brother named Kairi, whom Hokuto was sent to find. She goes on a journey to find Hokuto and Kairi, unaware that the journey is also a test to determine whether she is fit to inherit the Mizugami teachings. Ultimately, she is freed from the Mizugami clan by Hokuto and her memories of her past sealed, allowing her to live a normal life. She reappears in Fighting EX Layer, now under the new alias of Sanane (紗波音, さなね).

Shadow Geist


Shadow Geist (シャドウガイスト) first appears as a secret character in the arcade version of the original Street Fighter EX2 as well as in Street Fighter EX2 Plus and Street Fighter EX3. He is an unknown man from an unnamed country, dressed in a lethal superhero costume similar to Skullomania's. He has artificially enhanced his body in order to overthrow the men in charge of the totalitarian government responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. Shadowgeist appears again in Fighting EX Layer, with most of his moves renamed from the ruthless vigilante motifs into the Greek alphabetic-based reformed agent motifs.

Sharon


Sharon (シャロン), first appears in Street Fighter EX2, is a beautiful red-haired woman with a tattoo of a rose on her chest. Sharon is depicted wielding a gun in the character artwork for the original EX2, but she does not use any firearms until EX2 Plus. In the story, she lives a double life as a nun taking care of orphans at a monastery and an A-class agent for a secret intelligence group. Having separated from her parents when she was young, her only desire is to be reunited with her family and learn about her past. When she learns that a key member of a criminal organization she was assigned to investigate has the same tattoo that she has, she goes after him to find out why. Her exact nationality is never given. Sharon later returned as a downloadable character in Fighting EX Layer.

Vulcano Rosso


Vulcano Rosso (ヴルカーノ・ロッソ), makes his debut in Street Fighter EX2 Plus, is a mysterious Italian warrior who leaves his organization in order to avenge the death of his lover. He comes from Bari, and his special moves are named after locations in Italy such as Aetna, Vesuvio, Canossa, Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), and Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower). At the end of EX3, he returns home after getting his revenge on his lover's murderer. Rosso appears as a downloadable fighter in Fighting EX Layer.

Ace


Ace (エース) was introduced in Street Fighter EX3, is a government agent ordered by the prime minister of his nation to find information about a secret weapon being developed in an underground base. Ace uses a custom fighting style, which the player can edit by passing a series of trials in the game's Character Edit mode.