A guy too exceptional… even for Marvel itself
June 27, 2024, 9:30 p.m.
Updated June 27, 2024, 9:31 p.m.
Who is the most surreal fighter to ever grace Street Fighter? Some can electrocute, others have a very striking appearance, some throw strange things, and we even have a parody of the series with legs. Art of FightingHowever, we cannot overlook the fact that Capcom in the 90s also included real characters like Mike Tyson or Victor Zangiev, playing some (not at all subtle) tricks with the names. Norimaro It is all of the above and more, and if its name doesn’t sound familiar to you, it’s perfectly normal: never set foot in the West. What’s more, Capcom itself had to promise that it wouldn’t do it.
Defining who or what Norimaro is is complicated if you are new. To give a quick description, one could say that it is a character created by the comedian Noritake Kinashi and that, broadly speaking, he is an extravagant guy who fights without fighting. Or, rather, that he tries to desperately confront his enemies… Dressed like a high school student!
To make an analogy, he would be the Japanese equivalent of Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean character. However, unlike Mike Tyson, this strange appearance in the games was made with the participation and consent of Kinashi. Something that, as we will see, will even make for a great little story broadcast on Japanese television. Which does not distract us from the really important thing: how on earth did someone like that end up in the Japanese copies of Marvel vs. Street Fighter?
The Japanese “Mr. Bean” is all about humor and little jokes
Norimaro He is not a character from either Capcom or Marvel and his entry into the crossover between both companies occurs without there being a background. Well, there is one little thing: from his animations it is clear that he is a huge fan of Chun Li and, furthermore, a true lover of superhero comics. It is understood that, in a mysterious way, he ended up making his way into the game’s universe and that is more than enough.
From here on, a note: just because he stumbles, cries or looks visibly overwhelmed by the circumstances during combat does not mean that Norimaro is a useless character: he has basic and special attacks, of course, in addition to throwing random objects from his backpack, headbutting, pushing… He even has his own Raging Demon inspired by Akuma’s. Far from using martial arts or brute force, he reacts impulsively and his lack of willingness to fight unless force majeure is always very evident.
In case there was any doubt, Norimaro is a complete fighter. Unpredictable, but developed With his special attacks, his normal and hyper combos. In fact, he even has a special trick: if before combat we hold down the light and medium punch buttons along with the strong kick button, he becomes the only character with the ability to jump four times. And that, in a title in which aerial combos are so present, is an advantage to consider.
Playing as Norimaro is very different from playing as Ryu, Chun Li or Zangief, as his animations are all about comedy. If you’ve ever seen a Japanese comedy show with colorful characters, even in passing, you’ll recognize the character’s outlandish mannerisms, poses and mannerisms. But even in those, he’s a viable choice as a fighter. Not as intuitive as some, perhaps, but he definitely brings his own style to the table.
Special mention to Norimaro’s visual style, which completely broke with the aesthetics of both the Marvel fighters and the World Warriors who, in fact, had been rescued from Street Fighter Alpha 2. The result was more aligned with what was seen in DarkStalkersbut even in those we could see both the Capcom touch and the technology of those machines with CPS2 that blew our minds.
That said, Norimaro’s entry was not a break with the dynamics of the game: the fights of Marvel vs. Street Fighter They were tag team and tag team, and their specials, assists, and Hyper Combos were tailored to work with the rest of the heroes and villains and add chaotic and unpredictable elements to each battle. Including a welcome additional point of humor in between all the combos and explosions.
What’s more, if we manage to defeat Apocalypse and Cyber-Akuma, the two final bosses of Marvel vs. Street Fighterat the end it simply says that he conquered the world and was a monarch who reigned with cruelty and an iron fist. Many years later, history books will define him as a truly despicable personality.
From this point on we have to address the big question: at what point did someone at Capcom come up with the idea of pitting this guy against their best fighters and the stars of the House of Ideas? The key is that Marvel vs. Street Fighter was released in 1997, and that was a very special year for fighting game lovers.
How Capcom added Norimaro to Street Fighter and Marvel
What’s significant about the whole thing is the creative process behind Norimaro, and it all started from a promise from Yoshioki Okamoto, the producer of Street Fighterwho took what seemed like a joke beyond imaginable limits: Capcom and comedian Noritake Kinashi, known for his participation in the show Tunnel!, announced that the latter will appear in the legendary fighting saga. Being more specific, what was said is that he would be a fighter “from the next Street Fighter.”
Okamoto’s statements were made with some mischief since in 1997 the launch of Street Fighter III. The new numbered installment of the phenomenon that took arcades by storm, no less. Logically, these statements were a double bombshell for both their daring and their absurdity. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for everyone, they were referring to the Marvel vs. Street Fighter.
“We had promised to release it in a Street Fighter-related title that would be completed as soon as possible and fit into our schedule. I’m glad it didn’t end up being Street Fighter III.”
The curious thing is that fighting game fans experienced something absolutely unusual for the time: the creation and development process of Norimaro was recorded and broadcast on the comedy show Tunnels’ which featured Noritake Kinashi, who not only helped with characterization, voice acting, designs, and attack ideas, but even wore a motion capture suit for the animations. He was, in all intents and purposes, the character’s co-creator, with one exception: the character’s name was decided in a mail-in contest won by a 13-year-old viewer.
Behind closed doors, and according to what Katsuya Akitomo, one of the artists who worked on Capcom’s fighting sagas at the time, said on his social networks, that daring idea was not a crazy idea proposed by Okamoto himself, who was not exactly fan of adding a character like that to the game. However, Akiman, the creator of Chun Li and the company’s legendary illustrator, adored him and that was decisive for him to be added to the Japanese version of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. And that brings us directly to the last question: Where was norimaro in the versions released in the rest of the world?
Norimaro, a guy too exceptional even for Marvel itself
The absence of Norimaro in the Western versions of Marvel vs. Street Fighter It was hidden without giving too much thought to the matter: in the panel of selectable fighters, a huge gap was left under Wolverine, in the central column, in which his portrait was replaced by the game logo. Something that happened both in the original arcade and in the subsequent home versions for Saturn and PlayStation. And it’s a shame, given that in the last one there were no relays, so they were individual fights with assists due to the limitations of Sony’s 32-bit.
At this point it’s time to make a reminder: as we mentioned, and as is clear in the distribution of copyrights on the loading screens of all versions, Norimaro is a character whose property is shared by Capcom, the Nippon TV network and Arrival . So the creators of Street Fighter, Mega Man or the saga resident Evil They do not have the freedom to use it whenever and wherever they want.
However, the real reason why this curious fighter did not leave Japan has nothing to do with any of these three Japanese companies. As Kinashi explained on his social media, Marvel was not amused by the addition of Norimaro. The House of Ideas was the Final Boss of this crossover.
The reason given by Marvel is that a guy like that destroyed the presence of Spider-Man, Hulk, the X-Men and the so-called Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Capcom’s solution: the promise and commitment that it would only be available to Japanese players. No one else in the world would know. Let’s remember, this is the year 1997.
Marvel objected violently; naturally, they didn’t want some random, powerless joke character going toe-to-toe with their heroes. We desperately pleaded and tried to calm them down: “We’ll only use him in Japan!”, so he doesn’t appear in the overseas versions.
In fact, there are two main images of the game created by the artist Bengus in which all the characters are shown: one released worldwide and another for the Japanese market. And although Norimaro appears in the second, the truth is that you have to look for him intentionally. Definitely, Capcom didn’t want any trouble.
Would history have been different today? To be fair, and with the inclusion of a Japanese character with such cartoonish appearances, his appearance would be a real double-edged sword: on the one hand it is a truly original and unexpected contribution in a title promoted with phrases like ‘You Expected This? ‘ (Did you expect it?). On the other hand, and in all probability, in current times Capcom should give explanations -unnecessarily- about possible stereotypes to people who do not know where the character came from or who the comedian is who gave him life. And they probably don’t give a damn about the game.
To no one’s surprise, Norimaro was the only character from the entire Marvel crossover saga who did not return in the glorious Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and he has not been expected back since then. And in that game there were two versions of Wolverine! Does that mean he’ll never come back?
In 2024 Capcom announced the definitive compilation of the saga: Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection. A comprehensive review with huge improvements and with fighters unlocked for the occasion. We know that, in the case of Marvel vs. Street Fighterone of the two ROMs that will be used corresponds to the Japanese version. However, in the end we return to the same situation as in 1997: whether Norimaro appears or not depends neither on Capcom, nor on the “flesh and blood Norimaro”, but on the predisposition of Marvel and Disney. And we will not deny it, one of the distinctive features of this fighter is how repellent he can be, which does not play in his favor.
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