[Honey's Crush Wednesday] 5 Nina Williams Highlights - Tekken 7

12:00 PM March 14, 2018

5 ways in which the Irish faerie brings death by degrees.

Tekken is a fighting game series that has been credited with the perfecting of the 2.5 Dimensional Fighter which was first introduced by the Virtua Fighter series. Spanning over 30 years and over 7 releases in its canonical storyline, Tekken is a staple fighting game which has stood the test of time for its beautiful storyline as well as characters. One such character is the gorgeous Irish assassin, Nina Williams, a character who has been in every single iteration of the series since its inception. As a result of her temperament, personality, as well as fighting prowess, Nina has become one of the most popular fighters in the franchise, not to mention being recognised as one of the greatest video game characters of all time, among other notable titles. Her influence on the Tekken Franchise is that of main character level, particularly in the later iterations of the series.

Nina was also featured in the Tekken OVA, which followed the events of the second King of Iron Fist Tournament, in which she was assigned to assassinate the head of the Mishima Conglomerate, Mishima Heihachi. However, the OVA highlights a thorn in Nina's side - her little sister, Anna, with whom she shares a long and bitter rivalry. The two hate each other so much that they have planned to settle the scores on the battlefield, with Anna devoting her entire life to killing Nina. This rivalry permeates the Tekken Franchise, and is reflected in every single game since Anna's introduction. From being a clunky blonde in the first game to becoming the lethal bombshell that Nina is today is quite the transformation - we've always known Nina's a killer, but we'll show you that she ends lives in more ways than one!

Episodes: Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 (Arcade History Mode)
Genre: Namco
Airing Date: Namco
Producers: December 9, 1994

Tekken 7 Preview (No Spoilers)

The King of Iron Fist Tournament, an international martial arts tournament is nearing its completion, with the remaining eight contestants having proved their might in death matches around the world. Only one of them will earn the right to fight against the tournament sponsor and head of the powerful Mishima Conglomerate, Mishima Heihachi. Defeating him means obtaining the entire corporation for one's self. The protagonist of this story is Mishima's son, Kazuya, who has a bone to pick with his father after he threw him off a cliff at the tender age of 5 due to his belief that Kazuya was weak. Fueled by his hatred for his father, Kazuya enters the King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to exact his revenge.

Nina Williams Bio

Nina Williams Bio
Seiyuu Name: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Nina Williams is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Irish beauty whose number one talent is murder. An assassin for hire, Nina was initially employed to eliminate the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Mishima Heihachi, but she failed. Two years later, at the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, she was tasked again with the hit on Mishima, but her little sister Anna made a surprise appearance, in an attempt to settle a long-standing sibling rivalry. Her fighting style is Assassination Arts, a lethal cocktail of Koppo-jutsu and Aikido which consists of various grapples and holds. At the end of the second tournament, Nina was cryogenically frozen for fifteen years, during which time she was experimented on. The result: Nina maintains her youthful physique throughout each iteration in the series, being physically around 22 years old. During her cryosleep, some of her ova were extracted without her consent and used in the creation of genetically modified humans, all of which failed but one: Steve Fox. As a result, Nina has a son.
Her personality is cold and indifferent, although she never misses an opportunity to tease Anna. Her likes include her son, Steve Fox, who she was once sent to assassinate but chose not to, Lars Alexandersson (introduced in Tekken 6), as well as a good cup of milk tea. Her apparel throughout the series has always featured a purple catsuit, something which has become a bit of a trademark for Nina Williams in the series.

Nina Williams Highlights

1.

Nina's greatest in-universe achievement is her selection by Jin Kazama to become his personal bodyguard in the canonical events of Tekken 6 when he becomes the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu and wages war on the entire world. These developments put her right in the main character pile of Tekken canonity - and she deserves it, having been in every single Tekken game since the series' inception.

2.

After the events of Tekken 6, Jin Kazama disappears, leaving Nina in the driver's seat of the largest corporate entity and military power in the world. Growing from a simple assassin to head of the Mishima Zaibatsu is a feat no other character can claim to have accomplished - not even Mishima Kazuya, Heihachi's own son, can say that he has been in the Mishima Conglomerate's oval office.

3.

Nina Williams is such a notable character that she has her own spin-off game - Death By Degrees. The game is the Tekken Franchise's first standalone spin-off title, which casts Nina in the starring role for the first time. In the game, Nina is assigned to a joint-mission between the CIA and MI6, where she is tasked with the infiltration of a certain cruise ship, with the intention of entering the fighting tournament held aboard the ship.

4.

Another one of Nina's best moments stems from the fact that even after a long time in suspended animation, as well as suffering the severe bout of amnesia which came as a result, she still managed to retain her deadly edge as an assassin, entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament in a world torn apart by the presence of the supernatural entity known as Ogre.

5.

One of Nina's greatest traits is her ability to think for herself in spite of the severe training she received in the art of killing. This self-awareness and retention of her own humanity allows her to spare the life of her only son, Steve Fox. This stands as a moment of growth for the character as she is shown to be more than just the cold and beautiful assassin she has been shown to be throughout the series.

Overall, Nina Williams is one of the Tekken Franchise's greatest ever characters. With a well-fleshed out story, amazing ability in combat and overall total badassery, Nina is the type of character who remains in one's memory for a very long time. She is a celebrated and highly respected videogame persona. Her influence on her universe is widespread and relevant, and she is one of the few characters left in the Tekken series yet to be left out of a single iteration - this just proves Nina Williams' longevity as a Tekken character, and as a fighting game character.

Writer

Author: Hoshi-kun

I’m South African, harbouring an obsession for anything remotely related to Japan, mostly anime, of course. I draw sometimes. Some people call me Naledi, it’s my real name, or something like that. People think I’m stoic because I don’t smile often (I do sometimes). I like languages. Hoshi-kun and Naledi are the same side of the same coin.

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