Tekken Mobile has just been given a summer release date, and an all-new, mobile-exclusive character along with it. Known as Bo “Rodeo” Montana, this ex-marine-slash-football player has it out for the Revenant, who essentially killed all of his men. Bo is a big guy, stacked with muscles, and is very pointedly American — but is he a character that’s been hinted at before?
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Back in 2014 during the lead-up to Tekken 7, the character Lucky Chloe was first introduced, and a very vocal subset of fans immediately complained about her. Fans, primarily from the west, were less-than-pleased with what they called a cookie-cutter character: cute, petite and dressed like a pop star, Lucky Chloe would lay you out and then strike a pose over your deservedly messed up character’s husk.
It may be a little hard to fathom why people wouldn’t like her, but Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada seemed a little less than pleased with certain reasons that were given. With the NeoGAF forum dead-on in his sights thanks to a pretty nasty thread about Lucky Chloe’s announcement, Harada fired some pretty painful shots at those who labeled her as a Vocaloid rip-off.
Of course, the producer took to Twitter to respond to the backlash, specifically referring to NeoGAF when he said: “By the way, Are you ‘Western’ only one bulletin board? Hello small world. I’ll make muscular & skinhead character for you.”
Harada then seemed to point directly at these naysayers and promise to remove Lucky Chloe from the North American release, then replace her with a somewhat insulting depiction of Western men (depending on who you ask). The threat itself was sarcasm, thankfully, but it looks like something positive came out of the idea in the end.
Rodeo, a veteran and athlete who is definitely not a skinhead, isn’t the exact jab at Western audiences that Harada seemed to tease. He has a backstory that makes him a more compassionate character, and a move set that looks like a lot of fun to try out on mobile. Rodeo is the first new character to be introduced for Tekken Mobile, so if his creation was at all influenced by these events, the good news is that the depiction isn’t as negative as Harada promised.
Meanwhile, Lucky Chloe has found herself at home in Tekken 7’s line-up, being the new go-to choice for several players, including the WWE’s Alexa Bliss, who chose to wipe the floor at a few conventions last year with the character. Everybody’s happy in the end.
Tekken 7 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Tekken Mobile releases on August 18th.
