Tekken is a game known for mixing several ideas. The idea of a 3D fighting game was from Virtua Fighter. Nina is obviously a clone of Sarah. Wang Jinrei is obviously based on Shun Di. Meanwhile, other fighters are obviously based on several pop culture materials. I don't think Mortal Kombat is the only game that got inspired by Enter the Dragon. Maybe, you might find these in common...
I think Roper and Lee are the templates for Paul and Law
It's no secret that Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law are BFF. Sure, one can argue Paul is inspired by Ken. However, one may want to look at the rather old 1970s hit film (which was only released AFTER Bruce Lee left us so soon) where Lee's best friend was a white guy named Roper. The late John Saxon (who died last 2020) played the said character. Both Lee and Roper are nearly inseparable. That may remind us...
In Tekken, Law and Paul are also almost inseparable. I guess Tekken 3 may have gotten some flak when Forrest Law came into the picture. Forrest Law hardly made an appearance after that because it seems that Paul and Law were just inseparable. Both of these characters may not be the mainline characters bu they had an impact. Paul did defeat Heihachi's bodyguard Kuma-1 in the first Tekken tournament. I guess Forrest Law is doomed to be forever in his father's shadow, right? Fortunately, Forrest is still very much alive, unlike the late Brandon Emery Lee. Forrest still appeared in the Tekken Tag Tournament games but never went beyond as his father's substitute in Tekken 3. I felt Tekken 3 was a leap forward for Tekken. However, Tekken 3 did lack some popular characters that had to be brought back in later games.
Obviously, Law has been more faithful as a Bruce Lee-inspired character than Liu Kang will ever be in Mortal Kombat. Liu Kang went from Bruce Lee to become a Chinese Ryu. Law himself has been more Bruce Lee as shown by HIS MOVES and COMBOS. Liu Kang only found his identity as a Chinese Ryu.
Han may have actually inspired Heihachi more than Shang Tsung
Han serves as the MAIN ANTAGONIST in Enter the Dragon. Sure, one can argue a lot that the 1995 Mortal Kombat film has similarities to Enter the Dragon. The big difference is Shang Tsung was merely an underling all along (while being an old geezer who ran a tournament) and Han had nobody to answer to since he headed the organization. Han's an extremely wealthy guy running a tournament. Han runs an illegal operation. I think Han also promised much wealth to the winner of his tournament. Years later, such traits were more commonly seen in Heihachi than Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung was most likely based on Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China.
Heihachi hosted a tournament and is the head of a powerful criminal empire. True, Heihachi shares some similarities with Shang Tsung such as both were the final bosses in the first game AND became depowered playable characters in the second game. Heihachi also got young again in the non-canon Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Both villains were also acted by Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa in live-action films. Tagawa played Heihachi twice in live-action. I felt Tagawa should've voiced Heihachi in later games aside from reprising his role as Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11. Heihachi may look like Dr. Wily (face-wise) but he's practically Han from Enter the Dragon. Unlike Han, Heihachi never had his ass handed over to him by a Bruce Lee clone and managed to survive into several Tekken games.
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Pretty much, there's a great distance between 1973 and 1994. Much has happened. It seems like people at Namco watched Enter the Dragon at some point in their lives. It's possible that the film was really an inspiration for Tekken's concept. Sure, one can always say Virtua Fighter also played a part in the inspiration. Yet, I guess nobody, and I mean NOBODY should ever ignore Enter the Dragon no matter how old it is. Sure, some of its cast members are no longer with us. Still, it should be a good history lesson for any fan of crazy martial arts flicks.
Pretty much, there's a great distance between 1973 and 1994. Much has happened. It seems like people at Namco watched Enter the Dragon at some point in their lives. It's possible that the film was really an inspiration for Tekken's concept. Sure, one can always say Virtua Fighter also played a part in the inspiration. Yet, I guess nobody, and I mean NOBODY should ever ignore Enter the Dragon no matter how old it is. Sure, some of its cast members are no longer with us. Still, it should be a good history lesson for any fan of crazy martial arts flicks.
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