- Please note: This article discusses a character whose origins are outside the Tekken universe. Certain links will guide you to SNK Wiki for more information about the character.
Geese Howard (ギース・ハワード Gīsu Hawādo?) is a playable guest character within the Tekken series of fighting games. He originates from the Fatal Fury (餓狼伝説, 'Garō Densetsu, Legend of the Hungry Wolf) series created by SNK, where he acts as the principal antagonist of the series. Aside from Fatal Fury, a younger version of him appears as an antagonist in the Art of Fighting (龍虎の拳, Ryuuko no Ken, Fist of the Dragon and Tiger) series. He is also a recurring character in the The King of Fighters (ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ, Za Kingu Obu Faitāzu) series.
Believing in the darwinistic principle of strength, Geese craves all forms of power, be it physical and mental prowess to money and other assets. He made his debut in Tekken 7 as a DLC character. He was first revealed at EVO 2017 as part of the first set of DLC characters.
Biography[]
Personality[]
Although defined by his pride and insatiable lust for power in all its forms, Geese is both cunning and strong. He knows all of the faces of power, from money to immortality, and in many cases, he is well aware of the paths by which to obtain such power; such paths were taught through the harsh lessons Geese learned during childhood and while working his way up the underworld of his native South Town.
Despite appearing to be heartlessly evil however, he has his own code of honor and there are lines that even he will not cross, such as never underestimating his opponents. He will crush anyone who stands in his way and reward those he deems worthy of his respect, such as his right-hand man, Billy Kane, or Tung Fu Rue, his former master.
Geese is also known to hold grudges. As both police commissioner and mobster, Geese harbors hatred of people who threaten his status, lest they return to forcefully remove him from his seat of power. A grudge held against a former classmate, Jeff Bogard, is ultimately what led to him killing his former classmate, setting the events of his native Fatal Fury series in motion.
Geese has also developed a fascination with Japanese culture. This is evident in both his estates, which are adorned with items relevant to Oriental history, and in his own self-crafted moves, as many of them are named in Japanese, such as the Shinkuu Nage and Reppuu Ken techniques, to name a few. He does still appear to be quite patriotic, with his estates being filled with American flags in addition to the things related to Japan.
Various profiles released by SNK state that Geese loves steak, is good at billiards, and that his favorite song is Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from "The Godfather") by Andy Williams.
Appearance[]
Geese has short blond hair and blue eyes. His overall outfit is almost identical to Heihachi Mishima's primary outfit in Tekken 3 but his hakama is red. He also wears a gold necklace on his neck with an oval-shaped jade gem serving as his pendant. His chest bears a long horizontal scar, as well as a long scar across Geese's left eye, inflicted by Wolfgang Krauser, his half-brother.
Outfits[]
- Main article: Geese Howard/Outfits
Story[]
Tekken 7[]
The CEO of The Howard Connection and most powerful man in South Town, controlling it from behind the scenes. Geese Howard is well-versed in ancient Japanese martial arts, and specialises in reversing his opponent's attacks with his various Atemi counter-throws. He wields an overwhelming presence with his charismatic evil. Interested in the power of the Devil Gene, Geese enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 7 to obtain it for himself. [1]
Gameplay[]
TEKKEN 7 - Geese Howard Reveal Trailer PS4, XB1, PC
Originating from SNK's KOF and Fatal Fury, Geese's playstyle is more akin to his appearance in KOF XIV, such as having command move and MAX Mode cancels instead of Street Fighter IV's Focus Attack cancel. He has 2 Supers, similar to Hwoarang's 2 Rage Drives, unlike Akuma and Eliza who only possess one. His gameplay is a merger of both his normal and Nightmare forms, dating back to SvC Chaos.
He is one of two characters who have two Rage Arts (the other being Yoshimitsu), his first being his Rashomon, and his second being his Deadly Rave, which requires attack input followups to perform the continuous moves, akin to Tekken series’ 10 Hit Combo moves.
Geese is one of the few characters in the series to be able to grab grounded opponents. He also has a different low kick from most other characters which has more range than the standard low kick.
Geese's reversal is still as deadly as it is in the source material, and he is able to parry and counter most "unreversable" attacks such as Yoshimitsu's sword attacks and Alisa's Chainsaws. His reversal does have a slightly more complex input than other characters however, requiring the player to draw a half circle with their movement inputs.
Fighting Style[]
Geese is said to be an expert martial artist who utilizes a personal style derived from his own teachings in Japanese martial arts. One of his main influences is that of Aikijujutsu, a defensive martial arts style with several throws, counter throws and locks. Because of its defensive nature, it is a style that is limited to Atemi-Waza striking attacks. To reinforce a focus on offense, Geese also utilizes Koryu centered Japanese martial arts, being the Warring States and samurai era originated schools of hand to hand fighting that is centered on crippling blows and flowing onslaughts, including styles not unlike the Kazama school of martial arts and hard styles of Aikido.
Hakkyokuseiken is a fictional Chinese martial art within the SNK universe taught to him by his former teacher Tung Fu Rue, that specializes in the cultivation and harnessing of qi. Skilled martial artists are said to have a great deal of internal power that comes with the style, including being able to channel their own qi to utilize as attacks. The affinity that he displays with his qi are themed after the wind and the skies, including a consistent sky blue color emanation, flowing yet slicing forms of energy, and being able to channel down lightning in his more powerful attacks. Geese is one of three students of Tung Fu Rue that are prominent practitioners of this martial art.
Though Geese is from the USA, his extensive practice of such martial arts has led nearly all of his techniques to be written and spoken out in Japanese. Via his codifying 2/3-way counter throws, some games may or may not allow Geese to even reverse physical supers/rage arts.
The Tekken 7 official site listed Geese's fighting style as "Kobujutsu (古武術)"[2]
Moves[]
Quotes[]
| Intro | Win |
|---|---|
| "Bring it on! I'll destroy you all!" (Howard Estate only) |
"Give in to your fears!" |
| "Come on! This might be amusing." | "Stay down, maggot." |
| "Double Reppuken!" | "Know your place." |
| "Come on! The Mishima line ends here!" (against Mishima clan) |
|
| "Come on! The Kazama line ends here!" (against Kazama clan) |
|
| "Come on! Show me that power of yours." (against Akuma, Claudio Serafino, Devil Jin and Eliza) |
| Rage Art |
|---|
| "Now die. Rashomon!" |
| "You loser. Deadly Rave!" |
Character Relationships[]
- Heihachi Mishima - (non-canon} Possible Rival CEO. In his reveal trailer, Geese tells Heihachi that he is too weak to conquer the world and to leave that task to him. He then tells him to die and attacks Heihachi whilst he is meditating in the Mishima Dojo.[3]
Trivia[]
- Geese is often known as the major antagonist of the Fatal Fury series (except Mark of the Wolves where he is considered long deceased) and the second game of its prequel series Art of Fighting, as well as being one of the supporting antagonists in The King of Fighters timeline.
- Developer oversight and the general desire to create the Boss Team (composed of himself, Mr. Big and Krauser) in KOF '96 led to Geese's current and rather paradoxical existence in the KOF timeline.
- Ironically, his appearance in Tekken 7 is based on his main KOF timeline counterpart, hence his unique meter mechanics being brought from The King of Fighters XIV for this game, as part of the promotional collaboration with SNK.
- Geese Howard is the second guest character confirmed for Tekken 7, the first guest being Akuma, as well as the third guest character in the series overall, after Gon in Tekken 3.
- He is the third SNK character to be featured under the Bandai-Namco Entertainment banner. Mai Shiranui and Iroha appeared in Queen's Gate: Spiral Chaos.
- He is currently the only SNK guest character to receive proper new English voice acting since his last English-speaking game appearance in KOF: Maximum Impact 2.
- In Tekken 7, he has two voice actors, one for in-battle (almost all in Japanese), and for the other, conversational quotes, in English.
- Prior to his introduction, Katsuhiro Harada named Geese as the character he'd like the most in Tekken 7 during an interview with Game Revolution[4]
- His fall at the end of his trailer is a direct recreation of his second defeat at the hands of Terry Bogard depicted in the last game of his saga, ''Real Bout Fatal Fury, rather than his first defeat scene in the first Fatal Fury.
- An early version of Tekken 7's Steam Page, shortly after Geese's arrival, mistakenly stated that he came from the Fatal Frame series, rather than Fatal Fury.
- According to his KOF profiles, his birthday is January 21st, 1953.
- Series developer Katsuhiro Harada stated that Geese is the one who taught Eliza her Dark Wave ability. This is likely non-canonical, as there is no in-game evidence to support this.[5]
Gallery[]
- Main article: Geese Howard/Gallery