Hello, everyone. I know it's been nearly three weeks, but better late than never to get back to work on this. I think the best part is looking up the character's information to refresh my knowledge and make sure I have all my information right. It's always nice to look back on the history of a fighting game character and think about their highlights. And with DOA6 still being a relative fresh release, (it came out on the first of the month) I think it only appropriate to take the opportunity to go over my personal favorite character from the series, Kokoro
Kokoro made her debut in Dead or Alive 4, which was an early release for the Xbox 360 and the last main series release to be led by series creator Tomonobu Itagaki. She is a young illegitimate daughter of the late DOATEC chairman Fame Douglas and the half-sister of major character Helena who was raised by her mother Miyako and trained to be a geisha. Kokoro also developed a love for the martial arts and trained in the art of baji quan(eight extremities fist in Chinese). While her mother was head of DOATEC Japan, Kokoro's heritage was kept a secret from her for all her life.
Kokoro entered the fourth Dead or Alive tournament at the age of 17. While her mother gave her permission to participate in the tournament, she also warned her that she might not like what would come of it. Kokoro met the drunken martial artist, Brad Wong, during the early stages, and was put off by him, refusing an offer for a drink with the words "Not on your life" before their fight. Further into the tournament, Kokoro met Helena and was shocked when the older woman seemed to recognize her and know her mother. After the tournament, Kokoro resumed her training both in martial arts and as a maiko(apprentice geisha).
Kokoro's story continues two years later in Dead or Alive 5, as she goes on a business trip with her mother. While going for a walk through the city, Kokoro saw Helena in a public appearance on a monitor, causing to wonder if they would meet again. The next moment, a construction site collapsed, and Kokoro was knocked over by Lisa Hamilton, who had been defeated in battle by Ryu Hayabusa. Upset over this, Kokoro fought with Lisa, who asked her how Miyako was doing, hinting that she was an acquaintance of hers. A few days later, Kokoro sparred with Jann Lee and Akira Yuki to prepare for the upcoming fifth Dead or Alive tournament. Kokoro does not know that her mother is actually a double agent aligned with the antagonistic MIST organization led by Victor Donovan.
Shortly before the tournament, Kokoro met with Helena again, and asked her about her father, implying that she may have suspected Fame was her father, but neither woman confirmed or denied any connection, and she had a friendly spar with her half-sister. Kokoro progressed as far as the quarterfinals in the tournament, ultimately losing to Eliot.
Dead or Alive 6 marks a turning point in Kokoro's story as the truth is finally revealed to her following her mother's disappearance. The MIST scientist, Nico, leaks the information of Kokoro's heritage to her by showing a photo of her and Helena together as children. When Kokoro confronts Helena about the photo, Helena confirms that Fame Douglas was indeed Kokoro's father and that the two women are sisters, upsetting Kokoro, as she would've wanted to hear the truth from her mother. However, Zack arrives shortly afterwards to help comfort her on the issue, allowing her to proceed through the sixth tournament without hesitation.
Kokoro often dresses in very feminine, girly fashion, possibly the most so if any of the female fighters in the franchise, and is also one of the shortest fighters, as well. Her main outfits are a kimono, worn loosely to allow her ease of movement in combat, along with another outfit consisting of a pink and orange tunic with a white shirt and pants. My personal favorite outfit for her is the white crop-top and black miniskirt, probably because it kind of reminds me of Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII. Hehe.
In terms of personality, Kokoro is very kind-hearted and compasionate, as well as very mature for her age. She is also hospitable and willing to help someone in need, shown in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, when she offers to help Kasumi when she is sick, as well as attempting to defend her from Ayane, who was pursuing her at the time. However, she is also somewhat short-tempered, shown when she fought against Brad for trying to hit on her, as well as when Jann Lee broke a vase in the temple she was training at. She also reacts slowly to being startled or surprised(for example, taking a while to react to objects exploding around her or Jann Lee throwing a nunchaku at her, expecting her to catch it, only for it to fly right past her, leading to the aforementioned vase-shattering incident). Despite her confidence, however, her sheltered life and Miyako's protectiveness of her show when she loses a battle, possibly implying that these things may have made it difficult for her to adapt to the competitive nature of tournaments. Also, she's not a morning person, as shown in DOA Xtreme, where she is shown to not be in the best of moods in the morning.
Kokoro was actually my main in Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, and much of that is mainly due to her being a character that's easy to pick up and play as while exploring the game's mechanics, and she is one of the characters I recommend most for this, along with Kasumi, Ayane, and Hitomi. I also find her character arc to be one of the most interesting in the series. While we have yet to see her involved with the core DOA storyline in any real significant way, the seeds have clearly been planted, and I honestly kind of wish Koei Tecmo would just give her more attention. However, moving her character arc forward in DOA6 seems to be a step in the right direction. I just hope they don't stop there. She also has one of my favorite character designs in the series, aesthetically. She has a very beautiful look to her that only becomes more apparent with the greater graphical leaps of DOA5 and 6, and a lot of the costumes available for her compliment her personality extremely well.
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