is a character from
Namco, is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. The company is most famous for creating Pac-Man, the best-selling arcade game in history...
's
Tekken game series. She is known to be a cold-blooded assassin who had made her very first appearance in the original
Tekken game and since has appeared in every
Tekken game released. She is one of only four
Tekken characters to appear in each game along with Yoshimitsu, Paul Phoenix and
Heihachi Mishimais a fictional and one of the main characters in the Tekken fighting game series. He is one of only four characters to have appeared in every game in the series and he makes two appearances within the series as the final boss .He is also the only Tekken character aside from Yoshimitsu to be...
and the only female character to have appeared in every installment. She is known to have an unstable relationship with her younger sister, Anna Williams.
Nina Williams is known for her lethal fighting styles, consisting of many martial arts and fighting skills. Due to the success of the character, Nina Williams starred in her own
spin-offA spin-off is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one, such as television series based on a pre-existing one, or a new company formed from a university research group or business incubator...
game,
Death by DegreesDeath by Degrees is an action-adventure video game and spin-off from the popular Tekken series. Originally announced with the title "Nina", its eventual title was chosen as a reference to its multiple-degree fighting system...
.
Plot
Nina Williams was born and raised in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, as was her sister, Anna Williams. From a young age, both were taught various forms of martial arts and other forms of fighting, and a
sibling rivalrySibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among brothers and sisters, blood-related or not.82% of people in Western countries have at least one sibling, and siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents...
broiled between the two. Both sisters admired their father, Richard Williams, and they often craved for his attention. Williams was trained in assassination martial arts and borrows concepts from
Aikidois a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
and bone martial arts, making it ideal for her future job as an assassin. As she quickly became an assassin Williams had later been hired during the King of Iron Fist Tournament to assassinate
Heihachi Mishimais a fictional and one of the main characters in the Tekken fighting game series. He is one of only four characters to have appeared in every game in the series and he makes two appearances within the series as the final boss .He is also the only Tekken character aside from Yoshimitsu to be...
.
Their rivalry catapulting was the part of force that drove them to fight each other later at this time. The other, in
Tekken 2, Nina was contracted to kill Kazuya Mishima, but Anna intervened and the conflict prevented her from fulfilling the assignment. She was captured by Mishima after failing to assassinate him and was used as a test subject in the "cold sleep" project by Dr. Boskonovich - a cryogenic experiment. Anna Williams volunteered to be put in cryogenic sleep, but demanded to be awoken at the same time as Nina. Fans speculate about the reason for this. Some believe that Anna couldn't bear life without Nina's presence, some suggest she was envious that Nina would remain youthful in the Cryosleep and some think she did it so that she could stay unharmed and ready to fight Nina once she was awakened. The experiments went on for 19 years.
Nina had suffered amnesia induced by her years in cryogenic sleep , a fate from which her sister Anna was spared. During
Tekken 3, she was controlled by the god of Fighting's spell and while possessed concentrated on killing Jin Kazama- Heihachi Mishima's grandson. Anna worked intensively with Boskonovich to bring her sister's memories back, however the project was unsuccessful and after a receiving a memory from Tekken 2, Nina realized that she and her sister did not get along. After this, Nina left and does not contact Anna again for some time.
In Tekken 4, Nina's experiments had been finished for 2 years and she soon revived her role as an assassin , as it was the only thing that she recalled from her previous life. Her next contract was from the Mafia Syndicate demanding her to kill a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
boxer, Steve Fox. As the tournament progressed, she had gained knowledge that she was in fact Steve's mother, who was born through
In vitro fertilisationIn vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the womb, in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...
during her years in cryosleep. At the last moment, she abandoned her assassination attempt after detective Lei Wulong brought down the syndicate. After the collapse of her employers, Nina no longer required a viable reason to pursue her target. It was also revealed that she remained emotionally impassive about the discovery of her biological son, but the fact that she did not kill him when the chance presented itself, for some shows otherwise .
Nina decided that it was time she re-discovered her lost memories and came to the conclusion that the only person who could help her was her sister, Anna Williams. Anna meets with Nina soonafter. However, Nina's memories and hatred instinctively returned, and they rapidly engaged in a gun battle.. The duel lasted for days and the two later agreed to meet at the next tournament and finish their battle. The two promised that only one would walk away from the coming battle, however Nina refused to take Anna's life as their fight wasn't satisfactory.
In Tekken 6, Nina was approached by Jin Kazama to be his personal bodyguard and enters the tournament to intercept any possible threat to him. Anna, during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, vows to take revenge and becomes Kazuya Mishima's personal bodyguard, knowing she is bound to come face to face with Nina along the way.
Personality
Nina is generally portrayed as emotionless, stoical and focused. She does not smile often, as opposed to her more frivolous sister, but Nina does display a sense of humor where tormenting Anna is concerned. Nina is somewhat antisocial, and also appears to be in great psychological turbulence, most noticeably since
Tekken 3Tekken 3 is the third installment in the Tekken fighting game series. It was the first game released on Namco's System 12 hardware . It was the last installment of Tekken for the PlayStation...
. This is presumedly due to the traumatic events of her life: witnessing the death of her beloved father (pre-
TekkenTekken is a fighting game and is the first of the series of the same name. It was released at arcades in 1994 and on the PlayStation in 1995 and was later released again in Tekken 5's Arcade History mode...
) as a young child being the decisive moment that pushed Nina over the edge.
Appearance
Nina Williams is most notable for her blonde ponytail and blue eyes, and her voluptuous yet powerful build. Her look contrasts that of her sister, Anna, who is a
brunetteBrown hair is the second most common human hair color. Brown hair varies from light brown to almost black hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment phaeomelanin. Its strands are thicker than those of fair hair but not as much as...
. Nina dresses primarily in purple fitted costumes and is commonly seen wearing a military style outfit (to suit her occupation) , differing in designs throughout such games as
Tekken and
Death by DegreesDeath by Degrees is an action-adventure video game and spin-off from the popular Tekken series. Originally announced with the title "Nina", its eventual title was chosen as a reference to its multiple-degree fighting system...
, in which her costume is made of materials resembling
spandexSpandex, or elastane, is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is stronger and more durable than rubber, its major non-synthetic competitor.{cn}} It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1959 by DuPont chemist Joseph Shivers...
,
PVCPolyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter - a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
and
leatherLeather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable and versatile material....
. In the original
Tekken, her age was initially stated as 20 years old, in
Tekken 2 she was 22 and in
Tekken 6, her age is chronologically 44. However During the 19 years between
Tekken 2 and
Tekken 3, Williams underwent no
physical change because her body was cryogenically frozen. Therefore, her actual present day age is 24-25. In Tekken 6, one of Nina's extra outfits is her Death by Degrees costume.
Spin-off
Nina Williams also stars in her own
actionAction game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand-eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games....
/
strategy gameA strategy game is a game in which the players' decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Many games include this element to a greater or lesser degree, making demarcation difficult...
,
Death by DegreesDeath by Degrees is an action-adventure video game and spin-off from the popular Tekken series. Originally announced with the title "Nina", its eventual title was chosen as a reference to its multiple-degree fighting system...
. It has been released in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
since January 2005, and was followed by a
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n release in February, and throughout
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
in April. The game was expected to be critically acclaimed but was received by many critics as mediocre and a disappointment to the main series. It was, however, more openly accepted by fans of
Tekken.
The game provides an alternate back story for Nina Williams and Anna Williams; the plot concentrating more on their father and how he died when they were children. In this game it is revealed that Richard Williams had struggled with a few guardsmen, and shouted for Nina Williams to grab a gun which one of guardsmen had dropped. However, her hesitation and fear caused the guards to get the upper hand and who shot Richard Williams, killing him. Anna Williams is shown comforting her sister moments after, while the older Nina Williams looks over the scene. The rivalry which stemmed from the incident crossed over to the real-time events of the game series
Tekken.
In other media
It has been announced that Nina Williams will be portrayed by South African model and singer
Candîce HillebrandCandice Hillebrand is a South African born actor and singer-songwriter. She has also worked as a presenter and model.- Career :...
in the 2009 film adaptation,
Tekken.
Promotion and reception
Guinness World Records Gamers Edition 2008 announced Nina Williams was voted
"Hottest" Female Fighting Character and was also admired for her fashion sense by fans on an internet poll. In their September 2004 issue,
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine cited Nina as an "overrated" spin-off character, in comparison to
WhiplashWhiplash is a platformer video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox where a Long-tailed weasel chained to a Rabbit must work together to escape from a product testing corporation...
protagonist Spanx. UGO.com ranked her number seventeen in their "Top 50 Videogame Hotties" article, stating "Why is it that we're continually attracted to women that can snap our spine in three places before we hit the ground?"
External links
- Nina - Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection - Moves List (U.S.
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
)
- Tekken Official Website (Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
)
- Tekkenpedia: Nina Williams (U.S.
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
)