Necalli, The Failed Street Fighter Character

[@Rooflemonger]

So this is a video I have been tossing around in my head for a while. How Necalli, a character that was all new for SFV and at the forefront of all the marketing, the friggin V in SFV, wind up becoming a character with absolutely zero legacy? I think a big part of it is the story mode which came out months after launch basically did him in, thinly guised character assassination, and then following it years later Capcom doing their best to bulldoze the fact Necalli was ever a thing to begin with. We certainly won't be seeing him come SF6, and to that point basically nobody cares as nobody wants to see him. So enjoy the vid, thumbs up like all that stuff!!

[@MrTBSC]

i suppose i´m nobody then ...

[@henrysworld4175]

Street fighter 5 story is what killed him in my opinion because Street fighter 5 hasn't been paying attention to the story and that's what potentially destroyed him as a whole in my book

[@ektran4205]

meso-american character

[@VAFranky]

I think it also hurt that he's 5 feet tall and his moveset is boring I thought his design was really neat and Capcom wasted his potential.

[@VAFranky]

@@MrTBSC "basically nobody" and that's a fact. If it weren't you'd see people asking for him to come back in 6 which "basically nobody" is.

[@Houldey]

Necali doesn't even drown in pools, he drowned in the bath the night before. Utterly wasted - genuinely annoyingly so, he's visually interesting and given SFV was basically a game about costumes, they really dropped the ball with him after S1.

[@danielm5161]

Pretty much all of the new sf5 characters were failures though. Most aren't coming back ever again

[@someaccount5200]

@@danielm5161 Kolin was pretty meh tho

[@dmitrisemenoff6455]

@@danielm5161 failures I don't know, G and zeku rock imo

[@apollyon9946]

His design is ugly as hell to me. Giant tentacle porn hair that turns into gay Broly or something. No thanks.

[@jaguar8038]

@@dmitrisemenoff6455 None of those are sfV originals

[@AnEveryManJack]

The first problem was making him this "warrior devouring entity" that kind of implies that he would kill characters in a series where characters are incredibly important.

[@SomniaCE]

That's moreso a flaw of fighting games stubbornly forcing roster entries to be canon. Kill a character but put em in future games as noncanon. It is fine, people will live.

[@gregvs.theworld451]

@@SomniaCE Straight up I hope this is how Capcom treats Bison. Like yeah I know Bison's a popular character, I don't expect him to be completely gone, if he shows up in every crossover game and every other new SF entry, cool, but let him stay dead and only add him as a legacy character. Move on to new villains. The stuff with G, Gill, Rose, Menat, and the Illuminati and Neo Shadaloo sound interesting, give us a new multi game arc or two about that, let Gill be our new multi game villain for awhile.

[@ethanhinton4549]

@SominaCE Either that or make him puke out the consumed souls after he gets defeated, so you can have your cake and eat it too. Justify it by him not "fully digesting" them or something.

[@deco7217]

​@@gregvs.theworld451 I have bad news...😢

[@ethanstewart5108]

I think that a point that really ended up not being discussed here is that, Necalli isn't just a jobber, he's a jobber with *no personality.* *Most* characters in street fighter (and fighting games in general) have a dismal story presence, but they're at least entertaining personality-wise. Dan Hibiki is the most relevant example. He's the ultimate jobber in terms of street fighter, he's a character literally mechanically and narratively designed around being *bad*. His moves suck, his story relevance is minimal, but he's a character that's maintained a solid series presence since the Alpha games because people enjoy his personality. Necalli isn't just a jobber. He's a piece of cardboard that utterly fails to deliver on any of his narrative or gameplay fantasies. To put it bluntly, Necalli isn't *fun*.

[@TheManWhoErasedHisNane]

True people play Dan because he’s fun to play with even if his moves are “bad”.

[@Rooster_Ric]

You certainly know a lot about not fun

[@mitomidou]

Dan Hibiki is Gilberg while Necali is Marty Jannetty. One was a joke to begin with while the other was billed to be big but was just discarded with no fanfare.

[@NeoBoneGirl]

The only other SF characters with no personality who stick around are usually old *cough cough* E HONDA *cough cough*

[@AirLancer]

@@NeoBoneGirl Seriously, all Sumo wrestler characters in fighting games (that aren't named Hinako) need to go.

[@unwise_TW]

I think that Necali’s issue seems to be his concept: “legendary timeless warrior who kills warriors and consumes their souls (presumably to become stronger)” Interesting on paper HOWEVER, it’s a setup that Capcom seemed to be afraid of Paying off. Because that would mean they would NEED to kill off characters in order for this concept to reach its natural end point, but they were afraid of making fans upset by having their new guy kill off characters they loved. As such Necali doesn’t reach the fullest of his concepts potential.

[@calemr]

They could have just Not made him need to kill. Just have that he somehow drains defeated foes, leaving them weakened until someone can get their strength back. That way you could have him become a bigger and bigger threat as he removes more and more of the roster's ability to fight, but without killing them all off.

[@Sierlea]

Agreed. He's basically a Mortal Kombat character in motive and that doesn't work in SF, where characters beating but not killing each other is the norm (aside from Bison who's gonna come back anyway).

[@Egalitariat-likesecretariat]

For Tekken 3, they pretended that the big bad Ogre was actively killing off the renowned masters of martial arts we played as in previous games. From Baek to Jun Kazama to... King, I think? And even absorbing Heihachi at the end of Arcade mode. That's a villain with a buildup. And it turns out that most of those characters got retconned into being alive, I know Baek gets a revive... but it built Ogre up as a genuine threat. And Ogre didn't seem like he was rampaging at full force only to get one-shot, the guy was a clever, dangerous warrior. Necalli didn't even get to pretend he was a real killer. He basically seems like he just bumrushes everyone in story mode and gets clobbered til he runs. It's... not a good look.

[@Vincentvondoom]

It was impossible to take him seriously with his fake looking dreads. They should have put more time and effort into his model.

[@SolidGoldCEO]

Another thing to note is that reads more like a Mortal Kombat character than a Street Fighter one

[@braystar8578]

Necalli is the pinnacle of wasted potential. Part of it is absolutely the story mode and the initial opening, but the other part is just the fact the big bad is Bison again. If Necalli was the big bad of SFV, it would've helped somewhat. I would say give him a second chance, but it's clear Capcom wiped him away to focus on other things in SFV that leads into SF6 (Neo Shadowloo, G, Illuminati, Seth).

[@socialcameleon6956]

As a latecomer to SFV (champion ed.) I didn't even realize Necalli had ever been important until recently with all of the SF6 talk and SF5 launch comparisons haha

[@metalgamer8179]

It’s too bad Necalli was a failure because he’s got a sick design. Glad someone got the hair in 6

[@djpegao]

And Jamie doesn't suffer from sudden clipping hair attacks

[@kyotheman69]

he was failure because capcom made him to be one, the story is terrible, they made this guy a joke

[@squeezlebub3593]

I always loved Necalli’s design and concept, but it’s hard to disagree that his gameplay was severely uninspiring and his story presence was really poor. Sad to think we may never see him return 😔

[@ChoseDeath]

No it isn't. The character sucks, there is nothing sad about him going away forever.

[@deelee6080]

Yeah he was pretty bad I’ll rather have eagle other then him.

[@harrylane4]

@@ChoseDeath meh if they could make Seth cool in 5, they could fix necali

[@dangerousdays2052]

@@ChoseDeath

[@107Pedro]

@@dangerousdays2052 Phenom that stuck with Necalli the most had "nerf necalli because I want to play another character, hes too boring" on his balance wishes for many years, his gameplay is super boring XD

[@CrocvsGator]

If I had a nickel for everytime a Mesoamerican styled fighting game character was hyped up as a main antagonist, only to become a jobber, I'd have three nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened thrice. *those three being Necalli, Kotal Kahn, and Ogre from Tekken.

[@franciscor390]

Yup its wierd how side lined and humiliated these poor kings got, compared a more regular warrior caste meso-american warrior like Tam Tam from Samurai Warriors who was allowed to maintain his dignity by the developers haha.

[@CrocvsGator]

@@franciscor390 There's also Misangno from Arms, who is treated well enough I guess, but it's hard to say because Arms doesn't have much lore and the tie in comic was cancelled.

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

Oh trust me…if I ever make a story or fighting game…I am gonna make a Mesoamerican Character and do two things….keep them strong.

[@CrocvsGator]

@@kyokugenryudisciple9349I can somewhat relate. I should mention, I'm of Hungarian descent myself. The two most famous Hungarians in history to the rest of the world are probably Harry Houdini and Elizabeth Bathory. A lot of times characters who are based off of Houdini are portrayed as Italian, Romanian, or vaguely Eastern European. And Elizabeth Bathory is more well known for being a serial killer and a member of the upper class. I wish we'd get representation of other figures from Hungarian mythology/Culture in anything. Like a Taltos character. Taltos were essentially the equivalent Druids or Shamans in ancient Hungary. But one could only become a Taltos if they were born with some sort of physical abnormality, such as albinism, a sixth finger, or a caul (a caul is basically an extra layer of skin on the face, almost like a flesh mask. It's usually removed at birth, because it's easily removed) Or a person with a Liderc familiar, which in Hunfarian myths were basically imps that followed people and would perform malevolent acts in exchange for a bit of blood.

[@ajshiro3957]

LOL, so true. Ogre was one of my favorite bosses. But he was tossed like kid kazuya down a very long and deep cliff. Never to return unless it's the Tag games. The disrespect.

[@chubbubdreamer6904]

Damn, I remember Necali got jobbed out in the story mode, but I forgot Ryu straight up sent him to the Shadow Realm.

[@iang0th]

I think it's almost guaranteed that Necalli was originally planned to be a much bigger part of SFV's story until the focus group results came in, and then they wrote him out as well as they could. That would explain his prominent position in the initial marketing and constant yet irrelevant presence in the story mode.

[@protocetid]

focus group testing and design by committee are killing gaming

[@RTU130]

Ye

[@theobnoxiousguy3425]

Suspect that as well The focus group was like we don't like him.

[@Bingo_the_Pug]

Luke will be the same, I guarantee it. Capcom says “he will be important to Street Fighter’s future” until he isn’t anymore & a bunch of “SF6 Luke: What Happened??” videos pop up

[@StriderVM]

Even with that. Capcom seriously dropped the ball with his character progression. I was thinking in SF5 story mode that Necalli was a representative of people's anger, fear and uncertainty, because it he seems to appear whenever Ryu is doubtful about his path and faith. If they really wanted to send him off, have him change once Ryu figures casts out his inner doubts and leave when he realizes that people can change and not just be filled with rage, fear and uncertainty. That's it, doesn't job him out, and have relevance (No matter how thin) in the overall story arc. Capcom's story mode in SF5 is just complete BS and seems very very rushed.

[@nixuniverse5240]

He probably would’ve been more popular if he wasn’t created to be “the next Akuma”.

[@rna151]

I think that's probably a decent-sized chunk of why he didn't work. He's not quite Akuma but he definitely feels Akuma-adjacent in a lot of things. He's got wild red hair, he's got a DP, he's fixated on strong fighters...

[@kevino13]

@Cristo Alba he was supposed to be a sort of “primal Akuma,” if I remember correctly. While Akuma had mastered the Satsui no Hado through training, Necalli had a feral inherent control over it. That’s why the ultimate showdown was between him and Ryu, who’s story was focusing on him trying to control the energy inside him.

[@Shiratto]

@Cristo Alba in the concept art you could see that Necalli was one of the ideas for a new Akuma design.

[@Marc-rw3dd]

@@Shiratto That would've been way cooler than the weird lion's mane thing he had going on tbh

[@Shiratto]

@@Marc-rw3dd I personally think Necalli should’ve been the Evil Ryu replacement instead of Kage. All that zipping around and chonky hits would’ve fit so well, he even had the stomp!

[@samueledison4676]

Note: Necalli died on the way back to his home planet.

[@MadSnake123]

The fact that Necali didn't even failed due to people not using him, but due to Capcom actually burying him on the story they released a few months after the game release, speaks volumes of how mess up Capcom was at that time.

[@THEwridacule]

Loved Necalli..! I mained him for the first few seasons, but in my heart I knew he'd never return. He's in heaven with El Fuerte now..

[@larquefausse3623]

RIP in peace, Senor Fuerte...

[@LeeONardo]

Add Rufus into there too, he was only shoved into X Tekken because of Bob (and using the same engine) ... ugh.

[@THEwridacule]

@@LeeONardo I'd say Hakkan,also but we all know he's in hell with the rest of the nightmares 🤢

[@blacklite911]

Fuerte had massive personality though. He just was a bit too complicated to make perform decently

[@germanmanuellopezdurazo3579]

@@THEwridacule You said nightmares and i inmediatly thinked in Necro.

[@jdellabeat6245]

I love Necali's design. I wish he was more portrayed like a Shao Khan type. I always wanted Necali to be Street Fighter' God of War, but we'll never get that

[@nomi-non]

It is so weird to see from SFVs earlier roster both Necalli, soulless, and Menat, bursting with personality such that most people want to see her return, and Necalli being the one with all the screentime

[@clarencegutsy7309]

Menat's personality is doing dumbass cat poses and holding back or forward on the stick. She's just another super cheery girl with insufferable voice that is connected to a cooler character with legacy.

[@captainmega6310]

Yeah. People like that. You don't have to, but others do obviously do. And a lot of people find Rose boring so...

[@phdbot4483]

It's a shame Necalli, got thrown under the bus. I thought he was cool in terms of design and moveset ever since my brother tried him out in SFV. Maybe he would've had a better chance if he could at least devour a few souls to show a testament of his power, but obviously they wouldn't want to kill off any of cast, so he got nothing...

[@mappybc6097]

Whomever framed Ken in 6 royally f'ed up his life and did it from the shadows. Just by doing that to a beloved character that person would be compelling as a villain. Akuma is the same for Ryu. He didn't really kill Gouken, he doesn't really want to kill Ryu either, but his mere existence is a constant reminder to Ryu that he has succumbed to darkness in the past and that he is by no means done with the dark hadou yet. Long story short discount pillar man didn't need to kill anyone in the main or even secondary cast to be a good or at least competent villain.

[@VernulaUtUmbra]

Didn't Nash basically die after SFV anyway? Could have very easily killed him, or any of the other characters that aren't going to come back due to popularity (FANG and T.Hawk are already being replaced in SFVI, could have killed them)

[@AirLancer]

@@VernulaUtUmbra Speaking of Nash, why even bother bringing him back if he's just going to job to Bison again anyway? He and Guile barely even interact in the story.

[@BknMoonStudios]

@@AirLancer *THIS!* Guile's whole story is about avenging Nash. But the moment he sees him again, he barely reacts. Whoever wrote the Story Mode of Street Fighter V likely never played any of the previous games and was only handed a bullet point list of vague plot points. LMAO

[@AlexCampuzano2001]

They could have made Necalli consume the souls of some warriors but later, when Ryu defeats him, the souls he consumed could come back to life.

[@bulb9970]

I just realized he’s the Raditz of Street Fighter - Shows up early and gets presented as a big deal - Is actually weak af - No memorable personality - People only remember him because of the cool hair

[@mikeoxmaul4685]

In Mortal Kombat 11 we had a lot these characters. Geras, the "Immortal Sentinel", ended up being just a jobber who got his a** whooped by everyone in the story mode. Kollector barely appeared in story mode and was just another jobber after all. And what about the new big villain in MK11? The being above the Elder Gods, whose existence frightens even Earthrealm's protector and Outworld's emperor. The "Guardian of The Hourglass". The "Keeper of TIme". Kronika herself. That b*tch could literally *control* time and what she does in story mode? Keeps hiring mercenaries (jobbers) to do her work.

[@BknMoonStudios]

Any "near-omnipotent" bad guy that relies on henchmen to do important tasks is no better than a Saturday Morning Cartoon villain. If you are strong and smart, you get your hands dirty to make sure things are done RIGHT!

[@Ahng_Noying9574]

As as rebuttal, I'd like to point out that both Kano and Erron Black were both jobbing henchmen since their respective debut. Despite that, the two have remained popular enough to make reappearances. So there's definitely more to it than just being losers. IMO, there's a stark contrast between jobbers that are forgotten/hated (Geras, Kronika, the above-mentioned Necalli, and I'll add FANG to the list) against those that people actually enjoy (Kano, Erron, and I'll add Balrog and Vega). It all can be summed up with one word: personality. The audience, I believe, can forgive a loser if they've got some sort of charm to them: Kano and Erron both have a wry wit, Balrog's a hot-headed crook, and Vega's got an arrogant flair. However, a jobber will never be accepted if they're too boring or annoying to bear: neither Kronika nor Geras have almost no charisma, Necalli's just a generic wildman, and FANG is... the less said, the better.

[@Gatorade69]

@@Ahng_Noying9574 What about FANG ? FANG is the best character ! . . . Said nobody ever. I hate FANG so so much.

[@theraVen27]

Creating a really cool character, promoting everything around them, then having them totally job out to everyone in game is the most capcom thing I’ve ever heard

[@Rooflemonger]

In a very small update thats not worth its own video: Looks like a new playable SF6 build will be debuting next month at the SF 35th anniversary event in Osaka! No real details past that, but its newer than the TGS/Beta build, so probably includes dhalsim/blanka/honda, and maybe more?

[@Hobbitfeetpics]

@@666slateran666 Stop being bitter, the beta has been over for weeks at this point. Plenty of people that aren't E-celebs got codes; it was a *closed* beta - not everyone gets in. Were some people handpicked by Capcom? Obviously - but the fact is that over 20k people were *ranked* in the beta, so rest assured that you and the overwhelming majority of those players had the exact same chance of being selected. And whether someone has played Street Fighter before has no bearing on them being randomly selected to participate in what is essentially a promotional event. In all likelihood the game will be out in a few months, and as such, I highly doubt they will do another beta (especially considering this one went so well). You can play it then like the rest of us.

[@Hobbitfeetpics]

@@666slateran666 Spoken like an entitled, bitter child. Whether or not someone has ever played Street Fighter is irrelevant - you don't have to present your physical copy of ST to buy the fucking game. Capcom doesn't give a shit if you've played Street Fighter for 20 years, or if you've logged ten minutes in training mode. Tens of thousands of people got in, but you're complaining because Capcom handpicked a few content creators for publicity? It's a product, half the point of ANY game having a closed beta test is publicity. What would you like them to do - comb through millions of applications and hand select people based on how many hours they've spent in SFV? You are not the only demographic the game is being sold to, and feedback about online is *not* the only reason they do a beta test. You don't think they account for people only playing an hour when they decided how many codes to send out? There were likely hundreds of codes that weren't even redeemed because people didn't check their spam folders. And are you not aware of what the phrase "in all likelihood" means? I never said it was confirmed, but considering the state that the game is in, the amount of time since it was announced, Capcom's explicitly stated intentions to release "several major titles by March 31, 2023", and the consistency with which Street Fighter titles have historically been launched in Q1 (if not specifically in February), all signs are pointing to the game being out in that time frame.

[@cthulhu888]

Oh yay! I've been looking for news on when the next reveal might be, sucks we gotta wait another month but hopefully we get as much stuff as we did at tgs! 😄🙌🔥

[@HenryXLII]

I think one thing that really condemned Necalli was there being no traditional Arcade mode for him to be the boss of. Hell, he didn't even get his own distinct stage!

[@blacklite911]

wasnt his stage the cliffs? yea pretty boring

[@Keanotix]

He was the boss in the Survival mode ( at least the 10 round one) in the early days before they added an actual arcade mode in. But by that time a few seasons had passed and we got better characters, the story mode and so on. So they then just made it Bison (Dictator) with harder AI at the end of the SFV arcade ladder, with G being a secret mid-boss fight.

[@ndescruzur4378]

The thing is Necalli is as deep as a character as a dinning plate. The only thing he ever does as a character is: Appear out of nowhere, get angry, fight someone, lose, go away. Repeat. Everyime. The. Same. Shit. He has no connections with any other character and all his interactions are the same. "Hey who are you?" "GHHAA FIGHTERZ POWERZZZ" and then he just becomes diarrhea and disappears.

[@davidkerr7350]

Even more humiliating Rashid the first newcomer after Necalli became the real newcomer star in SFV since he most screen time, actually at one point became the most popular of SFV newcomers, Capcom acknowledging him as main hero of 5 and Spoilers be one of first DLC characters of 6.

[@chaplainnormie]

Y’know, I feel like video games has the similar problem that most bad comics/animations could have; no matter how good the art/animation is it can’t save bad writing. In this case, good design/play mechanics can’t save a bad concept.

[@Zaden_KT]

It’s like they wanted to make a character with a design meant to show off the engine graphics. But then the devs couldn’t figure out what to do with him after that xD

[@dragons_hook]

And I thought you were bad... you ain't bad, YOU AINT NOTHIN!!! Necalli: * melts *

[@insertchannelnamehere7154]

I will never forget booting up street fighter 5 for the first time after all the dlc had been released. Necali was the only character that I had never seen anywhere before. If I never played the game I would not have even known he existed.

[@billvolk4236]

Gill had more going on in the SFV story than Necalli did because Kolin was working for him the whole time, and the whole plot to reanimate Charlie and throw him at Shadaloo was his idea.

[@Knifegash]

I like that too. Gill is here to create the balance, not upset it. He could easily have roflstomped Bison on his own, but Bison and Nash needed to settle their conflict and Ryu needed to dispel chaos with nothingness, all according to balance.

[@lancekemal8989]

That's an understatement. Gil is one of the coolest Street fighter bosses of all time.

[@Knifegash]

@@lancekemal8989 He's one of the coolest video game characters! He transcends the typical constraints of the games he's in and challenges the norm, as befitting a messianic figure! He showed off the fancy sprite system in SF3 with his dual colors, and in SFV he gives his back to the players, in a 2D-plane fighting game!! Breaks a design philosophy! Unheard of!

[@lancekemal8989]

@@Knifegash Glad I'm not the only one who thinks Gill is an underrated Street fighter boss compared to Bison, Seth and Akuma who are more popular.

[@MajoraZ]

Necalli on paper is my ideal SF character, so him being poorly handled narratively is a shame: Mesoamerican (Aztec, Maya, etc) history/archeology, insane berserker characters, and neon green stuff are some of my favorite hobbies/visual design tropes, so his alternate costume/form based on Mesoamerican stone mosiac art hits all the checkboxes: He's perfect for me... Sadly, that's not his default outfit (it really should have been), he was totally fumbled narratively, and honestly I didn't even get the chance to get into SFV due to life stuff (nor MKX/11 with Kotal, who does Mesoamerica even better). I'm super hyped for SF6 and it bums me out knowing he's got like a 0% chance to be playable there. That said, I'll dissect his cultural influences here a bit, even if there's not a ton really analyze, since I never pass up a chance to talk about Mesoamerican stuff: Firstly, to be clear, I don't think Necalli is a particularly authentic or accurate depiction of any sort of actual Mesoamerican mythological figure or soldier: the Street Fighter wiki tries to claim he's based on Huitzilopochtli (the patron diety of the Mexica of the Aztec captial, a war god that also has some solar associations) or to the Tzitzimime (a class of female spirits or goddesses which were monstrous figures associated with stars which would consume the sun and the world if the New Fire Ceremony wasn't preformed every 52 years; though they were also protectors of women in childbirth), but I don't think he shares any particular traits with either: A lot of the comparisons it draws are tenuous, or are based on outright false information: Serpents were a common motif in Mesoamerican art, nothing about the serpent on his loincloth specifically implies Xiuhcoatl, the serpent wielded by Huitzlipotchli as a weapon, contrary to what the page says; and likewise offering of hearts wasn't specific to sacrifices to Huitzliopotchli, so I don't think his win pose implies that either. The color yellow was also NOT reserved for soldiers in the Shorn One order, nor was the step fret design (which his loincloth/sandals don't even get right, Necalli's are more of a greek fret/meander pattern). Rather, I think Necalli is primarily... a Jojo reference. He's almost certainly based on the Pillar Men, a bunch of ancient super-beings dormant in stone, the first one which was found in Mesoamerican ruins and they created the Stone masks that in Jojo were then used by the Aztec in rituals. They even absorb people and shapeshift like Necalli does. This would obviously be far from the first time Street Fighter pulled from Jojo: Rose, Guile, Juri famously have as well. I think he's also pulling from random sterotypes of the Mesoamericans being savage and primitive and feral (and general well known things like snakes, fret patterns, sacrifice, sun stuff, etc, without a deeper knowledge of how that symbolism is used), which I might argue is a problem (these were sophisticated urban civilizations, with books, poetry, philosophy, giant cities, fine art etc), but Street Fighter is famous for it's national sterotypes and in service of the Pillar Man influence and Necalli's in universe Origin i'm not too mad about it. That framing though does make me like his normal form way less then the green stone one: The normal one is just a generic stereotypical barbarian man I sort of hate it, but the other costume is actually a pretty cool adaptation of Mesoamerican stone mosaic art: These were made from precious stones like Jade, Spondylus shell, pearl, obsidian, and turquoise, which were affixed to a wood base, being either masks, handles or other surfaces on ceremonial weapons or helmets, or ceremonial discs/plates. In particular, Necalli's stone form's skin reminds me of some Maya mosiacs using rough, unpolished jade, such as the death mask of the Maya Queen Tz’akbu Ajaw, also known as the Red Queen; while black pectoral garment and ankle/braclets with gold and turquoise plaques is very evocative of Aztec turquoise and obsidian and gold jewlery and mosaics, such as the the "Mask of Tezcatlipoca" housed in the British museum. I also agree with the wiki that his long flowing hair is probably based on Mesoamerican feather headdresses and tassels, which were often made using green quetzal feathers, like his green hair in this form. (I will say that pectoral garments and headdresses aren't AS universal a thing in Mesoamerican clothing as media makes it out to be, but they WERE real things, so I'll give it a pass here like I do with Kotal since they're otherwise well done). If i'm just judging Necalli by his stone form, he's probably the second best done Mesoamerican fighting game character after Kotal, or maybe he's tied with ogre in second... but honestly, that's moreso because the bar is low then Necalli being super well done, visuals of the stone form aside. Kotal has a LOT more going for him, but even he I think is also prone to generic media sterotypes in a lot of ways... but as with SF, MK is also all about over the top sterotypes, so I give Kotal slack, and again, there IS a lot I like with Kotal. If you ever do a big breakdown on Kotal as a character like in this video or your "The Ridiculous characters of Fighting Game history " videos, I'd be down to help give some insight into his influences too, if you wanted to have me help out!

[@YouGuessIGuess]

I love detailed and researched comments like these. People like you make the internet a better place. Thank you for sharing your passion for the subject with us. I fully agree--Necalli's stone man form is a 10/10 design for me visually, and is the only costume I pick when I was still trying to make myself main him. If he ever comes back I hope that they go with that.

[@EternalEdgeLord]

Aren't most fighting games based off over-the-top stereotypes?

[@MajoraZ]

@@EternalEdgeLord I don't know about "most", but Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are, which is why I'm more willing to give those aspects of Necalli and Kotal a pass. I also wanna be clear here that by "sterotype", I don't nessacarily mean "offensive", so much as that it's typical of how media and pop culture and people tends to depict and understand things. I don't think doing that is inherently a problem, but with Mesoamerican stuff I am wary about it because unlike, say, with over the top sterotypes of modern countries or cultures and such, most people legitmately cannot tell what's accurate or inaccurate or what's represenative when it comes to Mesoamerican stuff, so I think there's a very real risk of sterotypical depictions actually contuining to validate common misconceptions.... again, though, doing that is so core to SF and MK's DNA I'm not gonna give them too much flak for it.

[@wdcain1]

I think Necalli works better as a Darkstalkera character, especially in his green stone alt.

[@ElTacoNazo92]

I definitely prefer Necalli over T Hawk for the same reasons you laid out here. I always thought he was cool.

[@SaviorGabriel]

Necalli: "Grrr, devour-our-our..." Yeah, I can't imagine why this character didn't work out.

[@Lukmendes]

The "Devour hour" meme he had was funny though lol.

[@BknMoonStudios]

@@Lukmendes That's kind of the problem. He's _supposed_ to be intimidating, not funny. He's _supposed_ to have more in common with Akuma, Bison and Gill than with Dan and Blanka. His failure to live up to his potential is a big problem.

[@mr.checkyourself4672]

Necalli is such a failure he had probably the best character design of the franchise and he's a joke he didn't even absorb nobody in A Shadow Falls and Akuma killed him in his story and we might not ever see him again I think Kage was created to be better than Necalli but he's a failure to.

[@franciscor390]

Poor guy he just wanted to absorb people lol.

[@BknMoonStudios]

Oh god, I forgot about Kage too! That's TWO Akuma knockoffs that fell flat IN THE SAME GAME!!!🤣

[@Marc-rw3dd]

at least kage was cool when he was evil ryu

[@FURIASN]

I love Necalli no matter what. I'm sad that he will never return.

[@patte5306]

Perfect video, he truly looks amazing and plays fine, even though the way his moves look don't feel as cool, but the way he was shown in lore truly undermines the character, an interesting concept can't save lack of personality, i hope he returns someday reinvented, since Rashid wasn't as cool looking as Necalli, but his personality and the look of his gameplay carried him to fan favourite

[@latch_official]

it’s a theory, but i think they chickened out on necali having a presence in the story since his whole thing is absorbing souls, and if that killed off characters, they clearly want to avoid that to keep characters for future games

[@JAMman]

I bought sfv after seeing Necalli. I loved his look

[@thekenyonsquad5672]

Necalli is basically the same as Akuma; if Akuma had no thematic relevance and never won a fight. A character with the personality of an unstoppable force of nature must have the power to make up for it.

[@prodigiousprodigy6781]

Didn't expect I'd agree so much on a video after randomly showing up in feed. Def earned a subscribe

[@game84cube]

An awesome, powerful, Aztec brawler with major rage issues that gets jobbed in every moment he's in the story past his debut? It's like he went out the way of Modern Knuckles the Echidna

[@SomniaCE]

He is cool as hell in both his playstyle and his visual design. Really wish he caught on with others cause I'd love to see him back.

[@Alex_Valentine]

Let's face it, not every fighter is blessed enough to be as popular as Dan Hibiki.

[@_hunu]

lol, first time watcher and you're like the "Chef John" voice of gaming content xD The influence on your delivery is undeniable, and not a bad thing at all.

[@Rooflemonger]

I get compared to chef john a lot lol

[@nubocerbo]

I can't wrap my head around intentionally putting so much effort in designing a jobber, much less have them as the center of promotions

[@kidokoala]

The problem with Necali's character is I believe that maybe originally Akuma and Blanka weren't going part of the roster in the initial stages of the game's development. However, as fan reception of the character deteriorated over time, the developers then realized that the latter two characters should have been added in the first place, hence this situation we have, here.

[@AceHatake]

I agree with this, I think fighting games forget how important the personality and depth parts of a characters character is. We love Akuma because he’s an absolute demon badass and we love Kazuya because he’s a charismatic fighting badass businessman. Sometimes the characters that you play themselves gives you confidence in real life lmao. Looks are very important but Necalli proved that alone they’re not enough.

[@Mechadyne_0]

Honestly, the story setup was so easy. Have him fight some staples and win, devour their souls and become more powerful as the story went on. At the end, he devours FANG and Bison, gaining some crazy souped up Psycho Power form. Give him the purple “psycho” aura, make his scars / eyes glow white, and his hair is constantly crazy. Have Ryu and Ken lose, Ken is devoured and in order to not fall victim to Necalli, Ryu voids his soul of the Satsui No Hado and manages to handedly beat Psycho Necalli, liberating the souls of the beaten warriors and allowing them to come back to life. Voila, we got Purified Ryu and everyone’s back to normal. Hell, have Necalli go back to his weird stone statue form to keep him alive. He’s “sealed” or whatever. Bonus End Credits scene: the freed Psycho Power and Ryu’s Satsui No Hado fuse to create Kage. Preferably without his stupid fuckin oni horns and fangs.

[@Narrator1]

To further put how much of a failure Necalli was into context, his personal Story Mode hyped him up to be the one who would devour Psycho Power, Agni's power, and the Satsui no Hadou, as evidenced by him defeating Bison, Dhalsim, and Ryu. In fact, it was theorized that his consuming their powers would have explained Bison's absence (inability to resurrect after having his soul eaten) in SFIII, Ryu having no Satsui-related powers in SFIII, and Dhalsim's absence as well. Then we get to the cinematic story mode and later characters' personal story ladders and find that he failed to fulfill his own prophecy on all three counts (twice in the case of Satsui no Hadou if you count Akuma as another shot at it). Oh, and even Balrog was able to drive him back.

[@charlesmanning7715]

I'm personally very upset how Necalli was done dirty, I enjoy playing with him. I hope they at least put in a costume or cosmetic stuff referring to him in SF6. Hope they don't do the same to the others

[@germanmanuellopezdurazo3579]

Its weird, i really think it wasnt so Hard, i mean, look at yuri, she became the brighter rising Star from sf4 with Just 3 things, Good design, intimidatong presence and a personality. I really think it shouldt be so Hard to replicate this with necali. Seems like capcom just choosing not to give him thet push.

[@guyfauks2576]

@@germanmanuellopezdurazo3579 stop lying yall only like her feet

[@PulseFire215]

Necalli would have been so much better without all the gravitas. Take away the soul stealing stuff, and he would have worked great as a new rival for Blanka. Both are wild men from latin america, but Blanka is a kind soul who uses his power to protect others, whereas Necalli only seeks to cause harm.

[@LeebeeLink]

Hakan was SF4's best original character imo. honestly the only one that ever made me like the goofy googly eye tone, I hope he comes back someday

[@cthulhu888]

Same! I always liked his visual style the most, even if his oil gimmick was a bit cringe lol. Had he not been released along side friggin juri of all characters he likey wouldn't have been forgotten so quickly. At least we remember hakan better than we remember necalli though haha xD

[@ArkThePieKing]

Hakan was great, he was the better of the two gimmick wrestler characters in that game. I could not STAND El Fuerte. Everything from his personality to his fighting style to his voice grated on me, which was heartbreaking because I actually love luchadors. The archetype deserved better than a coke snorting chef running back and forth like a moron.

[@Keanotix]

Blame Diago for his non-return, cause apparently Capcom like listening to him regarding SF characters. He has been quoted as saying that Hakan was his least favourite character in SF4.

[@Adeyum64]

Seeing him and Dudley in 6 would be so wild

[@MagcargoMan]

I remember thinking about this character a while ago and remembered how heavily they were pushed only to be forgotten so fast. Don't even play Street Fighter but saw this in my feed so decided to give it a watch. Interesting to see someone talk about it

[@PrincipalSkinner3190]

Never played SF5 but my fav design was always Necalli. He was the main reason I wanted to play. Shame to hear they botched such a cool design.

[@number090684]

The biggest issues with Necalli is that his origin story and nature don't mesh well with Street Fighter. Necalli is a odd humanoid being that only resurfaces after a long period of time spanning hundreds of years to hunt and defeat strong fighters and "devour" them by absorbing them into his body for the supposed benefit of anonymous godlike beings that created him. Like how does this fit Street Fighter's established story and themes at all? Who are these gods and why then of all times in the Street Fighter storyline was V a good time for this character to appear in the story? Also since he was destroyed, he tecnically can't or shouldn't even return for future SF games, given his lore. Alot surrounding Necalli was poorly planned, not explained and mostly makes no sense. Who even thought a character like this was a good fit for Street Fighter? Necalli could have turned out better if they made him and his backstory more grounded, but they were probably afraid he would come off as a more savage version of Blanka, or in some ways too similar to Akuma and Evil Ryu except without the Satsui No Hado.

[@prof.laytonfan764]

Would’ve been cooler if he was the main villain of sfv. He had everything going for him, but Capcom absolutely ruined him with the story mode. Then again everyone was ruined in story mode so I can’t blame him for that.

[@MarginalSC]

Always bothered me they seemed to make him look like he was some kind of mud elemental. What was that puddle?

[@phantomspaceman]

Devour Hour. They gave their big marquee monster warrior a damned stutter. Everyone was really sick of mirror matches early in the game's life too.

[@BknMoonStudios]

I despise Necalli's voice and lines. He sounds so goofy and stupid, it's almost endearing... which is not something you want for an ancient soul-eating demon...

[@IncognitaEX]

It's pretty clear they had big plans for Necali. I don't know what happened and why the character suffered from that sabotage. He had a very specific power: he could devour souls, aka the only way to defeat M.Bison for good. I remember early screenshots featuring Super Necali as the final boss in Arcade Mode. I wonder why they changed that. Now Necali is just another tragedy in fighting game history. It's sad, I liked him when he debuted in his first teaser.

[@_Jay_Maker_]

Even if Necalli is dead, his hair lives on.

[@paxcaster]

I was so ready to hear that the reason is he has no personality and the line "devour-our-our" is the dumbest shit I've heard a fighting game character say, but I had no idea he was jobbing in the story mode lmao, great video as always

[@joebarhouch2742]

I don't even have sfv, but i was planning to get it and i had chosen to play necalli. Everything in his moveset and his aesthetic just clicked with me ... shame he's not coming to sf6 :(

[@MrGeneaux13]

Necalli's design should've been Sean when he masters and loses control of the hado. Would've been waaay doper, Makes us care about him, AND he'd get to keep the South American ascetic

[@goodbadideas6071]

Necalli was always going to be cut off at the knees by his personality, and the rest got chopped off by his kit. When a character is limited in what they say in and out of a match ("Devour-our-our...") they need to make up for that in something to distinguish them in particular. A good example of this, in the same series, is Blanka, who's mostly making yelps and roars mid match. He jumps around and moves quickly and has a kit that's tricky and distinctive and even a little janky, all of which contribute to his personality. As a result, people actually play and like Blanka. Conversely, Necalli doesn't say much and his kit is boring. Or rather, his kit lacks impact. He's always been a "Jack of all trades, Master of none" type character, which has been good for his tier placement but bad for his appeal within the series. He has average speed, he's not a speedy trickster nor a plodding powerhouse. His best moves have usually been his most boring looking normals. All of his attacks do "Good but not overwhelming" damage, which is balanced, but again, lacks impact. Stomp looks like it should do more, but it's usually just a link to super or a scrub's frametrap. His command grab looks like it should do more, but was always too slow to be reliable, didn't really do enough damage or stun to be worth going for, and EX was always limited by the SFV system, which didn't give much off wall bounce until late in its lifespan. Worst of all, V-Trigger has never been the game changer it looks like; it's always just been good not great. Not every character got a great V-trigger, but they couldn't even come up with something that even looked different for his VT2. If he had more defined strengths and weaknesses, he'd probably be a more memorable and fun character, but as is he's a straightforward character with a straightforward kit, which really doesn't gel with his status as "The Big Villain of the game". I still like playing him, but I have no illusions of him ever coming back. At least his Halloween costume is dope, that's probably my favorite in the game.

[@BknMoonStudios]

I think they should've made him a very strong hybrid grappler/zoner that is very weak at mid-range. His stomp is one of his most distinctive features, so I'd say Capcom should've buffed it. Strong grapplers tend to be quite scary up close, which would play into his intimidating appearance. He could be balanced by giving him stubby, slow and weak normals to make up for very powerful specials.

[@goodbadideas6071]

@@BknMoonStudios Yeah, I think in an ideal situation stomp and his command grab would have been the core of his kit. Stomp to keep pressure and force block, then grapple when you catch the opponent blocking. But neither move was ever strong enough to make that a particularly good approach. Additionally, it's still a bit weird they gave claw based attacks to a character who didn't have claws. I almost wonder if he would have worked better if they didn't give him a DP and just buffed everything else to compensate.

[@Yukari_MAiG]

Contrast to Juri. She wasn’t even the main bad guy in 4 but she kicked Chun-Li’s and Cammy’s butt quite handily.

[@HolyHadou]

I'm still worried about Ed, Falke and Sagat. Ed's coming back but I'm hoping Falke can return with some sauce and I kinda want to see where Sagat is after so long.

[@bhlakbatosai]

Falke was very boring. It looks to be new Russian character JP who uses Psycho Power with a cane will be her spiritual successor similar to A.k.i. for F.a.n.g., Manon for Able, Kimberly for Guy/Zeku

[@philliplamb2761]

No one likes falke

[@cpnCarnage666]

no more blond characters for the love of god

[@HolyHadou]

@Vanilla Gorilla Okay. Sorry we don't agree. Luckily I'm not in charge of the roster so you should be safe. I just thought it'd be nice if they had a second chance to make a good impression. Necali probably won't.

[@gamingvalue372]

I Played Necalli during the Beta of SFV and man i loved him and still i would play him. I stopped playing SFV after Release since i had only Problems with the Game so i never played the Story but i would be glad if he comes back to SF6.

[@Prodighee]

Fans: Didn't like Abel, Fang, T.Hawk SF6: Makes em female. Fans: Didn't like Necalli SF6: 😈

[@toberone5158]

Nah, they just turned him into a very pretty alcoholic.

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

If I ever make a fighting game or story…at some point in an arch…I’ll do the same thing. I’ll make Necalli again…Rule63 him…and keep her strong in the series.

[@ivaerz4977]

They also made Seth female in SFV

[@Prodighee]

@@toberone5158 I now have an innate urge to draw "Nejamie"

[@RamixTheRed]

Hang on hang on hang on You might be on to something here

[@5brags455]

even worse is, Akuma coming in and ending him once Necalli tried devouring him just ripped out of his body like nothing. so much for a ancient warrior devouring being

[@wisemage0]

I'm still trying to figure out how Necalli managed to swallow Akuma in spite of being knocked out...

[@coryharris1939]

Poochie reference, your killing me 😂😂😂. I actually enjoyed Necalli gameplay wise but he was a total jobber. Great video!

[@josephrudakov2510]

The video was so far so good and then you dropped “..in wrestling - the king of sports..” So I instantly subscribed. Inoki was right, my guy

[@CastleKingside]

Awesome video, Roof!!! I really enjoyed that breakdown because I never wanted to play the story mode for SFV. When Necalli was first revealed, I had high hopes that he was a Polynesian warrior like a Maori or something like that. But I was dissapointed when I learned he wasn't. I didn't like the fact that Necalli doesn't really have dialog with anyone. That's a big deal when it comes to learning about a character. Most of the time. Anyways... I really enjoyed this breakdown, Roof. Keep these types of episodes coming, uce. I love learning about the lore of these fighting game characters. Until we get that new VF, homie. Lol. Peace.

[@SaiyanGamer95]

I had no idea there was a character named Necalli. All the videos I've seen about SFV don't show or even mention him.

[@Neoxon619]

Wouldn’t Luke be closer to being a Poochie? It’s not an exact comparison, but more in the sense that they’re trying to push a cool new character on the community when they aren’t really loving him as much as Capcom wishes we did.

[@franciscor390]

Yes there is merit to this. I'd say both of them actually are, look at their respective tattoo design, Luke also shares the large V design. So poochie indeed.

[@Rooflemonger]

Luke has fans though is the key difference. He actually is appealing to people who are not already in the SF ecosystem, and therefore doing his job as a new character.

[@UnlimitedRaikoh]

The real problem is that they gassed him as a boss character but didn't give him any power or story to match - even if he has the unique transformation, it's lackluster compared to other SF bosses like Bison, Shin Akuma and Gill. They should have given him more unique and diverse moveset like the grab absorbs health or meter or v-gauge or something lol

[@LazurBeemz]

Can we talk about how he showed up as a sheep in Nash's dream in the start of story mode? Like what was up with that?

[@BknMoonStudios]

This is my tinfoil hat theory, but it might have been a shoutout to the Antichrist movie. If not, maybe it has to do with him being "primal" or something like that? In any case, it was dumb as hell and made me go "Wut?" 🤣

[@TRADTCROSSBOW]

It's a shame, because Necalli could have been a very cool final boss for SFV. Clearly capcom failed to use him correctly. Particularly when i look back to the Sfv-monster-necalli-concept-art what never been used. It could have been a "shin-necalli like"

[@dr.platinum2336]

Necalli and Kotal Kahn got the same treatment lol sad times because in Sf5 i really though he was cool but was just a complete pushover

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

You pretty much cemented me as wanting to play as Necalli with this video, to be honest.

[@just_2swift]

I wonder if there was a different story planned for him but it got scrapped. In the og trailer you see ryu eyes glow red maybe he was ment to be a demon too ?

[@notimeforcreativenamesjust3034]

Theres a rumor that his role was reduced after the very poor reception from his reveal

[@RamixTheRed]

@@notimeforcreativenamesjust3034 Wasnt he super popular on reveal though? And everything went downhill afterwards?

[@just_2swift]

@@RamixTheRed yeah I remember everyone was hype for him.

[@hopefulhyena3400]

I tried to be a Necalli main, but then I got too busy with work and college and I really didn’t play SFV as much as I thought I would. I had fun playing him, but I never got very good. I really do like the idea of playing as this wild animal of a man. Less a warrior and more a creature.

[@Saikyokugen]

You know what's the biggest irony of all that? The character that was supposed to be a great villain (or at least a "chaotic neutral" character, like Akuma) in the series, ended up being done poorly, while the character that was the villain (an annoying, loud, and weirdo like F.A.N.G) ended up getting more attention (and even a successor, since A.K.I seems to be related to him, in SF6).

[@realQuestion]

F.A.N.G was consistently less-played than Necalli.

[@GrootGuitar]

Ive had similar sentiments and its great to hear a deep dive from you! 🤘 🦖

[@matthewirizarry8467]

I hated Necali's voice lines and lack of personality. I thought he was visually cool. "A character is a lot more than a look, a moveset, and a function" Perfectly describes why i dont like DNF Duel.

[@graefx]

I remember friends and I being hyped for him. He looked like my style and we were making all kinda of theories of what his deal was. Some sort of primal or primeval psycho power? The base power for the grand scheme? A force of nature and the planets supernatural anti body to all the nonsense the SF bb have done? What's the deal with his power? Why does he melt? The answer is Necali has about as much story as a rock you stub your toe on.

[@franciscor390]

Lol poochi the dog oouch! Harsh blow to Necalli haha. Still with a small redesign and better moves i do think Necalli could become a genuinely interesting character.

[@cthulhu888]

They should make a poochi-chan costume for necalli haha! 🤣🤣

[@dantesparda4493]

Bro you nailed the money, this is exactly what I told my friends about Necalli one week in playing SFV when we were discussing geek stuff etc. Thanks for this video, sad how Necalli was treated. I really don't think he'll ever come back because when you get killed by Akuma..... you're for real dead.

[@LiquidChamploo]

“HE IS THE V IN STREET FIGHTER 5” 😂😂😂😂😂😭

[@worldofthought8352]

Certainly it's the personality and any interaction lacked any sense of character. I agree without question Necali is big and imposing but it's nothing new, we had that with many characters from start of the franchise. Akuma himself isn't a character big on personality but he's long regarded because of his diffuclty and challenge. He was more of a impact substitute back in SFII so never outstayed his welcome. That and necali's losing streaks throughout the campaign didn't help. The factr it starts with his win against ryu and going downhill after that shows he was literally tailor made to be jobbed.

[@raymondbd21]

He will rot in gamer hell with El Fuerte.

[@Rooflemonger]

i'd give this comment 2 hearts if I could

[@redblue9478]

Not counting all those characters you have to earn or pay for, Necalli is definitely my favorite. SF is too slow for me now anyway and I wouldn't buy another without Dudley. I feel dirty meshing best with Balrog in 5.

[@cthulhu888]

I feel like after adding ogre in sfxt capcom was like "oh snap we gotta make our own cool aztec character!" But they ran out of ideas when sfv was about to come out. At least they kinda sorta redeemed themselves with kage in making you forget about him even more lol 🤣 Visually though his first form always looked like he was wearing giant computer cable sleeves to me, his second form actually looked really neat compared to most of the cast, but once gill and his crazy hair came around necalli was no longer the coolest kid on the street. In the end he'll always be remembered as the guy who got a giant V tattooed on him and instantly regretted it 😅

[@Riot55]

It's crazy, he's the only character I ever played in SF5 and who I really clicked with gameplay-wise... I like "boring" straightforward characters with pretty strong fundamentals and not a whole lot of complicated combos to worry about. And I liked his v-trigger aesthetic look. I might be the only one that wishes he'd be coming back... need to find his analogue in SF6 so I can find a similar playing character but not sure who to migrate to.

[@ultraspinalki11]

Fan theories regarding who he was or what his role was prior to SF5's release were BETTER than what he turned out to be. I remember reading a theory that he was the original user of the Dark Hadou from ancient times, back from the dead to test or overwhelm Ryu in the story. And eventually, Ryu defeating Necalli would allow the former to find balance within himself.

[@tohtoriTurvotus]

It's so sad. Necalli was my favorite character in SFV, maybe in SF history even, and I really hope seeing him again because his fighting style and gameplay really fits me.

[@bena5150]

Phenom, Machabo and Sherry wants to know your location 😆 joking aside, ya Necalli was a missed opportunity.

[@Rooflemonger]

phenom gets his due in this video 🤓

[@rockhuerta]

I legit forgot he was on the SFV roster till this video

[@_thetophatman_]

You know it's bad when you're being outdone by kotal kahn 💀

[@lurkzie]

The problem with Necali is he lacks any sense of identity

[@TheBanimal]

I played Necalli through season 1 and Season 2, I loved his design, I loved his costumes, I loved his gameplay. I wish his story was more substantial, it feels like he was designed to be never appear again