Robert Richards (ロバート・リチャーズ Robāto Richāzu?), also known as "Bob" (ボブ Bobu?) for short, is a character in the Tekken series who was introduced in Tekken 6 and returned for Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion and Tekken 7: Fated Retribution. Bob is a renowned martial arts prodigy from the USA.
An alternate version of himself named Slim Bob is playable in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. As the name suggests, he is a skinny version of Bob which first made an appearance in Bob's Tekken 6 ending.
Biography
Robert 'Bob' Richards was heralded as a master of martial arts from a young age. He garnered many fans with his chiseled body and good looks. However, he could not defeat opponents who were larger than him. He vanished from the martial arts scene to pursue a special training regimen that increased his power and weight whilst maintaining his agility.
After several years of seclusion, Bob returned to the scene, having gained a large amount of weight. Bob paid no attention to critics of his changed body, confident in the mixture of speed, power, and weight his regimen had imbued him with. Deciding that he was ready to return to competition, he entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6.[3]
Personality
Bob is portrayed as likable and charismatic with a strong sense of justice, usually using his fighting skills to help those in need. He is also quite cocky, appearing as a smooth talker and a bit of a ladies man. As Bob is fully confident in his abilities with his current figure, he is far more insecure about losing weight than gaining it, and his demeanor becomes far less enthusiastic when subject to weight loss.
Appearance
Bob is a man with blond curly hair and blue eyes with a goatee. His main physical characteristic is that he is obese, his physical asset for tournaments. Originally, he was loved by his fans especially for his attractive fit face and muscular body.
Outfits
Story
Tekken 6
Official Strategy Guide
Bob had always been very serious about his training. He was hailed as a master of martial arts from a very young age, and he garnered many fans with his chiseled body and good looks. However, he could not defeat opponents who were larger than him. He vanished from the martial arts scene and dedicated himself to a special training regimen that increased his power and weight while maintaining his agility.
After several years in seclusion, Bob returned to the fighting world a changed man.
Those who know Bob were astonished by his transformation. His handsome looks were gone and he gained a disproportionate amount of weight. Bob paid no attention to his critics, and relied on the benefits of his training: speed, power and unyielding weight. He decided that he was ready to return to competition; he joined the sixth King of Iron Fist Tournament to test his martial arts abilities once again.[4]
Prologue
Bob was very serious about his training. Heralded as a master of the martial arts from a young age, his chiseled body and handsome face gained him many fans. However, he could not win against larger opponents. In order to devise a special training regimen that increased power and weight while maintaining agility, he vanished from the martial arts scene.
After several years of pursuing this regimen, Bob returned.
Those who knew him from before were astonished and disappointed at his transformation. His handsome looks were gone, and he appeared to have just gotten fat. However, Bob paid no attention to them, and he was very proud that he had attained a body with the perfect balance of speed, power, and weight. He decides that he is ready, and enters The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 in order to test his martial arts abilities.[3]
Ending Description
The ending begins with the narration: "After winning the tournament, Bob became a worldwide sensation. And his schedule was filled with a series of television and magazine interviews." After a montage of magazine articles with Bob on the cover, Bob appearing on talk shows, and a visual of bob in front of multiple cameras appearing from a dark void as a shorthand for paparazzi, a poster of his obese self appears on the wall, and Bob is faintly seen walking past it. He weighs himself in his exercise room, where he discovers he only weighs a shocking 150lbs on a scale. He steps off, wondering if the scale is incorrect, then weighs himself again. After looking at the number once more, not believing that he really weighed so little, the camera then shows Bob, wearing baggy clothing covering a skinnier and slimmer body. He shouts in horror, not able to accept the fact that all of his famous weight vanished without him ever knowing it. He then proceeds to bang his head on the wall before appearing in the middle of the room, passed out.
Tekken 7
Bob entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament to prove he was the strongest in the world. On the way to his match, the road before him exploded, blocking his way forward. The smoke cleared to reveal a lone man, emanating an evil aura.
Bob had no idea what was happening, but his instinct told him that this guy was somehow connected to the destruction around them. Bob's sense of justice stirred inside him, and he vowed with all his might to defeat the man before him.
As a red mist fell over his eyes, Bob forgot about being in a hurry and walked toward his opponent.
Ending Description
After defeating Bryan, Bob flips high into the air yelling, "Speeeeeed...and...weight!" He lands hard on top of Bryan and crushes his opponent's back. As he stands in victory, the floor under them suddenly cracks and breaks apart, taking both of them down. An epilogue text states that Bob never made it to the tournament.
Other Appearances
Street Fighter X Tekken
Bob appeared in the crossover game, Street Fighter X Tekken, as a playable character. His tag partner is Julia Chang.
Profile
A man renowned as a bounty hunter who developed his body to immense proportions in order to fight larger opponents. While others vehemently disagree, Bob believes that he now has the "perfect body".[5]
Prologue
Julia learns that Pandora has landed in the Antarctic and decides to find it before it can be used for evil purposes. Knowing that she will encounter danger on the way, she contacts Bob, who is working as a bounty hunter, and asks him to accompany her. He agrees to take on the job and they set off.[6]
Rival Fight
Rufus charges towards Julia and Bob with Zangief in hot pursuit. Rufus accuses Bob of being Ken in disguise, despite Zangief expressing his doubt. Julia wonders if they're a comedy act, but Bob considers that Rufus may be a kindred spirit due to their similar physiques, and says a fight with them may be interesting. Julia does not share his enthusiasm.[7]
Ending Description
Julia and Bob reach Pandora. It opens, sending a beam of light skyward as they watch in awe.
There is a time skip. Julia and Bob side outside a cafe. Bob inquires about Julia's research into Pandora. She tells him there have been no breakthroughs, but that the box will at least never be used for evil. Julia attempts to give Bob the reward money for helping her, but he refuses it, telling her that the journey was a reward in itself.[8]
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Bob appeared in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as a playable character. His Slim Bob alter-ego also appears as a DLC character.
Profile
Once a fighter who had won the hearts of fans with his excellent fighting sensibility and handsome looks, he decided to transform himself completely by gaining weight to eliminate the perceived disadvantage he had in a fight due to his body type. His fans were disappointed, as on the outside it looked like he'd merely put on a few too many pounds, but Bob was definitely pleased with himself.
"Speed and weight!"[9]
Ending Description
Using his super-hero alter-ego, Bob saves some kids from a group of thugs and later a woman falling from a building. The scene ends with Bob reading a newspaper about his identity being discovered when pictures of him were taken dressing up as the vigilante.
Tekken Revolution
Bob appears playable in Tekken Revolution.
Gameplay
Exceptionally strong, fast and hard-hitting, with good range and devastating combos, Bob is a well-rounded fighter (no pun intended). His offense is very damaging, but most of his good launchers and low hits are punishable. Also, he's a big target for longer juggles. Overall, Bob is generally played as an offensive character.
He has moves that resemble those that the Mishimas use. His Straight Rondel is a mix of Flash Punch Combo and Demon Slayer, his Spiral Rocky shares similarities with Dragon Uppercut, his Langue Washer closely resembles Jin's Right Roundhouse Punch, his Spinach Upper shares the same role as Twin Pistons, his Whopper Kick is similar to Devil Jin's Demon Steel Pedal, he also has a move in a similar role to Demon's Paw in Zip Cutter, and he is also capable of Crouch Dash.
In Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Bob gains more moves to his arsenal. His Rage Art has him punching his opponent to the gut following with a barrage of punches followed by a single roundhouse kick. Then he flip jumps in mid-air and lands a powerful diving downward punch towards his opponent.
Fighting Style
Bob was described as "a freestyle karate practitioner from the U.S." by Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada. His fighting style can also possibly be derived from Martial art-based acrobatic sports such as Tricking. Bob also incorporates his large size and weight into his style to gain an edge against his opponents.
Moves
- Robert Richards/Tekken 6 Movelist
- Robert Richards/Street Fighter X Tekken Movelist
- Robert Richards/Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Movelist
- Robert Richards/Tekken 7 Movelist
Quotes
Character Relationships
- Slim Bob - His skinny form.
- Bryan Fury - His opponent in Tekken 7.
- Lars Alexandersson - He mistakenly believes Lars is kidnapping Alisa in Tekken 6 Scenario Campaign and attacks him.
- Alisa Bosconovitch - He tries to rescue Alisa from Lars, as he sees the two in a shady part of town in Tekken 6 Scenario Campaign and believes Lars to be kidnapping her. In the Online Tekken Comic, Bob saved Asuka from being killed by Alisa (non-canon).
- Asuka Kazama - He saved her from being killed by Alisa in the Online Tekken Comic (non-canon).
- Julia Chang - His friend and partner in Street Fighter X Tekken (non-canon).
- Miguel Caballero Rojo - His rival in the Online Tekken Comic (non-canon).
- Jin Kazama - Hires Bob to capture Miguel in the Online Comic (non-canon).
- Bruce Irvin - In the Online Comic, Bob defeats Bruce in the finals of the USA qualifiers for the The King of Iron Fist Tournament (non-canon).
Trivia
General:
- Rufus from the Street Fighter series is similar and often compared to Bob. They are both overweight American fighters who are amazingly fast for their sizes, they both developed their own fighting styles and they both have blonde hair. Their personalities are vastly different, however, as Rufus is loud-mouthed, obnoxious and impatient, a contrast to the more calm, serious, and focused Bob.
- In Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Bob's Rage Art has a slight resemblance to Rufus' Space Opera Symphony Ultra Combo move in the Street Fighter IV series as they both include a flurry of punches into a kick that sets up the big finish.
- Most of Bob's moves are named after various foods, food types and food related terms. Some of them are also in French or Italian (even when not related to food), languages from countries known for their cuisine.
- Bob probably has the least amount of canonical relationships out of any character in the series. In Tekken 6, his story was not tied to anyone else's and his only canon interaction with another character is in Tekken 7, where he accidentally crosses paths with the maniac Bryan Fury (which could even be non-canon too).
- When responding to fans who have requested Slim Bob to be added back to the game as he "looks better", Katsuhiro Harada has tweeted that "The fatter Bob is cooler!"[10]
- Several of Bob's attacks were motion captured by Koji Nakamura, a stuntman who is credited for performing stunts for Kamen Rider and Ultraman, and Yutaka Kambe of Extreme Martial Arts.[citation needed]
- YouTuber, stuntman, martial artist, and actor Eric Jacobus recorded a video of himself performing a few of Bob's moves in real life.[11]. Katsuhiro Harada himself took notice of this and was impressed with his performance.[citation needed]
- His first two opponents in the Arena Mode are Ganryu and Paul Phoenix.
- Bob's Tekken 6 CG pose resembles Jin Kazama's Tekken 5 CG pose.
- In his Scenario Campaign stage dialogue, Bob will always mistake the player as trying to kidnap Alisa Bosconovitch and attempt to rescue her. The only exception to this is if the player selects Roger Jr., where Bob will instead attempt to rescue Roger Jr. from Alisa.
- He gains Rage faster than normal when his partner getting hurt is fellow heavyweight Ganryu or one of the fellow friendly Americans, Paul Phoenix or Marshall Law. He gains rage slower when his partner is Steve Fox, who also happens to resemble Bob's thinner self to some degree. In addition to this, he also gains Rage faster when the partner is either Miguel or Jin, most likely a reference to the events of the Online Tekken Comic.[12] He also has a special tag throw with fellow crime fighter Lei Wulong.
- On the last hit of his Rage Art, Bob utilizes a Rider Jump to a diving Rider Punch like a Kamen Rider.
- The "Speed & Weight" voices for his victory and Rage Art quotes are from his Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ending.
Other:
- Street Fighter X Tekken features a trailer in which Rufus, who bears similarity in stature to Bob, mistakes Bob for Ken Masters and attacks him in Law's restaurant. In this trailer, it turns out that the real Ken is eating at the same restaurant with Ryu.
- Bob's win quote with Ken reflects this misunderstanding, as he says “ So you're Ken Masters! We... We look nothing alike... “
- Rufus and Zangief's ending in said game shows Rufus losing most of his weight (after opening Pandora which causes its energies to take away his obesity) and become skinny, mirroring Bob's ending in Tekken 6 where he loses his weight and becomes skinny as well under mysterious conditions.
- Bob is a bounty hunter in Street Fighter X Tekken and in the Online Tekken Comic.
- In Tekken: Blood Vengeance, Bob's dossier is briefly seen when Anna Williams opens a file containing dossiers of various persons of interest.
- In the Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown collaboration event with Tekken, Taka-Arashi can be dressed up as Bob.[13]
Gallery
References
- ^ https://www.tekken-official.jp/tk6br/characters/bob.html
- ^ Katsuhiro Harada @Harada_TEKKEN, Twitter, 4:21 PM Jun 13, 2024. Note that information is not stated in-game and only comes from a database of information provided by series developer Katsuhiro Harada.
- ^ a b Tekken 6 In-Game Prologue.
- ^ Tekken 6 Official Strategy Guide, Brady Games (2009), p.70; transcribed on Tekken Zaibatsu.
- ^ Street Fighter X Tekken Profile.
- ^ Julia and Bob's Street Fighter X Tekken prologue.
- ^ Julia and Bob's Street Fighter X Tekken Rival Fight.
- ^ Julia and Bob's Street Fighter X Tekken ending cutscene.
- ^ Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U profile.
- ^ https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/1067710215288733697
- ^ Real Life Tekken - Tricking with BOB RICHARDS
- ^ Tekken Tag Tournament 2/Netsu System
- ^ Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown - Tekken Series Collaboration Announce