Rivals Schooled
As if Sloclap’s vengeance-fueled adventure Sifu wasn’t badass enough, the hard-hitting action-RPG has been given an extra injection of coolness via a series of super funky fan mods. The skin-swaps allow PC players to replace the protagonist with some famous faces from the world of one-on-one fighting games.
Designed and uploaded by talented modder Dodylectable, the fun roster of guest stars includes recognizable characters such as Ken and Sakura from Street Fighter, Kazuya Mishima from Tekken and… erm… Gordon Freeman from Half-Life. Almost as if commissioned by yer boy Moyse, Dodylectable has also created mods of two of my all-time favorite characters: The King of Fighters‘ Leona Heidern and Street Fighter‘s Korean assassin, Juri.
Check out the Sakura mod in action in the below video, uploaded by YouTuber Kuroha Zone.
Given the sublime use of motion, impact, and momentum that makes Sifu‘s combat such a (literal) smash hit, it is amazing how snugly Sakura fits into the adventure, bopping brains and taking names as she battles her way through the mean avenues and alleyways of China’s criminal underground. The fact that Ms. Kasugano is still wearing her school uniform, (complete with backpack), only adds to the excitement — as if she embarked upon this path of complete destruction right after classes closed.
#sifu has been out at least a few days… has anybody modded Etsuko Shihomi into it yet? https://t.co/91FTyiwMGu
— Chris Moyse (@ChrisxMoyse) February 13, 2022
From Sifu‘s initial announcement, I have frequently referenced how desperately I want to see Japanese cinematic superstar Etsuko Shihomi modded into the game. While the Sister Street Fighter is sadly yet to make her Sifu debut, these mods make the prospect of such a creation even more tantalizing to me. I’ll continue to dream. In the meantime, school’s out… and I know a girl who has some noses to bust.
Sifu is available now on PlayStation and PC (via Epic Games Store). You can find Sakura and Dodylectable’s other creations over at the Nexus Mods website.
