Van Gogh does Nina Williams - TTT2 countdown initiated, 10 days to go

Vincent van Gogh

blonde.bomb is counting down to the week of September 10, 2012 - the week Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will release to retailers worldwide - and some of history's greatest artists are counting down with it. Each day a famous painter will rise from the dead roll out his/her own rendition of Tekken's First Lady. If the Mishima Zaibatsu ruled the world, this is what you would be looking at when visiting the Louvre.

Super Nina soon flying to a console near you

I'm in love with the Superhero Top! Super Nina looks super. Look out for videos by Robert Cram on youtube to see some of Tekken Tag Tournament 2's character customization options. As soon as the game is released in Europe I'll be spamming this blog with shots of my customized Nina. Also, if you recognize more than 5 of the logos in the header and can name their corresponding heroes, you're a nerd!

Oilshock Designs Tekken Tag Tournament 2's 2P Outfits

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but the Gamescom2012 console built of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has quietly revealed character costumes designed in collaboration with Japanese design studio Oilshock Designs. All of the designs are casual/street wear outfits sporting prints by Oilshock Designs. Nina is one of the characters to be wearing one of these in Tag 2. Her exclusive outfit is composed of jeans or leather pants (can't really make that out), knee-high boots and a turtleneck sweater with rhinestone embellishments or a print (can't make this one out either) that reads 'GIVE A KISS TO'. Since her default battle suit outfit (the infamous space suit) is really quite out there, I'm always happy to see her in something more casual. Good choice on the basics and colours, Namco/Oilshock.
So why title this post 'fail'? When I wrote this up yesterday I somehow completely ignored that Nina's extra outfit is in fact one of the few that DOESN'T say Oilshock Designs beneath them on the character select screen. :-/ Oh well, due to lack of news I still decided to post my big time fail write-up, even if now all the references don't make much sense.
Oh.. and if you think Anna-with-bandana looks ridiculous in that last screenshot up above, wait until you see Ito Ogure's Octo-Anna (nsfw). Shudder.

Screenshots were taken from Gamescom Videos on Youtube, hence their low resolution. All print and artwork designs by Oilshock Designs.

Oilshock Designs specializes in graphic design works for apparel and has been running independently since 2006. They have also handled designs for BALS Tokyo interior goods, Sony Computer Entertainment's PS3, Ayumi Hamasaki's 2009 live tour and for X-Japan's DVD package. Oilshock Designs has released 6 design collection books which have become best sellers in the industry, selling more than 100,000 copies in 2 years. www.oilshock.jp
 

SFxTK Minimates Pack Shot - Nina VS Cammy 2Pack

Here's a packaging shot of wave #1 of the Street Fighter x Tekken Minimates. As previously announced, Nina comes bundled with Street Fighter's Cammy. I'm happy Diamond Select Toys will use blister packs, which I prefer to windowed boxes. Pack design's looking good, too. If you look closely you can see that Nina will come with what looks to be a knife, presumably to fit into her right leg knife holster. I like! The SFxTK Minimates are currently expected to be released September 5th. I'll post my review of the Cammy VS Nina 2-pack as soon as it arrives here.

Major CG Intro Movie Screen Time for Nina Williams in Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Intro update! Tekken Tag Tournament 2's console opening cinematic has been revealed just in time for Gamescom 2012. Though I doubt it's the full opening movie, it provides some clarification regarding the scenes we've already seen short segments of. The actual video might not be news to you as it has been up a day or 2 already, but as usual I had to wait for Namco's PR/press department to release an HD version for the games press folk, so I could take somewhat clear pictures insted of pixelated hot mess youtube screenshots. (The slight grain effect is a filter Namco used, btw.)

Nina looks fabulous here, she even dropped a few sizes just for the intro movie,... or is it the in-game camera adding 10 pounds? For some reason Namco decided to have slim model-sized Blood Vengeance Nina star in the FMV movies while fit and muscular Haywire Nina takes over the screen for the in-game action. I like them both, so nothing wrong with that. I'm just really happy Nina's getting some major intro movie screentime this time around. I know, she's one of the few characters to have appeared in every Tekken opening FMV, except Tekken 4's, but her screen time in the Tekken 6 one was just way too short for my taste, even though the ending movies kind of made up for the lack of Nina in the opening (she appeared in 3 of them).

If you haven't already seen the video and want to know what happens right after the last screen shot up above, see for yourself:

Tekken Tag 2 Nina Williams CG Render

We finally get a better look at Nina's character CG render for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Thanks to the team @ tekkenzaibatsu.com for providing the file. You can find png versions (=transparent background) of Tag 2's character renders here.

Retro Tekken 3 Press Kit Nina Williams CG render

Nina Williams CG render from the Tekken 3 PlayStation press kit (1998)

Kazuhiko Toyama's Score for Tekken The Motion Picture OVA

There's one aspect of the 1998 Japanese OVA Tekken: The Motion Picture that really stands out: the movie's instrumental score. You might feel that for a movie based on a fighting game series there isn't enough fighting or alternatively you might really like that there is more emphasis on story. Maybe your favourite character didn't make it into the movie; with more than half the roster absent and/or dealt with in 2 sec cameos that's highly likely, actually. But maybe you think leaving out half the cast and focusing on the story-relevant characters instead was a rather wise decision. Whatever your thoughts are on the movie, its soundtrack is the one thing beyond any doubt. (Its original Japanese soundtrack that is, not the horrible American one that replaced instrumental tracks with odd songs by then-famous rock bands.)

Composer Kazuhiko Toyama's work really shines. It's a sophisticated, thematic, organic, melodramatic and interesting surprise. For titles like 'Strained Situation' and 'Cold Blooded' Toyama used elements in his writing to convey drama, suspense and urgency that are reminiscent of the instrumental scores for the TV shows Lost and Alias, long before anyone ever heard of these shows or Michael Giacchino. Toyama's score is extremely cohesive from start to finish, both in terms of instrumentation and motifs. The subtle and consistent Silent Assassin motif with its string-heavy writing and its disturbing and stalking undertone forms THE perfect themes for the Williams sisters; perfect instrumental representations interpretations of their personas, and brilliant pieces of music at that.

Below you can listen to the opening theme, Nina's and Anna's theme and the piece accompanying their final confrontation which, by the movie's own canon, is also their last, since Anna gets eaten by a dinosaur. lol She really had this one coming! 

The spam load of pictures are shots of each track's respective scene in the movie.

01. Toyama Kazuhiko - TEKKEN

06. Toyama Kazuhiko - Silent Assassin (NINA)

13. Toyama Kazuhiko - Silent Assassin (ANNA)

20. Toyama Kazuhiko - NINA vs ANNA

Tekken The Motion Picture OVA Soundtrack - Composed by Kazuhiko Toyama and performed by Los Solistas De Tokio. Arranged by Masao Akashi. Original Soundtrack published by Sony Records and released Jan 21, 1998.

Kazuhiko Toyama (born October 10, 1956) is a Japanese composer, notable for creating music for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Bikkuriman, Cyber City Oedo 808, A Wind Named Amnesia, Goku Midnight Eye I and II and New Cutie Honey. You can follow him on Twitter by clicking Kazuhiko Toyama @KAZZTYM

Screenshots taken from the DVD release of Tekken: The Motion Picture © 1997 Namco Ltd / Ascii Corporation / Sony Music Entertainment (Japan)