Can you imagine flicking through the character roster for Tekken 2 and seeing Colonel Sanders looking back at you, going head-to-head with Law and Nina? While it might have made me spend a heck of a lot more money on KFC as a kid, it certainly would have been a novelty that, if not finger-licking good, would have been button-mashing brilliance.
In an interview with The Gamer, Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada spilled the beans (as well as the gravy and corn on the cob) about his plans to add Colonel Sanders to the Tekken Roster. He even went as far as speaking with the top brass at the KFC Headquarters in Tokyo to see if they would let him add the Colonel into the game, but they just dismissed the idea with what Harada describes as ‘a bad look’. What a way to get shot down – I imagine that must have been a ‘fowl’ experience…
The only thing I can think of as to why they said no to Harada is because KFC didn’t want the lifeblood of their family brand beating down both male and female characters, which is totally understandable (they probably would have been fine with chickens, however).
Sanders has appeared in games since, and let’s not forget how great Sneak King was with Burger King’s royal mascot as the main character. I guess the Colonel will be sticking to dishing out his secret recipe of herbs and spices instead of serving beatdowns on epic stages, and we’ll just have to make do with playing as Mr. Game & Watch with the Frying Pan on Smash Bros. Melee as the next best thing!
