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Shiva (シバ, Shiba) is a recurring character from the Streets of Rage series, appearing as a boss since Streets of Rage 2. He formerly acted as Mr. X's right-hand man in the Syndicate Crime Organization in Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. He has turned over a new leaf in Streets of Rage 4 and lives a humble life running his own dojo.

Biography[]

Appearance[]

Shiva is a muscular Asian-American (or purely Asian) man, around the same age of his rival-turned-friend Axel Stone. He has shoulder-length black (or dark-bluish) hair, and a somewhat menacing yet disciplined facial expression.

In his debut in Streets of Rage 2, he dresses in a traditional black Koppou-ken attire, showing part of his thoracic muscles, pants and training shoes, along with a thin red headband (similar to Axel's), sash belt, and fingerless kickboxing gloves.

In Streets of Rage 3, his attire and hair share the same color, the shirt/gi is entirely open and shows all of his pectoral and abdominal areas, and the fingerless gloves are replaced by simple sweatbands of the same color of the attire. In the American port, his "standard" palette for hair and attire is navy-blue as Stage 1 boss, and has a forest-green palette if the player faces him again as the Stage 7-B boss in the bad ending route. The navy-blue palette exists only in Streets of Rage 3, as for the Bare Knuckle III version the forest-green one is his "standard" palette.

His Streets of Rage 4 attire is a throwback to his original design from the second game, except that his gi now has a yellow trim, with its right side completely loose and hanging down (showing that side of his bare chest, shoulder and arm), he dons red armbands instead of fingerless gloves, and the sash belt was replaced with a thick white shimenawa (praying rice rope commonly seen attached to bells in Shinto/Buddhist temples, alluding to his newfound faith in Buddha's teachings).

Personality[]

Shiva is a stoic man of few words, who praises solitude and meditation in his free time. He is very calm, collected, and only fights for the right reason. With evidence from the extras menu in Streets of Rage 4, Shiva loves animals and will frontally oppose any forms of animal abuse. He was once a Kempo teacher, informing that he cares about people and can be quite friendly (at times), but sadly all of his former disciples left to fight on the streets, and joined a criminal organization that involves unethical animal abuse at worst.

Shiva is very fearless, and will not flee if anyone threatens or attacks him. He follows a philosophy that weapons are for the weak; because of that he always fights barehanded. Altogether, Shiva is a calm, cultured and loyal man who strikes hard and mercilessly at anyone who dares to betray his trust.

Story[]

Streets of Rage 2[]

Shiva acts as Mr. X's personal bodyguard, seen near him as the penultimate boss of the game, where he must be defeated before the player is allowed to face Mr. X himself. It was from that point that was born his rivalry towards Axel Stone.

Shiva proves to be one of - if not the most difficult enemy (aside from Mr. X himself and some bosses) that the player will ever face. He has a fighting style that is far more advanced than any other standard enemy faced beforehand. His fighting style is very aggressive and throwing him will just have Shiva catch himself from the fall.

Streets of Rage 3[]

Shiva reappeared as the first boss in Streets of Rage 3, apparently being cast down from Mr. X's personal bodyguard to a simple position of street enforcer. He is also a secret playable character who can be unlocked immediately after his defeat by holding down the B button until Round 2 starts. As an villain who'd never betray Mr. X and cooperate with Blaze or Axel, his existence as a playable character is not considered canon.

If the player fails to save the General in Stage 6, then they will enter what is supposedly the White House. There, Axel and company will confront Shiva again during "fake general" press-conference on national TV. In this fight, Shiva has increased health and more powerful attacks, along with a green palette instead of his "default" navy-blue (this color switch is exclusive to Streets of Rage 3, as in Bare Knuckle III he only has the green palette at all). Once the player beats him, the cutscene will have him lying down; the heroes ask him where the real Mr. X is located, and Shiva replies with "I will never tell you." The game then cuts to Mr. X watching it on a monitor of his own, in his hideout at unknown location, and furiously crushing a wine glass in his hand — signaling one of the three bad endings of the game.

Streets of Rage 4[]

Shiva reappears in Streets of Rage 4 as the Stage 6 boss, being referred to early in the story as the "Grandmaster of Chinatown" by Diva. While initially presumed to still be part of the Syndicate, after his defeat, he reveals that he has started a new life in Buddhist faith and teaching people martial arts from his new dojo at Chinatown. He encourages the heroes to pursue Mr. Y and Ms. Y, ending their discussion on good terms and thus finally turning their rivalry into a (distant) friendship.

His bio states that many of his new students has left his dojo to join the Y Syndicate, and even suggests that "reports of animal cruelty at Y's secret labs" (which go against the benevolence towards animals in his newfound Buddha conduct) now drive him to directly oppose his former organization.

In addition, his counterparts from Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3 appear in this game; the former as a secret boss and the latter as a playable character. The Streets of Rage 4 version of Shiva was later added in the Mr. X Nightmare DLC, alongside Max, Estel and Roo.

Boss Fight (Streets of Rage 4)[]

Shiva's boss fight takes place in Stage 6, on the rooftop of his dojo. At the right side of the arena, there'll be breakable vases containing points, health items and a Power Star. As with all bosses, he'll always have invincibility frames when getting up from a knockdown; however, Shiva is unique as he'll always "tech" when knocked down, essentially meaning the player cannot hit him with off the ground attacks. Ravens and Condors reinforcements will spawn at some portions of the battle; in Mania+, two Goros variants, Tora and Tatsu, will appear when Shiva reaches around 70% health.

In his first phase, he employs four moves:

  • Palm Strike: Shiva's primary attack, he lean back and then perform and quick palm strike that launches the player forward. He has super armor while using it.
  • Flaming Circular Kick: Shiva delivers a spinning overhead back kick in a circular motion, with his foot engulfed in purple flames. Often used as a get up attack and as an anti-air. He has invincibility frames while using it.
  • Flying Circular Kick: similarly to the default version, but Shiva will leap in the air towards the player, kicking twice. He has super armor while using it.
  • Kempo Combo: Shiva performs a quick clawed punch. If it connects, he'll follow up with another punch, a palm strike, a rising kick that throws the player high in the air, and finish it with a flying circular kick.

After reaching around 70% health, Shiva will enter his second phase, where he'll be a bit more aggressive and will employ a new move:

  • Spirit Dance: Shiva conjures a shadowy clone that will perform palm strikes repeatedly for around 5 seconds. Shiva can summon more than one, in quick succession. Once Shiva reaches below 30% health, he'll be able to summon two at once. The clones cannot be damaged, but can be hit by Star Moves.

Strategy[]

Shiva is an elusive oponent that moves quickly around the battlefield. His moveset is dangerous as many of his attacks have either invincibility frames or super armor, in addition to his ability to leap around to avoid damage, making difficult to pin him down.

A bait and punish strategy is the best way to defeat him, by waiting until he performs one of his attacks and pressure him. Juggling tool are the best to rack up damage, but Shiva will always tech groundbounces.

When he uses Spirit Dance, the player can move away from them and wait until their duration ends, but the problem is that Shiva can use this attack in quick succession. For this reason, it's best to save Star Moves to this part of the fight.

Gameplay[]

Main article: Shiva (gameplay)

Shiva's first appearance as a playable character happens in Streets of Rage 3, unlocked by holding down the B button after defeating him in Stage 1, until Stage 2 starts. He is one of the strongest characters in the game from a pure power standpoint, as well being the fastest character. However, due to him being an enemy character, his move set is incomplete; for instance, he is unable to pick up weapons.

In Streets of Rage 4, Shiva appears as part of the Mr. X Nightmare DLC. Much like in the third game, he boasts incredible power and speed attributes. He is also unique in that he is the only character in the game capable of performing air combos. Additionally, as a nod to his Streets of Rage 3 version, he is also unable to pick up weapons, but when interacting with any will instead throw them at his opponents; if a weapon is thrown at him, he is able to deflect them back at the attacker instantly by pressing the pick-up button. A retro version of Streets of Rage 3 Shiva can also be unlocked in the base game.

Sprites[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • He is named after the Hindu god Shiva.
  • Hakuyo's appearance in the first Streets of Rage bears strongly resemblance to Shiva.
  • Shiva is the only enemy in Streets of Rage 4 from the first three installments to turn to the side of good.
  • In the US/EU version of Streets of Rage 3, his Final Crash technique is called Ninja Attack.
  • Shiva's moveset as a playable character in Streets of Rage 3 is incomplete compared to the heroes due to lack of programming as him being specifically an enemy character. For instance, he is unable to pick up weapons.
    • Streets of Rage 3 Shiva being unable to pick up weapons is later referenced and canonized in Streets of Rage 4, where he doesn’t wield weapons by choice, earning him the moniker of "Living Weapon".

Shiva's third color palette in Streets of Rage 4 could be a possible reference to Goku from the Dragon Ball series.

Quotes[]

Streets Of Rage 4[]

  • "I don't need weapons. I am the weapon. (Selected as a character)

More TBA

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