Nina Williams
Nina Williams is a
character from the
Tekken game series. She is a cold-blooded
assassin who made her first appearance in the original
Tekken and has appeared in every
Tekken since. She has a memorable
love/hate relationship with her younger sister,
Anna Williams.
Nina has a lethal fighting style, consisting of throws, kicks, grapples, and holds. She is considered to be one of the higher tier characters in Tekken, due to her speed and intricate
grappling moves.
In 2005, Nina Williams starred in her own
spin-off,
Death By Degrees.
Nina was born and raised in
Ireland, as was her sister
Anna Williams. From a young age both were taught various forms of martial arts. A
sibling rivalry boiled between the two. Both girls adored their father, Richard Williams, and often battled for his attention. Nina was trained in assassination martial arts and borrows concepts from
Aikido and bone martial arts, which was ideal for her job, as she quickly became a world-renowned assassin.
Before
Tekken 2, tragedy struck when Richard was murdered. Both Nina and Anna blame each other for the murder, but the exact nature of Richard's death has never been disclosed. Since the murder, their rivalry has slowly become more of a bitter hatred. In
Tekken 2, she was contracted to kill
Kazuya Mishima, but conflict with her sister prevented her from fulfilling the assignment. She was captured by Mishima after failing to assassinate him in
Tekken 2 and used as a test subject in the "cold sleep" project (cryogenic sleep). Anna volunteered and also was put in cryogenic sleep.
The experiments went on for 19 years. Nina and her sister remained young thanks to the effects of the
cryogenic sleep. During these years, she gave birth to
Steve Fox through
in-vitro fertilization. Steve Fox has since appeared in
Tekken 4 and
Tekken 5). Another consequence of this cryogenic project was total memory loss, a fate which Anna was spared of.
During
Tekken 3, she was controlled by
Ogre and manipulated to try and kill
Jin Kazama. She failed. Anna tried to bring Nina's memories back, but Nina instead left without telling her sister.
In
Tekken 4, she returned to life as an assassin, as it was the only thing that she recalled from her previous life. Her next contract came from a mafia syndicate asking her to kill a British boxer,
Steve Fox. As the tournament progressed she gained more information on her target and found out that the biological mother was in fact herself. When the opportunity came to assassinate him, she could not bring herself to kill him though she felt nothing towards him as well. She decided that she had to find her lost memories.She came to the conclusion that the only person who could help her was Anna. Anna (who was absent in
Tekken 4) and Nina met up. However, at first sight, Nina's hatred instinctively returned, and they engaged in a gun battle, as shown in the
Tekken 5 opening. The gun battle went on for days and the area ended up like a warzone with no side giving in. Finally, they decided to meet at the next tournament and finish their battle once and for all. As of yet, it is unclear who won their battle at the tournament.
Nina is notable for her long blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes. Her look contrasts from that of her sister, the raven-haired Anna.
Nina has become a video game
sex symbol of sorts, following in the footsteps of
Lara Croft of
Tomb Raider fame, although much more of an ice queen. In earlier
Tekken games, Nina dressed in sexier clothing. She had make-up and bright red nail varnish. Since earlier incarnations, Nina's appearance has been toned down. In fact, most of her body is covered by wearing jumpsuits or army fatigues that better suit her career as an assassin. Her body has remained similar; however, in
Death By Degrees, Nina was made much paler in colour. Her milk-white complexion is a common attribute of an Irish person; thus making Nina look ghostly and pale. Although her official stats from Tekken 3 claims she is 5 ft 3 in and 108 lb. (extremely light for a woman of her musculature), realistically in the game she appears to be around 5 ft 10 in and at least 150 lb. In Tekken 5 especially, she is well muscled. It is possible that both her and Anna's stats have changed slightly in the 19 years spent in cryosleep.
Nina's signature colour is purple. The colour purple represents power, ambition, wisdom and mystery. The dark purple that Nina often wears can be associated with
gloom and
sadness.
Every incarnation of Nina has featured a variation of her signature purple outfit.List of outfits:
*
Tekken - Two featured costumes both consisted of a top and matching knee length shorts. This came in either a mixture of two shades of purple or black.
*
Tekken 2 - Two featured costumes; one was typical green army fatigues with elbow length, black gloves. The other was a purple corseted top and hotpants with a yellow bow complete with purple stockings.
*
Tekken 3 - Two featured costumes; one was leather pants and a purple leopard print top that bared her midriff. Costume 2 was the first appearance of her trademark purple jumpsuit.
*
Tekken 4 - Two featured costumes; the first a modified variation of the purple jumpsuit. Costume 2 was a bright pink catsuit and white boots with pink sunglasses.
*
Tekken 5 - Two featured costumes; the first is another variation of her purple jumpsuit, with an army type camouflage print. Costume 2 was a gold and black leather tracksuit.
It should be noted that costumes were customisable in
Tekken 5, including colours and accessories.
Tekken Tag Tournament featured her
Tekken 3 costumes and colour variations, including her trademark blonde hair being dyed silver.
*
Tekken (Presumably canon)Anna is searching for her other red shoe. After searching in vain, she accuses Nina of stealing it. They shout at each other before Nina slaps her. Anna turns around and begins to cry as Nina reveals to the camera that she had the shoe all along.
*
Tekken 2 (Canon)Nina visits her father's grave in Ireland. She lays flowers on the grave and stands and remembers her father. She hears a noise from behind her and quickly draws her gun. It is revealed to be Anna, and she doesn't want to fight at their father's grave. Nina contemplates for a moment before leaving the graveyard, brushing past Anna. Anna lays flowers on the grave as Nina inhales a calming breath.
While it may seem that this ending cannot be canon, as Nina and Anna were captured immediately at the end of the tournament, the ending is briefly referenced as a flashback in Nina's Tekken 3 ending. It is important to note, however, that this ending took place pre-
Tekken 2, due to the aforementioned capture of the Williams sisters.
*
Tekken 3 (Presumably canon)Nina is being put through tests by
Dr. Boskonovitch to regain her memories, but to no avail. Anna then takes Nina back to their father's grave. As Anna lays flowers on the grave, Nina has flashbacks as feelings of dislike return for Anna. Anna tries to comfort her, but Nina slaps her violently, yells something to her, and leaves.
Again, it is unknown whether this actually happened as portrayed, as it features Nina remembering brief glimpses of her past. Later in the series, however, she still hasn't regained her memories. Fans consider this canon and the supposed memories are little more than feelings of hatred instead.
*
Tekken 4 (Partially Canon)Nina is hired by the syndicate to kill up and coming boxer
Steve Fox. Before she begins, she is sent additional information about the target. She discovers he is the product of in-vitro fertilisation of a test subject at The Mishima Research Laboratory.
Lei Wulong follows her to her assassination point. She takes aim with her weapon, but can't follow through. Instead she kills the syndicate guards who were leading Steve to her. Nina escapes. Steve follows, but he soon loses sight. Lei is left to expose the Syndicate.
*
Tekken 5 (Unknown)Nina and Anna are hired to take part in a big Hollywood movie. They fight on a rooftop; Anna hits the final blow. Nina falls to the ground as the director yells "Cut!". Everyone surrounds Anna, congratulating her. She clearly enjoys the attention. Nina storms out and presses a button in her hand. The castle set behind her explodes as she smiles.
Nina is generally known be quite cruel and heartless and does not smile often, a contrast to Anna who is portrayed to be flirtatious and friendly. She is cold-blooded and stoic, especially since
Tekken 3. This is presumed to be due to the traumatic events of Nina's life. The death of her father pre-
Tekken 2, who she loved dearly, has been seen as the decisive moment when Nina became such a troubled person. The events of the cryosleep (where she lost all of her memories) and the discovery that she had a son, whom was created through
in-vitro fertilization, unknown to Nina, have also contributed to her troubled mental state.
*
Tekken*
Tekken 2*
Tekken 3*
Tekken Tag Tournament*
Tekken 4*
Tekken 5*
Tekken 5: Dark ResurrectionAs of yet, it is unknown whether or not Nina will appear in the upcoming
Tekken 6. Due to the popularity of the character and the fact that she has appeared in every incarnation of the series thus far, it is expected she will appear.
Nina Williams also stars in her own
action/
strategy game,
Death by Degrees. It was released in
Japan in January, 2005, and was followed by a
North America release in February and
Europe in April. The game had high expectations but was received by many critics as 'average' and 'disappointing'. It was however more openly accepted by fans who enjoyed the game despite it's flaws.
*Nina has had a few voice actresses in the series most noticeably
Lisle Wilkerson. In
Death by Degrees, she is voiced by
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Fans have criticized the voice acting in general, wondering why Nina speaks with an American accent despite being of Irish descent.
*The whole plot of Nina being put into cryogenic sleep was originally met with much humor by fans who had seen it as a way to keep her young and stop her from aging. They were surprised that in the following game,
Tekken 4, as Nina's stay in cryogenic sleep had a purpose, to introduce a son,
Steve Fox. who was only a few years younger than Nina herself.
*Nina's appearance in the opening movie in
Tekken 2 seems to slightly echo
Sharon Stone's character in
Basic Instinct - the uncrossing of the legs and the setting she's in seem to mirror the infamous interrogation scene.
*Nina is one of only 4 characters (Namely
Heihachi Mishima ,
Paul Phoenix , and
Yoshimitsu ) to have appeared in every game in the series, and is a staple character amongst fans.
*
Anna Williams*
Steve Fox*
Death By Degrees*
Nina - Tekken 5 - Moves List (
U.S.)
*
Tekken Official Website (
Japan)
*
TekkenFan.com (
U.S.)
*
Tekken Central (
Korea)
*
Tekken Forces (
France)
*
Tekken Zaibatsu (
U.S.)
