VS Analysis: Ray Park's Rugal Bernstein from King of Fighters 2009

Background

1800 years ago, a member of the Kusanagi clan unleashed the ancient demon Orochi in exchange for great power. But Orochi’s power consumed the traitor, and only the combined might of the Kagura, Yagami, and Kusanagi clans were able to seal him away. The Yagamis created the Yata Mirror, a doorway to another dimension. The Kaguras crafted the Yasakani no Magatama, a necklace whose powerful energies served as the key to this doorway. And most important of all was the Kusanagi sword, a legendary blade said to be the only tool capable of slaying Orochi.

The clans sealed Orochi in this alternate dimension, and their exploits soon became legend, with the three sacred treasures being passed down to each generation to prevent the demon’s revival.

And for some reason, the current head of the Kaguras decided it would be a good idea to host a fighting tournament in the same dimension that housed an ancient, world destroying demon. How, you may ask? By harnessing the energies from the three sacred treasures and condensing them into a series of Bluetooth earpieces. With the push of a button, anyone could now enter Orochi’s prison dimension and compete in the King of Fighters tournament.

Naturally it was only a matter of time before someone was tempted to take that power for themselves, and that someone was none other than the European crime lord Rugal Bernstein! (yes, this guy is supposed to be Rugal)

Rugal wanted nothing more than to prove he was the ultimate fighter and challenged the clans’ current heads (Saisyu Kusanagi, Chizuru Kagura, and a completely inaccurate Iori Yagami) to a 1v3. The resulting battle caused Iori to betray the other clans by drawing on Orochi’s power just to stand a chance, but even this couldn’t stop Rugal. And when Saisyu tried to help Iori regain his senses, Iori beat him into a catatonic state.

Ten years passed, and during an expo on the three sacred treasures, Rugal would have a rematch with Iori and Chizuru, defeating both and stealing their treasures before disappearing into the tournament dimension.

As the other clans’ heads went to track down the Kusanagi sword, supposedly guarded by the still catatonic Saisyu, Rugal performed a hostile takeover of the tournament dimension. Using his newfound powers of pyrokinesis, his natural skills, and his love of hockey, Rugal defeated two lesbians named Vice and Mature and brainwashed them into joining his side. Together, they defeated numerous fighters, and as time went on, Rugal’s powers grew more and more. In time, the tournament dimension even began merging with the real world, which Rugal planned on making permanent so he could prove himself the immortal, invincible King of Fighters!

The only ones who could stop him were a team consisting of Iori, the CIA agents Mai Shiranui and Terry Bogard, and Saisyu’s son, a motorcyclist repairman named Kyo Kusanagi. Unaware of his father’s past with Iori and believing Rugal responsible for his fatal catatonia, Kyo challenged Rugal… and got the shit kicked out of him!

But because he had so much fun doing it, Rugal decided to let Kyo live so he could spread the word and convince the rest of his friend group to join the tournament.

Kyo would later return, now backed by the other fighters that all had a grudge against Rugal. Seeking to avenge his father and defeat the Orochi-powered madman, Kyo challenged Rugal to a rematch, but even with the Kusanagi sword, he was quickly beaten! Iori stepped in after Kyo's defeat, ready to get payback for their last fight a decade ago... and then he lost too.

Even with Chizuru and the three Sacred Treasures combined, all they managed to do was stop Rugal for a few seconds before he called on the full power of Orochi. With the demon’s full power under his command, Rugal defeated them all with a massive shockwave, destroyed the Kusanagi sword, and unleashed an enormous blast of fire to incinerate Kyo!

But in the face of certain death, Kyo drew on his memories of these people he barely knew, formed a new Kusanagi out of thin air, and threw it into Rugal, making him explode in a really anticlimactic final battle.

Experience

In his quest to become the King of Fighters, Rugal has traveled far and wide to prove his skills. He’s defeated the world’s best fighters prior to the start of the movie, including the three heads of the Sacred Treasures clans. In the modern day, he defeated the tag team of Mature and Vice in a 2v1, Iori in both the real world and tournament dimension,

He’s also gone for some unorthodox strategies mid-combat, like using hockey gear and skates to gain an edge in mobility while fighting Vice and Mature before beating them the old-fashioned way.

Arsenal

Staff

A bo staff that Rugal’s made extensive use of while fighting Kyo and the Three Sacred Treasure clans.

Pistol

A semi-automatic pistol Rugal keeps concealed in his jacket that can launch people a farther distance than most real life guns.

Submachine Gun

A heavier caliber firearm that Rugal pulled out of thin air during his attack on a Boston museum.

Hockey Gear

In one of the more bizarre scenes in this movie, Rugal decided to embrace his hidden Canadian side with these knee pads, hockey mask, stick, and skates during his fight against Vice and Mature.

Baseball Bat

As part of his sports-themed villainy, Rugal summoned a bat to violently bludgeon Kyo and pelt him with fireballs.

Baseballs

By combining his penchant for sports with pyrokinesis, Rugal can launch fiery baseballs into your local wooden protagonist.

Katana

After deciding he wanted a sword of his own to match Kyo’s, Rugal turned his baseball bat into one and used it to defeat Kyo. He can use its hilt and scabbard to hit an opponent in the face or the legs.

Skills

Martial Arts

As expected from a man who usurped the King of Fighters tournament, Rugal is an extremely skilled martial artist, able to fight off two martial artists simultaneously and win.

Weapons Mastery

Throughout the film, Rugal shows an extensive skill with various weapons. He beat Kyo, Iori, Chizuru, and Saisyu with a staff, fought Chizuru with a replica sword, bludgeoned Kyo with a bat, and schooled him in swordplay.

Sports

It’s weird, but Rugal occasionally uses sportswear and techniques during his fights. He used a hockey stick and skates to disorient Vice and Mature, and later relied on baseballs and bats against Kyo.

Powers

Orochi Power

Signified by his blood red right eye, Rugal can use the power of the demon Orochi to perform many supernatural abilities. In times of desperation he can even call on it to enhance his power, letting him overcome otherwise debilitating conditions like Orochi’s weakness to the Three Sacred Treasures.

Pyrokinesis

In the King of Fighters dimension Rugal can enhance his blows with pyrokinesis by channeling fire through his arms or legs (0:31), create blasts of it (0:14) that can knock people back even when blocked, or use it on nearby objects like baseballs to create flaming projectiles (0:11).

Brainwashing

As shown with Vice and Mature, Rugal can infect others with Orochi’s power by kissing them, corrupting their minds and turning them into his loyal underlings.

The King of Fighters dimension

Thanks to Orochi’s power residing within him, Rugal has full control over the King of Fighters dimension, an exact replica of our plane of existence (0:39) where he can do whatever he wants. He can project his voice like a stadium announcer (0:20), summon new outfits, weapons, and projectiles (0:20); transform existing weapons, and teleport himself and others with a clap, which is so precise he can ensure other people spawn in different locations.

The longer he stays in this dimension, the more powerful he becomes. This also causes the KOF dimension to merge with our own world, letting him use a portal to drag fighters from our world into his.

The dimension has many different levels, including:

A frozen-over warehouse
A purple-lit room of mannequins
A graffiti-covered skatepark
A city at night
A dimly-lit back alley whose doorways teleport others across the stage and to different areas, and its shadows can be used as portals to slam fighters against walls.

Support

Vice and Mature

Two lesbians that Rugal brainwashed after they lost a fight to him. Like all fighters in the tournament, they’re extremely skilled in martial arts and often work together during fights, with Mature beating on opponents with kicks and eskrima sticks, then using the sticks to restrain them for Vice to beat up.

Strength

Real world

Chokes Chizuru (0:28)
Beats up Iori

KOF dimension

Charges into Mature, smacks her with a hockey stick, does the same to Vice, then destroys his hockey pads by flexing
Beats up Vice and Mature with kicks and elbows, then puts Mature in a chokehold and says he could kill her (0:34)
Kicks Kyo into a portal that sends him flying into a wall then beats the shit out of him
Beats Kyo with a staff while clashing with the Kusanagi sword, then bludgeons him with a bat and his sword’s hilt and scabbard
Can shoot blasts of fire that flip a car and created a small explosion of flames
With Orochi’s full power, he:

See Q&A for the following:

Has full control over the King of Fighters dimension, which is in a different dimension and described as a parallel universe (0:39)

The longer he’s in the KOF dimension, the more powerful he becomes, and it will eventually expand and merge with our own (Universal - Low Multiversal)
As explained by Scott Hana’s exposition, string theory supports the idea of over 10 or 11 dimensions occupying the same time capsule as this one

Support

Speed

Blocks or intercepts Kyo, Iori, and Saisyu's attacks

Durability

Real world

Survived a vicious beating from Orochi Iori
Knocked back by Chizuru and beaten up by Mai (0:25, 0:15), ending in him hitting his back on the stage so hard he’s knocked out, though he recovers off screen in less than 20 seconds
Has his arm slammed against a wall and takes a few kicks from Iori
Cuts his palm on a replica sword

KOF dimension

Support

Feats

Defeated the best fighters in the world, the heads of the Three Sacred Treasures, Kyo, and Iori
Defeated and brainwashed Mature and Vice
Ray Park’s the only enjoyable performance in this movie despite being completely inaccurate to the games

Weaknesses

While he’s undoubtedly proved himself worthy of the title "King of Fighters," Rugal is by no means the perfect. His powers are entirely reliant on being in the KOF dimension, and while he can likely access them in the real world by merging them, this takes a really long time. If that doesn’t happen and he’s in the real world, he’s just a dude that can be taken out fairly easily.

Even in the tournament dimension Rugal still has his flaws. Having access to the Orochi powers makes him extremely arrogant and drunk on his own power, believing himself to be immortal and invincible. He’s so arrogant that he regularly shows off his powers to flex his superiority and will prolong fights just to get more fun out of them. The only time he's ever willing to kill an opponent is if he feels like it's no longer fun fighting them, but even then he'll drag it out with some flashy use of his powers or by savagely beating his opponent down.

Orochi’s power can also be weakened and canceled out in the presence of the Three Sacred Treasures… at least until he calls on its full power.

Q&A

Is Ray Park Rugal Universal or Low Multi?

With what was listed in his Powers and Strength, you might think this would put Rugal at Universal levels of power, or maybe higher. After all, he has full control over a dimension that's described by a nerdy scientist as being an entire universe whose existence is supported by string theory, he can alter it however he pleases, and it can merge with the real world. On the surface this sounds like a solid argument for Universal or Low Multiversal KOF, but there’s a pretty damning problem: it happens over time, and the timeframe in the film have is really, REALLY long.

To give you an idea of how bad it is, Rugal first enters the KOF dimension near the 19 minute mark. The universal exposition takes place over an hour in, and Rugal’s first use of its power is creating a portal to drag Mai through at 1:02:23. Rugal says at 1:05:43 that the KOF dimension will expand and merge with the real world, and Mai says at 1:08:56 that the worlds are starting to merge, but there’s nothing in the movie that hints or suggests past this point that the merge is ever complete, just that it's started.

Even if you want to argue that the merge is growing in power since we see some Orochi-controlled civilians (1:22:03 in the movie), that’s still not enough to say the merge is complete. And if we ignore that, it still took over an hour for this to happen. Whether he used the Orochi power to cause it or not, the universal merge takes so long that it’s not something Rugal can scale to.

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