Nina Williams

Overview

Nina Williams is an assassin who made her first ever appearance in the first Tekken game and has been the only female character to appear in every Tekken game.She was born and raised in Ireland along with her sister, Anna Williams. Her father, Richard worked as an assassin for the IRA and left Ireland to escape his past. He met and eventually married a British Aikido champion named Heather and they produced two offspring, Nina and Anna. From an early age, both sisters were taught various forms of martial arts by their father. This resulted in a sibling rivalry to develop between Nina and Anna that has yet to end.

Game Appearances

Tekken 1

In Tekken 1, Nina was hired to assassinate Heihachi Mishima, the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu although her true intentions are not clear. In her ending, Anna opens a door and a few moments later there is a close up of her feet. She is wearing a shoe on her right foot but there appears to be one missing on her left foot. Anna points to her left foot and looks up at Nina who just shrugs. Anna walks up to Nina and starts shouting at her. Nina gives her a disgusted look and slaps her around the face. Anna turns around and begins to cry and Nina holds up the missing shoe, smiling.

Tekken 2

In Tekken 2 , two years after the first tournament, it is discovered that Nina and Anna's father, Richard had been killed under unknown circumstances. Both Nina and Anna blamed each other for the cause of their father's death but tried the amend their relationship as it was one of their father's last wishes. However, this only maintained the sisters hatred for each other and expanded it further. Nina was assigned to assassinate Kazuya Mishima, the current head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, but her plans were foiled by Anna which caused her to fail her mission. She was captured by the Mishima Corp and used as a test subject by Dr. Boskonovich involving cryogenic sleep. Anna was also put in cryogenic sleep but voluntarily unlike Nina and asked to be awaken at the exact same time as Nina for unknown reasons.

Tekken 3

In Tekken 3, Nina is woken up from her cryogenic sleep 19 years later by Ogre when its spirit is unearthed at a burial site by Heihachi Mishima. This spirit re-awakens Nina from her sleep, however she does not remember anything about her past due her suffering from cryosleep induced amnesia, a fate her sister was spared from. Ogre controls Nina throughout the third tournament and orders her to assassinate Jin Kazama, Heihachi's grandson. Near the end of the tournament, Jin manages to beat Nina in a fight, which brought back her senses and released her from Ogre's control. As an act of compassion, Anna contacts Dr. Boskonovich to help aid in bringing back her sister's memories. The projects failed however, and during a visit to her father's grave, Nina recalls all the hatred she held for her sister and the fact that they did not get along. After this discovery, Nina disappears and does not contact Anna for some time.

Tekken 4

During Tekken 4, two years after the previous tournament, Nina decides to become an assassin again, as it is the only thing she recalled from her previous life. She is contacted by the Mafia Syndicate whom assign her on a mission to kill a famous British boxer, Steve Fox. However, Nina eventually discovers that Steve is in fact her biological son, born from In vitro fertilisation during her years in cryosleep. At the last moment, Nina decides to abandon her assassination after detective Lei Wulong brought down the syndicate she was working for. After the collapse of her employers, Nina had no other reason to pursue her target. She also remained emotionally impassive by the discovery of her son, although the fact that she could not kill him proves otherwise.

Tekken 5

During Tekken 5, Nina decides to try and re-trace her old memories and comes to the conclusion that the only person who could help her was her sister, Anna Williams. The two sisters meet up with each other however, Nina's hatred and memories began to return and the two began a rapid gun battle. The duel lasted for days, with no winner so the two decided to finish their battle during the fifth tournament. The two swore that only one person would walk away from the battle however, when Nina won, she refused to take Anna's life as their fight did not satisfy her.

Tekken 6

Two years later, during Tekken 6, Nina is approached by the leader of the Mishima Financial Empire, Jin Kazama who has launched war around the world. He appoints Nina to be his personal bodyguard of which she accepts, entering the tournament to stop any potential threats to Kazama. Her sister Anna, seeking revenge becomes Kazuya Mishima’s bodyguard in hopes of coming face to face with Nina along the way. In the game's Scenario Campaign, Nina serves as one of the main antagonists, assisting Jin in his plans to rule the world.

Tekken TAG Tournament

Nina is a playable character Tekken Tag Tournament, based during Tekken 3. Nina and Anna still retain their sibling rivalry and it continues on during this game. Nina retains all her moves from Tekken 3, as well as her costumes. Nina's special alliance partner is Anna.

Tekken TAG Tournament 2

Nina is due to appear in the upcoming Tekken game, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 of which she is a playable character. Based during Tekken 6, Nina retains all of her costumes and moves from this game. Her special alliance partners are Anna, Jin and Lars.

Death By Degrees

Nina starred in her own spin-off action game, Death by Degrees which gave players an alternative view of Nina and Anna's past during a flashback of how their father died when they were children. It is presumed that their rivalry stemmed from this event. This rivalry crosses over to real-time events when Nina is assigned to investigate a mysterious group on a ship. At a prison, the two sisters face each other when Nina fails to interrogate her target when she is knocked out by Anna, whom is working with the Tekken Force as a bodyguard. At the end of the game, Anna is the last boss Nina must face.

This game was supposedly to test the waters for a whole series of action games based on Tekken characters, but if this was ever the plan for Tekken, it was likely cancelled after Death by Degrees was received poorly. No similar games starring Nina or other characters have since been produced.

Street Fighter X Tekken

Nina is a playable character in the crossover game Street Fighter X Tekken. She features in the game's gameplay teaser of which she is tagged with Kazuya whom orders her to use one of her signature moves on Ryu. She also appears in the game's cinematic trailer battling Ken inside a building to stop him reaching Kazuya, whom has captured Ryu to lure Jin out.

Other Appearances

Tekken: The Motion Picture

Nina appears in the 1998 anime film, Tekken: The Motion Picture of which she is one of the main antagonists. She is seduced by Lee Chaolan, who hires her to assassinate Kazuya Mishima so that he can inherit the Mishima Zaibatsu from Heihachi. Nina tries to kill Kazuya numerous times in the film, but her plans are always foiled by Kazuya's skills. Her rivalry with Anna is also present, but it differs from the games as it is shown that Nina was favoured by her father, whom ignored Anna which resulted in Anna killing their father in resentment. Nina and Anna eventually come face to face on the island where the tournament is being held and the two battle. Eventually Anna is ambushed by a robotic dinosaur and Nina flees. She is later seen with the other competitors who made it off the island before it explodes.

Tekken (2010)

Nina Williams is portrayed by South African model and singer, Candice Hillebrand in the 2010 action film, Tekken. In the film, Nina participates in the Iron Fist tournament while working as an assassin for Kazuya along with Anna. Kazuya sends Nina and Anna to assassinate Jin Kazama but the fight attracts Christie Monteiro's attention and the two flee. During the next round, Jin regression Nina as one of the assassins and Christie takes revenge on Nina by beating her in the next bout. Unlike the games, Nina and Anna are on good terms and she is no relation to Steve Fox.

Tekken: Blood Vengeance

Nina is also featured in the animated film, Tekken: Blood Vengeance of which she is shown to be working with Jin Kazama. She is first shown riding a motorcycle and battling Anna. She manages to escape after being cornered and is then sent to Russia by Jin to find Alisa. Later, she is chasing Xiaoyu and Alisa whom are escaping from Anna whom later attempts to capture Nina.

Abilities and Equipment

Nina acquired her unusual combination of skills from her parent whom taught her various forms of martial arts from a young age. Nina's fighting moves consist of assassination martial arts, Aikido and Koppo (bone martial arts) which consists of throws, grapples and holds. Nina became a fan favourite since her début due to her speed, lethal moves and chain throws. Her strength is quite hight and she can evade and counter-attack. Her combos are very fast and lethal, but her throws are difficult to perform and require a lot of patients.

Appearance and Outfits

Nina is most recognisable for her long blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Her looks contrasts from that of her sister, Anna whom is a brunette. Nina's signature colour is purple, as she has at least one purple costume per game. Her most notable costume is the "catsuit" of which she has worn various different designs in both Tekken and Death by Degrees. Her suit resembles a spandex which is make from PVC and leather. She wears her hair tied up into a ponytail or a braid and her skin is ivory- coloured with a hourglass body shape. Nina is almost always seen with lipstick on which ranges from violet, red, bronze and peach.

Personality

Nina's personality is cold and indifferent. This could be due to the fact that she was drugged by an underground force when she was younger in order to create the perfect assassin. She seems to hold bitterness towards men which could be a result of her deflation after Tekken 2. Also the only man she ever trusted was her father, who died shortly before Tekken 2. After being possessed by Ogre she was unable to feel any emotion.She does not smile much and her sense of humour is limited to her torturing of Anna.She is a loner and this is reflected in both her assassination gig and personal lifestyle. Despite all of this, she seems to have a weakness for her son, Steve Fox. Despite the fact that she had a lock on him and could have killed him with one shot, she decided not to do so.

Trivia

• Nina, along with Heihachi, Paul and Yoshimitsu are the only one characters playable in every Tekken game.
• Chronologically Nina is the oldest female character in Tekken.
• It is very likely that Jill Valentine's appearance in Resident Evil 5 was based on Nina. Both of them have similar clothing, blonde hair and blue eyes
• Except in Tekken 4, Anna WIlliams is always featured in Nina's endings.
• Nina (or a parody of Nina, as seen in Tekken 2) appears as an unnamed character in an unnamed arcade game in the 92nd episode of the anime, Eyeshield 21.