Raiden

Raiden (ライデン, Raiden) is a character from the Fatal Fury series. He originally appeared in the first Fatal Fury (and its 3D remake, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition) as a heel. He appeared in Fatal Fury 2 as Big Bear, a face. He was long considered for The King of Fighters series and he finally made his debut in The King of Fighters XII. Developers wanted to add him as the big burly guy for the cast. The reason they didn't choose his face counterpart was due to the overall insistence to add a giant, evil character. His official nickname is The Out-of-Control Giant. Thus not confirmed is most likely that Raiden is modeled after former pro wrestler Big Van Vader

As Raiden
Raiden is a professional wrestler who made his debut in the SWF. Known for his ruthlessness in the ring, he is very strong and is known to manhandle his opponents. He moved to Southtown to get involved with strong fights and was eventually hired by Geese Howard as one of his henchmen. He entered the King of Fighters tournament created by Geese, but he eventually disassociated himself from his employer due to his personal distaste for being a lacky.

The King of Fighters
His profile story in The King of Fighters XII mentions that his loyal fan is Kain Goldman, who lived in Second Southtown and idolized Raiden since his childhood days. Raiden enters the King of Fighters tournament to mainly relive his glory days of pro wrestling.

In the series' cannon, he hasn't entered a King of Fighters tournament in years. His past history with Geese is summarized when he meets Hwa Jai in Southtown, stating that he left Geese to live a new life back in his home country. Content with his heel and face personalities in the wrestling ring, he is surprised when Kim believes that he is still working for Geese. In spite of the misunderstanding, he convinces Hwa Jai to join since teaming with Kim will boost their reputations as fighters.

As Big Bear
After Geese Howard was defeated and retired, Raiden took off his heel persona and started using another persona, Big Bear. He started fighting as a face and became good friends with Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi. He was invited to the King of Fighters world tournament held by Wolfgang Krauser to show off his new ways.

Personality
Raiden has a fighting spirit and wants to fight strong opponents. During his time as Raiden, he was portrayed as a ruthless man who cared little concerning his opponents' well-being.

As a fan favorite, his face identity Bear is portrayed as a cheerful man who is looking for a good fight.

Powers

 * Fire Breath (as Big Bear only) - As his desperation move, Bear can turn his breath into fire. It is unknown if this is actually a power or if he uses a 'trick' to do this.
 * Power lifting (as Big Bear only) - Bear is able to lift 3 times his own weight over his head.

Fighting Style
Raiden is a heel Pro Wrestler. He uses several pro wrestling moves and also uses heel tactics, like spitting yellow mist in his opponents eyes. In Fatal 2/Special, he abandoned his yellow mist move and used more wrestling techniques, his tackle move is developed through football, like Terry's Power Dunk off basketball. As Big Bear, he uses less dirty tricks.

Music

 * Yuusha Raiden (Raiden the Brave) - Fatal Fury
 * Tarkun to Kitapi- Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special
 * Call From the Earth - Fatal Fury Wild Ambition
 * Tame a Bad Boy - The King of Fighters XIII

Voice Actors

 * Dango Takeda - Fatal 2, Fatal Fury Special, Fatal Fury Special Scitron Video (as Big Bear)
 * John Hulaton - Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, SNK vs Capcom series
 * Daisuke Gōri - The King of Fighters XII
 * Iain Gibb - The King of Fighters XIII
 * Hisao Egawa - animated films (Japanese voice)
 * Robert O. Smith - animated films (English voice)

Game Appearances

 * Fatal Fury
 * Fatal Fury 2 (as Big Bear)
 * Fatal Fury Special (as Big Bear)
 * Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
 * Capcom vs SNK
 * Capcom vs SNK Pro
 * Capcom vs SNK 2
 * The King of Fighters XII
 * The King of Fighters XIII
 * Garou Densetsu The Legend of Wild Wolf - as one of Joe's arm wrestling opponents
 * Garou Densetsu Special - as one of Joe's arm wrestling opponents

Cameo Appearances

 * The King of Fighters '94 - in the Fatal Fury team stage (as Big Bear)
 * The King of Fighters '99 - in the Fatal Fury team's ending (with anyone winning besides Mai); defeated by Terry
 * The King of Fighters '94: Rebout - background appearance
 * The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match - background cameo (as Big Bear)

Anime Appearances

 * Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf
 * Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle (as Big Bear)
 * Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (as Big Bear)