Gato

Gato in The King of Fighters XI. Illustration by Hiroaki

Profile

Full name

Gato (real name unknown)

Birthdate

May 27; 26 years old

Birthplace

Unknown, possibly Japan

Height

180 cm (5'11")

Weight

82 kg (181 lbs)

Blood type

A

Family/Relatives

Father (missing), mother (deceased), Hotaru Futaba (probable sister)

Likes

Mother's necklace, Anything grand, dynamite, beautiful

Dislikes

Anyone who humbles himself

Hobbies

East Asian calligraphy

Favorite food

Tomyankun

Forte in sports

Swimming

Special skill

He can hold his breath underwater for 10 minutes

Most unpleasant

Paying attention

Favorite music

Homey

Fighting style

External Kung Fu/Quan Fa (bājíquán, xinyiliuhequan, etc)

Gato (牙刀, Gatō) is a character from Garou: Mark of the Wolves. He is visually based on Retsu Kaioh from the Baki the Grappler manga series. Since Retsu is voiced by Kunihiko Yasui, who is known to SNK fans as the voice for Iori Yagami, the developers decided to hire a different voice actor who could mimic the same menacing tone for Gato. SNK then decided that Gato would be voiced by Kōji Ishii, similarly to Ryuji Yamazaki.

Story

Fatal Fury

Gato is a martial artist who trained with his father constantly in his youth. However, when his father mysteriously killed his mother, he decided to abandon everything from his former life in order to get revenge. In his Mark of the Wolves ending, a stranger -believed to be his father- saves Kain R. Heinlein from the crumbling mansion. Gato is blinded by the stranger before he can act, and can do nothing while the stranger mocks him. He apparently loses his sight after the attack.

The King of Fighters

The King of Fighters 2003 has Geese Howard summon and coerce him to form a team with Geese's other agents for the tournament, Billy Kane and Ryuji Yamazaki. Gato does so to prevent Hotaru from being harmed. He loathes his teammates and immediately ditches them in their ending.

He enters the KOF XI tournament because B. Jenet said that she had information regarding the whereabouts of his father. He also immediately leaves them, though presumably on somewhat friendlier terms (he declines their invitation to celebrate).

Personality

Gato is ruthless and very serious; he grunts a lot. He cruelly looks down on others and rarely shows respect for them. Even so, he softens slightly before Hotaru's presence, a possible hint that she is indeed his younger sister.

Powers

Sense - Gato can sense the presence of people nearby.
Energy Explosion - Gato can create small explosions of energy.
Energy Attacks - Gato can infuse his feet with energy.

Skills

Acrobatics - Gato is very proficient in acrobatics.
Swimming - Probably due to his training, Gato can swim and even hold his breath underwater for an extended period of time.

Fighting Style

Gato uses an external Chinese martial art which heavily involves powerful, explosive strikes. He also knows styles like Bajiquan, Xinyiliuhequan and others. The core of his techniques involve palm-based attacks that have versatile usage, especially via his standing C, Shinga (Quake Fang), Kouga (Pit Fang), Shunga (Blink Fang; KOF only), Zero Kiba (Zero Fang) and Tenryuu Retsuga (Heavenly Dragon Violent Fang). He also has a variation on the Senshippo used by both Tung Fu Rue and Sie Kensou, known as the Totsuga (Thrust Fang).

Gameplay-wise, Gato is a type of "flying-variable" character, with his unique Fuuga (Wind Fang) sending him into the air for various types of followups, with his KOF-exclusive Ura Fuuga (Reverse Wind Fang) adding to it. In Garou, Gato was able to cancel his said Fuuga, but quickly inputting his Kouga followup as fast as possible with strict timing, allowing him to feint and build meter at the same time.

While a majority of his attacks have a "fang"-naming motif, one of his techniques is the Mouko Kohazan (Fierce Tiger Stiff Mountain-Climb), a common technique in Chinese martial arts and used in other video games with such techniques portrayed. This technique, along with his aforementioned Tenryuu Retsuga made Gato stand out due to both moves being able to decrease his opponent's guard gauge by a significant amount if blocked, allowing Gato to make use of punishing guard pressure to make up for both of these taxing moves being guarded against.

Coincidentally, he shares a technique written with the characters that literally translate to "Dragon Fang" with Robert Garcia, though both are rendered in romaji differently; Robert's version is "Ryuuga", while Gato's version is "Tatsu Kiba" and are both completely different techniques (both are even anti-air-based moves).