HwaJaiWinXIII.png (299832 bytes)
Hwa Jai

BIO:

Hwa Jai grew up in the jungle and learned Muay Thai with the aim to become the world champion. However, he was always defeated by the young and reckless Joe Higashi. Hwa Jai started taking special drugs to improve his fighting, and soon went to Southtown where his illegal methods wouldn't matter. He entered the King of Fighters tournament to beat Joe, but failed again. However, he forgot his rivalry with Joe and now helps him as a sparring partner.

After being defeated by Joe in 1992's KOF, he and Joe eventually became friends. Now, he realizes that life isn't about winning and he and Joe support each other all the time. His KOF counterpart is rougher than his Fatal Fury counterpart, talking in a more brutal and intimidating manner. Even though he claims to have changed, he is rather cocky of his skills and is ready to start a fight at any time. His friendship with Joe has also been abandoned, thinking that he still needs to defeat his rival in a match.
 
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ORIGIN:
Fatal Fury

 
            
 

OTHER APPEARANCES:
The King of Fighters XIII

 
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Page Updated:  July 25th, 2023

When he debuted, Hwa Jai was a pretty typical/traditional Muay Thai fighter. SNK pretty much forgot all about him until he reappeared in KOF XIII... nearly 20 years after his original debut. 20 YEARS!!!! Damn, I feel old. ^o^ Hwa Jai's return in KOF XIII could be the most epic fighting game character comeback off all time!!! ...Or just a clever way to recycle that awesome KOF XII Joe Higashi sprite. XD lol. Either way, it was a good decision to bring him back.

So apparently, Hwa Jai took drugs and thought it improved his fighting abilities?!? 0_0 Tisk tisk... I'd expect more from a Muay Thai fighter! Well, that sure didn't work out now did it... it took him 20 damn years to clean up his act. See kids, winners really don't use drugs! lol. Jumping from Fatal Fury to King of Fighters XIII is quite an upgrade indeed. Hwa Jai's updated appearance and moveset in KOF XIII is obviously a huge improvement for the design. The fact that they incorporated his "special drug" in actual gameplay is pretty clever. Even so, his moveset isn't that much different from Joe Higashi's at heart. He's still kinda simply designed overall... but he has a creepy personality for sure.  

Fighting  Style  /  Moveset
Personality  /  Charisma
Outfit(s)  /  Appearance
Effectiveness  in  series
Overall Score