Over the weekend, a Twitter user made a simple plea to Katsuhiro Harada, the no-nonsense director best known for his work on the fighting game series Tekken: make Waffle House a Tekken stage. This sparked a tremendous outpouring of support for the idea that saw Haradaās mentions flooded with all sorts of arguments for why the restaurant chain simply must appear in the storied franchise. And yāknow, they may have a point.
In life, you will come across many unique locales. You might travel the world and take in some of the most majestic and historic sights known to man, like the Grand Canyon or the hills of the Japanese countryside. Beauty isnāt the only thing that āmakesā a place though. Other times, itās the utility or function of an area that makes it stand out. As someone who grew up in the city, and particularly in very packed school settings, thereās one kind of place Iāve thought about a bit more than others: the perfect spot to punch someoneās goddamn lights out.
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Now, Iām not necessarily a fighter myself, but I was never too far away from a fight, so this is a thought experiment that hits close to home. For instance, any place thatās too public, like a lunchroom or a park, feels like a double-edged sword. Sure, handing someoneās ass to them in front of an adoring crowd can make for a movie-esque moment, but getting your ass handed to you in front of a crowd can also be the biggest embarrassment of your life. However, going too far in the other direction and fighting some place thatās otherwise quiet and orderly can result in a bigger mess than anyone intended for. Getting whooped and then having to clean up after yourself has got to be an all-time low.
The ultimate answer to this question as Iāve come to understand over the years, the Platonic ideal of a spot to throw down, is no practical place that Iāve been to. No, itās Waffle House, a chain of Southern comfort food restaurants that have the most outrageous reputation for the fights that take place there, and the staff who often fight back if they get dragged into it. I swear, the amount of videos Iāve seen of straight-up brawls at Waffle House almost suggests that the locals have set it aside as a predetermined arena. Imagine if your local McDonaldās was also home to your neighborhoodās fight club. The emergence of these videos has turned Waffle House into the butt of a joke, and now the fighting game community would like to see it immortalized, which brings us to the past few days.
Which brings us to the simple request a Twitter user made to Katsuhiro Harada this weekend: let us see Waffle House immortalized as a location in Tekken
Ok, I will only ask once about this request.
Why do some communities send me requests for "Waffle House"?Please be sure to explain the basis for the request, including the original story, history and background.
I look forward to an explanation from someone who knows more. https://t.co/w8ozUnJ1mY
ā Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) March 30, 2024
The tweet was accompanied by a mocked-up visual of a Waffle House at night and an assortment of stages under it, as if to suggest how it might look in the Tekken 8 stage selection screen. Harada, who is often inundated with questions about the series onlineāincluding but not limited to a recent campaign to get Final Fantasy 7ās Tifa Lockheart into Tekken 8āresponded by essentially asking for Waffle Houseās lore. Harada, who definitely doesnāt know about the uniquely American meme that is squaring up at a Waffle House, went as far as saying, āPlease be sure to explain the basis for the request, including the original story, history and background,ā since heās seemingly been asked about this a number of times. The internet then collectively decided it needed to do everything in its power to make this come true.
This is where we Americans hold our version of The King of The Iron Fist Tournament
ā Nicky Caruso (@RealHKsmash) March 30, 2024
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1774026182507278702
Waffle House is a PVP-enabled restaurant.
ā BackSlash\ (@BackSlash___) March 30, 2024
hell naw if the waffle house employee Perfect Parries your projectile pack it up lmfao pic.twitter.com/1m7Y30DiJ1
ā kev (@KevChelios) December 28, 2022
ā Woolie Versus (@WoolieWoolz) December 22, 2023
Haradaās mentions were awash the whole weekend with explanations, memes, and links to videos of Waffle House fights. Among the best of them were a number of references to a video where a Waffle House customer flings a chair at a clearly exasperated employee who then whips out the coldest one-handed block Iāve ever seen and deflects the projectile. Though I feel for the staff, which doesnāt deserve the abuse often (literally) flung their way, I also canāt deny what a baffling image it is, making Waffle House a perfect setting for a series as outlandish as Tekken
For what itās worth, Harada seems to agree. He eventually followed up on his initial tweet and expressed interest in making this happen, but noted that getting the rights to Waffle House might prove to be a pain. Though Waffle House employees can roll with metaphorical and literal punches, something tells me corporate is less likely to be understanding of their brand image being associated with violence. The solution, per some suggestions, could be to just parody Waffle House and make the stage a sort of inside joke to everyone who lobbied for it.
Regardless of how it happens, I now desperately need some kind of Waffle House reference in a fighting game. Whether itās a stage or some kind of Waffle House employee as an assist move, Americaās greatest arena deserves the recognition.
