Nine Video Game Characters That Are Actually Bruce Lee

Actor, philosopher, fitness and nutrition expert, and martial arts master, Bruce Lee changed the world. Without Bruce Lee, there would be no mixed martial arts. No Jackie Chan. No Chuck Norris. No “Kill Bill.” And certainly the entire video game industry would not be the same without the life of Bruce Lee as inspiration.

November 27th is Bruce Lee’s birthday. To honor the man who changed the world with his Jeet Kune Do, we’ve compiled this list of video game characters who are simply Bruce Lee but with a different name. Yes, there have been video games starring Bruce Lee, but naming them wouldn’t be half as fun. There are certainly more than the few we’ve named here, but we thought you’d enjoy this compilation nevertheless. Without further ado, here are Nine Video Game Characters That Are Actually Bruce Lee.

Fei Long – Street Fighter Series

Fei Long is quite possibly the thinnest veil of Bruce Lee that has ever existed. Even their names are similar. Bruce Lee’s name translates to “Little Dragon” while Fei Long’s name translates to “Flying Dragon.” Fei Long first entered into the Street Fighter tournaments in 1993 with Street Fighter II. Capcom openly admits that he is a pastiche of the real life Bruce Lee. Everything from his appearance, his fighting style that can be changed on the fly, his back story as an action film star and a master of his own brand of Kung Fu, down to Fei Long’s war cries have been modeled after Bruce Lee himself.

Check out that pose at :57!

— — — — —

Li Long – Soulcalibur Series

Li Long is another Bruce Lee in disguise. Though the similarities are not immediately present because of their physical differences, rest assured that Li Long IS Bruce Lee. The similarities lie in their similar choice of weapon.
Li Long first appeared in Soul Edge and later appeared in Soulcalibur III. Being the odd man out, Li Long did not carry any bladed type of wapon. Instead, Li Long’s choice of weapons is the nunchaku as was Bruce Lee’s. Players will also take notice that Li Long is the most vocal of all the warriors in the Soulcalibur series. His “woops!” and “wa-taaahs!” are incredibly similar to Bruce Lee’s. Perhaps the dead giveaway that Li Long IS Bruce Lee is when Li Long is knocked on his back, he can still roll and fight with his nunchaku similar to Bruce Lee in the film “Fist of Fury.”

The grueling battle ends with a victory of Li Long.

— — — — —

Liu Kang – Mortal Kombat Series

Another thinly disguised Bruce Lee is the legendary Liu Kang from the Mortal Kombat series. Protector of the earth and Shaolin Monk, Liu Kang’s fighting style and war cries also mimic Bruce Lee’s to a near mirror image. Similar to Fei Long, players can change Liu Kang’s fighting style, a philosophy of Bruce Lee’s. One of Liu Kang’s fighting stances is actually called Jun Fan, which is Bruce Lee’s birth name. Though Liu Kang’s appearance has changed over the years, in his original design, Liu Kang was shirtless and sported short Bruce Lee hair.

Liu Kang wins. Fatality.

— — — — —

That Character From Rag Doll Kung Fu

Despite the fact the characters in Rag Doll Kung Fu are entirely nameless, you all know exactly which character “that” character is. He’s Bruce Lee, damnit. And as a matter of fact, many of the supporting fighters are ripped right from “Enter the Dragon” as well. Sure, you can mix and match his body parts, but there’s really no denying it. Bruce Lee lives on (in a strange, sick, and somehow awesome way) inside the ragdoll-like kung-fu characters from Rag Doll Kung Fu.

The Bruce Lee look-alike is even sporting some sweet Bruce sunglasses in this trailer!

— — — — —

Hitmonlee – Pokémon Series

Coming in dead last for the Bruce Lee look-alike contest, is Hitmonlee. He’s a 4’11”, human-ish shaped, male-only fighting-style pokémon that evolves from Tyrogue. His name is broken down to by the three syllables. “Hit” meaning he’s a fighting pokémon. “Mon” is an abbreviation for “monster.” “Lee” to honor Bruce Lee. Dubious? Hitmonlee’s brother pokémon is Hitmonchan; an allusion to Jackie Chan.

Skip to 1:45 and you’ll see the Sucker Punch.

— — — — —

Kim Dragon – World Heroes Series

Kim Dragon from World Heroes is a near picture perfect perfect representation of Bruce Lee in pixel form. Kim Dragon is a famous martial artist from action films. Unlike Bruce Lee, however, Kim Dragon supposedly hails from South Korea instead of China. Humorously, you’ll sometimes hear people referring to Kim Dragon as a Fei Long ripoff.

Silly non-Bruce Lee fans! They say the cutest things!

World Heroes 2 (The REAL Bruce Lee would never go down to a chump like that.)

— — — — —

Jann Lee – Dead or Alive Series

We have another fighter with the name “Lee” and known as “the dragon” in our list! Yay!

Jann Lee from the Dead or Alive series doesn’t have much for back story aside from striving to be the best fighter in the world, a similar goal to Bruce Lee. Jann is mortal enemies with Ryu Hyabusa, and while he fights shirtless in trackpants *cough cough bruceleedidthattoo cough cough*, he wails in Bruce Lee-bird-like fashion. Again, the visual similarities are astounding. If you just un-anime and push down Jann’s hair and slap on a sweet pair of sunglasses, you have yourself a computerized Bruce Lee doppelganger.

Jan Lee rockin’ the yellow tracksuit!

— — — — —

Marshall and Forest Law – Tekken Series

Before everyone gets all hopping mad, this entry counts as two since there are two fighters in here. It’s a father and son team, and they’re both Bruce Lee.

Marshall Law, the father, is a Chinese-American fighter whose fighting style according to Tekken lore is actually Jeet Kune Do, the form of martial arts that Bruce Lee created. Hats off to Tekken for not lazily calling it Kung Fu. Marshall’s outfit in Tekken 2 even resembles the Bruce Lee character’s outfit from “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.” His appearance in the original Tekken is similar to Bruce’s in “Fist of Fury.”

Forest Law is basically the same character as his father and therefore also Bruce Lee. Still need more proof? Forest Law has a yellow jumpsuit similar to the one Bruce Lee made famous… and subsequently later everyone thought that Uma Thurman made it cool in “Kill Bill Vol. 1”

Uhm…. Marshall Law… also rockin the yellow tracksuit!