Nang Pooh (南風, lit. South Wind), formerly romanized Nam Pooh by fans, is a character introduced in Strider (2014) as a member of the "Four Winds", taking the spot and traits of the original third member, Sai Pooh.
Nang Pooh is the youngest sister[1] in the bounty hunter and assassin trio known as the "Four Winds". She acts as the team's "refreshener"[1], recognized from her sisters by her blue clothes and unique hairstyle, two pigtails with large circular decorations. The most diligent and driven member of the team, she's an expert of qiangshu/soujutsu (spear techniques) and wields a crescent spear known as a "Houtengeki" (方天戟, lit. Evened Heaven Halberd) to fight at mid range.
Nang Pooh is a diligent person, having the strongest will and determination of the three sisters and serving as the team's stern foundation[4]. As the "refreshener", she tasks herself with keeping her hot-headed sisters on check[1]. She tends to overwork herself trying to appear strong at all times, and makes her best effort to keep up with her older sisters[1]. As a result of this, she comes off as the most controlled and straightforward when addressing enemies, noting a target's worthiness while still taunting them with their eventual demise.
Story[]
Strider (2014)[]
Nang Pooh
Nang Pooh is a member of the Winds, a martial arts trio trained by the mysterious and powerful Xi Wang Mu. Loyal to a fault, they serve Grandmaster Meio as his personal bounty hunters and assassin unit. After Hiryu infiltrated Kazakh City, they pursued him across the city complex.[3]
Following Pei Pooh's defeat, Nang Pooh enters into scene, awaiting for Hiryu at the end of Kazakh City's Residential District. She taunts Hiryu through the city's broadcast system as he battles the city troopers. She admits Hiryu shows "promise" after he survived the trap in the Ministry of Propaganda, but still continues taunting him as he draws closer, saying (among other stuff) that he'll fail like the others before him. Just as Hiryu is about to leave the district, Nang Pooh drops in front of him and blocks his way, ready to finish him. Unable to best Hiryu alone, Pei Pooh makes a sudden appearance and joins her sister in battle. But not even their combined might is enough and the two are forced to retreat, Nang Pooh claiming the Winds "will heal her" and she will return.
Finally, Nang Pooh and her two sisters await together for Hiryu in the Industry area. At first watching as Tong Pooh takes on him alone, she later joins her sister in battle, and eventually all three sisters fight together to bring Hiryu down. In the end, however, Hiryu's might proves superior and all three are defeated.
Some time later, Xi Wang Mu confronts Hiryu while claiming revenge over her students' demise, implying the three eventually died at some point afterwards.
Skills and Abilities[]
Nang Pooh's signature "Whirlwind" attack
While their true strength is found in their combined team attacks, each sister is an expert martial artist in their own right. Nang Pooh exhibits superior talent for both offense and defense[1], using her Houtengeki's length to strike at mid-range or to keep Hiryu at bay by creating strong winds with it. She shares the same physical prowess of her sisters, with the ability to generate powerful plasma attacks and move at incredible speed across the battlefield.
When the three sisters fight as a team, she carries the position of "defender", protecting her two sisters and keeping enemies away with the strong winds she creates with her weapon.[1]
Attacks[]
Note: This list her individual moves. For attacks when the sisters are together, see the Kuniang article.
- Spear Thrust: Nang Pooh thrust her spear forward at Hiryu's direction for a quick strike. She can also aim upwards if Hiryu is in the middle of jumping.
- Whirlwind: Her signature technique, Nang Pooh generates potent gushes of wind by spinning Houtengeki rapidly. These winds keep Hiryu at bay and prevent him from moving freely to avoid her sister's attacks.
- Dive Kick: Nang Pooh jumps upwards and descends at an angle with a powerful, plasma-engulfed attack. Usually all three sisters use this technique when together to diminish Hiryu's moving space. Originally Sai Pooh's signature technique.
- Blade Block: By shielding herself with her weapon, Nang Pooh can defend from Hiryu's attacks for a short time. This defense can be broken by a charged slash.
- Backflip: A dodge maneuver. Nang Pooh does a backwards backflip to move away from Hiryu.
- Spin Dodge: A dodge maneuver used to move around Hiryu. Nang Pooh moves while spinning in place.
Design Notes[]
- Main article: Kuniang#Design Notes
Nang Pooh first appeared in the crossover game Namco x Capcom, thought as an entirely different character. In this game, "Nang Pooh" is introduced as an army of grey-clothed clones of Tong Pooh under her service. The design/color choice is a nod to the optional Kuniang boss fight in the original game's final stage, where the Kuniang wore grey and black instead of their colored suits.
In the 2014 game, Nang Pooh assumed the position and traits of Sai Pooh (西風, lit. West Wind), the original youngest sister. This change is presumed to have been done in order to keep the "4 cardinal winds" theme naming, since the name of the sisters' master and new character Xi Wang Mu translates to "Queen Mother of the West", making Sai Pooh or "West Wind" redundant.
It should be noted that her 3D model has longer side-locks than her artwork and portrait.
"Houtengeki" is the Japanese on'yomi naming of an ancient Chinese halberd known as the Fāngtiānjǐ, with another variation of it being the Fāngtiān Huàjǐ/Houten Gageki (lit. Evened Heaven Stroking Halberd) which is often associated as the weapon used by the historical Chinese warlord Lü Bu.
Other Appearances[]
Game Appearances[]
As explained above, Nang Pooh appears as an army of Tong Pooh clones, wearing gray vests and black pants. As grunt enemies, they have no lines or storyline importance, serving as simple cannon fodder. They use the same techniques as Tong Pooh as well.
Dragon's Dogma Quest
As part of a limited cross-promotion with the Vita port of this Dragon's Dogma spin-off, Nang Pooh appears as a character card alongside her sisters and Hiryu, sporting an unique job class.
TEPPEN
Nang Pooh and the rest of the Four Winds debuted as unit cards in the 14th expansion for TEPPEN, "Defying the Light", where they serve the Goddess Myria from Breath of Fire III as brainwashed followers. The three sisters also appear together in an Action Card called "The Winds".
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Achievement for defeating Nang Pooh is titled "Another Soulless Copy", which not only is the introduction line used by Zero in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 when in a mirror battle, but may also be a stealth nod to Nang Pooh's origin as a clone of Tong Pooh.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Capcom (February 2014, multi). Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Character Intel #09: Nang Pooh
- ↑ Capcom (October 2006, PlayStation). Gamebook: Strider Hiryu (Japanese). Pg. 42. ISBN 4-86233-076-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Capcom (2013). "Character: Ton Pooh Three Sisters". Capcom's official Strider site (Japanese). Retrieved from archive.org. Accessed November 11, 2021.
- ↑ Capcom (February 2014, multi). Strider (English). Character Intel #09: Nang Pooh - The South Wind