One of Street Fighter 6's newest characters has an attack that references 300's iconic 'This is Sparta!' scene
Back in 2006, Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder released a film called 300 that was based off of the comic book series by the same name created by legendary artist and writer, Frank Miller. Said movie featured a scene in it (and one line in particular) that went on to become iconic, with even those who haven't seen the movie likely knowing the "This is Sparta!" quote and kick very well.
A whole 16 years later, Capcom has introduced us to a handful of newcomers that are set to be playable in their upcoming 2023 fighting game, Street Fighter 6, and one of these fresh fighters has what definitely appears to be a reference to 300's most famous scene.
During The Game Awards 2022 last week, Capcom unveiled their latest major trailer for Street Fighter 6. This new showcase revealed four additional fighters joining the playable roster: legacy fighter Dee Jay of Street Fighter 2 fame, as well as brand new characters JP, Manon, and Marisa.
Marisa is our focus here as this towering combatant fights with massive punches and kicks that put a big hurt on her foes. As we officially know now, Marisa is an up-and-coming jewelry designer from Italy who has ancient Greek warriors as ancestors.
This new world warrior really takes the gladiator role to heart as she can be seen tussling with giant lions in her portion of the trailer, fights on her unique stage that is heavily inspired by the Roman Colosseum, and even has a hairstyle that is shaped around her head like a Spartan's helmet — after taking off an actual Spartan helmet and putting it on the floor before battle.
Needless to say, a lot of the inspiration behind designing Marisa came from ancient Greek culture and Spartan warriors. Naturally, a reference to one of the most iconic scenes in film involving Sparta is entirely justified here and almost expected.
In the trailer, we see Marisa perform a combo using an Overdrive special move that ends with a big hammer fist that bounces the opponent off the ground. To continue the combo, Marisa uses the Overdrive version of what we now know is a special move called "Quadriga," which is a large, hard-hitting forward kick that sends Marisa's foe flying back. Sound familiar?
The trailer goes on to show the normal version of this attack used to close out the combo after the OD version before it caused a wall bounce.
Now, those of us in the fighting game community initially saw Marisa's Quadriga special move and immediately tied it to Street Fighter 3 boss Gill's Quarrel Kick and Urien's Choral Kick — both of which are forward moving normals and large front kicks that have a very similar animation to what Marisa does. That comparison is definitely on point, but it seems that Capcom themselves had 300 in mind for this attack as well.
In the PlayStation Blog post detailing the new Street Fighter 6 reveals, Capcom Senior Manager Andy Wong made a direct reference to 300's legendary quote and kick. "Use Quadriga, a powerful front kick to show opponents that 'This. Is. Marisa!'" the PS Blog reads.
The 300 scene features Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, king of Sparta and leader of the 300 Spartan warriors. Leonidas ends up in an unpleasant interaction with a messenger from the Persian empire, who threatens the people of Sparta and tells Leonidas to watch his next words carefully as they may be his last.
After backing the messenger up against the edge of a massive pit, Leonidas finds the exact words he wants to say in this situation. He yells "This. Is. Sparta!" and hits the messenger with a massive forward kick that sends them hurtling down into the pit.
Left: King Leonidas in 300 (2006) / Right: Marisa Street Fighter 6 (2022)
Marisa is shaping up to be Street Fighter 6's powerhouse fighter, with a stature that towers over everyone else and hits that appear harder than any we've ever seen in the Street Fighter franchise. Some of her attacks are so strong, in fact, that they can break through Drive Impact — a universal mechanic in Street Fighter 6 that has two hits of armor and had no "break" counters before Marisa was revealed.
Those hoping to get their hands on Street Fighter 6 won't have to wait for its June 2, 2023 release date. Tomorrow, December 16, Capcom will be making live the game's second closed beta test, and those fortunate enough to be selected for it can look forward to a weekend full of Street Fighter 6 action.
