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GENERAL/STORY:
Although Joe's place of origin is Japan, he spent the majority of his time in Thailand, where he trained in Muay Thai. It was through his victories that Joe got the nickname "Hurricane Upper" Joe Higashi.

Joe earned his title as the champion of Muay Thai by beating Hwa Jai in a Muay Thai only tournament. Hwa Jai later joined the King of Fighters tournament in order to exact revenge against Joe but failed, and after admitting his defeat they're good friends and sparring partners. Ever since then, Joe has been defending his title against lesser opponents. Joe then met Andy Bogard and assumed that he is superior to Andy in an exhibition match. Joe was wrong as he was defeated. Realizing that he was much slower than Andy, Joe congratulated Andy for his tenacity. Andy then offered Joe a chance to join him on a quest to Southtown in order to help him and his brother Terry exact revenge against Geese Howard, the man responsible for the death of their father Jeff Bogard. Although Joe understands that he risked expulsion from the Muay Thai Federation for this, Joe accepted Andy's offer and then went to the King of Fighters tournament to support the Bogards unconditionally. While both Andy and Joe were not able to fight Geese, Joe did his job in helping the Bogards out. Terry managed to defeat Billy Kane and later on bested Geese on top of the Geese Building. Joe then returned to Thailand to defend his title.

However, his recess turned out to be short-lived when a German brute named Wolfgang Krauser attacked his archrival Hwa Jai without warning. Joe was forced to enter the King of Fighters tournament to investigate the truth behind Hwa Jai's beating. While Joe tried to prove that he was much stronger than the Bogards, he could not do so and all he could do was provide support for the Bogards again. Joe then helped Terry and Andy defeat Billy, Axel Hawk, and even Laurence Blood. Terry provided the final wallop, prompting Krauser to fight Terry. Terry wasted Krauser with a Power Geyser, leading to Krauser's loss. Krauser tells Terry to leave at once since he has to live with his pride destroyed by an upstart. With Krauser finally losing to Terry, Hwa Jai and Joe ended their rivalry and became friends ever since.

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ORIGIN:
Fatal Fury

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OTHER APPEARANCES:
Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury 3, Fatal Fury Special, Fatal Fury: 1st Contact, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, Fatal Fury Real Bout, Fatal Fury Real Bout 2, Fatal Fury Real Bout Special, King of Fighters 94, King of Fighters 94 Rebout, King of Fighters 95, King of Fighters 96, King of Fighters 97, King of Fighters 98, King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match, King of Fighters 2000, King of Fighters 2001, King of Fighters 2002, King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, King of Fighters 2003, King of Fighters XII, Capcom VS SNK: Pro, Capcom VS SNK 2, Card Fighters Clash, Card Fighters Clash 2, Card Fighters Clash DS

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REVIEW:
At first, he came off like an Adon wannabe, especially with that crooked smile... but once his character developed, it was non-stop mooning action until we were sick of it. And why does he feel the need to stick his hand down his pants when he taunts?!? Who knows... 

All we know is that Joe has problems, and as much as you might hate him, you have to admit that Joe raised the bar for "goof off" characters. On the flipside, he's got a very cool and traditional Muay Thai fighting style and he's fun to use in a lot of games.

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

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