Akuma Comes to Street Fighter X Tekken in a Big Way

It ain't hard to tell. I excel, then prevail. It also ain't hard to tell that I have fallen out of love with Capcom recently, mostly due to their business practices rather than the games they develop and publish. After having told myself I would swear off any purchases of new Capcom games in 2012 (used games are fair play), they had to go and release this Street Fighter X Tekken trailer - in which Akuma goes bat-shit. Also M. Bison, Ogre, etc, etc.

Seriously, this finishing move takes all of Akuma's prior super moves and drops a hot load on them. I liked Street Fighter X Tekken, but I didn't want to buy it new out of principle. But damn, this just done changed my mind. Good job Capcom. I will buy even though you'll release Hyper Super Street Fighter X Tekken Arcade Edition before 2013 rolls around.

Let's see Tokido pull this one off at the next EVO. 

Street Fighter x Tekken Gets Fresh out of TGS

Fresh for Tokyo Game Show '11, Capcom has pushed out a new trailer for Street Fighter x Tekken, revealing some new characters and gameplay nuances. Rolento? Fuck yes, I've been begging for this guy in a Street Fighter game, as he was one of my favorites in Street Fighter Alpha 2, also known as the greatest Street Fighter game ever made. Also confirmed are Heihachi, Zangief, Rufus, and some chick named Lili. Lili? Beats the hell out of me. Capcom has also taken the liberty of adding two more joke characters in the form of Toro and Kuro, stick figure cats with huge heads created by Sony Computer Entertainment (PS3 and Vita exclusive). If your game features a big brown bear that farts in a fighter's face - very mature - why not add a few fighting felines?

In addition to new characters, the beans have been spilled on more of the game's mechanics. Most notable is Pandora, a colorful space cube that has the world warriors all purple and bothered. Is this Street Fighter x Tekken's attempt at story? Aw, how cute. In the vein of Marvel vs. Capcom 3's X-Factor, Pandora appears to gives its user a huge boost in power, in exchange for sacrificing their partner's entire life. It sounds like an even trade, but I'm sure it ain't. Ten bucks says Pandora starts way overpowered, with a post-release patch necessary to tune it down. Typical Capcom. 

Some other neat additions are 4-player tag battles, where each player controls one character. This practice should be the norm in tag battle games now, so I'm glad Capcom is adopting the idea. Also, the absolutely insane 4-player simultaneous battle, which is what it sounds like. Fun but head-spinningly confusing. You can practice your tag combos in online training mode, with a buddy across the country, and configure to automatically join an online battle against two others with your partner in tow.

Street Fighter x Tekken is going to be a solid game, there's no doubt about it. The real question is, will Super Street Fighter x Tekken cost $60 when it releases in early 2013?

Update: Joystiq has corraled some info from Capcom's Seth "S-kill" Killian, and it turns out Pandora has stipulations. It can only be activated when one of your characters has less than 25% health, and immediately kills that character. The surviving tag partner will have an unlimited EX meter for 8 seconds, after which that character will also die. Now that's a last stand.

Crossing Up with Street Fighter X Tekken

Street Fighter x Tekken has had playable builds floating around, which I've never been able to get my hands on. I finally changed that, and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with the game thus far. The art style, while reminiscent of Street Fighter 4, is done differently enough to look fresh. The character models are beautiful, as are their every last animation.

Tagging mid-combo and juggling are a very strong focus of the gameplay, akin to Mortal Kombat's tag system more than Marvel vs. Capcom's. From what I was able to deduce, pressing one of the right shoulder buttons (I played on a PS3 build) during a combo would immediately launch your enemy into the air and switch out to your second character, where you're able to put a nice bit of punishment on your airborne adversary. In the vein of the numbered Street Fighter games, Street Fighter x Tekken felt to be more about controlling pace, timing, and execution, especially in comparison to it's Versus series brethren.

The Tekken characters felt a little awkward in the Street Fighter universe, as it takes some time to readjust to universal hadokens and shoryukens as opposed to long strings of attacks. My Tekken tactic of mashing the kicks did little to give an advantage as Hwoarang. Regardless, it was great fun latching on and distributing flawlessly rendered ass-whoopings with my favorite characters from both worlds.

Street Fighter x Tekken, Oil Versus Water

Capcom's Captivate event has also shed a whole lot of light on the latest crossover game, Street Fighter x Tekken. Producer Yoshinori Ono puts it best; "This is not a game about people getting along; this is a game about oil and water trying to mix, this is a game about people kicking each other's asses." And that dynamic is clearly visible, as the Street Fighter x Tekken cinematic trailer even has the appearance of Tekken's oil against Street Fighter's water. 

I could sit here and tell you how the gameplay has changed. How, while it may look like Street Fighter IV, it plays nothing like it. How Capcom characters retain their methods of play -- with certain tweaks, such as charged special moves -- and Tekken characters retain their combo-centric methods. How a seasoned Tekken player, who is accustomed to playing with four buttons, can completely ignore the fierce and roundhouse attacks and still have a fulfilling Tekken experience. I could tell you all that, but why bother? Take a look at batshit videos out of Captivate 2011, and see for yourself just how crazy Street Fighter x Tekken can, and hopefully will be. 

One note though, I really hope they character selection for team Tekken is stepped up. Bob? Come on. Why not throw Rufus in there too? Give me some Raven, baby.

Some Things Should Not Mix

Written by contributing author Pedi Talai

As a short, dorky, buck-toothed 9 year old, I would play video games alone on most days. I didn't have many friends, the combination of little league baseball and video games were my modern day beer and masturbation. Video games were my escape from reality. A reality where getting picked on and staying up all night from reading Goosebumps was the norm. My game of choice was Tekken, my second game of choice was Street Fighter 2. The games I enjoyed the most were each other’s enemies. Usually you liked one or the other, but as a freak of nature, I was obsessed with both. They each stood for something, each different in their own way.

Let me make this clear, Tekken and Street Fighter were enemies. They were rivals, competing for a place in gamers’ hearts, begging to be fed quarters at the local arcade. Their cabinets were always next to each other, longing for attention and change like the local crack head. The people that played one typically stayed away from the other. I enjoyed this rivalry, maybe it was because I was a spoiled brat that owned both. Or maybe, because in a weird sadistic way, I was happy they didn't like each other. Regardless, it was what it was. It was the same thing as Dodgers vs. Giants, or Red Sox vs Yankees. Society accepted and thrived off of their hatred. They almost needed to hate each other, as they were competing in the same genre, for the same demographic.

Then something strange happened. That's putting it lightly, something anarchic. To me it was the equivalent of Ralph Nader and Dick Cheney taking turns giving each other piggy back rides and sharing a single Push Pop. It was like the pretentious hipster in high school trying out for quarterback and dating a cheerleader. What could be this twisted, you ask? The answer is hard to fathom, to speak, even to type; Tekken and Street Fighter are going to be in the same game. Why did this happen? How could this be? It's called Street Fighter X Tekken? When I found out, I did what any sane human would do; drank a bottle of whiskey, shaved my chest, and passed out. The next morning I woke up and stared thoughtfully out my window, wondering if it was just a dream. I turned on my computer and Google searched Tekken X Street Fighter. It was not a dream, this was really happening. These enemies were taking the easy way out. It was like being a virgin and buying a hooker to own up to the brutal truth that you probably weren't going to have sex any time soon. For God’s sake, at least keep trying. 


Over my right shoulder, an angel speaks to me. She calms my nerves, and tells me this may actually be okay. She has big, pierced breasts full of Kool-Aid and Reeses Pieces. "Everything is going to be perfect. You can now combine your favorite characters from each game, and do what you’ve secretly always wanted to do. You can even tag out and swap characters with more of your favorite characters from each series. You don't need to play any other fighting game again, this is it big boy. Namco is even making another game with the same theme, called Tekken X Street Fighter, so you can use Street Fighter characters in the Tekken engine! Be happy, this is going to be great!"

Immediately after she concluded, the Devil on my left shoulder retorted. "This is ridiculously stupid. The World Warriors fighting the Kings of the Iron Fist? Yoshimitsu Isn’t supposed to fight Ken. You mean they’re making Street Fighter X Tekken, AND Tekken X Street Fighter? Why are there two different games? If they’re going to try and pull off this stupid idea, why can't they just package it in two discs? One disc you use the Tekken engine, and the other, Street Fighter engine. This is a poor excuse to make money and to try and bring the world together. There will never be world peace, so quit wasting our time by acting like there will be!"

I don't know how to feel anymore. If I buy these games will I lose respect for myself? What if I actually enjoy these games? I don't have answers for these questions and needless to say, I am confused.

Pedi's first time flipping someone off was when his mother wouldn't buy him Street Fighter 2. Three years later he staged a burglary on his own house, fooling his parents into believing their television and Super Nintendo were stolen. Pedi set up the missing equipment in his closet, where he finally had his very own gaming haven. 

Street Fighter X Tekken; Capcom Stepping Their Game Up

Capcom is really putting in work lately. The clever way they're handing the Dead Rising 2 demo, the frantic, combo driven pace of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the head-spinning cross-series gameplay of Mega Man Universe, and the downloadable, online play enabled version of Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Capcom is doing big things! 

Biggest of all may be the Capcom and Namco powered fighter, Street Fighter X Tekken. Many rumors were building toward this, but now we have solid confirmation from Capcom themselves. We've been told that Street Fighter X Tekken will play and look similar to SFIV, and while Capcom works on that title, Namco will be working on the separate title of Tekken X Street Fighter, which will play like the Tekken series. The two developers will NOT work with each other for these titles. I'm sensing there's a bit of a friendly rivalry to see who will make the better game. Which sounds more appealing, the fireballs and over-the-top ultra moves of Street Fighter, or the grounded, combo-heavy realism of Tekken? 

So far we've only seen the respective series' poster boys, Ryu and Kazuya, go at it in the Street Fighter X Tekken engine. And interestingly enough, there seems to be some sort of tag or assist mechanic, with Ryu calling on Chun Li during his super combo, and Kazuya summoning Nina. We're still in the dark about many of the game's details, understandably so, since Capcom states Street Fighter X Tekken is still a good two years from release. Ano who knows when we'll get any solid details or media on Tekken X Street Fighter. In the meantime, enjoy the two videos below; a CG trailer done in SFIV's brush stroke art style, and shaky-cam footage of Ryu vs. Kazuya. Watch 'em! Also here are some dope stills from Capcom-Unity.

Update on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 8:30AM by Ernie

Figures a day after I post a story about how Capcom is doing their thing and other developers need to take notice, Kotaku reports Capcom's profits fell nearly 91% in the last quarter.