Summary
Most fighting games have a core set of characters that return every sequel because their moves, stories, and even appearances define the franchise. In the case ofStreet Fighter 6and its previous iterations, this roster includes Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li, who have been in the base games sinceSF2. There’s also Akuma, who has always returned as a hidden or downloadable content (DLC) character. This fighter is a favorite of regular players and pros alike, mostly because he’s always a powerful (and sometimes overpowered) pick. He’s making his debut on theStreet Fighter 6character select screen on May 22, and since his gameplay trailer, many are speculating about how he’ll shake up the meta.
While theStreet Fighterfranchise technically started with the first game,Street Fighter 2is what made it popular. This is because it had eight characters with over 30 different moves each, compared to the originalStreet Fighter’sroster of just Ryu and Ken, who had identical moves. When Akuma first appeared inSF2, he appeared to have similar movesets as the original characters. Players soon discovered he had other moves in his arsenal that made him deadlier than the rest. This trend continued throughout everySFsequel, and it looks likeStreet Fighter 6’s Akumawill just be as powerful.
Why Akuma Could be Top Tier in Street Fighter 6 Again
Many players gravitate towards the Shotokan characters like Ryu and Ken because they’re easy to learn. Plus their moves, while simple, are effective and balanced. While Akuma practices the same martial arts as them, he’s much more powerful because of these reasons:
The top-tier fighters in the game right now are Luke and Ken. They’re popular with casual players and have won variousStreet Fighter 6professional tournaments. These characters are based on the Shotokan archetype, in which Akuma is known to be the dominant fighter in the previous games. Therefore, it’s easy to suspect that the Great Demon will fit right into the top tier.
How Akuma Can Compete With Top-Tier Characters in Street Fighter 6
Akuma’sStreet Fighter 6gameplay trailersees him doing his signature Demon Flip (now called “Demon Raid”), air fireballs, and rapid basic moves. This means he’ll likely surpass Ryu once more. However, he might see some tough competition in Luke and Ken. Luke’s projectile travels faster than Akuma’s, but the Great Demon can also jump over them and throw an air fireball to take space. While Ken is the king of rush-down right now, Akuma could keep him at bay using his fast fireballs and Dragon Punch.
Street Fighter 6’s Drive Mechanic Makes Akuma Even More of a Menace
Akuma seems to be a great fit forStreet Fighter 6’s Drive System. It would be scary to see the Great Demon using Drive Rush to extend a Demon Flip combo or advance quickly after his fireball. The gameplay trailer also showed his Adamant Flame, a long-range kick with wall-splat, which makes him even deadlier in the corner. Meanwhile, his Overdrive Demon Raid gives him an air fireball or Hurricane Kick follow-up, which makes it even more difficult to fish him out of the air when jumping over projectiles, a nightmare for Luke and zoners like JP. Akuma seems to be shaping up to dominate the ranked and pro ladders again, which is par for the course for the Great Demon.
Street Fighter 6
WHERE TO PLAY
Play legendary masters and new fan favorites like Ryu, Chun-Li, Luke, Jamie, Kimberly and more in this latest edition with each character featuring striking new redesigns and exhilarating cinematic specials.Dominate the Fighting Ground: Street Fighter 6 offers a highly evolved combat system with three control types - Classic, Modern and Dynamic - allowing you to quickly play to your skill level.The new Real Time Commentary Feature adds all the hype of a competitive match as well as easy-to-understand explanations about your gameplay. The Drive Gauge is a new system to manage your resources. Use it wisely in order to claim victory.Explore the Streets in World Tour: Discover the meaning of strength in World Tour, an immersive, single-player story mode. Take your avatar and explore Metro City and beyond. Meet Masters who will take you under their wing and teach you their style and techniques.Seek Rivals in the Battle Hub: The Battle Hub represents a core mode of Street Fighter 6 where players can gather and communicate, and become stronger together. Use the avatar you create in World Tour to check out cabinets on the Battle Hub floor and play against other players, or head over to the Game Center to enjoy some of Capcom’s classic arcade games.
