Nearly a year after its release, Akuma finally kicks his way into Street Fighter 6. His announcement shouldn’t be a surprise because he was one of many fighters announced to join its ever-growing cast. The yin to Ryu’s Yang, Akuma offers a lot to Street Fighter 6 that both newcomers and veteran franchise players can enjoy. With over 18 fighters to play, Akuma stands out from the roster in various ways.
As long-time fans of the franchise may know, Akuma is one of many legacy characters. He first made his debut in 1994 in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. As the younger brother of Gouken, the master of Ryu and Ken, Akuma’s move sets mirror many of what both fighters can do. However, one notable difference between Akuma and the others is that many of his sets have a dark aura around them, symbolizing the darker path he has taken.
In true Street Fighter Fashion, Akuma excels at close and, at times, mid-range combat. What’s unique about him is his ability to travel without being touched. This can be used in various ways, including closing the gap between you and another fighter who may be using ranged attacks or simply confusing them mid-fight. But if you want, you can also shoot Ki Blasts similar to Ryu’s and Ken’s whenever you want while on the ground.
But if you prefer to jump your way toward your opponent, that’s something he can easily do. Oftentimes, whenever you jump toward another player, you run the risk of getting hit out of the air, but what makes Akuma different is that he can Ki Blast at his opponent as he’s jumping in the air. Although this doesn’t fully guarantee your safety in the air, it makes it a little harder to knock you down while in the air.
During my time with Akuma, I saw how rewarding it is to play hyper-aggressively with him. It helped that many of his move sets weren’t overly complicated and easy to pick up. With a wide range of air attacks, I was able to kick some serious CPU butt and juggle them up in the air. Once they landed, keeping them in the corner wasn’t too hard.
On the flip side, when I did find myself in the corner or playing defensively, it wasn’t all that difficult to counter my opponent easily. All I would need to do was quickly teleport behind them. This would lead to an automatic combo sending them flying back in the other direction, giving me plenty of time to recover from whatever beating I was just taking. A lot of what makes Akuma unique is his ability to maneuver across the battlefield quickly.
His special moves included a powered-up version of his Ki Blast that can be used in the air and on the ground. This is especially nice because it mixes well with any kind of situation. His other special moves improve him, giving his opponent a serious gut punch with a flaming fist. This one is handy because it leaves your opponent open for more combos after it’s done. At the same time, his final special moves are something you’d expect from Akuma, which is a beatdown that feels both satisfying and disrespectful to watch all at the same time.
Akuma and his new fighting arena will appear in Street Fighter 6 on May 22 as part of the Year 1 Character Pass. For more Street Fighter 6 content, check out our review.
