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Akuma (Street Fighter)
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Akuma (in Japanese, "devil"), known in Japan as , is a video game character created by Capcom. Making his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss, he has red hair, wears prayer beads around his neck, and wears a dark blue dogi. In the Street Fighter series storyline canon, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu and Ken's sensei, and uses more powerful versions of Ryu and Ken signature techniques. The kanji 'ten' - meaning "sky", "heaven", or "providence", (all in the spiritual sense) - can be seen on his back when it appears during certain win animations.
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Akuma (in Japanese, "devil"), known in Japan as , is a video game character created by Capcom. Making his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss, he has red hair, wears prayer beads around his neck, and wears a dark blue dogi. In the Street Fighter series storyline canon, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu and Ken's sensei, and uses more powerful versions of Ryu and Ken signature techniques. The kanji 'ten' - meaning "sky", "heaven", or "providence", (all in the spiritual sense) - can be seen on his back when it appears during certain win animations. He has been voiced by Tomomichi Nishimura in many of the games in which he has appeared since the first Street Fighter Alpha, including Street Fighter EX, and the Street Fighter III and Marvel vs. Capcom series.
History
Street Fighter series
Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the fifth and final arcade iteration of the Street Fighter II games, where he appears as a hidden character. After meeting certain requirements, Akuma appears prior to the player's final match with M. Bison and obliterates Bison before challenging the player. He can also be selected by the player via a secret code. In the Japanese arcade version of the game, Akuma would introduce himself to the player before the match, proclaiming himself to be . He also had two endings in the game as well: one for defeating M. Bison, and another against himself. While these endings were omitted from the international releases of the arcade game, they were edited into one ending and included in the English localization of Super Turbo Revival for the Game Boy Advance.
Akuma appears in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams once again as a hidden opponent and unlockable character. His backstory remains the same as in Super Turbo. Akuma was added to the immediate roster in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, with a powered-up version of the character named "Shin Akuma" appearing as a hidden opponent. The character's relation with other Street Fighter characters begins to be fleshed out, establishing rivalries with Adon, Gen, and Ryu, who gains an alterego known as "Evil Ryu" who uses the same techniques as Akuma. His stage in Alpha 2 is a small island known as .
Akuma was featured in the Street Fighter III sub-series beginning with Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. Like in his debut in Super Turbo, Akuma is both a secret opponent who serves as an alternate final boss and unlockable character, with the CPU-controlled version being the "Shin Akuma" incarnation introduced in Alpha 2. He is a regular character in Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future.
Akuma reappears in the arcade version of Street Fighter IV, once again as a hidden boss in the single-player mode. In the console version, he is an unlockable secret character.
Other games
Akuma has appeared in some form or another through many Capcom games outside the Street Fighter franchise. The first of these appearances was in the fighting game X-Men: Children of the Atom, where Akuma (in his Super Turbo incarnation) appears as a hidden character. He also appears in Marvel Super Heroes as part of the hidden character, Anita's arsenal as she can use a sword and summon one of Akuma's moves and his sprite from XMEN:COTA briefly appears as a special move is performed. He would appear in the later Marvel-licensed fighting games (see Marvel vs. Capcom series), including in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, where he also appears in mechanized form as "Cyber-Akuma". In Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Akuma appears as an alternate fighting style of Ryu and He also appeared at Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes as a buyable character at the shop using your earned points in different modes. He is also an unlockable character in the humorously toned Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix.
In the SNK vs. Capcom series, Akuma appears in Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2 as both regular Akuma and as version of "Shin Akuma". He also appears in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Pocket Fighter, and in Cyberbots as a mecha named "Zero Gouki" in the console versions released in Japan. Also, various version of Akuma have appeared in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash series.
Shin Akuma
Shin Akuma, or , is an alternate version of Akuma who appears as a secret character and boss. Shin Akuma is faster and stronger than his regular counterpart, and can throw two Zanku Hadoken at once while in the air. Also, his Shun Goku Satsu is much faster (making it harder to evade), and in some instances, inflicts more damage (e.g. Capcom vs. SNK 2). In some instances, Shin Akuma also has more life-threatening specials as well (e.g. Misogi). Shin Akuma's appearance is very similar to Akuma's; for example, in the Street Fighter Alpha series, Shin Akuma had a purple-blue gi instead of a black one.
Shin Akuma is a version of Akuma the players confront as a CPU opponent in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. To face Shin Akuma, the player must reach Bison within 20 minutes without using any continues (including having the second player join in). He will then interrupt the final match by performing a Shun Goku Satsu (Instant Hell Murder) on M. Bison, before challenging the player's character. As in his later incarnations, he has a purple gi instead of Akuma's standard black gi, is faster, and inflicts more damage. Yet, just like regular Akuma, his name is not displayed below the life bar and he does not have a super meter. Shin Akuma is, however, an unlockable playable character in the Game Boy Advance version of the game, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival, as well as the Japan-only Dreamcast version of the game, Super Street Fighter II X for Matchmaking Service. In the latter version, another version of Akuma referred to as Tien Akuma can also be selected, which is essentially Shin Akuma with a super bar. As expected, his super move is the Shun Goku Satsu.
Shin Akuma reappears in Street Fighter Alpha 2 as a hidden boss in the arcade version, who faces the player in the single player mode before the final opponent (unless the final opponent is Akuma, in this case Shin Akuma replaces the regular Akuma). He was made into a selectable hidden character in the console versions of Alpha 2. Shin Akuma also appears Street Fighter Alpha 3, where his name is displayed as "Shin Akuma" onscreen. Storywise, Shin Akuma is merely Akuma using the full extent of his power, compared to the "in-game" version which is Akuma voluntarily holding back his power to avoid ending fights prematurely. Shin Akuma, rather than "Final Bison", is Evil Ryu's final boss in the console versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3.
Shin Akuma reappears in Street Fighter III 2nd Impact as a secret boss. Despite being displayed as regular Akuma, he has Shin Akuma's abilities.
In Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Shin Akuma is replaced by Cyber-Akuma (Mech-Gouki in Japan), a version of Akuma enhanced by Apocalypse. Cyber-Akuma featured most of Shin Akuma's attacks in the Capcom "versus series" style as well as attacks involving the launching of his mechanical left arm.
In Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2, a different form of Shin Akuma appears. This form of Akuma achieves a new level of power when a dying Rugal Bernstein pours his Orochi power into him. His name is spelled in Japanese as , with the "Shin" character meaning "God".
Gameplay
Akuma is a character with a wide array of techniques at his disposal. He has the same moves as Ryu and Ken, only in a more balanced way; while Ryu is slower but stronger, and Ken is faster but weaker, Akuma sits in the middle of both. While also having many other moves, but in most games his health is weak in order to compensate for his offensive versatility.
In other media
Although the character was not featured in the 1994 live action Street Fighter movie, Akuma appears in Street Fighter: The Movie, the arcade game based on the movie developed by Incredible Technologies as a regular selectable character (portrayed by Ernie Reyes Sr.). He also appears in the Capcom-developed home version of the same game as a hidden character. Akuma also made cameo appearances in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (where he can be seen in the Calcutta scene), and in several episodes of the Japanese TV series Street Fighter II V.
Akuma's first speaking appearance in animation was in an episode of the American Street Fighter animated series titled "Strange Bedfellows", in which Akuma traps Guile and M. Bison on his island, forcing the two sworn enemies to team up. He reappears in another episode, "The World's Greatest Warrior", in which he defeats Ryu and Ken's master Gouken, and challenges Gouken's two students to a duel.
Akuma also figures prominently in the Japanese OVA Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, where Ryu's encounters with Akuma triggers the "Dark Hadou" in Ryu. Akuma is also the central focus in the OVA Street Fighter Alpha: Generations, which explores his past and ties the character's past with Ryu's. In the English dub of Alpha: Generations, the character is addressed by his Japanese name Gouki, instead of Akuma like in the international versions of the games.
He's also one of the evil characters from Imaginationland, an Emmy-winning South Park episode.
Promotion and reception
IGN ranked Akuma at number five in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his role as a recognizable "bad guy" in the series.
External links
- Akuma's , , , , and entries at
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