There’s already been a sizable amount of internet drama surrounding the new, purple skinned Akuma. Certain fans think that what we’re seeing here is a revamped version of Shin Akuma; a powered-up version of the character who’s appeared in select Capcom games since Street Fighter Alpha 2. There is another camp that certain that this isn’t Shin Akuma, and have instead taken to calling him “Oni Akuma”. It may sound a like a little thing, but I’ve found that calling this new Akuma by “the wrong name” can be very upsetting to certain passionate fans.
Is there “right name” yet for this officially un-named character? Only Capcom knows, so I asked Capcom’s Seth Killian about this serious buisness, but all he was willing to say was — “Ahh, but that would be telling. Even way back in his first appearance, was “Evil Ryu” really Ryu at all? His warrior’s heart was swallowed up by the dark hadou, and what is Ryu without that pure-hearted drive? Is Darth Vader really Anakin Skywalker? All will be revealed!“
Answering a direct question with more questions is a classic Killian move, and something I should have expected. Still, I can’t deny that it’s fun to speculate, and clearly that’s what Seth is hoping we’ll do from here.
I’m up for some guessing, how about you? Hit the jump for my theory on this new Akuma-looking guy, and hopefully, a few of theory’s from you guys as well.
Based on Killian’s hints, my guess is that this “new Akuma” isn’t Akuma at all; it’s the dark hadou in physical form. You remember when Venom’s symbiote suit hopped off Venom for a few seconds at the end of Spider-Man 3? I’m thinking that’s what we might be looking at hear, in dark hadou form.
There are a couple of ways that this could come about. If memory serves, Evil Ryu was “born” from being shot by Adon in one the Street Figther Alpha manga, so something similar could happen to Akuma in the next iteration of Super Street Fighter 4. He could get shot or otherwise physically mained, which would trigger the dark hadou in a way that his body can’t control. I sort of doubt that Capcom will do that route though, as mixing conventional firearms with Street Fighter isn’t really their style. Still, it’s possible.
I’m more inclined to think that by Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, Akuma will have grown so powerful with the dark hadou that he can no longer contain it. He’s already got a lot of Shin Akuma’s powers in Super Street Fighter 4, so it would stand to reason that his body is reaching the apex of how much dark hadou it can hold, and that the hadou could be strong enough to exist outside of Akuma’s body. How could that happen? Well, the dark hadou might remove itself from Akuma on its own, Akuma may reject it himself, or it could be forced out of him by Gouken, kind of like how Gouken suppresses the dark hadou in Ryu in Akuma’s ending in Street Fighter 4.
OK, enough geeking out from me, I want to hear from you guys. Who (or what) do you guys think this new Akuma-looking guy is? Do any of my theories make sense? Is this all too geeky for you to handle?
