Asuka Joins Street Fighter X Tekken

[Earnest Cavalli]

Asuka Joins Street Fighter X Tekken


For Christmas, Namco Bandai and Capcom got you an angry Japanese girl.

The latest cinematic trailer for Street Fighter X Tekken surfaced late last night and instead of offering fans what they really want (more bear farts), it marks the official debut of Tekken's Asuka Kazama.

Unfamiliar with the young lady? Fighters Generation offers the following biography [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters/asuka-kazama.html]:

Asuka has been taught the Kazama Style Ancient Martial Arts by her father since she was an innocent child. Due to her sense of justice, she likes to intervene in any troubles and got to be known as a meddler in her city of Osaka. One day, when she came home, students of her Kazama dojo looked troubled. She found out a Chinese Martial artist appeared and had fought her father, who was now hospitalized with severe injuries. A few days later, Asuka was told by a detective of the Hong Kong international police this fighter would compete in The King of Iron Fist Tournament. Asuka made the decision to enter the tournament.

So, y'know, it's a pretty typical story really; "Young girl enters international fighting tournament full of demons, cyborg ninjas and half-leopard alcoholic Mexican priests/wrestlers to avenge the honor of her father." We've all been there.

The cinematic trailer does a good job of showing not only Asuka's fighting skill, but the brash spirit that has made her a fan-favorite among the stereotypically sexually repressed male fanbase which is all too willing to anthropomorphize virtual ladyfolk. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having romantic feelings toward a fighting game character, but yes I am, and there is.

Oh, and while I'm speaking directly to fighting game geeks, how many of you (aside from the creepy ones I already addressed) are all that excited for Asuka's inclusion in Street Fighter X Tekken? I mean, I guess she's sorta cool, but wouldn't you rather have seen Kunimitsu or Jun Kazama?

Or is that just me being overly esoteric?

Regardless, Street Fighter X Tekken hits the Xbox 360, PS3, Vita and Windows platforms on March 6, 2012.

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[Duruznik]

Y'know, when I glanced at the title, I thought for a moment that they meant Asuka Soryu from Evangelion. No idea why, but I did. Now that would've been a sight to see... I'd play the crap out of a game like that.

 

[StriderShinryu]

As a fighting game geek, I don't mind Asuka. She's always been a character I've played off and on but have never really spent a ton of time with. I do prefer Jun's visual design, but as Asuka took over for Jun and had her playstyle evolve while Jun's never really got to (being "dead" and all makes learning tough), I don't really see them as different characters in a playstyle sense. It's not like Nina and Anna (or Ryu and Ken in Street Fighter terms) where they started from the same place (as, essentially, palette swaps) and then eventually diverged into completely different characters, each with their own evolved playstyle with the same roots. Asuka basically just continued with Jun's style after Jun "died" and Jun doesn't exist any more outside of cameo appearances as a weird undeadish sort of possessed boss character. Too much fighting game geekishness? Well too bad, you did ask for it.

Now, am I actually excited about Asuka? No. I'm still waiting on official confirmation of Xiaoyu and I'm praying Juri makes it in (Team TKD FTW), but I'm still super excited about the game as a whole. I just wish gems didn't look so garish and out of place. Visually, the idea fit in Marvel Super Heroes much better than it does as currently implemented in SFxT. Sorry, too much fighting game geek there again.

 

[Earnest Cavalli]

Now, am I actually excited about Asuka? No. I'm still waiting on official confirmation of Xiaoyu and I'm praying Juri makes it in (Team TKD FTW), but I'm still super excited about the game as a whole. I just wish gems didn't look so garish and out of place. Visually, the idea fit in Marvel Super Heroes much better than it does as currently implemented in SFxT. Sorry, too much fighting game geek there again.

I'm totally with you on the Juri love, but Capcom has some weird hard-on for C. Viper, so I fully expect her to fill the "Street Fighter 4 female character" slot.

And wait, you thought the gems fit MSH visually? Even then I thought it was a silly idea only justified by their tangential Marvel Comics-based link to Thanos. Straight up, the whole concept is super gimmicky.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

So there's Chun Li, Cammy and two unknown to me females.
Which one is the titular Asuka? :\

Never mind, I don't care anyway

 

[Beeple]

As an Asuka main in T6 I'm excited.

Would I prefer Jun? God yes, I'd also prefer Jun in T6 but I have to stick with the next closest thing, which is Asuka.

Until I get my hands on TTT2 that is

 

[StriderShinryu]

Now, am I actually excited about Asuka? No. I'm still waiting on official confirmation of Xiaoyu and I'm praying Juri makes it in (Team TKD FTW), but I'm still super excited about the game as a whole. I just wish gems didn't look so garish and out of place. Visually, the idea fit in Marvel Super Heroes much better than it does as currently implemented in SFxT. Sorry, too much fighting game geek there again.

I'm totally with you on the Juri love, but Capcom has some weird hard-on for C. Viper, so I fully expect her to fill the "Street Fighter 4 female character" slot.

And wait, you thought the gems fit MSH visually? Even then I thought it was a silly idea only justified by their tangential Marvel Comics-based link to Thanos. Straight up, the whole concept is super gimmicky.

I suppose it made more sense on a visual level for there to be gems represented as they were in MSH given the origins of the idea and their implementation. They really were gems that really did have impacts on time, space, etc. It was a nice if slightly overdone nod to the comic books. In SFxT you just have giant sparkly crystals floating around your character with no real cause or reason. It looks terrible.

Personally, I'm actually interested in the gem system on a mechanics level (though it has some unfortunate impact on the potential tournament level scen)e. The aspect about it that does irk me is that it's not an optional thing at all.. you either use gems or you don't and have a weaker character. There's no proper way to turn them off outside of a gentlemen's agreement not to equip them. I'd much rather the effects be even more pronouncned, as in UMvC3s H&H mode, but kept separate from the base game modes. Thing is, as much as Capcom has been pushing gems as something the whole game was balanced around, the gems don't seem to do all that much for you (outside of the system gems that have pretty severe penalties). In large part, the gem tweaks seem almost too minor to be a game balance issue in either direction.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I really need to start reading up on the Tekken characters after Tekken 2. She and that other girl look alright but I still favour Cammy and Chun Li.

 

[elilupe]

Y'know, when I glanced at the title, I thought for a moment that they meant Asuka Soryu from Evangelion. No idea why, but I did. Now that would've been a sight to see... I'd play the crap out of a game like that.

That's exactly what I thought too...