Street Fighter X Tekken: Ryu meet Jin

2D fans have loved Capcom’s Street Fighter since the early 90’s. As PS1 garnered better graphics and more possibilities, Namco released Tekken, their 3D fighter. But the idea of putting the two brawlers head to head was just a wish the imagination of loyal gamers… until 2012. In honour of the Vita release of Street X Tekken, let’s talk a little bit about the game.

SFXT was originally released for the PS3 earlier this year. It focused around Mishima Zaibatsu and Shadoloo both trying to find a classic artifact in order to use it for their own evil ideas. Unlike MVC3, each character has their own specific partner they can do attacks specials with and will lead to their actual storyline and ending. Usually someone the character is friends with like Ryu and Ken, the game also pits otherwise normal enemies like Asuka and Lily together as teammates for some comic relief.

The game follows the classic 2D arrangement like other Street Fighter games as it was officially produced by Capcom (look out for Tekken Vs. Street Fighter, Namco's release in the not so distant future) and let's players pick two characters for their team. The controls system is also similar to that of Street Fighter so all ye Tekken faithful, be prepared to learn some new moves.
While the fighting system is fairly similar to that of Street Fighters, it left out (or changed) some of our fighters classic moves which can be a bit of a pain.
Something new to the game is the gem fighting system. Each character can have three gems which can be purchased from the store or earned in the game. The gems work as power ups for thing like increasing the strength of attacks or temporarily boosting defenses.

The game however was missing a few characters at launch and was seen as incomplete. Within weeks, they released a free download for MegaMan and Pac-Man, classic characters from the Capcom and Namco franchises who had never actually been seen in a Street Fighter or Tekken game to date.
The game also surprised us with Cole, star of Sony's Infamous and Toro and Kuro, two of their cute little cats.

Because the game is a crossover, it does not follow any storyline and don't expect the events to be referred to in any game from either franchise in the future (except maybe Tekken X Street Fighter)

Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 7/10
Fun Factor 7.5/10
Replay Value 7/10
Overall 7/10

Overall, the game is sadly a little disappointing. Street Fighter IV (and all the updates and new versions) was an awesome game title boasting beautiful graphics, great stories and an awesome fighting system. The most recent Tekken Tag was also one of the most well received game from the franchise. But this one felt like it was lacking. Maybe the change in controls or lack of flashier moves, I'm left feeling like I need to pop in MVC3 or TT2 every time I finish a round.

One redeeming factor is the games cross functionality with the Vita. Players that own either system can battle against each other which makes it great for gamers who like to game on the go and want to continue battling their friends from home or on the go. Hopefully we see more of this in the future. Until next time guys, keep gaming!