I guess that’s why Nina’s called ‘The Blonde Bomb’…
According to what I’ve gathered, Streetfighter X Tekken, the Capcom-developed Cross-over fighter, will be the second game of the Fighting Festival series (which includes the currently-in-development Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and the very-far-away Tekken X Streetfighter). Supposedly Yoshinori Ono and team are going into this title’s development right after their chores with SSFIV Arcade Edition and SSFIV 3D. I also got a tweet response from Ono-san that they will be only taking character suggestions for the roster only for a little while longer, so I guess I should get my ten cents in while he’s still open to it.
So here are my picks for fighters getting thrown into Next Big Mash-up Game. The way I’ve organized my picks is by match-up: a World Warrior corresponding to a nemesis Iron Fist Fighter.
M.Bison vs Heihachi. A no-brainer… these are the two big baddies of either franchise, and both have the seeming-invincibility of Wile E. Coyote. Bison has been obliterated several times but keeps coming back like a psycho-powered Terminator. Heihachi has survived being dropped off a cliff, time-travelling into the dark ages and getting blasted point blank with an mammoth explosion. The Shadaloo Dictator may have flashier powers, but time has proven that a strong enough fist can reach him where it hurts. In the end, maybe it’ll fall to who bribes the referees more.
Guile vs Paul. Once and for all, let’s decide on who has the right to wear the HAIR. Guile’s methodical, deliberate baiting style of fighting may be a hard match against Paul’s steamroller offense, but this should be a pretty good clash between two veteran combatants tested in down-and-dirty brawling.
Dhalsim vs Yoshimitsu. Two very different but very odd fighters match up. Sim with his stretchy limbs and fiery Yoga attacks against Yoshi’s sword techniques and mystical weirdness. Both have teleports and can strike from weird angles and tangents. Who’s more powerful? Who’s more weird? Only one way to find out!
Sakura vs Xiaoyu. These two represent each franchise’s youthful energy. It will be interesting to see how Ling’s style, with her Art of the Phoenix stances translate Streetfighter-style. Sakura’s straightforward offense should be a pretty interesting match against Ling’s deceptive evades and strikes.
Zangief vs King. The iconic grapplers from two worlds clash! Zangief may not have the huge arsenal of moves that King has, but he brings raw power. But ‘Gief may just as easily find himself eating Chain Grapples and a Musclebomber just as easily as he can dispense a Spinning Piledriver.
Makoto vs Asuka. Two hot-headed tomboys, both heirs to martial arts schools and growing up in a boys’ world. Once again, an interesting match-up given Makoto’s penchant for in-your-face, relentless offense versus Asuka’s more versatile style and potent reversals. What will win? Rindou-kan or Kazama-Ryu? Standard Dogi or Hakamas? I wanna know!
Ibuki vs Raven. These two represent the conventional ninja in each of their franchises, complete with shuriken, kunai, smoke bombs, deceptive tactics and efficient killing strikes. Ibuki’s the faster one with an impressive barrage of attacks that come from every direction. Raven on the other hand has an obvious edge in physical strength and enduranbce, plus his own bag of shinobi trickery. This will be a close one.
Karin Kanzuki vs Lili Rochefort Two hot blonde heiresses who both have killer skills to match their killer checkbooks. Both use self-taught martial arts and have tested them against opponents in down-and-dirty streetfights and deathmatches. While Karin and Lili should be a close and deaadly match-up, I think big and burly Ishizaki (Karin’s attendant) is more than a match for old, feeble Sebastian… unless the senior butler turns out to be a super killer werewolf elder master (oh, wait… wrong franchise).
Nina vs Cammy. Though originally matched up with Chun-Li (and in many ways they are kinda matched up, being the first ladies of each franchise), I think Miss Williams is much better ranged against the Delta Red’s former Killer Bee. Both of these blonde bombshells are deadly special forces operatives with similar traumatic cases of amnesia and psychosis. Cammy’s faster and loaded with high-flying attacks, while Nina is more methodical with ground-based grapples. This is one fight that really MUST happen.
Streetfighter X Tekken won’t be happening for a while- but things ARE happening judging from Yoshinori Ono’s recent visit (or invasion is perhaps a better word) of Namco-Bandai’s headquarters in the US. Hopefully there will be more news, perhaps screenshots or even video, coming soon… or at least in the next couple of months. Till then, I’ll be going back to pining for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 then.