Street Fighter X Tekken is only a few days away and fighting game fans across the country are frothing at the mouth for the chance to play this new crossover. As we get our arcade sticks ready in anticipation, there are several new features and mechanics that haven’t been used in this type of fighter before. It’s never good to go into a fight unprepared, but we’ve got you covered. With these tips, you’ll be sure to have a leg up on the competition , or at least you’ll improve your chances of not getting beaten into a bloody heap.
Think Street Fighter IV meets Tekken Tag Tournament:
Seeing as this is the first of two crossovers featuring the two franchises, Capcom has taken the driver’s seat at the first round. It makes sense that this version would take after their most popular fighter at the moment and use similar graphics and mechanics. Some SFIV combos work when using characters from that fighter with plenty of differences to make them somewhat fresh while using the traditional six button layout. Whereas every character on the roster has enhanced “EX” versions of their special attacks after using a third of your super meter. The only real difference is that super moves are done with one quarter circle and three punches like Marvel vs Capcom rather than the Street Fighter style of double quarter circles with one punch or kick.
Poison Finally Makes her (?) 2D Fighter Debut!
But if this was exactly like SFIV, there would be no reason to buy it, (unless you REALLY want Tekken characters to use,) so naturally, Tekken’s mechanics come into play as well. Combos that juggle opponents are essential to victory, and the wall bounce animation from Tatsunoko vs Capcom and MVC3 returns to help chain moves together. Before you get too cocky, you’ll always want to make sure to watch your health, because like Tekken Tag, the round is over when your first fighter is KO’d. There’s no shame in switching!
The Tekken Characters Actually Work!
When the game was announced, I had my doubts on how well the Tekken characters would be adapted to the 2D world of Street Fighter. After playing the game, I’m happy to say that not only do they work, but they’re some of the most enjoyable characters on the roster. Sure, they took some liberties with how they play, (some characters like Jin have been given projectiles while all characters can jump ten feet in the air like the SF guys,) but for the most part, all of them keep their signature moves and combos while fitting in a 2D environment. So when you see a guy tearing it up with Julia and Kazuya, make sure you say hi to me.
Julia Promptly Preparing Ryu’s Anus.
The Art of Tagging Out
Tagging out in a 2 on 2 game is going to be important no matter how you look at it, so it’s fortunate that the game has numerous ways to do it. If you want to be a bore about it, pressing the mid punch and kick buttons uses a standard tag, but leaves your incoming character vulnerable. To make things way more interesting, by linking a combo with a double tap of the fierce or roundhouse buttons, the last hit will trigger a launcher tag, which will knock the opponent in the air and automatically switch to your partner so they can continue the juggle. Just make sure not to miss the launcher unless you want your fighter to stand there for a good second, (an eternity in a fighting game.)
If you want to deal the most damage while being a bit of a show off, the strongest way of utilizing your partner is through the double team supers or the cross rush technique that gives you control of both characters at once. With a quick quarter circle with the two middle attack buttons, the double team super, called cross arts, links together each of your fighter’s super moves for a huge amount of damage. If your opponent manages to survive, your second fighter will take over to finish the job. A backwards quarter circle with the two mid attack buttons activates cross rush, which lets you create combos that are otherwise impossible by having both of your fighters on screen at once for an all out assault. Be careful with this technique however, because both characters will be vulnerable to attack.
Talk About Double Teaming.
Infinity Gems
To give an aspect of customization to each team, players can equip up to three gems that give your team an attribute boost. Each one has various effects, such as boosting your power, increasing your defense or building your super meter. Some are automatically active where as others aren’t usable until certain conditions are met, like landing three punches for example. Some of these have drawbacks, such as the super meter boosting gem that reduces the amount of damage that your fighter deals in exchange for the increase. Keep in mind that buying the limited edition and preordering through certain retailers will nab you exclusive gems. I can’t say I’m happy about certain players having a statistical boost above those who buy the regular game or don’t preorder, so I can only hope that gems can be disabled in versus modes.
Opening Pandora’s Box
Just to get it out of the way, I can’t stand these new mechanics that help players come back from behind. To me, you should be able to win on your own and not need a crutch when you’re simply not the better fighter. With that said, if I had to choose one that I can tolerate the most, Pandora would be it. Unlike OTHER Vs. games, Pandora can only be activated when you have less than 25% health, but it sacrifices your active fighter. The character that remains receives infinite meter, a boost in power and a speed increase, but there’s a huge drawback. The Pandora user has a small amount of time to win, but if they don’t end it soon, they automatically lose. I was in a match where Hugo got me in his grapple attack for the win, but his Pandora meter ran out right before he landed the attack. Hugo collapsed and both characters were on the ground, but I was awarded the win. So if you’re going to activate it, be ready to go all out!
It’s All or Nothing!
So that about scratches the surface with Street Fighter X Tekken. If you were bored interested enough to read these tips, you’ll have more of a fighting chance. By building on the solid SFIV engine, throwing in the aspects of Tekken and creating options new to this version, fighting game players will have their hands full. How excited are you for its release this Tuesday? Let us know below!