Virtua Fighter’s Akira Invades Dead or Alive… And Why it Sucks

Crossovers are all the rage lately, especially with fighting games. So it’s no surprise that Team Ninja wants to get in on the action. At GDC, the newest trailer for Dead or Alive 5 showed footage of a gi wearing, headband donning karate man taking on flagship character Kasumi. No, not Ryu… that OTHER guy who looks just like him. Virtua Fighter 5’s Akira will make a special appearance in the upcoming fighter.

And they couldn’t have chosen a worse character.

Don’t get me wrong. I love DOA and I’m also a fan of Virtua Fighter. And because of that, I have no idea how Akira will fit in with fans of either series. First, you have the DOA fans who expect fast pace, simplistic fighting with counters keeping button mashers in check. Virtua Fighter on the other hand, is notoriously technical, forcing players to work for their combos with elaborate inputs and set ups.

In a game full of characters that are difficult to master, Akira is probably the most complicated of all. So how will he faithfully transfer into the world of Dead or Alive? Either he’ll handle completely differently, (which is highly unlikely,) or he’ll be altered severely to fit this game’s mechanics, (bingo, that’s where my money is.) So either you’ll frustrate DOA fans with a much harder character to use or you’ll annoy VF fans who hate to see Akira stripped down so much, (which is rare that you don’t want a character stripped down in DOA.)

Or… fighting gamers won’t care either way and will just have fun with this new character. While I don’t think the two franchises meld together well, as long as he’s fun to play, I don’t care. Check out his review trailer and let us know what you think!