OMYGOD-OHMYGOD-OHMYGOD-OHMYGOD-OHMYGOD-OHMYGOD….

As far as fighting games go I can safely say that I have a serious problem. Not because they take over my life or anything – OK, that’s kind of a lie – but because I get so revved up when a new or fresh idea is introduced into the genre. Now, imagine my reaction when I hear about the SF/Tekken crossovers (let’s just say much cleaning was needed). Now, I’m all for this going down, but let’s go over the various concerns that could arise with this release. We’ve all seen cool crossovers go terribly awry, so I’m not going to mince words – I’ve never been good at it anyways…

Number 1: Fighting mechanics. Now it looks like this is (of course) the major concern for both Capcom/Namco. And the reason for separate games. From what I’ve seen so far with the gameplay, all that is being done with great care. SFxT is still on a 2D plane and everything comes off as very ‘Street Fighter‘. Rumor has it that TxSF is going down a solid ‘Tekken‘ path. The gameplay video from ComiCon (shown below) shows a very cool tag/Ultra Combo finisher that should make any fighting game fan very excited. As of late there’s been a pretty loud outcry from people damning the release of two crossover titles featuring the same general casts. Honestly it’s astonishing how much you people don’t get it. Think about what’s being dealt with here – the task of finding ‘some in between’ within both game’s tight fighting mechanics will only set the event up for a huge failure. Street Fighter fan’s don’t want to play a ‘Tekken-y’ version of their beloved franchise and vice-versa. So get over it, it’s the best left with two entries. A very real concern for me is the use of combos — someone playing SFxT who is familiar with Tekken’s style is going to expect combos that fit. SF and Tekken’s combos are very, very different, so steps have to be made to keep them separate but equal. Speed things up if you will but don’t try to meld everything together — it will suck. Badly.

Number 2: Characters have to be chosen very carefully. Disk space is limited and you’re trying to cram two games with a combined character count of 75+, which is impossible without resorting to Karate Champ graphics. So DO NOT FUCK IT UP. All the fun extra fighters are great, but now it’s time to boil it down to the basics. Everyone has their own ideas for the prime lineup so not everyone’s gonna be happy. I get that. But so help me god if you guys do something stupid like leave out Zangief or Armor-King I am going to shit a very angry brick. And as we all know angry bricks are not to be taken lightly. Leave out Dan and Dr. Boskonovich, they suck anyways.

Number 3: Graphics. Not hyper-important but worth addressing. Don’t make Street Fighter characters look too real or Tekken characters too comic-y. It doesn’t fit so don’t do it. Going a bit crazy with the special moves is fine – the premise is crazy anyways so have fun with it. Destructible environments is a plus and could be fun with Street Fighter so I hope that pops up.

Number 4: Basics. Never screw with the basics. When fighting games get released and I see things like hit-detection issues and slowdown, my teeth grind. There’s simply no excuse in this day and age. Balancing issues have been an problem with both these franchises, but now I think a bit more emphasis is in order. If only to help silence the loudmouth schmucks that will inadvertently pop-up when the game come out. “Why are the Tekken characters weaker than the Street Fighter characters?!’ blah blah blah. Jesus. And the online for this venture better be pretty damn spectacular considering that both games have gone through so much effort to build up such large communities – do something special people. An online crossover between platforms is unlikely but damn wouldn’t that be sweet?!

Thus far I am more than pleased with what I’ve seen. Above concerns notwithstanding I see great things in store for this new alliance. So, have I missed anything? Any concerns or grievances of your own? Let us know, we love the feedback.