In 2005, Namco published a game called
Namco X Capcom, which featured characters from Street Fighter, Tekken,
and various other games from the two developers. Fighting game fans were
thrilled when news of the game was first leaked, but were quickly
disappointed to find out it was a tactical role playing game rather than
a fighting game.
Though news of a potential crossover fighting game had been hinted at every so often thereafter, it wasn’t until 7 years later that this dream would finally come to fruition; however, initial screens, gameplay, and announcements of Street Fighter X Tekken were met with a lukewarm response, with players questioning what it seemed to share with Street Fighter 4 as well as the viability of the new Gem system. After much tweaking and adjusting, the game is finished, but, does it live up to the hype?
At A Glance
Though the game looks similar to
Street Fighter 4 from the get-go, players will realize that this game is
much different after just a few matches. Street Fighter X Tekken
borrows the tag-team feature from the Tekken Tag series, allowing you to
choose 2 characters to play as interchangeably during the fight. The
round ends if just one character’s life is depleted, making vitality
management a big factor. The tag system is complemented by several new
features including Switch Cancels (canceling an attack with a tag
midway, allowing a character’s partner to continue a combo), Cross Arts
(a powerful attack delivered by both characters that uses all Cross
Gauge), Quick Combos (combos designed to help novice players perform
complicated attack sequences), and Pandora Mode (a comeback mechanic in
which a partner is sacrificed for an increase in damage).
Borrowed from Street Fighter 4 are EX
Special Moves and Super Combos (called Super Arts here), both of which
deplete your super meter (called Cross Gauge). Gone are Focus Attacks
and Ultra Combos. The game also has several modes including the familiar
Trial and Tutorial modes as well as the new Scramble Battle mode, where
all 4 characters battle onscreen simultaneously in total bedlam.
