The History of AKUMA - A Street Fighter Character Documentary (1994 - 2021)

hello ladies and gentlemen big daddy tophat here when it comes to the world of street fighter characters no fighter is arguably more intimidating and formidable than that of akuma an interesting fella who differs from other villains in the series in that although his motives are not inherently evil he has no qualms with killing his teacher or even his own brother in combat this coldness paired with the initial mystery that surrounded this fighter has led to this individual striking fear in these opponents for many years today we are going to take a deep dive look at the lifes and times of akuma a character who is often deemed the most diabolical fighting game boss in history we are going to go back and look at this fighter's life story including his involvement within all the court entries in the street fighter series this ladies and gentlemen is the horrifying story of akuma the great demon yeah the tower of the inception of akuma goes all the way back to 1991 with the release of street fighter 2 in the arcades whenever ryu would defeat an opponent his winning quote would state you must defeat sheng long to stand a chance this would of course lead many players to wonder who this mystery character sheng long was and where he was in the game many fans would write into electronic gaming monthly asking who this character was and how they could access them egm would soon reveal to readers that sheng long was ryu and ken's master and players could fight him as a secret boss if they could reach certain extreme conditions to make this mystery man appear obviously it would soon become clear that none of this was any more than an april fool's joke and shang long was no more than a mistranslation of sri uken but none of this stopped the legend from spreading globally and becoming one of the most famous hoaxes in all of gaming history noritaka funamizu who worked on street fighter 2 would catch wind of this hoax and would make a request to akira yasuda to design a new character to please fans who were victims of this april fool's day joke which is how akuma was born in the 5th arcade iteration of street fighter 2 named super street fighter 2 turbo if a set of particular requirements are met akuma appears prior to the player's final match then bison and obliterates him before challenging the player to a fight in this encounter this terrifying opponent has no name and no display picture adding to the mystery of this whole affair for those who would happen to stumble upon this fight by accident although it is said that these events are non-canon to the overall street fight story in the events of super street fighter 2 turbo it is said that akuma did not actually enter the second world warrior tournament but simply monitored the events that took place in the hopes of finding a worthy opponent which is why the match with the player unfolds when certain conditions are met but aside from all of this the character is left purposely mysterious within the game akum would next appear in street fighter alpha warriors dreams with the alpha series acting as a story prequel to the events of street fighter 2. once again here he would function as both a hidden opponent and unlockable character however this was the first time in history he would feature with his given name within a street fighter title in both alpha and super 2 turbo akuma appears wearing a dark colored ghee with sleeves removed giving him a similar appearance to ryu and ken physically though he looks quite different with his trademark red hair the top knot pointed teeth tan skin and crimson eyes he appears in these games have a moveset similar to ryu and ken but is even more dangerous including being able to throw hadouken-like projectiles even mid-air and diagonally down at his opponents to put it simply akuma's fighting style has a much more offensive orientated design hakuma's overall style focuses on completely dominating the opponent and preventing counter attacks his mix of raw attack power combined with moves that can control the air and keep him mobile allows him to maintain a fierce onslaught offense that can end matches quickly street fighter alpha would not be akuma's only 1995 appearance as he would also appear in street fight of a movie the video game despite not actually being in the live action movie the game was based on it is reported that his inclusion in the title was simply down to the game designer alan noon believing that he was a great character in-game text states hilariously that akuma plans to rid the world of shen long and all that he stood for february 1996 would see akuma's most prominent role yet even being featured on the front of street fighter alpha 2 arcade flyers the great artwork which also functioned as the cover work for the home ports of the game seems to have been inspired by a promotional shot hype in a 1995 wwf survivor series encounter between bret for hitman heart and diesel frame nakuma in the same position as diesel in this shot which makes him look all the more imposing alpha 2 marks not only the first alpha game where akuma is immediately selectable but it also fleshes out his backstory with more material than what we had ever been provided previously playing an integral part in this game's overall story arc if players choose to play as ryu the game outlines that after he won the first world warrior tournament ryu heads home to japan it is here that he discovers his master known as guken has been murdered soon learning that the culprit is akuma a play for his ryu eventually culminates with him fighting akuma on his island after the match having tested his skills akuma sinks the island telling ryu to become stronger playing as ken builds on these events further in ken's story after winning the u.s martial arts tournament during the events of the original 1987 street fighter game ken heads to tell his master goodken the good news here he witnesses akuma murdering his master but is easily knocked down by the red-haired warrior when trying to step in ken vows to get stronger and avenge his master if one chooses to play as akuma himself akuma simply continues to travel the world looking for worthy opponents during this endeavor he is confronted by jen and the two embroiled in a fierce battle during this fight though he notices that jen is ill with leukemia so storms off looking for only fair fights leaving akuma in this game with more layers than simply a black and white villain the next part of the alpha story would unfold in 1998 which would continue to build on events akuma would return wanting to seek new challenges as he waits for ryu to reach his true potential during this time frame he sets his sights on defeating m bison a man who he believes is an even greater evil home versions of the game though would include shinokuma a powered up version of the fighter who has unleashed his full power now seeking new victims to defeat in particular evil ryu another new addition to the home port who shinokuma wishes to fight in a blood match now in terms of the alva series while we would learn more about akuma from these games than what we knew previously we would perhaps learn the most about this character from comics and other source material that built on the plot further we would learn that ryu and ken's master known as guken was in fact akuma's brother and both siblings were at one point student of a man named gutsetsu the two brothers would learn a mixture of martial arts skills under tutelage including the incredibly powerful shungoku satsu a lethal technique that was so powerful it would even put the user in danger later a dispute would arise between the brothers with goo ken being unable to accept the violent nature of the satsui nahado fighting style goo ken would leave to create his own dojo while akuma would continue accepting gusetsu's teachings to master such a fighting star akuma was forced to give up compassion to all other human beings and to continue to hone the techniques further akuma would begin additional training alone further embracing satsui no hado he would soon begin lusting to have fights to the death this would see him challenging his master guzetsu to a deathmatch to prove he had surpassed him once and for all after killing his master now believing he was the true master of the art he took his dead masters prayer beads and placed them around his neck making up a trademark part of akuma's look right up until this day a few years later this would eventually lead to an encounter between both brothers with goo ken being obviously upset with akuma's actions goo ken would win this fierce ball with akuma telling his brother to kill him ghouken refused letting him know he had no intention of murder prompting akuma to call him weak for sparing his life and declaring that he would return which of course brings us right back round to gokhan's murder prior to the events of street fighter alpha 2. now away from the street fighter series itself akuma had also been making a huge splash elsewhere as early as 1994 the year the character debuted he appeared as a hidden boss in x-men children of the atom an appearance that proved so popular that it would eventually inspire the entire marvel vs capcom series including appearing as a hidden character once more in x-men vs street fighter in marvel superheroes vs street fighter he appears as a playable character and is the game's final boss cyber akuma this robotically modified version of the formidable fighter is infamous for being one of the tougher final bosses in fighting game history continuing to build on akuma's legacy as one of the baddest men in fighting games in fact on the subject of old appearances he also features in cyberbot's full metal madness akuma is a playable character but this time as a giant mecca named zevaguma he would also appear in super gem fighter minimix eureka's non-canon street fighter ex series pretty much all of the marvel vs capcom games and the capcom and snk crossover series akuma mania was running wild brother but in terms of a core series entry a coonwood neck surface in street fighter 3 second impact in this game like in others rather than entering a tournament he lurked looking for strong competition during this time frame he is challenged by sean who mistook him for ryu resulting in akuma easily crushing sean he successfully manages to pull off a shungoku satsu against the tournament sponsor gill but does not realise gil has the ability to resurrect himself he also once again challenges ryu to a match asking him to show him his true power but ryu refuses to kill him stating malicious intent is not the way of the warrior like what is tradition with many games by this point akuma once again features as a hidden character akuma resurfaces in street fighter 3 third strike where between games he is said to have continued to have harnessed his incredible fighting skills including the fight with oro where both fighters are said to have tested each other's powers well but overall he is not an integral part of this story as he was within the alpha series as we know we would have a large gap in time between the release of this game and street fighter 4 with street fighter 4 chronologically taking place after 2 but before 3. he would feature in multiple iterations of street fighter 4 including the animated piece connected to the game street fighter 4 the ties that bind akuma appears right at the beginning of the movie where he enters ryu's mind tormenting and harassing him inquiring how long he intended to resist satsui nahaido with rajya being adamant that he will never use it prompting akuma to tell him that he will murder him himself and states that this mundane world is of no concern to him as he grows stronger by consuming human life sometime before the third world warrior tournament ryu and akuma would duel with akuma dominating the fight as he rebukes ryu about his rejection of the dark haddo ryu finds the strength to recover and fight back however ken would interrupt the fight for cinekuma to leave within seth's tournament in street fighter 4 akuma notes that satsui no haddo is re-emerging within ryu so sets off to find ryu in person to help him realize his power so that he can kill him in battle once again that is tradition by now akuma does not enter the tournament but instead lurks in the shadows a revelation that is revealed during this time frame is that akuma never actually managed to kill his brother during the alpha series but instead simply left him in a deep coma with the man awakening for the events of street fighter iv ryu encounters ghouken who uses the power of nothingness to seal the satsui no haddo which is eaten away at ryu knocking him unconscious akuma quickly arrives on the scene to challenge his brother once more to a death match the winner of which will claim the cub meaning ryu the outcome of this fight is unknown but considering ryu is later seen free of darkness akuma obvious was not victorious on this occasion further to this a new hidden boss can be found in super street fighter 4 arcade edition known as oni this is the form akuma takes when he has become one with the satsui no haddo entirely completely losing any shred of humanity he had remaining the developers often refer to oni as akuma beyond shinokuma it is said that jude he's trained training and meditation akuma may have suppressed some of the darker aspects of the satsui na haddo allowing him to control his actions as oni he finally becomes one with the satsui nihado whose power has now managed to completely overtake him oni has discarded his remaining humanity his identity as a kumar and his prominent moral code as a warrior he will fight anyone to the death regardless of condition in this form away from the street fighter franchise itself akuma would continue to make appearances in non-street fighter games this includes power rangers legacy wars namco cross capcom street fighter across tekken and most surprisingly of all in my opinion as a fighter in tekken 7. the first time in history that a character from street fighter had appeared in a standalone tekken game akuma over the years had become mr crossover looking for those strong opponents i guess it's only a matter of time until we see him in smash brothers challenging sephiroth to the death as for street fighter 5 the game that occurs chronologically before 3 but after 4 he was included as a second wave dlc character in trailers he would be seen fighting against ryu and is depicted with longer hair than usual and more of a lion's mane marking his biggest aesthetic change in the series in the prologue to street fighter 5 he gets into a fight with jen once again who he seemingly kills for good this time around he also gets into a fight with nakali who wants akuma soul the kali attempts to devour kuma but akuma overcomes him his stalker-like obsession with ryu continues though with akuma defeating ryu in battle once more this time though he does not attempt to kill him but instead leaves him on the ground questioning himself if anyone can ever match his powers akuma leaves letting fate determine when the two will meet again over the course of all of his appearances it is revealed what a cold and calculating yet powerful warrior akuma is with a horrifying existence of only being motivated by killing strong foes he is certainly not a man who would prey on the weak but that has nothing to do with good intentions nothing is more serious to him than his training and seeking out powerful adversaries that he can potentially murder he holds a strong belief that only a fellow practitioner of satsui no hado is truly capable of defeating him in a death match and despises his bravo ghouken for sealing off the darkness of nyu which he perceives as preventing the warrior from ever reaching his true level of potential due to his whoops set of moral values the kuma does not believe he has ever done anything wrong while he killed his own teacher and assumed he did the same thing to his own brother he did it in combat thus it can be said to have not transgressed on his principles and an odd sneak attack on the likes of bison and gill is fine to him as of those individuals were deemed less than honorable to himself so despite all of the darkness that has consumed akuma he still holds some sort of moral value set whether it be a horrifying one or not so i guess that just about rounds up the horrifying story of akuma a man who lusts for death matches against strong opponents who has appeared as a hidden character in countless different games across the fighting game universe the character will always be remembered from strength air of mystery and ability to turn up just about anywhere looking for a challenge making him one of the most popular fighting game characters in all of history if you enjoyed today's video a few weeks back i made another likeness looking at the life and times of cami so why not check that one out next further to this if you are new here make sure you hit that subscribe button and let me know in the comments down below which street fighter character you would like to see me showcase on here next as usual massive thank yous go to that small contingent of viewers who support the channel over on patreon without you people i would not have time to make these videos as i will be working a different full-time job so thank you for continuing to back this channel and allowing me to continue to entertain you are helping me entertain thousands so i hope you continue to enjoy the incentives i haven't offered for you over on the patreon platform yeah speaking of patrons thank yous go out to sebastian velez carl johnson the murderer of crows hero paula lopez joseph rasmick ben harady and corey armar senior capcom vs snk vxl gotham ryan ditched evan boulder phillip mamp as for ruarakai keith ferguson dropped 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Channel: Top Hat Gaming Man

Views: 169,372

Rating: 4.8871903 out of 5

Keywords: akuma, akuma street fighter, akuma street fighter V, akuma street fighter history, akuma history, akuma story, akuma documentary, street fighter character documentary, street fighter biopic, street fighter alpha history, street fighter 3, super street fighter 2 turbo, street fighter iv, gouken vs akuma, ryu vs akuma, street fighter alpha 2

Id: AwTSfsyYyWU

Length: 19min 17sec (1157 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 04 2021