Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike/Akuma/2021/Introduction

Introduction

Akuma (known as Gouki in Japan) is an extremely powerful warrior obsessed with mastery of the Satsui no Hado, a dark energy-based force, the antithesis of the Kyosui no Hado (Power of Nothingness) that Ryu employs. He believes only another practitioner of the Satsui no Hado will ever be able to contest his power. His first appearance was in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret boss.

When playing Akuma, the basic goal is either to use his zoning ability to control your opponent’s options, minimizing the risk of getting hit yourself, or to simply go on total offense and decimate the opponent as quickly as possible, as they can take him out just about as quickly. It is very important to note that Akuma has the absolute worst defense rating of all the characters in the game, and is tied with Remy for having the smallest stun bar. One should also note that Akuma's supers are all the same length, and that he has no EX moves. All this was done to counter balance his incredible offense and mixups.

Super Arts

SA1: Messatsu Gouhadou

Akuma's fireball super, and by far the most practical choice. SA1 offers Akuma the most opportunities to land a super. It's the safest of the three, and is hard to punish unless it's blocked at close range. Because it's a projectile, Akuma can move freely if the opponent chooses to parry it, giving him time to mix up the opponent with high/low sequences or Demon Flip. Its long parry time also makes it an excellent anti-air. SA1 can be confirmed from a variety of moves, including cr.LK x 2, cr.MK, or any of his uppercuts. It also does good chip damage, especially when preceded by a fireball or red fireball. The main downside is its fairly low damage, but it's still respectable, especially against the lower health characters.

SA2: Messatsu Goushoryu

Akuma's uppercut super, similar to Ken's SA1. Does better damage than SA1, and has many of the same confirms and cancels. On the other hand, this super is much more unsafe if missed, and basically gives the opponent a free combo. Also has less chip potential, since the last 3 hits are easily parried. Not a bad super, but SA1 is preferable.

SA3: Messatsu Gourasen

Akuma's Hurricane Kick super, goes straight up. Does the most damage out of all of his supers, but has the worst recovery and chip damage by far. Also lacks range and confirm routes, making it hard to easily integrate into his ground pressure/offense. Almost certainly his worst super.

Shun Goku Satsu/Raging Demon (any SA)

Akuma's signature special art, requires 2 full meters regardless of which super is selected. An unblockable throw super that does tons of damage. It is ordinarily hard to connect since the range is very short if not done from a kara, allowing the opponent to jump away after the super flash. Techniques such as f.MP kara-Demon or hiding the jabs with a forward dash make it a much more useful. It can also combo from far HK (which causes a back turned state). While the high damage is tempting, the difficulty of successfully landing it means that it is often better to land any of his other supers twice instead.

Kongou Kokuretsu Zan (Any SA)

Akuma channels his energy into a shockwave, requiring 2 full meters. Even more damaging than the Raging Demon (and is the most damaging Super Art in the game, provided all of the hits connect). Good for countering early jump-ins and cross-ups, but is somewhat slow to come out and does severely reduced damage if the first hit misses. His most common combo with this super involves a jab reset into KKZ after a LK Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku. This is also the ultimate chip out super - if you get a knockdown with 2 full meters and your opponent has only a few pixels of life, this super guarantees the win with proper timing. This is because the first hit is unparryable and does great chip damage. If, by some ridiculous chance, your opponent survives the first hit and starts red parrying the rest, you have many opportunities to continue a high/low mixup during the parries (similar his SA1).

Strengths	Weaknesses
Versatile tools, allowing Akuma to play either a very offensive rushdown game or a low risk, zoning game High damage output and corner carry, even without access to EX moves Solid and versatile mobility with great dashes, good walk speed, air tatsu, fireballs and demon flip followups Solid mixup game with his different air approaches, good tick throws, reset routes, and overhead	No EX moves and same size bars for all supers means Akuma utilizes his meter least efficiently out of all characters in the game Lowest health in the game means he can't afford to make many mistakes compared to other characters

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