Hiya!

Capcom’s winding down on their updates for Street Fighter V. I’m honestly surprised it’s lasted for this long as it’s already been 5 years since the game launched. They still have 3 more characters to add to the roster and I was ultra eager to see how Oro and Akira would play like. I also wanted to see who the mysterious final character would be and it seemed like the Street Fighter V Summer Update was going to be the place to find out. So I actually waited into the wee hours of the morning over here to watch the show.

Was I disappointed or excited after watching the Street Fighter V Summer Update? Well, my reaction was mixed. So mixed, in fact, I decided to review the entire show! For this review, I’m going to tackle each segment and give my thoughts on how I think the new characters will play like.

They didn’t waste a whole lot of time as the first thing they did showcase was Oro. More specifically, they focused on showing us his V-Skills and his V-Triggers. The folks at Capcom didn’t really go in-depth with his normals or his special moves as they already went through them during the Spring Update video. I do wish they gave a quick refresher on what Oro can do since it was a whole season ago when they showed all that.

Going to Oro’s V-Skills, it does seem like he got some really useful ones. His first V-Skill is Onibi, which has Oro toss out a multi-hitting arching projectile. It has slow startup so it won’t win any fireball wars but, if you do get it out, it can control a lot of space as it hangs out for quite a while. Oro’s other V-Skill, Mimomushi, has him hop forward and, during the hop, he can either do an overhead that can link into his light attacks or he can do a safe on block kick. You can cancel it from any normal so it does have the potential to work into Counter hits. They never did say if the hop goes through projectiles. Based on what I’ve seen, I think Oro’s Onibi comes off as more useful, even if it is harder to get out because of the slow startup.

When it comes to V-Triggers, I would say one clearly comes off as better. His first V-Trigger, Manrikitan, is an install move which gives Oro access to a super damaging command throw. The throw can be both done on the ground and in the air. You can also combo into it from normals and specials, which is always nice. However, it does seem like his second V-Trigger, Tengu Stone, has more utility. Tengu Stone has Oro summon several random objects he can control with the attack buttons. Not only does each do some damage, hitting the opponent with them will cause some hit stun, enabling some really insane long combos. The only drawback I can see is the amount of scaling it will have. Still, long combos are always cool. Overall, I do see Oro as a decent character but I will have to review what he can do specifically in the Spring Update video. Overall, I do see Oro as a decent character but I will have to review what he can do specifically in the Spring Update video… but not right now.

We then got a trailer for an all new Street Fighter League. Not just for the United States but for Japan as well. Honestly, I’m excited for this just because it looks like they’re going to do it in one building! No online crap! I really miss the offline tournaments and news that we’ll be getting not only one but two? That’s simply fantastic news.

We also got a behind the scenes look on how the audio and music was put together for Street Fighter V. I did find it odd Capcom wanted to make the background music things you can dance to. I guess it’s fine but I would rather get a hard hitting tune that gets your blood pumping for action rather than making you want to get on your feet. I always did find watching how everyday objects like a leather bag becomes something like someone rolling on the floor. I can’t imagine how they think of it but I am glad they do. Also, I am sorry but, as good as the tunes are, they don’t hold a candle to how epic the Guilty Gear Strive songs are. Love the Subhuman Self is still in my playlist as it rocks so hard! Anyway, this segment was good but it felt like more of a break to go to the bathroom as we all wanted to see Akira, who came up next!

Unlike Oro, Capcom went deeper on what Akira can do as this was the first time they were able to talk about the character, however, not by much. They only showed a few of her more notable normals and some of her special attacks.

We did get a look at her stage which looks a lot like a more grimy version of the Overpass stage from Street Fighter IV. It’s cool enough and I do like we get to see Akira’s classmates as seen from Rival Schools. From what I’ve seen, she seems to be a mix of Karin and Lucia. I do love the fact she has a low hitting special attack in her Senshubu kick. I’m guessing each kick will have their uses and will differentiate themselves with how safe they are on hit and block.

Akira’s V-Skill 1, the Kiko Rensei, powers up her Kiko Kai projectile. It’s great for fireball wars as a powered up Kiko Kai can destroy the projectile and still hit the opponent. Also, doing it in the air while it’s powered up can cause enough hit stun for Akira to land and continue into a combo. It’s fine but it certainly lacks the grand utility of her other V-Skill, the Tsutenda. If you hit the opponent with Tsutenda, you’ll knock the opponent into the air and you can chase after him or her to perform an air combo! She can do it raw for a really high damaging combo or during her target combo to do a shorter but still damaging air combo.

Akira’s V-Triggers are something else, though. Her first one, Otoko No Senaka, has Akira summoning her big brother Daigo (no, not the Daigo who plays Street Fighter, though) to attack her opponent. Daigo is invincible and will remain on the screen until he does a fire pillar attack. Akira can also move immediately after calling her brother, enabling her to combo both into and out of the V-Trigger as well as create mixup opportunities. This is really good but it only works once, much like R. Mika’s V-Triggers. Her other V-Trigger is Haten No Kamae, is an install command which will give Akira access to several special attacks. It’s hard to determine how good this is because they don’t go into much detail but I can see pros really piling on the damage with this. What makes this even better is that you don’t have to attack and, by cancelling into it, might catch opponents off guard for a throw. Overall, Akira looks like a very deep character but a lot of fun.

Now, I’m really excited for August 16 as this is when both Oro and Akira will be made playable! Honestly, they look like fun characters but Akira, even though she’s going to be very complex because of how good both her V-Skills and V-Triggers look, seems like the more fun character.

Capcom also gave us a quick update on the tournament function of Street Fighter V. While this is nice and all for most online players, I simply didn’t care for this because, well, I’m just not good enough to be on a tournament, much less a team of Street Fighters who would want to win. I’d just be a liability for the team! However, I do like that Capcom made it so there are winner and loser brackets and the tournament function takes that into account. Now, if they just made their online netcode better…

We did get one final surprise as they revealed who the last character will be! Sadly, it’s not a guest character nor is it someone returning from a previous Street Fighter or Capcom franchise. Rather, it’s a new character and, if the people on the Summer Update are to be believed, this new character is a glimpse of the future of Street Fighter. I find that hard to swallow because why then did they make Luke so generic looking?

There are some things that do make Luke a unique character. For one, he seems to have a lot of target combos. His projectile travels the length of the screen almost instantaneously and works like Captain Commando’s Captain Fire from Marvel vs Capcom. He also has a Shoryuken type move. I could already see one of his V-Skills powers up his punch specials. I am confused regarding his V-Triggers because it looks like Luke has 3 of them! One that powers up his projectiles, another that gives him access to a couple of new punch attacks and a third which has him throw a barrage of projectiles, Dragon Ball-style! Maybe the last one is just his Critical Art but they haven’t fixed the camera angles yet but I doubt it as he used an EX move prior to doing it. We’ll know more about Luke in November during the Winter Update, I guess.

Overall, the Summer Update did its job as it got me hyped for both Oro and Akira. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Luke, some new character who seems to borrow a lot of moves from Captain Commando just was a disappointment. Maybe when he gets an update all to himself and we get to see what he can do, I’ll change my mind.

Still can’t wait for August 13 so I can get my hands on Oro and Akira, though.

Byee!

What did you think of Capcom’s Street Fighter V Summer Update? Who do you think will be better: Oro or Akira? Why were you also let down with the announcement of Luke? Let me know in the comments section below!