Hiya!

When Street Fighter V first came out, I really wanted to main FANG. I’m in the minority but I actually like the goofball assassin. Unfortunately, his slow gameplay style and awkward attacks made him difficult to play as you had to rewire your brain to control him well. So, I dropped FANG very early and switched around.

Well, Street Fighter 6 is now out and, although FANG is still out of the picture, his pupil, AKI is now entering the fray. Does this pale purveyor of poisons have what it takes to outshine her master? Let’s go see if Capcom made a poison character any good or she if she’s broken and we all need someone to fix her.

First off, I gotta tip my hat off to Capcom as I really love AKI’s overall aesthetic design! She definitely looks very different from your typical female Street Fighter female fighter as she has a very angular face, slits for eyes and an extremely lanky body. She also has one of the goofiest hairstyles I’ve seen in a fighting game. Even with all of that, AKI still manages to pull off the overall look. I also love both of the outfits Capcom designed for her. The body hugging qipao top with the skintight leggings look super classy but I have to say I’m in love with her gothic lolita outfit as it’s so elaborate looking and the mere fact she can still fight while wearing it is fantastic.

What helps her to keep the appeal is her insane personality. It’s plainly obvious she wants her senpai to notice her and she’s not ashamed to show it. It can be kind of unsettling as she sounds so chipper most of the time, even when it does deal with actually killing people! It’s actually quite endearing as it’s so over-the-top and makes her stand out. It certainly helps that the voice actresses, both the Japanese and English ones, do a good job in conveying how coocoo she is.

As much as I love what Capcom did with AKI’s design, I can’t really say I’m all for her gameplay as it is very complex. Like every character in Street Fighter 6, AKI has a core character mechanic and hers deals with applying poison. Most of her special moves apply a poison debuff which will slowly drain her opponent’s life before either fizzling out or stop when AKI is hit with an attack. However, the goal is not to simply apply the poison and hope it’ll drain the opponents lifebar but it’s to actually apply the poison and then trigger Toxic Blossom, which detonates the poison and can lead to some devastating combos. Your success with AKI kind of depends on how well you use this but I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

AKI does have some really good normal attacks. Both her standing and crouching medium punches have decent range to them and can be cancelled into special moves. Her standing medium kick is slow but is a good poke and can actually link into her standing medium punch for combos. AKI’s standing heavy punch has really good range to it. It’s not cancellable but you can tack on another heavy punch for one of her target combos on reaction if it does hit clean and also applies the poison effect.

However, AKI’s workhorse normal has to be her standing heavy kick. Not only is it fairly quick and cancellable but it’s also her best normal anti-air attack. It sadly doesn’t have that much range but that’s its only weakness. Oh, her forward with heavy kick is also a really good move as it has terrific range, goes over lows and is plus on block. I can see people abusing this attack after a Drive Rush online already! I don’t like how her crouching heavy attacks are switched as her down heavy punch is her sweep while her down heavy kick has her do an awkward anti-air move. Like FANG, I have to rewire my brain as these buttons are switched.

AKI’s special moves are kind of a mixed bag but most of them do apply the poison effect and can trigger Toxic Blossom. Her Nightshade Pulse has her blowing a projectile bubble at her opponent. It’s pretty slow so it’s good for covering her advance but she can preemptively pop the bubble with Nightshade Chaser, causing an area-effect explosion. Her Toxic Wreath can only hit up close but can be used in juggles pretty easily. Her Orchid Spring has AKI lay down an unblockable pool of poison. It doesn’t cause any hitstun but will apply the poison which, as I mentioned before, is central to AKI’s overall gameplay.

Serpent Lash has AKI throw out her whip-like claws at different angles depending on the strength of the punch button used. The heavy version is a really good anti-air and actually a nice combo ender. The Overdrive version of Serpent Lash actually pulls AKI close to her opponent if it hits, allowing for combo extensions. AKI also has a weird special called Cruel Fate which has her jump at her foe at an arc while stabbing in the air. The heavy button is really good here as its plus on block and is good against projectiles as she can use it to leap over them.

AKI also has a stance-type move with Sinister Slide. From this stance, she can do several things. She can activate Venomous Fang, which is projectile invincible and knocks down while applying poison. Heel Strikes is a quick 2-hitting attack which can link into and go into combos. Finally, she can perform Entrapment, a command throw with decent range but is super slow, limiting its usefulness. You can catch your opponent off guard with this if they think you’re going to go for Heel Strikes but, like I said, it’s incredibly slow and actually pretty reactable. She also has an evasive move called Snake Step and her only way to get out of the corner. Sadly, even the Overdrive version is not throw invincible so throw loops can be a serious issue for AKI.

Now, this is where we get into the meat of AKI’s central gameplay as your goal would be to apply poison first and then activate Toxic Blossom as Toxic Blossom not only does additional damage but will stun the opponent long enough to connect with follow-up attacks, extending the combo and doing more damage. This is good and all but you do have to be aware of how the Toxic Blossom would affect your opponent. For anti-airs, it’s very simple as it launches them higher in the air so you can juggle them with attacks. However, the grounded versions of Toxic Blossom can get confusing. For example, triggering Toxic Blossom from the medium version of Serpent Lash causes the opponent to fall back while the Overdrive version of Serpent Lash causes the opponent to crumple forward. You really have to know how the opponent will react to the Toxic Blossom so you can do the proper extension.

This also means some combos will only work if the opponent is poisoned or not. This, in turn, means AKI players have to keep in mind if the opponent is poisoned or not as they have switch what combo works for the situation. It’s not really that big of a deal but, for someone like me who can get confused in the heat of battle, that’s just another thing to add to my mental stack.

AKI’s supers are fairly decent. Her Level 1, Deadly Implication, is her cheapest invincible reversal option that hits the opponent. It’s not exactly a “get out of free” move as its not projectile invincible but, since she does crouch low, she can use it to avoid some fireballs. Tainted Talons, her Level 2, is a great Super but you do have to aim it. This can destroy all manner of projectiles and even leaves a giant pool of poison in its wake! Finally, her Claws of Ya Zi, her Level 3 and Critical Art, is truly invincible and actually has some decent range. Its only weakness is it doesn’t apply the poison effect nor does it do more damage when your opponent is poisoned.

As much as I would love to main AKI, I don’t think I can. I do think her poison and Toxic Blossom mechanic is cool but this does lead me to think she’s a more complex character and not for beginners as you have to keep track of when the opponent is poisoned and which Toxic Blossom effect you would want. She feels like a high-execution character, which I can’t handle. I can see pros using her to great effect but she does come off as a little too gimmick-y for most pros to switch to her. I can see her doing great in some matchups but, as she doesn’t have a true reversal, she can get trapped in the corner quite easily. AKI is a good addition to Street Fighter 6 but I do think she needs a little more fixing… I mean, tweaking.

Byee

What do you think of AKI, Capcom’s newest addition to Street Fighter 6? Let me know in the comments section below!