Fighting games can be infuriating if you’re bad at them like me. However, games like Mortal Kombat offer charm because of their storied history. When companies go a step further to create crossover titles, it’s easy to get caught in the hype. The idea of our favorites meeting in an arena is an enticing one, but one game sparked my curiosity more than others: Tekken x Street Fighter.

In 2012, we saw the first crossover fighting game between Capcom’s Street Fighter and Namco Bandai’s Tekken series. The game is called Street Fighter x Tekken, and it staged each character’s abilities under the Street Fighter format. Gone were the intricate martial art style 3D combat. It was replaced by the equally entertaining – in my opinion – 2D gameplay we expect from Street Fighter. Players could choose two fighters for tag team matches, which meant plenty of time with our favorites. 

I skipped it. Then why talk about it, you ask? Namco intended to produce Tekken x Street Fighter, a crossover that would use the Tekken format. They announced it and SFxT simultaneously. Unfortunately, TxSF has been in development hell since 2016. 

What happened to Tekken x Street Fighter?

Namco and Capcom announced both crossover projects in 2010. On June 21, 2021, most media (me too) believed that Namco canceled the game. In an episode of Harada’s Bar, the Tekken boss was translated as saying, “Development stopped but we got about 30 percent done. We wanted to show it, but the project died.” Katsuhiro released an official statement explaining that (and how) the mistranslation happened, IGN reported.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRD5RVADauU

Note: The title claims the video will only be available for a limited time.

Tekken x Street Fighter is on hold, then, as the team waits for the right time. Yet, previously, Harada found the crossover to be “harder to justify” because of Tekken 7’s ongoing success, reported videogameschronicle on May 7, 2019. 

The appeal of Tekken x Street Fighter

Tekken is a fighting game that dedicates a button to your chosen fighter’s limbs. It evolved over the years, introducing new systems such as a “neutral guard,” and sidestepping through a stage. The most significant draw, I believe, is that each character has a unique fighting style that translates well through the combo system. Their martial arts also help define the characters in the Tekken series. Certain characters are grapplers, while others kickbox or use Chinese Kenpo (Like Feng Wei, who utilizes it brutally).

Through their distinct martial arts, we get to understand more about their physicality, which adds to their character. Street Fighter would benefit from the crossover.

Characters in Street Fighter are already well known, and they don’t need a crossover to establish who they are. It would benefit fans to look deeper into the very fighting styles that they have come to know. We would command a variety of Shotokan techniques and unleash Akuma’s lethal Ansatsuken in longer combos. Both franchises share fighting styles between their characters, but it’s how they use it that would differentiate them.

Fictional Fighting Styles

Street Fighter introduces a few fictional fighting styles, such as the previously mentioned Ansatsuken – a style meant to ‘slay opponents.’ Dan Hibiki is the sole practitioner of the Saikyo Style, a mish-mash of techniques that deserves the Tekken treatment. Oddly, many characters employ the Shotokan style, but the game’s version does not resemble the real-life discipline. Imagine how creative the process of crafting characters like Ryu, Guile, Chun-Li, and Cammy in the Tekken style would be? 

Maybe that’s what is taking so long? We caught a glimpse of what could have been when Namco put Akuma in Tekken 7. As controversial as his addition was, I thought the move meant Tekken x Street Fighter was around the corner. It sounds like a massive undertaking, but I’ll wait patiently for the day Namco releases the last fighting game I’m excited to play.