The recentMonster Hunter Wildscollaboration with theStreet Fighterseries has brought Akuma to the game as a new armor set. As well as taking on the appearance of the Akuma,Monster Hunter Wildsplayers are able to utilize his abilities fromStreet Fighterwhen facing off against the game’s fiercest monsters.
By completing the new quests introduced in theStreet Fighter 6collaboration, players can unlock the new armor set along with new items. One such item, Assisted Combo: Akuma, is essentially a new weapon of its own, allowing players to use their fists on their hunts to slay and capture monsters with their bare hands. As well as providingMonster Hunterplayers with a new way to face challenging monsters, it may serve as an indicator for the future of theStreet Fighterseries.
Akuma’s Playstyle Proves That a 3D Street Fighter Could Work
Capcom Could Be Testing the Waters for Street Fighter
Whether they’ve unlocked the rewards fromMonster Hunter Wilds’Street Fightercollabor purchased theStreet Fightergestures DLC content, players can expect to transform them into a 3DStreet Fighterexperience. Hunters can freely roam around the open zones performing familiar combos and special moves, from Gou Hadoken to Tatsumaki Senpu-kyaku. Using these abilities essentially insertsStreet Fightermovesets intoMonster Hunter, giving players a feel for what the series could play like in 3D.
Street Fighterfans have already had a taste of this withStreet Fighter 6’s World Tour mode, allowing players to take to the streets and challenge almost any character. Though fights are still restricted to the 2D plane, their custom character can use some ofStreet Fighter 6’s special movesto initiate fights and traverse the open world. Now thatMonster Hunter Wildshas given players the ability to use these moves in 3D combat, there could be a case to be made forStreet Fighterto adopt this for a future game in the series.
Even prior to this, aStreet Fightercharacter was already playable in a popular 3D fighting game.Tekken 7included Akumaas a guest character, and though his movement was still restricted to a 2D plane to keep faithful to his series of origin, it gave players the opportunity to see what theStreet Fighterseries may be like if they could step into the z-axis.
The Struggles of the Third Dimension
One concern players might have is the control scheme, but to work in a 3DStreet Fightertitle, it may be a necessary change. The traditional motion inputs required for special moves in pastStreet Fightergames would not be feasible if players could move in a third dimension. However,Street Fighter 6’s Modern Controlsshow that the series isn’t afraid to step away from tradition in favor of accessibility. The Assisted Combo: Akuma item andStreet Fighter 6’s World Tour simplify these moves to better fit 3D movement, so it is likely that a 3DStreet Fightergame would make use of a similar control scheme.
A solution to resolve these concerns would be for aStreet Fightergame that uses 3D space to not be a mainline entry. The series is no stranger to spin-offs, such as the genre-bending puzzle action gameSuper Puzzle Fighter 2 Turboand the often overlookedSuper Gem Fighter Mini Mix. A 3D spin-off could shake up theStreet Fighterformula without completely alienating fans of the 2D entries.
Akuma’s inclusion inMonster Hunter Wildsaccurately ports his moves over fromStreet Fighter, feeling like a natural inclusion inMonster Hunter’s gameplay. However, this addition could set up a3DStreet Fightergamein the future. Regardless of whether this would be the next mainline entry or a spin-off, it will need to verify that it is accessible for all while remaining true to its identity.
