The recent Monster Hunter Wilds collaboration with the Street Fighter series has brought Akuma to the game as a new armor set. As well as taking on the appearance of the Akuma, Monster Hunter Wilds players are able to utilize his abilities from Street Fighter when facing off against the game’s fiercest monsters.
By completing the new quests introduced in the Street Fighter 6 collaboration, 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 providing Monster Hunter players with a new way to face challenging monsters, it may serve as an indicator for the future of the Street Fighter series.
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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 from Monster Hunter Wilds’ Street Fighter collab or purchased the Street Fighter gestures DLC content, players can expect to transform them into a 3D Street Fighter experience. 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 inserts Street Fighter movesets into Monster Hunter, giving players a feel for what the series could play like in 3D.
Street Fighter fans have already had a taste of this with Street 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 of Street Fighter 6’s special moves to initiate fights and traverse the open world. Now that Monster Hunter Wilds has given players the ability to use these moves in 3D combat, there could be a case to be made for Street Fighter to adopt this for a future game in the series.
Even prior to this, a Street Fighter character was already playable in a popular 3D fighting game. Tekken 7 included Akuma as 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 the Street Fighter series 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 3D Street Fighter title, it may be a necessary change. The traditional motion inputs required for special moves in past Street Fighter games would not be feasible if players could move in a third dimension. However, Street Fighter 6’s Modern Controls show that the series isn’t afraid to step away from tradition in favor of accessibility. The Assisted Combo: Akuma item and Street Fighter 6’s World Tour simplify these moves to better fit 3D movement, so it is likely that a 3D Street Fighter game would make use of a similar control scheme.
A solution to resolve these concerns would be for a Street Fighter game 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 game Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo and the often overlooked Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. A 3D spin-off could shake up the Street Fighter formula without completely alienating fans of the 2D entries.
Akuma’s inclusion in Monster Hunter Wilds accurately ports his moves over from Street Fighter, feeling like a natural inclusion in Monster Hunter’s gameplay. However, this addition could set up a 3D Street Fighter game in the future. Regardless of whether this would be the next mainline entry or a spin-off, it will need to make sure that it is accessible for all while remaining true to its identity.
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