Street Fighter 5 Season 2 Launch: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

11. Ups: Akuma Is Back

One of Street Fighter's longest mainstay characters ever since Super Turbo, Akuma has always been one of the most iconic faces in the roster. Now that he's finally here, I can say with total approval that Akuma is one of the most fun characters in the game.

Now that he's been entirely reimagined, Akuma is a balls-to-the-wall fighter who gets in your face with far more attack options than any other character in the game. His new Shoryuken has a follow-up afterwards, he can throw two mid-air projectiles at once... even his taunt is offensive!

In exchange, he's also the weakest, having the least health out of anyone in the game. To emphasize his new ferocious game plan, his Hadoken reaches only half screen. His V-Skill parry, when whiffed, puts players into a counter state, which can lead to an unskilled Akuma getting quickly crush countered and defeated.

All of this turns Akuma one of SFV's most volatile characters yet - the powerful cannon made of glass he's always been. Akuma players from the past will feel right at home with him, while new players may finally see more than "another Ryu clone".