Examining the new mechanics behind ‘Street Fighter X Tekken’

While the release of Capcom’s Street Fighter X Tekken is still many months away, information is quickly coming to the surface about how the game works and how it plays. At both E3 and the NorCal Regionals 9 tournament, Capcom’s own Seth Killian talked to commentators, gaming press, and players about the game and its various mechanics. The various things mentioned in this article are based on what Seth has talked about, so special thanks to him as well as the guys at iplaywinner, who live streamed all of the NorCal Regionals.

Tag cancelling can turn a basic attack into a deadly extended juggle combo.

• If one of your two characters is KO’d, the round ends. Even if your other character is full of life, you can lose from the other getting destroyed. This will encourage mastery of both characters, as well as interesting tag maneuvers.
• In the current build, Seth Killian said that the winner of “Time Overs” will be the combined health of both characters, not just the one in play. He did state that this is something that may change, but it will be important to know that if a match is coming down to the end.
• There is no Ultra combo or “comeback mechanic.” Your meter is restricted to one Super combo, EX moves, and special tag moves. While the Ultra combo in Street Fighter IV wasn’t too overpowered, many disgruntled Marvel vs. Capcom 3 players will be rejoicing that X-Factor won’t be making an appearance in this game. Many of the viewers of the iplaywinner stream as well as some players from the NorCal Regionals said that this made the game an “instant buy.”
• The input for some of the moves of Street Fighter characters may change. In the build Seth Killian was showing off, Chun-li’s Lightning Legs (Hyakuretsukyaku) is now a half-turn motion, rather than spamming the kick button. Properties of moves will obviously change as well (such as Guile’s Sonic Boom being combo-able).

Tekken characters will have their own techniques carry over to counter the projectiles from the other side.

• When “hard” tagging, characters are vulnerable to any incoming attacks. When the characters tag out and in, they do a quick pose/taunt before leaving the combat area. This means if you are away from the edge, it opens up the possibility of both the character going out as well as the one coming in taking damage from projectiles or any other attack.
• There will be many opportunities for “tag cancels,” which in concept work similarly to the DHCs (Delayed Hyper Combos) of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Using bars of your meter, you can do many different things with these cancels. You can do a quick and safe tag or you can have the other character jump in during a combo. Using these basic tactics, players will be able to create some very advanced combos and strategies.
• The game will feature a “magic” series which is also similar to MvC3. If players hit Light->Medium->Heavy and Heavy again (with kick or punch), the character will perform a launcher combo, which will launch the opponent into a juggle, which can then be combo’d further through tag cancels.
• Many Tekken mechanics will translate directly into Street Fighter X Tekken. This includes the complex grabs, and mix-ups at the end of combos.
• By holding down a special move for a period of time (like a focus attack), players can do the EX versions of the moves. If held for up to three seconds, you can even do a Super. This is a cool feature for amateurs learning the game, as no serious player is going to have the chance to charge for three full seconds without getting blown up.

It is clear that Capcom is putting a lot of time and ideas into this game, and so far, it is looking amazing. Some of the best players in the world are already calling it one of the best fighting systems they’ve played, and the hype is definitely there. Hopefully Seth and his crew will release more information soon, because there is still a lot out there, including over half of the fighting roster left to unveil.

Written by Dylan Garner  (81 Posts)

I am a Sophomore studying Media Arts and Design (Journalism) at James Madison University in Virginia. I consider myself a music/rhythm game addict, a Street Fighter wannabe, and pro rage quitter.

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