Street Fighters will get to hit some Tekken characters and vice-versa

Capcom has finally released the a list of some characters that will be making an appearance in the upcoming game Street Fighter X Tekken (pronounced as Street Fighter Cross Tekken).

Last year, Capcom and Namco announced that they will be working on a Street Fighter-Tekken crossover. This news could've gotten a warm welcome, but in an industry where Duke Nukem Forever takes forever to come out, and Starcraft: Ghost failing to take tangible form, the notion of companies promising to produce video games of epic proportions only to fall short in the attempt is probably what held back the fan boys of both franchises from rejoicing.

So when an official roster for Street Fighter X Tekken was announced, I can't help but get a feeling of assurance that this game will see the light of day.

(Click here to see the official roster for Street Fighter X Tekken)

Now, I've had experiences of playing both games, but I was more exposed to SF. The only Tekken games I got to play were Tekken 2, 3 and Tekken Advance. SF on the other hand, well, I got to play SF II for the SNES and a bunch of SF games and SF-related crossovers in the PS 1. From my perspective, though both franchises belong to the same genre, their approach to fighting obviously differs. While SF lets you bombard opponents and penetrate blocks with projectiles, and take the action to the air, Tekken prefers to keep things grounded and relies on well-placed hits and grabs. Think of the latter as a cartoony version of UFC, while the former as a toned down Dragon Ball Z.

That said, Street Fighter X Tekken will bank on a lot SF elements like 2D mechanics, a tag-system and Super Combos, but Tekken fans need not fret about being in unfamiliar territory since Tekken characters can still be controlled using a 4-button system. Unlike most tag-team videogames released by Capcom wherein the player must eliminate all the opponent's fighters to win, Street Fighter X Tekken is akin to Tekken Tag Tournament where the first player to have one of their fighter's health reduced to zero loses the round.

Given the differences in gameplay, it's pretty hard to imagine any common ground for these two games, genre aside. But since this isn't the first time Namco and Capcom worked together, there should be some reason to be excited about this. As of writing, I'm getting curious about the Super Combos the Tekken folks can perform. I mean, it's not like they have projectiles that you can upgrade to something bigger and flashier. My guess is, King can pull off a flurry of pile drivers ala-Zangief. Just don't know about the rest of the Tekken characters though. And while the inability to launch hadoukens would put Namco's icons at a disadvantage, I'm pretty sure Capcom will find a way to level the playing field.

Following the release of the successful Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter X Tekken is bringing back crossover fighting games to the limelight. Set to be released next year, this game allows us to determine which of the two, Street Fighters or Tekken forces, are the better gamers.