Shin Akuma

"I am power made flesh! Feel how weak you truly are!"

- Shin Akuma (Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact)

Shin Akuma (真・悪魔), known in Japan as Shin Gouki (真・豪鬼), is a character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing in Street Fighter Alpha 2 as a hidden boss. This is the form Akuma takes when he becomes almost one with the Satsui no Hado, though not completely so that he doesn't lose his humanity.

Appearance
In his debut in Street Fighter Alpha 2, he had red hair and a purple gi, similar to the one he normally wears. Later incarnations have him wearing a dark purple gi and eventually white hair, as well as a slightly darker shade of skin.

In Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, he has orange hair and a dark cyan gi while retaining his original incarnation's regular dark skin.

In Tekken 7, Shin Akuma's appearance remains the same as his original form with the exception of an aura that surrounds him.

Personality
His personality remains more or less the same as the original. Essentially, he is Akuma using the fullest extent of his power. However, he is more competitive in battle and less merciful when he is fighting a strong warrior. He will only fight at his true potential when he has found an equal to do battle with.

Gameplay


The two versions operate very similarly, but Shin Akuma is faster, deals more damage and can throw two Zanku Hadokens at once. His special moves also tend to have more priority, negligible startup and recovery compared to the playable version. Also, his Shun Goku Satsu is much faster and travels farther (making it harder to evade), and in some instances, inflicts more damage (e.g. Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Tekken 7). In some games, Shin Akuma also has extremely powerful specials as well (e.g. Misogi).

Shin Akuma's overall style revolves around completely overwhelming the opponent. He already adds more on top that he can already do as his normal state, and with practically no recovery between his attacks, he can string together more devastating cross-up attacks and combos that he can't do as his regular self. His biggest weakness however is the slowness of the two Zanku Hadokens and the Tenma Gou Zanku super combo can easily be dodged, and is very punishable. Despite this, Shin Akuma is not to be taken lightly, since he can do severe damage to a careless player or the opponent.

Pre-Street Fighter
The first 'appearance' of Shin Akuma in chronological order is during Akuma's fight with Goutetsu, where he unleashes his full power to gain the upper hand and eventual victory.

Street Fighter Alpha series
Shin Akuma first appears in Street Fighter Alpha 2, but only as a hidden boss. He was made into a selectable hidden character in the console ports of Alpha 2; the code to unlock Shin Akuma forces the player to move their character select cursor in a "Z" pattern in the PlayStation version, and an "X" pattern in the Saturn version. If he is fought, the player has only one chance to defeat Shin Akuma, and if the player loses the match, he will not be fought again, instead the last battle of the current player character will be fought, and will have to restart the game if the player seeks a rematch. Shin Akuma reappears in the console versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3, where his name is displayed on-screen.

Story-wise, Shin Akuma is merely Akuma using the full extent of his power and is almost one with the Satsui no Hado, compared to the "normal" version, where he voluntarily holds back his true power to avoid ending fights prematurely to have a greater battle. He is also one of the most powerful characters in the Street Fighter series. Shin Akuma is Evil Ryu's final boss in Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Gameplay-wise, Shin Akuma has all the above mentioned benefits. Additionally, he can release two Zanku Hadokens, one at impacting at half screen and the other travelling the full length, covering the entire screen, compared to the much lesser range of his "normal" counterpart. Shin Akuma's stage in Alpha 3 is a red recoloration of Akuma's regular stage.

Street Fighter II series
In the original version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Shin Akuma does not actually appear in-game, but the CPU-controlled version of Akuma that can be fought as a secret boss is very similar to later incarnations of Shin Akuma, and likely inspired him. He is however, an unlockable playable character in the Dreamcast version, and in the Game Boy Advance version of the game, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival after maxing out the VS Points at 9,999. In the latter, he wears the purple gi seen in the Alpha series.

Shin Akuma returns as as a secret playable character in Ultra Street Fighter II. To select him, one must input the following on the character select screen in either arcade mode or offline VS. mode:
 * 1) Select Ryu, cancel on Color 1
 * 2) Select Ken, cancel on Color 9
 * 3) Select Sagat, cancel on Color 8
 * 4) Select M. Bison, cancel on Color 7
 * 5) Place the cursor on Random, press L & R at the same time

If selected the same way in color edit mode, then Shin Akuma's colors can also be customized like any other character.

Street Fighter III series
Shin Akuma makes his only canon appearance in the Street Fighter III series in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, as a hidden final boss. If the player manages to get three perfects and does not lose a single round until the last match of an arcade playthrough, Akuma challenges the player. His introduction is similar to the one in Street Fighter II, where he interrupts the last match of the arcade playthrough, performing the Shun Goku Satsu on the player character's final boss (most commonly Gill) and proceeds to challenge the player.

If the player manages to K.O. Akuma in the consecutive rounds of the match, at least once with a Super Art; he gets up and sends out a massive burst of chi, which shakes the ground and darkens the atmosphere. During this animation Akuma challenges the player with words "Behold the true power of my fist" (我が拳の真の力を見よ.). Upon this, his hair turns white, his eyes turn yellow, his skin darkens and he challenges the player again, this time as Shin Akuma.

He isn't playable in the arcade versions by regular means, but in the Dreamcast version (named Street Fighter III: Double Impact) he is a secret playable character. He is the last fighter to be unlocked, as the player is required to first unlock Gill by defeating him using all the characters on the roster in the Arcade Mode, and then clear the mode using Gill while obtaining a high grade.

His physical appearance, particularly the white hair, is similar to Shin Akuma from the Capcom vs. SNK series, but he retains the ten (天) kanji. On a note, the gray gi and white hair palette is actually the alternate (kick) color, which happens to be the default color for Player 2 (although it's missing the yellow eyes. Shin Akuma's actual sprite is similar to his Street Fighter Alpha sprite, with purple gi and red hair. His (and regular Akuma's) stage is set in Mt. Fuji, Japan.

Leftovers of a playable version of Shin Akuma can be found in the CPS3-based arcade ports of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, which can be accessed using unconventional methods. However, the character is incomplete and lacks a few animations, and has a few glitches. Additionally, there is also a hidden Shin Akuma stage which consists of Akuma's Kousyu Street stage, but with a red "killing" moon casting a eerie glow instead. Interestingly, this incarnation of Shin Akuma has blue skin and white hair, an image which predates Oni's appearance. His frame data suggests that his modification for usage in 3rd Strike ended early since his data somewhat reflects his data in 2nd Impact.

Other Appearances
Akuma has been one of the most prolific characters when it comes to crossover appearances. Like the Street Fighter games, Shin Akuma or an even more powerful version of Akuma have been featured in numerous games as hidden or final bosses. On a note; in the crossovers, even the playable version of Akuma borrows some traits from his true self, eg. In X-Men: Children of the Atom, the regular Akuma can input two Zanku Hadokens or in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 his Shun Goku Satsu can pass through projectiles, but in both cases his health is below average like usual. Some of the notable crossovers Akuma has made as a boss character are:

Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001
In the Capcom vs. SNK series, a different form of Shin Akuma appears. His appearance is based on his Street Fighter III incarnation. This form of Akuma achieves a new level of power when a dying Rugal Bernstein pours his Orochi Power into him, driving Akuma insane, whitening his hair and turning his skin much darker than usual as a result of all the dark power flowing within him. The shin in his name is now written as an original kanji formed from the characters shin (神) and jin (人) combined vertically and pronounced shin, instead of the usual shin (真). This expresses the idea of a person who has become godlike and far beyond an ordinary human. This unique 神人 kanji is seen on his back during certain animations, replacing Akuma's classic ten (天).

In this form, Shin Akuma has showed some feats of incredible power, among them were destroying a large asteroid with a single attack, and causing the seas to split in two with a single punch.

Akuma in this form possesses new and enhanced moves. Akuma gains the Tenma Shurettou, which can be used as a high or a low counter move depending on the input. His Level 3 Super Combos are the Misogi and the Shun Goku Satsu, both of which are capable of outright killing characters with a low stamina rating. Shin Akuma can be unlocked in Capcom vs. SNK 2 by defeating him once at any difficulty. However, the playable version lacks the high priority and damage of the CPU controlled version, and has the lowest stamina of any character on the roster. Shin Akuma is one of the fastest characters in-game, rivaled only by Ultimate Rugal and Orochi Iori.

In this game, he is the final boss of the Capcom side as Ultimate Rugal is for the SNK side. If he is defeated as a boss, he will be on the verge of death until black entities envelop and take him away so he can continue and get stronger. He has the highest requirements to face him as a final boss. To be able to challenge Shin Akuma, the player must get 1500+ GP, get three super combo finishes, one Dramatic/Finest KO, defeat either M. Bison or Geese with a Super Combo, and not lose a round.

In the ending of the playable version, the following text scrolls:


 * "As the sun rises in Osaka City, where is Shin Akuma? There're some who believe in a 'martial arts god' who disappeared into the fire, but will one day return..."

SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
Shin Akuma, in this version, is roughly True Akuma as he appears in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact. He is the final boss of the Capcom side, along with SNK's Serious Mr. Karate. In his ending, he comments on how the principles of heaven could never hope to hold a candle to his power, and states that neither heaven or hell could never be able to control his Satsui no Hado, and proceeds to split the ocean's waves with a single blow.

Capcom Fighting Evolution
This form of Akuma also makes a return in Capcom Fighting Evolution. His personality is however depicted as his normal self. In a particularly memorable ending (aforementioned), Akuma jumps into space and obliterates an asteroid threating to destroy the Earth with a single attack for training. Notably, this is the only appearance of Shin Akuma where he is playable but not his original form.

Tekken 7
Shin Akuma appears in the special chapter that can be unlocked after completing the game's Story Mode, essentially making him the true final boss. This version of the character does not possess his trademark white hair, but retains his swirling aura of energy. Shin Akuma possess enhanced stats, including regenerating health, the ability to fire three Shakunetsu Hadouken in rapid succession, the ability to parry forcing the player to counter attack him only and an upgraded Shun Goku Satsu that instantly kills the opponent if it connects.

In the story mode, Akuma uses this form to combat the full might of Devil Kazuya. The outcome of the battle is left unknown. Outside of the story mode, Shin Akuma can challenge the player at any given time during the single player mode Treasure Battle, possessing all of his above abilities with the exception of the regenerating health.

Similar Forms
In addition to Shin Akuma, other similar powered-up version of Akuma have appeared in other games:

Cyber-Akuma
In Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Shin Akuma is replaced by Cyber Akuma (Mech Gouki (メカ豪鬼) in Japan), a version of Akuma mechanically enhanced by Apocalypse; the enhancements include a mechanical right arm (dubbed Booster Rocket), metal wings, and four extra arms that are only seen in one of his win poses. As such, his personality is vastly different from that of Akuma's, being more servile (as reflected in his win quotes.)

Oni
A new variant of Akuma is present in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Known only as Oni, this version of Akuma possesses longer white hair and darkened blue skin. The CPU controlled version of Oni serves a role largely similar to Shin Akuma, taking the form of a new secret boss in Arcade Mode, as well as being a playable character in a toned down state.

This form of Akuma is slower but stronger in terms of brute power, compared to the original. However, Oni lacks the technical finesse displayed by the regular Akuma. This demonic transformation allows Akuma to use an air dash, and grants him several new attacks, such as a forward slide which slashes at the opponent as he passes as well as an overhead ground stomp. However he loses the Ashura Senku, Tenmakujinkyaku and the Hyakkishu. Most advantageously of all, Oni can perform the Shun Goku Satsu in the air, as well as a variant of his Meido Gohado Ultra Combo.

In the arcade mode, the boss version of Oni has the highest requirements amongst the four secret bosses, Akuma, Gouken, Evil Ryu and Oni, in order to be fought.

Quotes
See: Shin Akuma/Quotes

Trivia

 * Akuma's second alternate costume color 10 in Super Street Fighter IV resembles the Shin Akuma from Capcom vs. SNK 2.


 * Shin Akuma's theme in Capcom vs SNK 2 is a remix to his theme in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.


 * A form of Shin Akuma similar to Oni was possibly planned for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike before the character being dropped entirely. Dummied content found in the game's files, including an alternate colored sprite similar to Oni's color palette and a Kousyu Street stage background with an ominous eclipse strongly hints at this.


 * Akuma's 6th color in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is Shin Akuma from the Street Fighter Alpha series.


 * Shin Akuma's theme, "Groan" in Street Fighter Alpha 3 was originally an unused track in the vanilla version, and it was given to him since Evil Ryu was going to be a playable character, and was going to be his final battle. Incidently, a similar situation happens with Evil Ryu's theme, "Black Power", is the same theme from M. Bison's final battle with Ryu.


 * In Capcom vs. SNK 2, in the closure of the scene after Ultimate Rugal's defeat, the Shin Akuma who appears after deeming Rugal's mind unworthy of controlling his power, and takes over his body, is seen with Rugal's attire, making this the first time a version of Akuma is seen with clothes that are not his gi. But the overall appearence however, is unchanged wih the sleeves that were once part of Rugal's suit blown off.

Gallery
Shin Akuma/Gallery

Sprites

 * For sprite animations, see Shin Akuma/Sprites.