Shin Akuma



Shin Akuma (真・悪魔, True Demon) or in Japan, Shin Gouki (真・豪鬼, Shin Gōki, meaning "True Devil", "True Ogre", or "True Devil") or (神人・豪鬼, God Devil) is a secret fighter and a boss in the Street Fighter series based on Akuma.

In Capcom vs. SNK 2, his kanji is composed of 'Kami' (神, "God") superimposed over 'Hito' (人, "Person"), expressing the idea of a person who has become a god or much beyond that of an ordinary human.

Appearance
In his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo he had white hair and a black gi, the same one he wears as normal Akuma. Later incarnations have him wearing a purple gi and retaining red hair. He also has a slightly darker shade of skin.

Personality
His personality remains more or less the same as the original; essentially, he is Akuma using the fullest extent of his power.

Gameplay
The two versions operate very similarly, but Shin Akuma is faster, deals more damage and can throw two Zankū Hadoken at once. His special moves also tend to have more priority, negligible startup and recovery compared to the playable version. Also, his Raging Demon is much faster and travels farther (making it harder to evade), and in some instances, inflicts more damage (e.g. Capcom vs. SNK 2). In some instances, Shin Akuma also has more life-threatening specials as well (e.g. Misogi).

Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Shin Akuma is a version of Akuma the players confront as a CPU opponent in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. To face Shin Akuma, the player must reach M. Bison without losing any rounds or using any continues (including having the second player join in) and achieving at least three perfect victories. He will then interrupt the final match by performing a Shun Goku Satsu on Bison, before challenging the player's character.

Just like regular Akuma, his name is not displayed below the life bar and he does not have a Super Meter. In his later incarnations, he has a purple gi instead of Akuma's standard black gi, is faster, uses two Zankū Hadokens at once, and inflicts more damage. Shin Akuma 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.

Street Fighter Alpha series
Shin Akuma reappears 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. Shin Akuma reappears in the console ports of Street Fighter Alpha 3 (and Zero 3 Upper), where his name is displayed as "Shin Akuma" on-screen.

Story-wise, Shin Akuma is merely Akuma using the full extent of his power as well and is almost one with the Satsui no Hadou, compared to the "in-game" version which is Akuma voluntarily holding back his power to avoid ending fights prematurely. Shin Akuma, not Final Bison, is Evil Ryu's final boss in Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Shin Akuma's stage in Alpha 3 is a blue recoloration of Akuma's regular stage.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter as "Cyber Akuma"
In Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Shin Akuma is replaced by Cyber Akuma (Mecha Gouki in Japan), a version of Akuma mechanically enhanced by Apocalypse. As such, his personality is vastly different from that of Akuma's, being more servile (as reflected in his win quotes). Gameplaywise, however, Cyber Akuma fills the same role as Shin Akuma. Cyber Akuma is faught after the player defeats Apocalypse, in a 2 on 1 match. He has the highest stun and stamina rating in the game with a high speed rating to compliment. Cyber Akuma is playable using cheats.

Cyber Akuma's movelist featured most of Shin Akuma's attacks in the Capcom vs. series style, as well as attacks involving the launching of his mechanical right arm. All of his moves were renamed to more 'Mecha' sounding ones, as shown below:


 * Messatsu Gou Hadou - High Mega Gou Beam (ハイメガ豪ビーム)
 * Messatsu Gou Shouryuu - Scramble Gou Punch (スクランブル豪パンチ,)
 * Tenma Gou Zankuu - Thunder Gou Shower (サンダー豪シャワー,)
 * Shinkuu Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku - Scramble Gou Passen (スクランブル豪パッセン,)
 * Shun Goku Satsu - Shining Gou Shock (シャイニング豪ショック,)

Capcom vs. SNK series and Capcom Fighting Evolution as "God Akuma"
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. As a wordplay, the 'Shin' in his name denotes 'Divine' instead of the usual 'True'. God Akuma can be unlocked by defeating him once at any difficulty. However the unlocked version lacks the high priority and damage of the CPU controlled version and has the lowest stamina of any character on the roster. Akuma in this form also makes a return in Capcom Fighting Evolution.

Street Fighter III series
Shin Akuma makes his only appearance in this series in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, as a hidden final boss. He's not playable in the Arcade version, but in the Dreamcast version (named Street Fighter III: W Impact) he's a secret playable character. He is the last fighter to be unlocked as the player requires to first unlock Gill by defeating him using all the characters on the roster in the arcade mode and then clearing the arcade mode using Gill with a high grade. Leftovers 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 few animations. 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.

Super Street Fighter IV
In Super Street Fighter IV, Shin Akuma is presented as a new boss. He is faster, uses Akuma's 7th color scheme (purple gi, red hair and darker skin tone) and can input two Zanku Hadokens without using any EX bar, which is similar to Shin Akuma in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact. Compared to the playable version, the true form of Akuma has higher stamina and stun. His Ashura Senku has no startup and recovery, allowing him to dictate the pace of the match. By closely inspecting his frame data, the greater priorty, faster startup and recovery of his specials becomes obvious. His Super and Ultra Raging Demons both travel farther and much faster (although they can still be jumped over) and as a first have priority over attacks, including other Ultra Combos, that would normally cancel out the Raging Demon. Compared to the playable version his second Ultra Combo, the Demon Armageddon requires about half the frames to activate, making it much easier to connect with. Compared to the other secret bosses such as Gouken, Oni and Evil Ryu who have a extremely aggressive but predictable AI, Shin Akuma relies on the player to make mistakes, reacting just a split second after the player's move. Quite possibly Shin Akuma's AI relies on reading the player's inputs. Although this version of Akuma was confirmed to be the new boss version fought in arcade mode, he is indeed Akuma using the full extent of his abilities.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition as "Oni"
Along with Shin Akuma from Super Street Fighter IV, 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 and a overhead ground stomp. However he loses the Ashura Senku, Tenma Kujin Kyaku and the Hyakkishu.The boss version of Oni has the highest requirements amongst the four secret bosses in order to be faught.

Quotes
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 * content====Street Fighter Alpha 2===
 * "I am power made flesh! Fell (sic) how weak you truly are!"

SvC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom

 * "God and devil live in the power of my fists!"
 * "May you die and be devoured by 100 demons!"
 * "My wave...destroys all!"
 * "Ye dead, off to the netherworld!"

Capcom vs. SNK 2

 * "Dark Energy is invincible!"
 * "Feel the Power!"
 * "Embrace the dark side!"
 * "I'm the strongest creation in the universe!"
 * "Nothing can damage me!"
 * "The Earth trembles in awe of my fighting prowess!"
 * "This is the end!"

Capcom Fighting Evolution

 * "Knowledge is power!"
 * "My power is eternal."
 * "My rage burns like a flame!"
 * "Only through sacrifice can you attain power!"
 * "The stronger mind will always prevail!"
 * "True strength can be attained by only those with a heart of stone."
 * "You cannot grasp the depths of my power."
 * "You lack concentration."}}

Artwork
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Sprites

 * For more sprite animations, see Shin Akuma/Sprites.
 * For Cyber Akuma's sprites, see Cyber-Akuma/Sprites.