A.K.I Gameplay Trailer Breakdown — You Can't Fix Her
After her announcement at EVO, Street Fighter fans have eagerly awaited news of SF6’s next DLC character, A.K.I. From that original trailer, we knew that she had poison based powers and was quite...flexible. And in a post to Twitter, Capcom gave us our first look at AKI’s playstyle and it's even more bizarre than we could have imagined. Not only is poison a part of her kit, but she’s also easily one of the most elusive characters in the game (and also, very, very creepy). A.K.I. is slated to release on September 27th.
At EVO, A.K.I. was seen as another “crazy girl” in a similar vein to Juri. But while the latter leans into a more delinquent persona, A.K.I. is coming off as a sadistic version of Voldo from Soul Calibur. While Juri’s sadism is rooted in inflicting pain via fist fights for her own personal pleasure, A.K.I. might actually be a serial killer. In the trailer, she’s seen torturing innocent bystanders in public, elated that her poisonous concoctions are effective. A.K.I. mentions a “master” who we can only assume is Street Fighter V’s F.A.N.G. given their penchant for toxins and similarly stylized names.
In terms of gameplay, AKI’s defined by her contortionist-like movements and mid ranged special moves. She seems to be able to apply the poison debuff through a variety of strikes, projectiles and traps she can lay on the ground. From there, she can extend her nails and burst the debuff for extra damage. This gives her command of the screen as well as the ability to tick away at an opponent’s life from safe distances. This is the cornerstone of her gameplan it seems, as nearly all of her moves help set up the poison application or burst the poison after it’s been applied. Most Street Fighter vets assumed that this would be the case for A.K.I. but the trailer revealed another major pillar of her style.
The more intriguing (and unsettling) part of her moveset seems to be a slithering snake stance that moves her along the ground in a low profile. This move seems to cause mids, highs and overheads to whiff. During the snake move, she can strike with a devastating leap, dive directly into her adversary or even grab the opponent. The OD/EX version appears to have some invincibility frames and can be used to close the gap against zoners like JP and Dhalsim. It’s one of the most unique stance moves we’ve seen in a Street Fighter.
When it comes to her super moves, A.K.I.’s all about the purple stuff. Her level one knocks her opponent in the air and applies the corrosive goop. The level two is even flashier and shoots out tendrils that covers majority of the screen…and applies poison. The level three, however, is unclear on if it applies it, but either way it's one of the most visually pleasing in the game.
Lastly, the poison princess will have an alternative costume at launch just like Rashid before her. She’ll also have a story introduction in World Tour mode and avatar fighters will be able to learn her style just like all the other masters as well.
