For the longest time, a Virtua Fighter and Tekken crossover was rumored, and it made perfect sense because both series (while different) were essentially cut from the same cloth. It still hasn't happened, and who knows if it ever will. What we did get, however, was Street Fighter X Tekken, and it came out of nowhere. Sharing strong similarities with clever internet trickery in the vein of fan creations like MUGEN, it was quite unbelievable at first. I stayed calm and checked a number of sites to make sure it was legit. Then, after verifying from numerous sources that it was real, proceeeded to "get hype." I can't say much about the game in its early stages because I didn't follow it much on its road to release, but it's out now and it's about as good as Capcom's other VS games. Of course, it suffers from some of the same issues most VS games have, but it still turned-out pretty good.

From a design standpoint, SFXTK is a masterpiece. Capcom went through great effort to ensure that the universe of each respective series collided into one cohesive design. Their effort was met with overwhelming success, as they made the Tekken cast (though more "realistic") fit seamlessly into the cartoony Japanese look of the Street Fighter world. Contrary to popular belief, SFXTK isn't powered by the MT Framework engine (used with Lost Planet) or the Type X2 hardware (used with Street Fighter IV), but a modified version of the latter. That being said, more depth has been added to the familiar graphics of the SFIV series, along with multi-layered battlegrounds. There are even cool cinematic sequences between rounds where the fighters jump down from one level to another! Unfortunately, though, hamstrung control keeps the gameplay short of a masterpiece.

This is the Capcom version of the game (a Namco version was simultaneously announced), so the controls are identical to that of Street Fighter IV (for better or worse). The three punch/three kick layout, Special Moves, and Super Arts have all been adapted to Tekken characters accordingly (i.e. Ken's Dragon Punch is comparable to Paul's Shredder). I must say that Capcom did so very well, because the Tekken characters still retain the cool multi-part grapples and "string" combos that make them cool in their own universe. As a crossover game, SFXTK prides itself in fusing gameplay components from Capcom titles past and present.

These components include (but are not limited to) the Cross Cancel counter introduced in Street Fighter Alpha, the gem and launcher system from Marvel Super Heroes, the Cross Art tag attacks first seen in X-MEN VS Street Fighter, the Cross Assault "royal rumble" pioneered in Marvel VS Capcom, and the notoriuos partner call-ins from Marvel VS Capcom 2. Capcom combined these with the new, last-ditch effort Pandora Attack, but it's gone virtually-unnoticed in the storm of controversy over the gem system borrowed from Capcom's old 2-D arcade smash, Marvel Super Heroes. This all makes for tons of complexity and depth, but not without faults. SFXTK is hamstrung by the same issue that pretty-much ruined the SFIV series, and that would be the burden of "just input." SFXTK's system is essentially the same as SFIV's at its core, which means Capcom did a great job for the most part, but ruined the overall control with ridiculously-strict "just input" combo timing. SFXTK's Challenge mode Trials won't do anythng to change your mind if you hated SFIV's because combos are still harder than they need to be.

Speaking of modes, SFXTK comes packed with a good set of modes sure to keep players busy. Arcade is self-explanatory, Versus is still for tournament play, Customization is for character tailoring, and Challenge mode offers Missions inspired by the original Japanese arcade release of SFIV. The Mission challenges focus on completion of requisite objectives that range from survival to using single-technique victory. The online 4-player simultaneous play is a lot of fun, and probably one of the main reasons to own SFXTK. The last time Capcom did it was with the original Marvel VS Capcom, and I can remember piling everyone in my college dorm room for crazy 4-player battles. The rest of the online play in SFXTK, however, is incredibly frustrating. You'll love the game; that is, until you play online and you see how it punishes players who aren't scumbags.

First-off, SFXTK has absolutely abysmal skill matching (just like the other Capcom fighters); you might as well just put the filter to "Any," because putting it on "Same" to get equally-skilled opponents doesn't work. As if being paired with opponents who have thousands more Battle Points than you wasn't frustrating enough, all you really have to look forward to fight after fight is playing against lazy Ryu/Mishima-spammers. The only characters really even played are Ryu and Rolento on the SF side, and the Mishimas and Lili on the TK side. Watch as higher-ranked players completely out of your league drain your Battle Points, and hold on tight if you actually do win because the worst is yet to come; you'll be damned with "coincidental" lag and/or disconnects where your opponent mysteriously has "no idea what happened." Don't even think about quitting, either, because you'll be the one the game penalizes. Character color and gem changing in the customization mode is pretty cool, but all the good titles from other Capcom games are MIA, and the new ones are mostly lame. However, it's important to note that the sound issues with online play from the game's initial release have been fixed with an update (at no cost).

Like most Capcom crossover games, SFXTK is a double-edged sword. It's not entirely unbelievable that someone could both love and hate the game. From a design standpoint, it really couldn't have turned out any better because the visuals converge both worlds in perfect harmony. The game looks truly marvellous. From a gameplay standpoint, the game could have turned-out better if Capcom hadn't "just" ruined it. Even with its qualms, though, the game is a labor of love, overall, and it keeps getting better. From gems and bug fixes, to modes and colors, it seems like every week Capcom rolls out new DLC updates for it, and that's great for players because there will always be something new to experience. And the new characters haven't even come out, yet! Some may disagree because it's a crossover title, but it really looks like this one will have good staying power. Even if it doesn't and somehow dies out quick, though, we're just lucky to have even seen the game become a reality, considering the unlikely odds by which it was born. The fact that this game even saw the light of day is reason enough to own it...