The real problem is that I had no real incentive to go play as Tekken fighters. These characters also lack projectiles, but there are plenty of ways for the fighters to counter them so the balance is fine. In addition to the SF inputs the Tekken characters also make use of button combos/special moves and stance changes, which differentiates them somewhat from the Street Fighter characters and makes them somewhat unique. The throw system, however, is from the Tekken series. All the characters, of which there are 43 in the PlayStation version and 38 in the Xbox one, are mostly in the 2D, six-button Street Fighter style, with dragon punch, fireball, and hurricane kick inputs.
Street Fighter X Tekken is, as the title suggests, a combination of the gameplay of the two franchises. Although I had a lot of fun with SFXT, it is hard for me to recommend it, especially with a Super or Ultimate edition likely to be released in the near future.
The Tekken characters don’t bring anything new to the series and all play like different variations of Street Fighter rush characters like Sakura. It is still too complex for new players and too unbalanced for high level play. Even though the gameplay is solid the, these problems combined with the Tekken’s cast seeming lack of diversity makes me question why this game was made. Normally I would not address business issues, as I don’t think they have a place in determining the quality of the product, but in this particular case the business has affected the games balance and playability. However, what should be an unquestionably superb fighter is marred by technical and interface issues, as well as some unfortunate business practices. The tag style gameplay is good, the fighting system is fun, and the Tekken characters seem balanced with their Street Fighter opponents. Let’s get this out of the way first: Street Fighter X Tekken is a solid fighting game that makes some small, but welcome improvements to the tried and tested formula of Capcom fighting games.