TACV Cabo Verde Airlines

200px
IATA VR ICAO TCV Callsign CABOVERDE
Founded	1958
Hubs	Amílcar Cabral International Airport Praia International Airport São Pedro Airport
Frequent-flyer program	TACV Club
Fleet size	5
Destinations	20
Headquarters	Praia, Cape Verde
Website	flytacv.com

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines (TACV is an initialism for Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde, meaning “Air Transportation of Cape Verde” in Portuguese) is a scheduled and charter, passenger and cargo airline based in Praia, Cape Verde.^[1] It is the national flag carrier of Cape Verde, operating inter-island services and flights to Europe, North America, South America and the West African mainland. Its main base is Sal Airport, with smaller ones at Praia International Airport and São Pedro Airport.

History[link]

TACV was established in 1958. In July 1975, following the independence of Cape Verde, the airline was designated as the national carrier and became a public company (that means government-owned) in 1983. It employs 788 staff. The Cabo Verde government is currently preparing the airline for privatization.^[when?]

In December 2011, TACV was granted allowance to travel without restrictions to Europe, since it received the IOSA certification by the international aviation authority IATA. The certification is valid until December 2013.^[2]

Destinations[link]

The TACV logo includes a blue wing with seven lines that represent the number domestic inter-island flights offered by the airline.

A TACV Boeing 757-200 at Munich Airport (2010).

A TACV ATR-42 (2009).

Codeshares[link]

As of November 2007, TACV Cabo Verde Airlines had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

• Cabo Verde Express
• TAP Portugal
• TAAG Angola Airlines

Fleet[link]

As of May 2012, the TACV fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 7.4 years:^[3]

Incidents and accidents[link]

• On 28 September 1998, a TACV de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (registered D4-CAX) carrying Carlos Veiga, then Prime Minister of Cape Verde, 18 other passengers and two crew members, crash-landed at Francisco Mendes Airport (serving Praia at that time) during a landing attempt in stormy weather, in which one bodyguard of the minister was killed. Four other people were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Upon approach following the flight from Preguiça Airport, the aircraft had been hit by a gust of wind in an instant when the pilots intended to execute a left turn, and forced down.^[4]
• On 7 August 1999 at 12:02 local time, the domestic TACV Flight 5002 from São Pedro Airport to Agostinho Neto Airport crashed into a mountain on Santo Antão island at an altitude of 1370 metres, killing the 16 passengers and 2 crew members on board. The domestic flight had been carried out using a Dornier Do 228 (registered D4-CBC) on this day. Due to bad weather conditions with rain and fog, the pilot was prevented from landing at the destination airport (which was only VFR-certified), so he had decided to return to São Pedro. The aircrash marked the worst aviation accident in the history of both Cape Verde and TACV.^[5]
• On 24 October 2005, the right main landing gear of a TACV ATR 42 (registered D4-CBH) collapsed upon landing at Dakar Airport, Senegal following a scheduled passenger flight from Praia.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Cape Verde portal
	Aviation portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: TACV

• Official Website
• TACV at ATDB: profile, history and events, contacts and management, historical/current/planned aircraft in fleets

v t e Airlines of Cape Verde Cabo Verde Express Halcyonair TACV

Ryu (リュウ, Ryū^?, written as 隆 in the original Street Fighter) is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series.^[4] Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament. Further games from the series show Ryu to be highly focused on his training, aiming to become the strongest he can. However, his powers also attract several criminals who want to use him for their plans. In some games, Ryu has an alternate form known as Evil Ryu (殺意の波動に目覚めたリュウ, Satsui no Hadō ni Mezameta Ryū^?, lit. "Ryu with the surge of murderous intent awakened", abbreviated Satsui Ryu in Street Fighter Zero 3).

Ryu has been the lead character of the Street Fighter series since the first game and has appeared in crossovers involving the franchise. He is also featured in manga from the series, anime adaptations and the 1994 live-action film.

Character design[link]

In the first Street Fighter game, Ryu wears a tattered white karate gi with a red hachimaki (headband), red gloves, and red shoes. Also, a constant trait in his design is the Fūrinkazan (風林火山^?) kanji motif (meaning Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain), battle standard of the historical Japanese military leader Takeda Shingen, embroidered into his obi, simulating Karate Dan degrees.^[5] In Street Fighter II Ryu is shown to be older, with brown hair, brown gloves, and a red hachimaki. He also fights barefooted this time.^[6] The Alpha series features a Ryu much like the one depicted in the original Street Fighter, with light red hair and a white hachimaki. In the Street Fighter III games, Ryu has black hair and facial stubble to show his growth in age. Street Fighter IV is chronologically set between II and III and so Ryu has a more mature look than he does in Street Fighter II but still not as aged looking as in Street Fighter III.

Ryu's name was based on the designer Takashi Nishiyama's name. This was due to the fact that, when written in Chinese, "Takashi" could also be read as "Ryu". Furthermore, Ryu's Hadoken energy attack was based on the wave motion gun from the titular spacecraft of the sci-fi anime series Space Battleship Yamato, which Nishiyama watched during the seventies. His other two techniques from the first Street Fighter game were inspired by actual martial arts moves which were exaggerated for the character.^[7] Because he was the only playable character in the original Street Fighter, Ryu's designer, Manabu Takemura,^[8] wanted to make him easy to identify with. In Street Fighter II, the character was selected for inclusion due to his presence in the first game, symbolizing the concept of a Japanese martial artist. As the series progressed, the design was made more muscular to coincide with the concept, while his white gi, considered his most defining characteristic by the development team, was meant to let viewers know he was "a karate master at first sight".^[9]

In video games[link]

[edit] Street Fighter series

Ryu debuted in the first Street Fighter as the primary playable character in the game, with his best friend, rival and sparring partner Ken Masters serving as the second player's character. Both compete in the tournament depicted in the game in order to test their strength against the tournament's champion, Sagat.^[10]

His next appearance was in 1991's Street Fighter II. Set several years after Ryu defeated Sagat in the first tournament, Ryu participates in a second tournament. In his ending in the game, Ryu wins the tournament, but does not stay for the ceremony, already seeking his next challenge.^[11]

Ryu's backstory, along with those of other Street Fighter characters, would be explored in the subsequent Street Fighter Alpha prequel series. The first game, Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams (1995), features Ryu confronting Sagat as his last opponent in a rematch following their first fight.^[12] Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996) depicts Ryu on a quest to confront Akuma, his master's brother and enemy. After their match, Akuma reveals that Ryu possesses the "Evil Intent" (殺意の波動, Satsui no Hadō^?, lit. "Surge of Murderous Intent", sometimes translated as the "Dark Hadou") within him, the same power Akuma uses.^[13] In the Street Fighter Alpha series, there is an alternate selectable version of Ryu known as "Evil Ryu". Similarly to Akuma, Ryu takes this form when succumbing to the evil intent, and becomes more violent. It was not until the international versions of the game, Street Fighter Alpha 2, that Evil Ryu was introduced as a secret character in the games.^[14] In Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998), Ryu is sought by M. Bison, who seeks to use him as his next host body.^[15]

Ryu and Ken would return in Street Fighter III (1997) and its updates. While Ryu's motivation in the game and rivalry with Ken would remain the same, he was also shown getting acquainted with several of the new characters featured in the game.^[16][17] Ryu appears in Street Fighter IV, which takes place after Street Fighter II but before Street Fighter III. A new appearance of Evil Ryu in a Street Fighter game was confirmed in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition by a teaser trailer^[18], and later confirmed as a secret boss and playable character by leaked video footage.^[19]

Ryu has appeared in spin-offs related to the main Street Fighter series such as the Street Fighter EX series produced by Arika.^[20] Byron Mann portrays the character in separately produced arcade and console games based on the American film of the series, both titled Street Fighter: The Movie, where he wears Ryu's characteristic white karate gi and red headband.^[21]

Other games[link]

The character has also been featured in Capcom's inter-company crossovers such as the Marvel vs. Capcom series, the SNK vs. Capcom series, Namco x Capcom and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.^[22][23] Some games of the SNK vs. Capcom series also include Evil Ryu as an unlockable character.^[24] In Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Ryu has the ability to change his moveset to the ones from Ken or Akuma while fighting.^[25] He also appears in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a puzzle video game featuring super deformed characters along with the sequel, Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, which is instead a fighting game.^[26] Ryu is one of the first fighters to appear as a playable fighter in the crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken,^[27] and is also seen in the Tekken X Street Fighter poster along with Jin Kazama.

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams features Ryu as an unlockable costume swap for the game's protagonist Soki.^[28] Although his incarnation there is much slimmer, this change is merely cosmetic and does not affect gameplay. Ryu also has a cameo appearance in the shooting game Varth: Operation Thunderstorm. He was also planned to appear in the now-cancelled game Mega Man Universe.^[29] A Ryu-inspired costume for players to use in Sony's LittleBigPlanet was released in 2008 as downloadable content for the title.^[30]

In other media[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

Live-action[link]

Ryu is played by Byron Mann in the 1994 film version of Street Fighter, where Guile is the lead character. Ryu (given the surname "Hoshi"), and Ken are traveling con artists who steal money from rich crime lords through schemes such as selling modified toy guns. He and Ken eventually work with Guile to infiltrate Bison's headquarters.^[31] By luring Guile to Bison's base, Ryu plays an important role in Bison's downfall. In the film's climax, Ryu personally fights and defeats Vega in battle, and his rivalry with Sagat is absent.

Despite not appearing at all in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, Ryu is mentioned at the end of the movie as a formidable Japanese fighter entering a tournament.

Jon Foo also played Ryu (given the surname "Takashi") in the fan film Street Fighter: Legacy

Animation[link]

In the 1994 film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Bison captures Ken and brainwashes him, forcing Ryu to fight his former friend. But Ken manages to resist Bison's brainwashing and the two ultimately work together to defeat Bison. He was voiced by Kōjirō Shimizu in the Japanese version and Skip Stellrecht in the English dub.

Ryu also appears in the US TV series and is once again replaced by Guile as the protagonist since it is a continuation of the 1994 live-action film. Near the end of the series, however, the story shifts focus to Ryu and Ken, making them more prominent as they face several enemies such as the Mad Gear gang. In both the film and the series, Ryu's name is incorrectly pronounced as "Raiyu", though in the movie Guile and Bison are the only ones to pronounce his name correctly.

The premise of the 1995 Japanese TV series Street Fighter II V centers around a young Ryu and Ken, who travel the world with Chun-Li to improve their martial art skills by challenging other fighters. He was voiced Kōji Tsujitani in the Japanese version and once again by Skip Stellrecht in the English Animaze dub, while in the ADV Films dub he was portrayed by Brett Weaver and then later by Tommy Drake.

The 1999 original video animation Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation centers around Ryu's inner conflict with the Dark Hadou, as seen in the Street Fighter Alpha manga and games, though adding original elements such as the appearance of Ryu's supposed younger brother, Shun, and their conflict with Professor Sadler and Rosanov. The 2005 OVA Street Fighter Alpha: Generations features a similar storyline, but is unrelated to the previous Alpha anime. The latter implies Ryu to be the biological son of Akuma.

Manga[link]

UDON's comic book adaptation of the Street Fighter plot places Ryu in the center of the events of the comic. Ryu grows up training in the art of Shotokan and all the while fighting off the urge of the Satsui no Hadō. He trains to be a strong fighter without relying on the hatred and consumption it brings. After returning from the first Street Fighter tournament, Ryu discovers that his master (Gouken) has been slain by his brother (Akuma) and sets out (along with Ken Masters) to avenge his death. Like in the Alpha series, Ryu is a boy. As a powerful fighter who shows great potential, this draws the attention of M. Bison as well as Chun-Li and Guile, who believe there is a criminal connection between the two at first but do not know exactly what the root cause of Bison's interest in Ryu actually is. He also trains Sakura during the second arc of the comics and later on trains with other fighters (specifically Dhalsim and Gen) to give himself a better chance against Akuma. Like the official story, Sagat is consumed with thoughts of revenge against Ryu for taking his honor at the first Street Fighter tournament but he does seek him out to warn him of Shadaloo's advances. During the final series of comics, Ryu attends Bison's tournament and advances all the way to the final stage (including getting his long-awaited rematch with Sagat). However, before he is able to fight Bison, Akuma intervenes and soundly defeats Bison instead. The plot then shifts to the battle between Akuma and Ryu as the concluding fight of the comic series. During the battle, Ryu is tempted to give into his dark intent to defeat Akuma at any cost but refuses, which allows Akuma the upper hand. All seems lost but at the very last moment, Gouken's spirit is revived and he finishes the battle with Akuma. Ryu passes out before the fight can conclude and is rescued from the sinking island by Dhalsim. Following the battle, Ryu's mind is finally freed from the Satsui no Hadō and he believes he no longer needs to rely on it if he wants victory.

Promotion and reception[link]

Ryu artwork was featured on an officially licenced animated Nubytech/UDON joypad for the PlayStation 2,^[32] and a Mad Catz wireless joypad for the PlayStation 3.^[33]

Ryu is consistently ranked as one of the most popular and memorable characters from the Street Fighter franchise as well as gaming in general among critics. GameSpot featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero".^[34] He additionally ranked number seventy-one on UGO Networks's "Top 100 Heroes of All Time" article.^[35] UGO also placed him at #2 on their list of "Top 50 Street Fighter Characters", stating "Whereas Ken is flashy, Ryu is contemplative, tortured and driven."^[36] IGN ranked him first in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, stating "Ryu is a testament to the virtue of simplicity in character design. White gi, dark gloves, red headband for a little touch of color, and that is it. It's rare, when you think about it, to see too many fancy pieces go into the making of an icon".^[37] GameDaily listed him at number two in their "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" article, stating "He always seeks a bigger challenge, and that determination makes him one of our favorites";^[38] in a later character profile article for Ryu, they stated "Ryu is a formidable fighter that gets the job done.... Bottom line, you can't go wrong with Street Fighter's most iconic character."^[39] The same site ranked him sixth along with Ken in the Top 25 Capcom Characters of All Time with editor Robert Workman saying "It was just impossible to choose between one of these world warriors".^[40] He has also been recognized as on of the best gaming characters from all time. He was voted as one of the best fifty characters in both a Famitsu issue and the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition from 2011.^[41][42] In the February 1992 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan Ryu ranked third Best Character of 1991.^[43] In the January 30, 1997 issue Ryu ranked number thirteen in Top 50 Characters of 1996.^[44]

GamesRadar writer Tyler Wilde published an article focusing on Ken's and Ryu's development across the franchise under the title of "The evolution of Ken and Ryu".^[45] The Guardian recommended Ryu and Ken for beginners in Street Fighter IV with the former being better at fights from distances as a result of his projectiles moves.^[46] In GameSpot's "Great Loves" article Ryu was described as "one of the most independent men in the world of video games" as he is only interested in training to become stronger fighter in contrast to other Street Fighter characters who have romantic interests.^[47] UGO listed Ryu's headband twenty-sixth on their list of "The Coolest Helmets and Headgear in Video Games".^[48] In GamesRadar's article "The 56 characters of Marvel vs Capcom 2", Ryu was described as "The heart and soul of the Street Fighter series" and "probably the most well known fighting game character in the world".^[49]

Evil Ryu was noted to be a stereotype of protagonist gaming characters who reveal an evil alter-ego ruining the character's appealing traits.^[50] UGO Networks editor Paul Furfari chose him as one of the top 50 best Street Fighter characters, commenting that despite being a "what if" form from Ryu, it made the Street Fighter Alpha series more entertaining due to the potential his moves had.^[51] Such form shown in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition was noted to share traits from both Ryu and Akuma.^[52][53] GameSpot stated that since he uses modified versions from known techniques, he was one of the least interesting additions to the game.^[54] His stronger damage executed have been commented to the point Game Informer mentioned he was even stronger than Seth, the Street Fighter IV boss.^[53][55] In a GamesRadar article by Michael Grimm, a fight between Evil Ryu and Devil Jin was written as one of the ones players wanted to see in Street Fighter X Tekken as the two are evil alter egos from two existing characters sharing also similar designs and movesets to their original forms.^[56]

One of Ryu's quotes from Street Fighter II stated "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance." Such quote caused controversy within gamers who wondered whether there was actually a character named Sheng Long. Although the quote was actually a mistranslation, it was exploited as an April Fool's various times by gaming magazines.^[57][58] Nevertheless, the character was referred in the video games based on live-action films as Ryu's teacher. Moreover, the fans' request to include Sheng Long, led to Gouken's inclusion in Street Fighter IV.^[59][60]

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (March 2012)

Bibliography[link]

• Studio Bent Stuff (Sept. 2000) (in Japanese). All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game 1987-2000. A.A. Game History Series (Vol. 1). Dempa Publications, Inc.. ISBN 4-88554-676-1. 
• Monthly Arcadia Editorial Staff (Oct. 2008) (in Japanese). STREET FIGHTER IV MASTER GUIDE 拳の書. エンターブレインムック ARCADIA EXTRA VOL. 69. Enterbrain. ISBN 4-7577-4513-3. 

External links[link]

	Japan portal
	Video games portal
	Fictional characters portal

• Quotations related to Ryu (Street Fighter) at Wikiquote

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Akuma (in Japanese, "Devil" or "Demon") known in Japan as Gouki (豪鬼, Gōki lit. Great Demon^?), is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss. In the storyline of the Street Fighter video games, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu and Ken's sensei. In some games he also has an enhanced version named Shin Akuma, or Shin Gouki (真・豪鬼^?, the "true Gouki") in Japanese.

Character design[link]

Akuma has dark red hair, glowing red eyes with black sclera, wears prayer beads around his neck, a black or blue dogi and a piece of twine around his waist in lieu of an obi. The kanji 'ten' (天) - meaning "sky/heaven" - can be seen on his back when it appears during certain win animations. Shin Akuma's appearance is very similar to Akuma's; for example, in the Street Fighter Alpha series, Shin Akuma had a purple gi instead of a gray one and marginally lighter tone. Akuma's introduction in Super Street Fighter II Turbo stemmed from the development team's desire to introduce a "mysterious and really powerful" character, with his status as a hidden character within the game resulting from later discussions.^[2] When asked by Game Informer regarding the presence of Akuma as a secret character in several of Capcom's fighting games, Capcom's Noritaka Funamizu stated that while he did not personally support the concept, he supposed that "Akuma is a character that can fit in any game design nicely".^[3]

Gameplay[link]

Akuma's play style incorporates the trademark techniques of Ryu and Ken, the series' protagonists, only noticeably stronger in comparison along with additional techniques. Akuma also has been one of the characters with the lowest health and stun meter in most of the games he has appeared in. As the franchise expanded, the three characters have been differentiated somewhat while still retaining their common techniques (e.g. different regular attacks, throws, Super moves).

Video games appearances[link]

[edit] Street Fighter series

Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the fifth arcade iteration of the Street Fighter II games, where he appears as a hidden character. After meeting certain requirements, Akuma appears prior to the player's final match with M. Bison and obliterates M. Bison before challenging the player. In the Japanese arcade version of the game, Akuma would introduce himself to the player before the match, proclaiming himself to be the "Master of the Fist" (拳を極めし者, Ken o Kiwameshi Mono^?). He also has two endings in the game as well: one for defeating M. Bison, and another against himself. While these endings were omitted from the international releases of the arcade game, they were edited into one ending and included in the English localization of Super Turbo Revival for the Game Boy Advance. Shin Akuma is, however, an unlockable playable character in the Game Boy Advance version of the game, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival, as well as the Japan-only Dreamcast version of the game, Super Street Fighter II X for Matchmaking Service. In the latter version, another version of Akuma referred to as Tien Gouki can also be selected, which is essentially Shin Akuma with a super bar.

Akuma appears in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams once again as a hidden opponent and unlockable character. His backstory remains the same as in Super Turbo. Akuma was added to the immediate roster in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, with a powered-up version of the character named "Shin Akuma" appearing as a hidden opponent. The character's relation with other Street Fighter characters begins to be fleshed out, establishing rivalries with Guy, Adon, Gen, and Ryu. Shin Akuma, rather than "Final Bison", is Evil Ryu's final boss in the console versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Akuma and Shin Akuma were featured in Street Fighter EX as hidden boss characters, where he is one of the few characters able to move out of the 2D playing field, during his teleport.

Akuma was featured in the Street Fighter III sub-series beginning with Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. Like in his debut in Super Turbo, Akuma is both a secret opponent who serves as an alternate final boss and unlockable character, with the CPU-controlled version being the "Shin Akuma" incarnation introduced in Alpha 2. He is a regular character in Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future. He performs a new move, unseen, during his ending, the Tensho Kaireki Jin. Akuma reappears in Street Fighter IV, once again as a hidden boss in the Single Player Mode as well as an unlockable secret character in both the arcade and home console versions.

In Super Street Fighter IV, Akuma uses a brand new move as his second ultra, Demon Armageddon (Tensho Kaireki Jin in Japan). In the move, Akuma kicks his foe into the air, and follows up with an intense Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku, with his trademark kanji appearing in the background. Shin Akuma also returns as a hidden boss, the ability to perform a double Zankou Hadoken without the need of an EX-Bar and the Shin Shun Goku Satsu goes faster and across the whole screen in addition to taking less damage yet dealing more.

Both secret boss and playable versions of a new form of Akuma, known as Oni (狂オシキ鬼, Kuruoshiki Oni, lit. The Mad Demon^?), were confirmed in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition by leaked videos.^[4] Unlike Shin Akuma, Oni is the being that would consume Akuma after mastering the Satsui no Hadou. Some of his moves include the Zanku Hadosho, an air dash; Sekisei Jiraiken, where he leaps in the air to a smash the ground; and the Rakan Dantojin, in which he leaps forward to deliver a slashing attack to the opponent. Oni can perform his own version of the Raging Demon, which can also be used when jumping. His Ultra Combos include the Meido Gohadou, in which he throws a powerful fireball horizontally, vertically, or diagonally from the air; and the Tenchi Sokaigen, a powerful chop which emits a powerful wave of energy in front of him and, when hit properly, will launch the victim into the sky.

Other games[link]

Akuma has appeared in some form or another through many Capcom games outside the Street Fighter franchise. The first of these appearances was in the fighting game X-Men: Children of the Atom, where Akuma (in his Super Turbo incarnation) appears as a hidden character. He also appears in Marvel Super Heroes as part of the hidden character, Anita's arsenal as she can use a sword and summon one of Akuma's moves and his sprite from X-Men: Children of the Atom briefly appears as a special move is performed. He would appear in the later Marvel-licensed fighting games (see Marvel vs. Capcom series), including in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, where he also appears in mechanized form as "Cyber Akuma (Mech Gouki (メカ豪鬼, Meka Gouki^?) in Japanese), a version of Akuma enhanced by Apocalypse acting as the horseman of Death and the final boss. Additionally, he can perform Shun Goku Satsu in the air, setting up devastating air combos. In Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, he appears as an alternate fighting style of Ryu; Akuma himself would later appear as a playable character in its sequels: Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. He is also an unlockable character in the humorously toned Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. He appears as both a playable character and one of the final boss characters in the crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken.

In the SNK vs. Capcom series, Akuma appears in Capcom vs. SNK and SVC Chaos as both regular Akuma and as a version of "Shin Akuma". In Capcom vs. SNK 2, a different form of Shin Akuma appears. This form of Akuma achieves a new level of power when a dying Rugal Bernstein pours his Orochi power into him. His name is spelled in Japanese as 神・豪鬼, with the "Shin" character meaning "God" instead of the usual "True." He also appears in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Pocket Fighter, and in Cyberbots as a mecha named "Zero Gouki" in the console versions released in Japan. Also, various version of Akuma have appeared in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash series.

In other media[link]

Although the character was not featured in the 1994 live action Street Fighter movie, Akuma appears in Street Fighter: The Movie, the arcade game based on the movie developed by Incredible Technologies as a regular selectable character (portrayed by Ernie Reyes Sr.). He also appears in the Capcom-developed home version of the same game as a hidden character. Akuma also made cameo appearances in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (where he can be seen in the Calcutta scene), and in several episodes of the Japanese TV series Street Fighter II V. Actor/martial artist Joey Ansah played Akuma/Gouki in the short film Street Fighter: Legacy.

Akuma's first speaking appearance in animation was in an episode of the American Street Fighter animated series titled "Strange Bedfellows", in which Akuma traps Guile and M. Bison on his island, forcing the two sworn enemies to team up. He reappears in another episode, "The World's Greatest Warrior", in which he defeats Ryu and Ken's master Gouken, and challenges Gouken's two students to a duel.

Akuma also figures prominently in the Japanese OVA Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, where Ryu's encounters with Akuma triggers the "Dark Hadou" in Ryu. Akuma is also the central focus in the OVA Street Fighter Alpha: Generations, which explores his past and ties the character's past with Ryu's. In the English dub of Alpha: Generations, the character is addressed by his Japanese name Gouki, instead of Akuma like in the international versions of the games. In Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation Ryu and his supposed brother Shun are hinted to be the biological sons of Akuma. In Alpha: Generations it is made almost a certainty that Ryu is Gouki/Akuma's son, though there is no mention of Shun.

In "Imaginationland", a three-part Emmy award-winning South Park episode, a representation of the character, along with Sagat, another character from the series, is included in several shots alongside other noted imaginary villains. In this episode he is defeated by Popeye.

At DREAM 8 welterweight grand prix round one Lithuanian mixed martial artist Marius Zaromskis dressed up as Akuma during his entrance for his fight with Seichi Ikemoto. He went on to win a Unanimous decision^[5] and later the entire Welterweight tournament.

UDON Entertainment's line of Street Fighter comics sets Akuma into a role similar to the one he filled in Street Fighter Alpha 2, acting as an antagonist for Ryu's dark desires. Akuma begins the series by killing his brother and Ryu and Ken's master (Gouken) in battle. This action is what sets Ryu on the path of vengeance, swearing to find and fight Akuma in his master's name. Because of this, Ryu must confront his darkest and most hated side, which is something Akuma has hoped would happen. Akuma emerges at the end of the first arc (in issue #6) and engages Ryu and Ken, which he easily dominates. It is here that he first tastes Ryu's lust for victory and sees that his intent of bringing out Ryu's corrupt spirit is bearing fruit. Rather than kill him, he tells Ryu to seek him out at the next Street Fighter tournament. Prior to the series, Akuma had a skirmish with an assassin named Gen. Because this fight took place years ago, Akuma had yet to fully embrace his killing desire (the Satsui no Hadō) and could not overcome Gen. However, Gen's most powerful technique did not fell Akuma and because of this, he was spared out of pure intrigue. Akuma and Gen vowed to fight once more but due to time and disease crippling Gen, it was not to be (the two do meet one final time during the comics but it is not a full-fledged fight, as both participants note). Ryu seeks out Gen due to his connection to Akuma but determines that Gen's philosophies do not agree with his own. During the final series of comics, Street Fighter II Turbo, Akuma makes his final appearance at the grand finals of the Street Fighter tournament, stepping between Ryu and M. Bison. Bison is enthused at the potential of Akuma's power and chooses to fight him, which ends fatally for Bison when Rose's spirit interferes and Akuma seals his soul with his Shun Goku Satsu technique. With Bison out of the way, Akuma is free to fight Ryu, which he does as Shadaloo island begins to sink beneath the sea. The battle favors Akuma but as he is about to defeat Ryu, Gouken's spirit is returned to the living world and he intervenes to finish the fight. The end of this battle is not seen as Shadaloo island is consumed by the ocean and Ryu is transported from the island by Dhalsim.

Promotion and reception[link]

Akuma artwork was featured on an officially licenced animated Nubytech/UDON joypad for the PlayStation 2,^[6] and a Mad Catz wireless joypad for the PlayStation 3.^[7]

In the January 30, 1997 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Akuma appeared in the Top 50 Characters of 1996. He ranked at No. 37 sharing the spot with two other characters.^[8] In Game Informer's "Top Ten Best Fighting Game Characters" Akuma was at the top for his powerful techniques.^[9] He was 11th in Game Daily's Top 25 Capcom Characters of All Time with comments from editor Robert Workman focused on his design and abilities.^[10] IGN ranked Akuma at number five in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article, noting his role as a recognizable "bad guy" in the series.^[11] In another article from the same site, Ryan Clements commented that Akuma had one of the strongest movesets from Street Fighter IV, noting his techniques, apart from being able to do a reasonable damage to the opponent, look stylish.^[12] He also ranked 9th in the "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" from Game Daily, with the writer commenting how different is he from Ken and Ryu despite their similar appearances.^[13] GameSpy named him one of the "25 Extremely Rough Brawlers" in video gaming, praising the brutality of his fighting style.^[14] GameSpot commented that Akuma is "the most profilic character" in the Street Fighter series due the large number of appearances his character had since Super Street Fighter II Turbo. He was also noted to be the most powerful character to be added to such series, while his Shin Akuma state was commented to be "a truly unstoppable force" due to all the special moves he has.^[15] On the other hand, Akuma's powerful techniques in Super Street Fighter II Turbo resulted in being listed as one of GamePro's "most broken characters" in their article, where he was compared with Street Fighter III's boss Gill.^[16] Jeff Keely from Gaming Age said Akuma's introduction in Street Fighter III 2nd Impact was a big improvement for the game, noting him to be "everybody's favorite bad boy".^[17] UGO Networks placed Akuma at #9 on their list of Top 50 Street Fighter Characters", stating "As a fighter-in-training, Akuma succumbed to the darker martial arts and embraced the "Killing Intent" martial art.".^[18]

Akuma's Oni incarnation has been commented for its appealing design resembling Gouken's and his powerful movesets. Deemed as one the Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition's second strongest fighter, Oni was referred by IGN as an immediate favorite character.^[19][20] However, GameSpot stated that since he uses modified versions from known techniques, he was one of the least interesting additions to the game.^[21]

References[link]