Akuma
(ie: Capcom's Supreme Master of the Fist)VS
by Fenix
For every fighting game, there is a fighting game boss. A fighting game boss is an individual who exudes so much power, that his very presence demands more respect than any other participant in said fighting game. Today, we will contrast two titans of the boss arena. Two bosses who despite technically still being regular warm blooded non-mythical humans, have surpassed all others in might and recognition.
In the Capcom corner, we have Akuma. A man so consumed with his quest for martial arts supremacy that he willfully gave himself to the "dark side" of fighting, Satsui no Hado (Killing Intent). Akuma originated from an old Electronic Gaming Monthly myth, which spoke of an almost impossible method of play, that when accomplished would unlock an opponent so vile, the games pre existing last boss, M. Bison (Vega in japan), was made into his bitch, shortly before he unleashed his wrath on you. It was of course totally false, being nothing more than a "April Fools" joke, but it so captivated the thriving fighting game scene that you could not go to a single arcade on any side of the planet, see a Street Fighter 2 Turbo cabinet, and not find some schmoe bragging about how he made the code work, or he saw someone else get it to work, or heard from his cousin that he saw it worked or so forth. Thus, when Street Fighter 2's fifth iteration came around, Capcom took EGM's legend of Sheng Long, and made it real, in the form of the hidden boss, Akuma. Since then, he has been fully indoctrinated into the canon story of Street Fighter, and made appearances in just about every 2d Capcom series to date.
On the SNK side of things, we have Rugal Bernstein. A man so vain that he claimed the bodies of world class warriors as his trophies, and would go so far as to sacrifice his own life to crush his enemies. King of Fighters '94 was a game which marked the "unification" of all their major fighting game properties. In such a game, the boss character must be of such calibur that he pales all his predecessors, thus Rugal was created. Rugal was a boss character comprised of every weapon necessary to undo any character in King of Fighters. He combined the strengths and eliminated the weakness of two of SNKs most infamous bosses (Wolfgang Krauser, and Geese Howard), as well as his own classy twist on domination. Since then, he has remained a constant mainstay in the KoF Universe, even from beyond the grave.
This contest is not about "who could defeat who in a fight". We all know that SSJ3 Goku would own them to pieces anyways, so that much is a moot. What this contest is about, is which one of these mofos deserves the title of "baddest boss of undeniable death" the most, and who will wear it with an appropriate amount of pride, and fanfare. First up, let us look at the tale of the tape:
| Full Name: | Akuma (Gouki, in japan) | Rugal Bernstein |
| Also Known As: | Shin Akuma, Cyber Akuma, Zero Gouki, Orochi Akuma | Omega Rugal, God Rugal, Android Rugal |
| Appearances: | 14 | 5 |
And now, what you came here for, the battle!
Storyline (All good bosses have good reasons for thrashing the heroes.)Akuma - Both he and his brother Gouken were trained as a youths by Goutetsu in the art of Ansatsuken Karate. Goutetsu taught them both the Shun Goku Satsu (Instant Hell Murder) technique, but only Akuma embraced it. Further on in his desire for power, he came upon Satsui no Hado (the willingness to kill an opponent to attain victory, a.k.a. Killing Intent), and was consumed by it. He challenged his master to a battle, and killed him with the Shun Goku Satsu. He then went on to duel his brother, and killed him as well. Early on, he developed a rivalry with the chinese assasin, Gen. Gen is the only man to survive the Shun Goku Satsu, and fight Akuma to a draw. Though Gen ultimately died, Akuma has since scoured the earth for those who might rival or match him in battle. He has only found Ryu (a student of his brother's) worthy of his time, and even sought to indoctrinate him under Satsui No Hado, but Ryu rejected it. He does not participate officially in the Street Fighter tournaments, but always appears behind the scenes to challenge those who seem strong, including M. Bison, who he destroyed as the conclusion of SF2.
Rugal - A powerful member of the criminal underworld. Rich and noble in nature, he made a name for himself as both a great fighter, and a threat to the free world. He exists practically undetectable in the confines of his ship, The Black Noah. His hobby was to defeat strong world warriors in combat, and then encase them in gold as statues in his trophy room. To this end, he hosted the King of Fighters '94 tournament. He was ultimately defeated by Kyo Kusanagi and co, but not before triggering the destruction of his ship in an attempt to claim their lives. After his defeat, he sought the power of the Orochi clan. Though he lost his eye in battle with Goenitz, he stole some of the Orochi power, and became Omega Rugal. The next year he hosted KoF '95, and was once again met with Kyo Kusanagi. This time, he was victorious, but the Orochi power was too much for his body to contain, and he effectively destroyed himself.
Now, I don't know about you, but this one is fairly obvious to me. Akuma has ritualistically challenged and destroyed all of those in his path, including his brother and teacher, save Ryu. He does fight simply because evil is cool, or anything along those lines, he is doing it all for his own self improvement. He seeks absolute mastery of his craft, and will stop at nothing to get there. Rugal on the other hand is a rather one dimensional cliche villian who simply acts evil because he can. He does not seem to have any real aspirations, though the statue collection thing is pretty cool, and despite being a force of nature in his actual games, he has gone out like a punk on several occasions in the plot. Akuma all the way.
Akuma - A very direct individual, who is supremely confident in his abilities. When faced with an opponent he makes it clear of both his intent, and the presumed outcome of the battle. He is a machine in battle, making no wasted movements, or unnecessary attacks, each strike delivered to the fullest of his ability. He shows no compassion, or sincerity to his opponents, and he cares for no one (save Ryu) any more than what point on their body is most vulnerable to attack. Similarily, he makes no such concern over frivolous things like appearance. He exists now the same as he did at his origin, same hair, same outfit, and same mannerisms.
Rugal - Vain and overconfident by nature. He is the sort who could look certain death in the face, and laugh while straightening his cuff-links. Though he has been met with defeat before in the past, he carries the belief that no enemy is beyond his ability, and thinks anyone who believes (or he proves) otherwise is a fool. He is lax, and reserved when calm, but is deadly and most resourceful when pushed to the limit and would sooner throw away his own life than give another the right to claim victory over him. His appearance is that of nobility. He wears fine clothes even to battle, and claims victory with poise and grace.
Another no brainer. Rugal is a classy regal boss with style, Akuma is just a killing machine. Yes, Rugal has been defeated and continues to be defeated as time passes, but every time he arrises he does so in such fashion that it practically demands respect. A man who would destroy you and your soul is one thing, but a man who would step over your body like garbage, and then make a public spectacle of your defeat in front of family and friends is another alltogether.
Akuma - As a student of the Ansatsuken Karate that is now trademark to the Street Fighter series, he is bound by it's constraints. His basic attacks are very reminiscent of Shotokan Karate, like Ryu and Ken, and his special attack repetoire consists of the standard fireball, uppercut, hurricane kick variations. He ups the ante a hair by being the first to include air borne projectiles, a wholesale teleport, his leaping attack options, and and his now trademark super technique, The Shun Goku Satsu. As well, he has developed several techniques stemming from his growing energy powers, like the Raging Storm rip in SF3:3s, and his new move from CvS2.
Rugal - Rugal's original inception was based upon the best of all possible worlds. He wields more effective versions of Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser's projectile attacks, and also wields his own stringent of hyper effective attacks including a taboo among bosses, a projectile reflector. After the "Omega" plot development, he gained the now trademarked "skull of death" pyrotechnics, and his "Genocide Cutter" technique now fills KoF players with terror at the mention of it's name. Things have only gotten worse over the years, as he has added more and more attacks to his repetoire, while his existing ones have grown faster, bigger, and more powerful.
In the end, this was a very tough decision. From a CPU standpoint, Akuma is without a doubt an exercise in awe. His moves are lethal, and unlike Rugal, his ai is always top notch. Rugal on the other hand falls victim to SNK boss syndrome, whereby a character is granted ultra hyper powerful attacks to disable you, but suffers from the most short sighted artifical intelligence ever crafted. On the other side of the coin, in the players hands, Rugal is a gem. Save his most recent incarnation, his design deviates almost entirely from every other character cast in the game, save a slight bearing on the "fireball / uppercut" persuation, and though he is still quite formidable, you can use him without feeling dirty. Akuma on the other hand remains a rather insignifigant force in player hands. His playable appearances have been paltry by comparison despite his cadre of weapons. Ken and Ryu ritualistically rank higher than him in overall effectiveness, and they are generally just more fun to play to me. Though he has appeared in less fighting games, I will have to give this to Rugal, on his own two feet he is a unique entry into the world of fighting games while Akuma is little more than a Ryu/Ken Championship Edition.
Akuma - An individual who wears his power on his sleeve. Uses a taboo technique that sends his opponents to hell, and back. He has destroyed entire islands with the force of his fist, and torn cruise ships asunder with the power of his own meditation. Akuma in and of himself is a Testament of Strength, whose might cannot be denied.
Rugal - A reclusive and seduced powerhouse, Rugal's true strength is largely invisible. Normally, he distributes his might in servings only as he deems necessary. But when the jacket comes off (or when he is Omega Rugal), Rugal is a beast. Can summon massive walls of energy hurled at super-sonic speed, and draws upon the evil power of Orochi to further his opponents suffering.
A question more of style, than anything else. Akuma is like a Jerry Bruckheimer explosion, loud and over the top, the brunt of which is felt immediately by all nearby. Rugal is like a serpent laying in wait, whose strikes are deadly yet deliberate. Both are capable of bringing the wrath of hell down upon their enemies, but vary in their methods of distribution. I dunno about you, but I'm inclined to be a little be more afraid of the guy who explodes a small crater into the earth, then the guy standing calmly stroking the mane of his pet panther.
Akuma - Represents the epitome of "shoto" style characters (the signature char type) in Street Fighter. Sound storyline ramifications for his existence, and intimidating to boot. Akuma may not be the most original character in the street fighter universe, but as a boss (in the cpu's hands at least) he stands head and shoulders above the rest of the cast, even it's signature villian, M. Bison.
Rugal - As certain as death and taxes, Rugal represents (ed) the next evolution in SNKs legendary line of demonic bosses. A boss worthy of overseeing the culmination of SNKs greatest efforts (at the time). His strength lies more on style and originality than sheer rehash and refinement, and is the kind of sort you just wish could come back, even if the story denies it.
Though it seemed a sure bet when I started this article, I am surprised with the result. Throughout history, SNK has been known as the "better" character creator than Capcom despite their games lesser exposure, and yet I cannot deny that Akuma is hands down the better character. Perhaps during his original debut Rugal would have fared better, but by now his good name is so mired in "SNK boss syndrome" that it will take some signifigant work to recover his image. Akuma on the other hand is just as awesome as he was in that quick shot during SSF2T intro long ago. He has had a wealth of appearances and cameos throughout the years, and unlike most capcom characters, grows a little more great with each new rendition.
