The biggest change in Street Fighter X Tekken is that Capcom has shifted to 3D graphics from the 2D animated graphics it had been using in the other mobile Street Fighter games.

Street Fighter x Tekken (Universal On Sale: $2.99) 

“The Street Fighter and Tekken franchises clash head-to-head in this never-before-dreamed-of crossover battle! Take on players from all over the world in Wi-Fi Ranked Match while increasing your player level!”

Presentation

This is a HUGE improvement from the other games. In this one, the characters have 3D models, and the backgrounds are animated too. And the tradeoff? There is none, surprisingly. Despite it being their first attempt at going 3D on mobile for the series, all the characters have smooth animations, and the same goes for the backgrounds. The 3D models and backgrounds breathe new life into the game, which are much appreciated.

Controls

SF x TK has the same interface we’ve seen in other Street Fighter games for iOS. It consists of a punch button, a kick button, and X button to swap fighters, and a special button for special moves. We’ve always liked these controls because not only do they feel right at home on the touch screen, but they work well for both beginners and veterans of fighting games.

Gameplay

Just like with Volt, SF x TK comes with a single player mode, but the real star of the show is the multiplayer. Capcom has made some….odd, changes to it though. The biggest one is that online matches require coins. How do the coins work? You start off with three coins, and can have up to three coins at any time. Each match is a coin, but if you win you get to keep your coin. If you lose a match, you lose a coin.

If you run out of coins, you can wait a few hours for a new coin to appear, or you can buy coins as IAP. The other unfortunate twist in the multiplayer is that you’re not able to play online matches with friends. You can do so over Bluetooth, but not online. Online matches are ranked, and random, so at any time you’ll be playing with anyone in the world.

Suggestions

If there’s one thing I would like to see Capcom add in the future is a bigger roster. The console version of the game has 55 characters, while the mobile version is limited to 10 characters (five from Street Fighter, and five from Tekken). Needless to say, it feels limited.

Conclusion

I absolutely love Street Fighter X Tekken. The 3D characters, smooth backgrounds, and fast based combat keep me coming back for more, even if I am at this point still a beginner at the game. Despite having a short roster, I still highly recommend this game. 7/10