Everything We Know About A.K.I So Far

A.K.I. is the next character that will join the Street Fighter 6 roster in September and will be the second character in the year 1 DLC after the release of Rashid. Once she joins, we will have Ed and then Akuma remaining as DLC for the first season of Street Fighter 6.

A.K.I. was teased during Evo and now with a trailer out, we have seen a bit more of what to expect from the crazy lady. 

Here, we are going to run down everything we know about her so far. 

Story

A.K.I. is a young lady taken under F.A.N.G's wing and trained to become an assassin. It is possible that she is 'Phantom' a young lady from 'Toxicity' a side story from Street Fighter V (really, give it a read) that take place after the events of 'A Shadow Falls.' In that story, F.A.N.G. hides out in China after the fall of Shadaloo and is gathering funds to restart his operations. He comes across a girl selling herself off as a prostitute and she solicits him. He follows her, not out of desire, but curiosity. He finds out that she and her brother want to blackmail him by recording him with the girl. Solicitation was illegal, but F.A.N.G. is not one to mess with and he offers them three thing; money (it was laced with poison), a dagger from his organization (he would cut off the hand of whoever touched it), and a chance to escape with their lives. 

The lady went not for the dagger, but for the engraving on it. Impressed by her choice, F.A.N.G. offered that she become his student and his potential successor. She agrees and leaves with him. He names her 'Phantom' and the two disappear into the darkness.

It would make a whole lot of sense if this is the same individual as it would also explain her backstory and devotion to F.A.N.G. According to her entry in the official Street Fighter website, A.K.I is F.A.N.G's apprentice and according to the PlayStation Blogpost about A.K.I, she is on a mission to help revive Shadaloo. 

Her abilities with toxins is incredible and it is hinted that she might be more powerful than F.A.N.G.

Personality

A.K.I. is a villain in a way Juri can only hope to be. She has a calm demeanor and a lovely voice, but all this is stripped away when she starts talking about poisons. Then, she takes on a manic personality that indicates her utter fascination with toxins and their effect on the human body. She is clearly a poison nerd and knows everything about them. She loves her master and essentially hates anything that isn't him. Whether this love is romantic is unknown, but it certainly borders on obsession as she would do anything to catch his attention and gain his praise.

Playstyle

A.K.I. plays similarly to F.A.N.G. in that she can fight from different ranges, and she has some great distance on many of her moves. She shares the poison mechanic with F.A.N.G. that if you are hit with her poison, it slowly depletes your health bar. She also has a slide like her master and can use her nails to inflict poison. Using the OD version of her nail move (Serpent Lash), she hooks the opponent; she can draw herself to them and attack.

She has a fireball that also inflicts poison, and she can even pop it, causing it to blast and increasing the AOE She also has a move called Sinister Slide, which low profiles projectiles, and from it, she can launch three different types of attacks including a grab. 

Her level one super, Deadly Implication, traps her enemies in a poisonous bubble, which then explodes, dealing damage. The Level two sends several talons whipping at the enemy, leaving a pool of poison in the aftermath. Her level three sees her hit various pressure points on the opponents, most significantly the forehead, and then cause the poison that she has injected to explode from within. 

Inspiration

A.K.I. is said to have been inspired by white snakes, which is why her skin is so pale. Her martial arts is said to be the Fanged Snake Style, which is a branch of Chinese Kung Fu. Her hair is said to imitate the umbrella, which has significance within the assassin community.

A lot more was said about her inspiration, the PlayStation Blog. 

As for when she will be released, that will be on the 27th of September, 2023, so mark your calendars. 

A.K.I. will also be available in World Tour and Battle Hub. Players who have purchased the Year-One pass will have access to her.