When the Street Fighter 6 roster was leaked pre-release, I became obsessed with A.K.I.’s design. Not only was she a spiritual successor to F.A.N.G., a character I already played in SFV, but her posing and expressions suggested she might be a villain in the story, which I usually prefer over heroic characters.
During Year 1 of SF6, I bought a Haute42 G16 and started using it as my daily driver. The small 20mm buttons felt more comfortable for my hands, and my inputs were more accurate compared to other controllers I had used at the time, including the T16, S16, and Snackbox Micro.
So, I decided to create artwork for my favorite controller featuring my soon-to-be favorite character.
The DLC Incident
As luck would have it, A.K.I. ended up being the second DLC character for SF6, meaning we had to wait about five months for her release. In the meantime, I played Dhalsim and Rashid, and while Rashid was really fun, I couldn’t wait to switch to A.K.I. as soon as she dropped.
However, when she finally released, she felt incomplete. While everything worked on paper, making her effective in real matches was excruciatingly difficult. Most tier lists from the professional SF6 community placed her among the worst three characters in the game. Despite the negativity, I was still in the honeymoon phase and stuck with her, trying to make her work.
When the Costume 3 trailer for the DLC characters dropped, the consensus was that A.K.I. had the best design of the batch, so I decided to create artwork based on her Costume 3. I went with a purple-and-gold scheme—a tried-and-true combination seen in Los Angeles Lakers jerseys. The purple matched A.K.I.’s own colors, while the gold provided strong contrast. My first design was relatively simple, featuring large images of A.K.I. in Costume 3 on both the front and back. I used gold and purple button caps to complete the look, with black button caps for the extra shortcut buttons on the G16.
The Post-Buff Redesign
A.K.I. received significant buffs in SF6 balance patches, climbing from bottom 3 to top 10 in most tier lists. To match her in-game glow-up, I gave my artwork a glow-up as well. I replaced the simple design with multiple images of A.K.I. in different poses and costumes.
By this time, Street Fighter 6 pro player Broski had popularized the tagline “A.K.I. is cool,” so I added it as an Easter egg on the front. On the back, I featured a full image of A.K.I. reclining, with a side profile of her blowing poison bubbles in the background. I also included F.A.N.G.’s tagline, “Taste the Poison,” and A.K.I.’s own, “My Magnum Opus,” which served as a double entendre since I considered this my final A.K.I. design.
Instead of primarily using purple and gold caps, I switched to matte black and white for the core buttons, with purple and gold reserved for the shortcut buttons. I preferred this combination over the previous one.
It’s Not You, It’s Me
However, my love for A.K.I. didn’t last, and I eventually replaced this artwork. While her buffs were substantial, her final gameplay design didn’t click for me. She’s essentially a fireball-Drive Rush character—but not a particularly complex one. While her optimal combos deal amazing damage, they’re not difficult to execute, so I don’t feel cool doing them.
A.K.I. is one of those rare cases where I adore a character’s design and personality but don’t enjoy their gameplay. It’s usually the opposite for my Street Fighter mains—El Fuerte, Dhalsim, and F.A.N.G. While I don’t particularly care for their looks or personalities, I find their gameplay immensely enjoyable and rewarding. With A.K.I., it’s the reverse.
I prefer it this way, though. If she returns in a future game with a reworked moveset or different gameplay loop, I’d love to pick her up again. On the other hand, Dhalsim’s redesign from SFV to SF6 removed a lot of what I enjoyed about him. And since I don’t have much attachment to his character, I no longer play him in SF6.
Key Points:
Controller(s):
Haute42/Cosmox G16
Modification(s):
Artwork creation, printing and cutting
Button Caps: Ticknot Yellow 20mm Button Caps, Ticknot Black 20mm Button Caps, Ticknot Purple 20mm Button Caps, SinoArcade Black (Frosted) 20mm Button Caps, SinoArcade White (Frosted) 20mm Button caps
Credits:
Version 1:
yoooo_know_who, 101neg, David Liu
Version 2:
OrekiGenya, JuaagAcgy, Calvin Sims, R1NZ0zzz, sss_ookoku, necokari
