Street Fighter‘s Akuma used to be a secret character, though now he is more of a series mainstay. Recently, modders have taken an old April Fool’s joke and made it real, adding Akuma to the classic Resident Evil 2.
The popular streamer Maximilian Dood broke the news via X:
For context, in 1998, the magazine EGM2 claimed gamers could unlock Akuma in Capcom’s Resident Evil 2. To do so, players would have to beat all of the game’s scenarios six times with an A rank every time while only using the handgun and knife. Then, they have to go to a certain computer console, type in “AKUMA,” and the character will appear with the ability to shoot fireballs. Of course, since this was the April issue of EGM2, it was all a joke. I feel for those who fell for it.
Modders on the website ModDB decided to take this 26-year-old hoax and make it a reality. They created Akuma Mode for use in the Resident Evil 2 Sourcenext PC Version with Classic Rebirth. It makes Akuma a playable character, and he can use fireballs to dispatch zombies, just like in the fake rumor from back in the day. There are also guest stars in this mod that have been turned into zombies. If you destroy them all, you get a secret alternate ending.
It’s so nice to see the gaming community turn an April Fool’s into a tangible thing. I was excited to see Max Dood announce the mod and find out he requested it in the first place. All we need now is Capcom throwing its full weight behind the mod and paying the modders to add Akuma to classic Resident Evil 2. It would be a great excuse to add the classic trilogy to modern consoles.