Resident Evil modders and the biggest fighting game channel on YouTube join forces to remedy a 26-year-old April Fools' joke

The creators of a Resident Evil randomiser mod have collaborated with the biggest fighting game channel on YouTube, Maximilian Dood, to bring players the fabled Akuma Mode for the original Resident Evil 2, fulfilling a 26-year-old gag. 

It all started off as a simple April Fool's joke back in 1998, when the gaming magazine EGM2 tricked readers into believing that it was possible to unlock the Street Fighter character Akuma in Resident Evil 2 as long as you completed the game as both Leon and Claire with nothing but a handgun and a knife and achieved an A rank in every single scenario (via GamesRadar). 

Unfortunately, this simple task did not reap the proposed benefits, and it left many Resident Evil 2 players confused and upset about the lack of Akuma. But it did cement this cruel joke into urban legend status, left to a life as an unattainable myth. Or it was.

Snipzu, Captain Kashup, and Zkys3dge, the modders behind BioRand, the Resident Evil randomiser, announced on Twitter that this is no longer the case: «After 26 years, the rumors finally came true. In collaboration with @maximilian_, we're delighted to present to you the AKUMA MODE!» 

While Orca's been hard at work on RE4R's and CVX's randos, the rest of team has also been working on something of their own… After 26 years, the rumors finally came true. In collaboration with @maximilian_, we're delighted to present to you the AKUMA MODE! pic.twitter.com/WLqtegFgUkMay 9, 2024

They also showed off a short video of Akuma fighting zombies in the original Resident Evil 2, you can see him using Shoryukens and Gohadokens against crows, lickers, giant alligators, and more. 

You can check Akuma Mode out for yourself on its ModDB page, but it only works for Resident Evil 2 Sourcenext PC version with Classic REbirth (patches for PC ports), so make sure you have the latest version installed. 

The team has also been working on fixes for small issues, like running the exe in admin mode, or the game crashing when players are