There's been a ton of confusion circling about exactly how to unlock Akuma and Gouken (post updated--I failed to paste in the most obvious part for Akuma that everyone already knows--this is tricky yo!)

While figuring this out can be a bit of a drag, part of me actually likes it--it's a lot like the old arcade days when we were first trying to figure out how to get Akuma in SSF2T, or even Reptile in MK ("I heard from this dude that you have to throw the rock on Chun Li's stage at Ryu", etc.)

Judging by all the Akuma's I've been battling online, plenty of people are getting there without our help, and lots of credible, well-meaning sites have it partially correct (or have posted overly-difficult methods) but the time for confusion is over, so here are the full details on how to unlock them:

To unlock Akuma as a playable character:

1. Unlock Cammy, Fei Long, Dan, Sakura, Rose, and Gen.

2. Pick a character you have already used to beat Arcade Mode.

3. Win all your matches without continuing and without losing any rounds before fighting with Seth.

4. You need to get at least one "perfect" win in a round, and more than one depending on how many rounds per match you are playing.  

 
- 1 round match: 1 perfect round or more

- 3 round match: 2 perfect rounds or more

- 5 round match: 3 perfect rounds or more

- 7 round match: 4 perfect rounds or more

(including the last battle against Seth)

5. If you meet these conditions, Akuma will appear.  Defeat him to unlock Akuma as a selectable character.

To unlock Gouken as a playable character:

1. Complete Arcade Mode playing as Akuma and watch (not necessary to watch everything) an ending.

2. Then, unlock Gouken as an opponent, and defeat him.

Necessary conditions to unlock Gouken as an opponent:

- Play with any characters with which you watched the ending once (so play using a character you have already beaten the game with)

- Do not continue at all.

- Do not lose at all.  Not even one round (easier if you only play 1-round matches)

- Achieve certain number (or more) of "Perfect" rounds.  The number of Perfect Win you need to achieve are:

  If you play on

  - 1 round match: 1 time or more

  - 3 round match: 2 times or more

  - 5 round match: 3 times or more

  - 7 round match: 4 times or more

- Achieve a certain number (or more) of Super Combo -OR- Ultra Combo Finishes.  Super and Ultra finishes both count toward this number. The number of super/ultra finishes you need to achieve are:

If you play on

  - 1 round match: 3 times or more

  - 3 round match: 5 times or more

  - 5 round match: 7 times or more

  - 7 round match: 9 times or more

 
- Achieve certain number (or more) of First Attack (this means you must score the first strike in a match--the screen gives you the "First Attack" message, and you can mostly do this without even noticing):

  The number of First Attack you need to achieve are:

  If you play on

  - 1 round match: 5 times or more

  - 3 round match: 10 times or more

  - 5 round match: 15 times or more

  - 7 round match: 20 times or more

 
- Then Gouken will appear.  Kick his butt to unlock him!