For gamers who preferred the digitized setting of one-on-one battles there was no better time to be alive than during the mid 1990s. One of the main reasons for this renaissance in the fighting game genre was the arrival, modification, and near perfection of “Street Fighter II”. Capcom’s eventual premier franchise had gamers spending thousands, if not of millions of quarters during the years of “SF II’s” various arcade releases; while console owners took part in the fun from the comfort of a home just bursting with the sounds of victory or defeat.
As the years progressed so did “Street Fighter” featuring spin-offs, prequels, and, of course, numbered sequels that garnered praise for giving each entry a unique gameplay feature to individualize itself from both its predecessors and the competition. But things were changing around the time “Street Fighter V” arrived on shelves and digital storefronts. Gamers didn’t just want great mechanics – they wanted modes, customization features, and worry-free online support so when they battled someone it wouldn’t be a laggy experience. “Street Fighter V” would take years to reach its promise, but the stigma of what happened during its disappointing initial launch stayed with it even after the announcement of its direct sequel.
Capcom proclaimed it had learned from their mistakes and were prepping “Street Fighter 6” to be the most impressive fighting game package seen in years, if not ever. Being able to take part in the Closed and Open Betas, glimpses of what was to come in terms of modes were hinted at; but the gameplay itself had me impressed and excited about what would happen after the announcer shouts, “Fight!” when matched up against another player come the full release – a day-one purchase if there ever was one.
Did I Complete “Street Fighter 6”?
The minds behind “Street Fighter 6” looked to make good on the short comings of its most recent predecessor. The first thing a person will notice when the game initially boots up is the main hub options: “World Tour”, “Battle Hub”, and “Fighting Ground”. Old school players will immediately gravitate to “Fighting Ground” where gamers can battle the AI in either a five or twelve-fighter arcade ladder dubbed “Story” where every character has a beginning, mid, and finale character arc to explain their motivation in taking part in this “tournament” iteration and why they may show up in future installments. Also in “Fighting Hub” are in-depth tutorials and combo training sequences for every character, the new “Extreme Battle” mode similar to the stipulation, “Test Your Luck” mode from “Mortal Kombat X”, and even various forms of “Team Battle” where up to five fighters per team can fight in everything from single-elimination tournaments to round robin challenges.
“Battle Hub” is the main online section (though a player can play “Ranked” & “Casual” online matches, or enter custom lobbies via “Fighting Ground”). Running around with an avatar, players will wait for some random match in the aforementioned online fighting modes, or put down their figurative quarter by sitting at an actual arcade booth to fight another gamer. To top it off, players can take their avatar into the middle of a “Battle Hub” lobby to fight someone else’s created fighter in a potentially unbalanced affair depending on how much time the players have spent in “World Tour” mode.
“Battle Hub” features a plethora of other things to do besides simple one-on-one fights including a retro section where players can essentially play a free version of last year’s “Capcom Fighting Collection”, participate in online “Extreme Battles”, take part in timed tournaments, watch replays & on-going fights, and buy clothing items for their avatar (unfortunately there are micro-transactions with the in-game currency being dripped out in small doses while the currency bought with real money allows players to spend up to half of what they will pay for a custom item otherwise).
And then there’s “World Tour” mode. Taking place in a more peaceful version of Metro City from the “Final Fight” franchise, “World Tour” has gamers creating their own fighting freak of nature by going around the city, challenging level-based foes, and completing various simplistic missions usually associated with meeting a different “Street Fighter” to learn some new moves. “World Tour” acts as a more interactive tutorial of the gameplay systems and, most importantly, the variety of playable fighters available (eighteen at launch with four to come via DLC).
Like many fighting games, the path to completion is solely based on the player and what they want to achieve be it the top rank online or simply having some laughs while being blown up by an electrified ball. Trophies and achievements are plentiful while being split across three sections including the base game, “Fighting Ground” and “World Tour”. Requirements such as winning ten tournaments and getting and/or giving 600 “Likes” will be a significant time sink for those both skilled and patient enough for the task; something yours truly has yet to achieve while shockingly picking up various trophies including winning twenty times in “Avatar Battle”.
What Makes “Street Fighter 6” Unique?
The focus of “Street Fighter V’s” marketing was it being a game made for e-sports and tournaments. Instead of trying to pigeonhole “Street Fighter 6”, Capcom decided to make this game a buffet where players can pick what they want and enjoy thanks to the general gameplay, modes, and new control schemes. While the classic “quarter-circle” control method is still available, “SF 6” initially sets everything to “Modern” controls. Featuring more of a reduced button mapping, players are able to do special moves like Ryu & Ken’s patented “Hadoken” by pressing the “Special Move” button while moving the stick/d-pad instead of the stereotypical quarter-circle forward-punch combination. “Critical Art” super attacks are much easier to preform with “Modern” controls, but being able to increase the strength level of regular special moves is nearly impossible; though players can still use the “Classic” method to execute special moves even with the “Modern” control setting.
Like the Arc Systems’ games that too feature more casual-friendly control setups, playing with “Modern” controls reduces their character’s damage output; though it doesn’t reduce meter building & restoration like in, say, “Granblue Fantasy Versus”. There’s an auto-combo option in “Modern” that gives players the chance of doing stylish, though mostly simplistic combos that only the best fighting gamers could turn into a truly devastating sequence if they know how to bridge combinations.
There is also a “Dynamic” controls option that gives the player a further helping hand where their character may perform a fireball instead of a “Dragon Uppercut” depending on how close they are to their opponent all with the touch of a single button. “Dynamic” controls may be the most “rookie” version of gaming controls ever in a major fighting game, but is great for newcomers who may not have the time, dexterity, or interest in dedicating hours upon hours in getting decent while having fun seeing their character pull off some impressive combinations. Gamers who don’t adapt to either “Modern” or “Classic” controls will be out of luck if they want to play online as “Dynamic” controls are unavailable against human players.
While a definitive opposing trio of control schemes is something fresh for players to either embrace or stick to what’s worked for them for years, the “Drive Gauge” is a brand new implementation that completely changes how a “Street Fighter” bout occurs. Starting off with a full “Drive Gauge” of six segments at the start of a round, players can perform “Overdrive”/ex-versions of their special moves by spending two meter segments. The highly-promoted “Drive Impact” acts in a variety of ways while costing only one bar. This armored maneuvered can be stopped in a variety of ways including a well-timed throw, an opponent landing three or more strikes in rapid succession, or a counter “Drive Impact” is used almost immediately after the initial, opposing “Drive Impact” is activated.
Though it may sound disadvantageous to use “Drive Impact”, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives when done right. Stuck in a corner? “Drive Impact” out of that precarious predicament while knocking the opponent to their knees if they don’t block, or shove them backward if they are defense minded. Have a foe close to the screen’s edge? “Drive Impact” them against the wall for a knock-back that could lead into a combo. A blocking opponent who takes the “Drive Impact” loses half a “Drive Gauge” segment while getting pushed backward.
Costing one “Drive Gauge” bar, “Drive Rush” sees a character charging toward their opponent for a potential combo or even a cancel into something unexpected like a level-three “Critical Art”; not to mention just being able to close the distance on a player who may be trying to zone out their opponent. “Drive Parry” costs half a segment, but refills quickly if successful. While “Drive Parries” are good for, say, deflecting fireballs from across the screen; it’s only when performing a “Perfect Parry” right as the player’s character is about to be struck that “Drive Parry” usage is at its most effective due to time slowing down and giving the person who performed the parry a chance to counter whatever their adversary had in mind.
While the “Drive Gauge” does replenish when performing successful attacks, being hit even when blocking will reduce the meter. If a player isn’t careful, exhausting the “Drive Gauge” will put their character in a “Burnout” state where they are more susceptible to damage including their vitality being chipped away when blocking, unable to perform any “Drive Gauge”-related tactics, move slower, and are prone to being knocked into a very vulnerable dizzy state. But just because a character is burned out doesn’t mean they’re easy pickins as they still have the ability to use special moves and even their “Critical Art” as long as they have any level of their “Critical Arts” gauge filled (the meters at the bottom of the screen).
Modifications have been made to the returning fighters alongside new “World Warriors” who are making their franchise debuts. Ken’s offense sees his kicking becoming the root of his arsenal as a way to further differentiate him from the electrifying Ryu. On the opposite end, Chun-Li is pretty much the most complete version of herself not seen since the days of “Street Fighter Alpha 3” without much change in her overall gameplay presentation.
The six new characters have to be some of the best fresh faces seen in the franchise’s history. The speedy Kimberly is able to dash across the screen for a leg sweep, teleport and spin kick an opponent into the air for a devastating air throw. Similar to Kimberly in regards to trickery being the basis of their combat, drunken master fighter Jamie mixes low and high punches & kicks with the greatest of ease. Taking four swigs from his flask, Jamie reaches his ultimate level of power; gaining more damage output alongside extended combo strings while his health gradually replenishes.
Manon is a ballerina-based grappler whose long legs prove incredibly effective in doing the opposite of what someone would expect her archetype would want by pushing characters away. But when Manon gets close, her elegant dancing with an opponent will result in a health-draining slam. Though appearing to be a grappler, Marisa is anything but as her deceptively agile body pushes forward with charged strikes instead of trying to grab & slam foes. When charging, Marisa is able to armor through some attacks; though she may lose some significant “Drive Gauge” if the player isn’t careful.
The suave JP has impressive projectiles perfect for zoning unsuspecting players; keeping them on the outside until he wants to use his air teleport to drop down and destroy them. Though she’s not able to keep someone on the opposite side of the screen, Lily with her war clubs known as pogamoggans can control the neutral very well thanks to her weapons of choice while powering up courtesy of the wind.
One of the best ways to learn about the how every character plays beyond the “Fighting Ground’s” “Practice” section is through “World Tour” mode. By taking a created fighter from the robust creation suite into the bustling Metro City, a player’s avatar will interact with every “World Warrior” in hopes of gaining their abilities & equipping them; growing into the strongest fighter possible. Beyond completing main & side missions, players can spend in-game currency to buy stat altering items, and use skill points to give their character the leg-up needed for the next battle via a tournament-style skill tree that, when the player reaches the top, that portion of the tree is locked; meaning an avatar can’t have all the skills available on the tree.
The story, however, is nonsensical. Journeys to different countries or towns aren’t rooted in something urgent or even impressive, but situations like the avatar’s original master Luke needing specific souvenirs only found in Brazil where Blanka is located. Not taking itself seriously makes “World Tour” mode a lot easier to enjoy when not fighting thanks to opponent variety. There are also “World Tour”-specific mini-games to show how someone would execute special attacks like charged fireballs. “World Tour” mode’s biggest flaw has to be the “Master” leveling system that sees the increasing of a relationship between the character’s avatar and their master like the aforementioned Luke taking so much time and effort to do so for every master without neglecting the rest of “Street Fighter 6”.
Technically, “Street Fighter 6” is one of the most impressive experiences on the market. Beyond the immaculate art style that is exemplified in the “Gallery Mode” is a highly memorable soundtrack. There is optional commentary that sounds good, but the amount of stock lines and understandable lack of character specifics when referring to the action makes the implementation rather underwhelming. For those who want to fight online, don’t expect to wait around for minutes on end to get a fight as the turn-around for queuing up for a bout and getting the option to take part in a battle is incredibly fast.
Most fights are lag-free online, though connectivity issues have arisen during the middle of a clash. The biggest design flaw in regards to online play is the inability to change fighters in either “Casual” or “Battle Hub” fights. This lack of flexibility in regards to character switching can lead to one-sided fights or, in regards to “Battle Hub”, losing a spot at the arcade cabinet. The amount of micro-transactions are still something of a mystery not long after the official release and will have players digging into their pockets if they truly care about customization options and new characters.
“Street Fighter 6” learns from its past mistakes while improving upon the foundation that has made the franchise one of, if not the best in the genre. “SF 6” provides a package where both offline and online players can enjoy for not just weeks or months, but potentially years to come.
Should You Play “Street Fighter 6”?
For long-time players, stepping into the latest world of “Street Fighter” will feel like a mixture of old times in the best way possible and reaching a new frontier thanks to various gameplay implementations, characters, and slight changes to some fan favorites. Online is mostly impressive while the new “World Tour” mode allows players to learn the basics of other fighters without entering the “Practice” mode; though the formula may get rather mundane by the end in regards to the single-player “World Tour” mode.
Thankfully, the prototypical single-player offerings are here including an “Arcade” mode and the new “Team Battle” option. Thanks to a trio of control schemes, gamers who may be overwhelmed when coming into a fighting game should feel a lot more comfortable; while experienced players won’t have their skills demeaned. There’s no higher recommendation that can be given to “Street Fighter 6” beyond it being a must-buy that proves as satisfying as pulling off a well-timed counter into a devastating “Critical Art” for the victory.
