Let me start this off saying that I am one of Street Fighter V’s biggest critics. The five years that Street Fighter V has been out, I have been there criticizing every move Capcom makes. I wanted the best for the game, but with the initial launch it was hard to be positive. There were so many problems at the very beginning that I couldn’t look past. Even today the game still has problems with the online, characters looking awful and many clipping issues on the characters. Thankfully the game has solved many of the problems it has had over the years.
For example the game is about to reach 40 characters after it launched with only 16. While 16 characters isn’t terrible, it is just weird that they would cut so many when most of SFIVs roster would return. Either way SFVs roster has grown into something great, offering fan favorites and new characters as well. There is one new character named Abigail that I have a love and hate relationship with. My initial reaction to him was super critical, and I thought he was the ugliest character in the game. I wasn’t the only one that thought this either. Just take a look at the reaction to his reveal trailer here. Even though he’s still ugly as sin, I believe they nailed him in every other way possible. Even though Sagat was added later on in Season 3 (my favorite SF character) I could never leave Abigail alone.
The Gameplay
One reason to get into Street Fighter V right now is that they almost changed how each character plays by adding in new V-Skills to every character. V-Skills are a exclusive free to use action that each character has. Before this most recent update, Abigail never had a projectile he could use, but with his V-Skill II he can call in a tire that he can hit towards the opponent. It is the little things like this that can change the game and bring new life into it. When I saw they were adding in new V-Skills I shrugged it off not knowing how much it would change certain characters. These new skills really are amazing and got me playing like crazy recently trying each new V-Skill out.
Every character also has the ability to use their own exclusive V-Trigger. A V-Trigger can be many different things, but they are usually power-ups or the ability to gain a different move. The game originally debuted with just one V-Trigger for each character, but as time went on each character received another one. V-Trigger II like V-Skill II opened the way to changing how the characters played. For example Abigail’s V-Trigger I was the ability to charge heavy moves that could break the opponents block. V-Trigger II however was another charge attack, but this time it was a literal charge. If you press the buttons Abigail would rush forward and damage the other fighter.
Single Player
Street Fighter V launched with next to no single player modes. The only modes it offered were Character Stories that ended super quickly and a Survival mode that was unfairly balanced on the higher difficulties. However over time they added in a Cinematic Story, a true Arcade Mode, Dojos which is a stage that you can design yourself, Team Battles, Fighting Chance, and Extra Battle Challenges. The above-mentioned would have been amazing from the start, but I give them props that they committed and kept adding more to try to make people happy. Each mode grants you different rewards, let that be a title or a new color for a character.
Street Fighter V also loves to add many different themed costumes for each character. There is a clear favorite here, that being Chun Li with what seems to be over 20 different costumes. Over the years you would need to either earn Fight Money in game (earned by just playing the game) or by purchasing with real money. Thankfully if you buy the new edition, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. You can gain access to almost every costume they have ever added into the game. Same with almost every stage (Capcom Pro Tour Stages are excluded from this)!
“I wish you good luck”
Street Fighter V has made up for most of its sins that it used to have. It got over having little to no content and now has the amount it should have had from the beginning, and much more. Street Fighter 5 was like Gill and Resurrected itself from what seemed like death. Capcom believed in it and kept adding to it no matter what people were saying. I love parts of Street Fighter V, but I still think parts to need work. I won’t sit here and say that they deserve a pass now and that they fixed every problem the game has. Personally, I wish they would fix the online, and Ken’s clipping hair that has been there since 2016.
In the end though, I truly believe that Street Fighter V has grown and it’s the perfect time to start playing when Champion Edition launches February 14th, 2020. You gain access to 40 characters new and old, over 200 costumes, and 34 stages. This edition might mean that SFV is coming to a close, so it’s no better time to grab the game up and become a World Warrior!
