In recent years, the Capcom logo itself has been able to capture my attention whenever I see it. With a few exceptions, I can’t think of many gaming companies that are capable of this. I don’t know how Capcom does it, but they have been putting out very high-quality games on a regular basis. Just a few months back, we got the wonderful Resident Evil 4 remake, which was an absolute treat and a genuine game-of-the-year contender. Now, we have Street Fighter 6, and it is absolutely no exception to Capcom’s recent line-up of games.
So yes, I definitely recommend you go pick up Street Fighter 6. It’s an incredible fighting game that I think almost anyone can enjoy. However, perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. I should probably explain why this game deserves all the praise it’s getting because it certainly does.
Street Fighter 6 Has Great Value at Launch
Fighting games can often struggle to seem like a good value proposition at launch. Sure, a great fighting game can easily attract established fans of the genre, but what about people who are more on the fence? I believe there are plenty of people who want to give fighting games a try but may want a bit more to them if they aren’t particularly interested in competitive play. This is an issue that could be addressed more when it comes to attracting newcomers to fighting games.
That being said, Street Fighter 6 does a pretty amazing job of acknowledging this. This game might present some of the best value I’ve seen in a fighting game at launch. Of course, there are going to be DLC characters and stages, but I think you may be doing yourself a huge disservice if you wait to pick this up until the game is done adding content. I know this is a point of concern for several casual players of fighting games, but you’re getting a great package out of the gate here.
Of course, there is the standard content that players have come to expect out of a fighting game. By simply selecting Fighting Grounds, you can easily play Arcade mode or some basic matches with your friends. However, it doesn’t stop there at all. For example, this game probably contains the most extensive single-player campaign I’ve ever seen in the genre. On top of this, you have the Battle Hub, where you can go meet, chat, and fight with other players.
A Beautiful Combat Dance
All the value Street Fighter 6 presents wouldn’t be worth nearly as much if there weren’t any solid core game mechanics to hold everything up. Fortunately, this aspect of the game is one of my favorite things about it. It’s clear that lots of time and effort went into designing the game to be as fun to play as possible. Every fight can feel fresh, and that’s thanks to the game’s carefully considered mechanics.
Considering how accessible the game is, you can start playing interesting mind games with your opponents not too long after you start training. Street Fighter 6 gives players a decent amount of tools to utilize, most of which are easy to understand but can be a bit more difficult to master. Many of your options are tied to the Drive Gauge, which is a wonderful addition to this game. Instead of having to fill your Drive Gauge as you play a match, you have full access to it from the beginning, unlike many other meters in other fighting games.
This opens up each match to several different options that you need to be aware of. This goes for both what you’re capable of and what your opponent is capable of. If you use the Drive Gauge correctly, you can deal tons of damage. However, it is easy to use it poorly, and sometimes a mistake can be absolutely devastating. With all these options, it’s easy for weaknesses to form in both your play and your opponent’s play, which means you should constantly be paying attention.
Balancing Is Key
The mechanics are balanced in such a way that I’m usually considering all of my options. For example, if the Drive Impact mechanic wasn’t tied to the Drive Gauge, I probably wouldn’t be a big fan of it. However, you have to spend part of your Drive Gauge to use it, and considering how easy it is to punish, the game disincentivizes the abuse of the mechanic. However, when used in moderation, it can be a useful tool to either throw off or punish your opponent, which can grant you a free combo.
There’s been the odd time when a match can come to a complete standstill. This is when Street Fighter 6 can be at its most tense. My brain starts rushing through all the possible actions my opponent and I can take, and I can tell the same is happening to them. Do I wait to see if they jump so I can punish them with an anti-air move? Or, do I use Drive Rush to get in, landing an attack I know will be safe upon block? These are just a couple of thoughts that can race through my head during a match.
Even in matchups where I seem to be at a disadvantage, the game provides me with enough interesting tools that things never feel hopeless or boring. Sometimes all you need to do is to throw your opponent off once to completely change the dynamics of a match. It will be apparent when you take control of the match, and it’s incredibly satisfying.
Can’t Stop Fighting
Every time I start playing ranked matches in Street Fighter 6, I have a very hard time putting the game down. I’ll tell myself that one more match will suffice, but then I will end up playing three more at the very least. There’s a reason for this, and it’s because Street Fighter 6 wants you to win. Even when you are losing, victory never feels completely out of reach. The game provides so many tools for new players to understand the game so you can at least be a competent player.
While I prefer the classic controls, the modern control scheme is a great compromise for players who want to enjoy the game without worrying too much about inputs. World Tour is basically designed to teach players the fundamentals of the game, but there are also some pretty decent tutorials as well. In addition to this, the game includes guides for each character so you can get a feel for their general playstyle and game plan. You may even be able to get some tips by fighting and chatting with other players in the Battle Hub.
Despite the amount of options the player has, the game is simple enough that most people should be able to figure out which mistakes they’re making so they can improve. After all, this is still a traditional 2D fighter with a big focus on footsies. Being able to see your frame data in training mode helps greatly, and watching your past replays assists in learning as well. With how many tools there are to learn the game, this may be one of the best introductory fighting games out there.
The World Tour of Street Fighter 6
World Tour is one of the most ambitious single-player campaigns I have seen in any fighting game. Some may describe it as a diet Yakuza/Like a Dragon game, and that isn’t exactly untrue. However, I think it takes away from what the game is accomplishing here. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it presents a great blueprint for a fighting game campaign mode.
While World Tour’s story could be a little more engaging, it is great at capturing an overall lighthearted tone. It’s fun to talk to iconic Street Fighter characters in casual settings. While this doesn’t necessarily add any Earth-shattering depth to these characters, it’s nice to know what they’re like outside of battle. For example, it’s both somewhat funny and endearing to learn about Luke’s obsession with PC gaming.
The actual combat encounters you will find yourself in are a bit of a mixed bag. The balancing of World Tour feels somewhat inconsistent, which can make combat encounters a bit tedious at times. Some later fights give AI opponents large pools of health, and you’ll need to use items if you want to take them down faster. It’s not a huge deal, but having to pause the game to use an item can break the flow of combat in an irritating way.
Playing a Role
Perhaps my favorite aspect of both World Tour and the Battle Hub is the ability to create a custom avatar. While many people use this system to create amusing body-horror abominations, it’s still a lot of fun to express yourself. While you can only choose a single fighter to represent all your normal moves, you almost get complete freedom to choose your specials and your supers.
Do you want Ken’s normals but also want to use Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick? You can do that. You will have to progress through World Tour to gain access to all your options, but it is totally worth it. Yes, it’s not balanced in the slightest, but that’s the fun of it. It’s great to have a part of the game that allows the player to fool around and experiment like this.
In addition, the ability to fight other players with your avatar in the Battle Hub is a smart move. Being able to show other fighters what your character is capable of is incredibly enjoyable. Sure, this most likely isn’t going to result in competitive matches, but that’s not the point. It’s great for taking a break from competitive play to just enjoy the game for what it is.
Great for Both Casual and Competitive Play
One of the most vital aspects that Street Fighter 6 nails (besides its core gameplay) is the balance between casual and competitive play. This is something fighting games have been struggling with for a while, and I don’t necessarily blame them. Figuring out how to make a game appealing to both audiences is quite the undertaking. In fact, it’s much easier to do the opposite.
The great news is that Street Fighter 6 manages to be a solid experience for players who wish to test themselves and for those who just want to lay back and relax. Instead of feeling the need to water down the gameplay for newer audiences, the game assumes that most players can get to a point where they feel competent at the game and provides many tools to get there. There isn’t a single mechanic that feels as though it trivializes the game’s other mechanics.
Good tutorials are very helpful, but Street Fighter 6 provides so much more than that. There’s so much content to sink your teeth into as a casual player. Sometimes I would even find myself playing classic Capcom games in the Battle Hub instead of focusing on the game itself, and I mean that in a good way. Sure, it’s a bit silly to play Street Fighter II inside of Street Fighter 6, but it’s wonderful that I can do that.
The Colorful Cast of Street Fighter 6
While most of the cast is either made up of newcomers or Street Fighter II veterans, I am mostly happy with the character selection at launch. I would prefer some more faces from other games in the Street Fighter universe, but it’s likely we’ll be seeing more of those as time goes on. However, there’s a great mix at launch to make the game feel both familiar and fresh.
Each character does a great job at feeling distinct, even when they feature similar play styles to other characters. For example, Zangief and Manon may both be grapplers, but their game plans are different enough that fights against them never feel identical to each other. The exaggerated character designs do a lot to help as well. While this game may look more realistic than Street Fighter V, it still retains a somewhat cartoony sense of style with its characters.
Everyone is animated quite well. You get a good sense of every character’s personality through their move set and their facial expressions. Street Fighter 6 definitely isn’t the fastest fighting game out there, but this allows for a great sense of weight to many hits. Every punch and kick looks and sounds like it hurts. It’s important to have a satisfying sense of feedback, and fortunately, Street Fighter 6 nails this for the most part.
Smooth Online Play
I’m the kind of guy who prefers to play my fighting games locally. This doesn’t mean that I hate playing games online. It’s just that I often haven’t been satisfied with online play in fighting games, and I appreciate them as a social activity. So, it may come as a surprise to hear that Street Fighter 6 is a fighting game that I love playing online. It seems a lot has been done to make the online experience engaging and smooth.
I appreciate the creative lobby systems that Arc System Works implements in their games, but sometimes I just want to jump into a match through simple means. Street Fighter 6 is similar to an Arc System Works game in that it contains a creative lobby system. However, the game doesn’t force you to interact with it if you do not want to. Instead, you can quickly join ranked or casual matches from the Fighting Grounds.
Fortunately, the Battle Hub is interesting enough that I want to interact with it. I love being able to chat with other players about the game. It does the best job it can of replicating the experience of visiting a local meet-up. I’ve rarely had connection issues during matches as well, with most of them playing about as smoothly as possible. Overall, it’s a wonderful online experience that keeps me coming back for more.
If You Aren’t Playing Street Fighter 6, You Should Be
Street Fighter 6 is a rare fighting game that pushes the genre forward. However, that’s not to say that other fighting games aren’t worth your time, either. My favorite fighting game is Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code, and that game’s features are very primitive in comparison to Street Fighter 6. So, don’t take it the wrong way when I say that Street Fighter 6 goes above and beyond your average fighting game.
Street Fighter 6 is quickly becoming one of my favorite fighting games of all time. I can’t think of the last time I had this much fun with a game in this series. With no exaggeration, it delivers some of the best value at launch for a fighting game. The mechanics are solid, the visuals are vibrant, the soundtrack is memorable, and there’s just so much to do. Even if you are on the fence about fighting games, I strongly recommend you give Street Fighter 6 a go.
I may have some minor issues here and there, but the game otherwise delivers almost everything I could want out of a Street Fighter game and more. Once again, Capcom proves that it’s currently one of the best companies in the industry. In fact, Street Fighter 6 may be the best traditional fighting game to release within the past 10 years or so. As such, I have trouble finding a reason to give it anything other than a perfect score. You can find out why Street Fighter 6 sold over one million copies in five days and pick it up now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
