2023 is an important year for fighting games. The Big Three return and vie for the diminishing interest of the common people. With Street Fighter 6, Capcom is really setting the tone: the fighting hero is stronger than ever and also makes up for all the mistakes of his predecessor. Double and thick.
Skinny Five
Because in all humility we can say that Street Fighter V was just a skinny animal. The fight list was missing several favorites – which Capcom held as a paid DLC – the online part was simply broken, and content-wise, it seemed like Capcom hadn’t checked off half of its to-do list. There wasn’t even an Arcade mode. original sin!
The Japanese fighters then patched things up step by step with a raft of updates, but Part V never fully recovered. None of this now: Capcoms is breaking loose with a huge, insane campaign mode, an online hub that tries to recreate the old arcade culture and enough single-player content for those who aren’t competitive. This is on top of the most streamlined combat system ever. ready? fights!
clowning town
Street Fighter 6 is divided into three main pieces. Of these, the World Tour is undoubtedly the most surprising. In a bold attempt to push the fighting genre to a wider audience, you can create your own fighter and then experience a 25-hour single-player ride in a kind of open-world RPG mode reminiscent of Yakuza. You can explore the streets of Metro City, challenge every pedestrian to a whack-a-mole and do all kinds of side missions. They range from the extremely silly to the crazy Japanese. Your ultimate goal: to travel the world to visit all the fighting legends of their homeland and learn their skills. To become the ultimate fighting champion.
World Tour doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s so refreshing. One minute you’ll be facing the local crime syndicate or street kids putting a cardboard box over their heads, the next you’ll be wrecking a pink ice cream truck or sending selfies to Rio. World Tour is no-nonsense in terms of storytelling, is whimsical and offers as much slapstick as fighting lessons. Was this world tour really necessary? of course not. But it’s just plain fun and belies the seriousness of fighting games. It’s Capcom’s way of showing non-competitive gamers that games should only be fun. We applaud that.
Modern and dynamic
We’re less positive about the simplistic controls that Capcom is constantly trying to hack. Modern controls throw the classic six-button input outside and let you perform special moves, combos, and critical arts with just two buttons. Artificial intelligence will help you. If you choose Dynamic, all you have to do is hit the attack button and the game will do the rest. So autoplay.
We understand Capcom’s strategy: there is undoubtedly a group of gamers who are happy with the quick controls, small size and can win without any dedication or training. It’s fine for them, but that makes it impossible to figure out the step-by-step combat system and thus master the basics of Street Fighter. No, give us the classic fist-switching method: with six buttons, a crooked thumb, and lots of swearing.
Drive this one!
The fight itself – that’s all there is to it in the end – is a direct hit. It’s much more balanced than in Street Fighter V, and thanks to the addition of the 6-segment Command Meter, ensures more intense and more strategic combat that can turn quickly. With the full Drive scale, you can perform all kinds of new tricks where Drive Impact excels in versatility. With this, the waiting player absorbs every attack of the enemy before they are further outmatched.
It sounds simple, but the system is well thought out and well balanced. If you use it too much, your meter will be depleted and your fighter will go into burnout mode where you will take more damage, among other things. Or heavy users can see their drive effects counteracted and then completely destroyed. The drive meter also allows you to upgrade normal attacks, perform Drive Parries, and then connect to Drive Dash. Enough possibilities to experiment and find a suitable answer for each enemy strategy. The result is incredibly entertaining and well-balanced, which makes fights last longer.
Singles only
If you don’t like the internet, you can go to the battleground where you will find a lot of single player options. From the practice mat and classic Arcade mode to Extreme Battles where you set your own rules and whether or not you throw a bunch of drones or other tricks. It’s also the perfect place to learn about the new combat roster.
Regulars such as the multi-level Ryu, supersonic soldier Guile, and E. Honda’s tsunami fist trigger have been slightly redesigned. This old guard is complemented by a lot of newcomers. Our favourite? kung fu dance master Jimmy, giant Italian wrestling queen (we think) Marissa and Lily, daughter of T.Hawk who wields a pair of bizarre scoops. A mix of old and new acts, although we’re already missing some favourites. Did you purchase the edition with the Battle Pass?
The combat looks so unparalleled. Overly stylized, covered in hectoliters of neon paint, and mixed with a raw hip-hop style reminiscent of Street Fighter III: Third Strike. The decorations are colorful and full of details. Animation is wonderfully smooth again, with screen-filling Super Arts that will test the visual power of your 4K TV. It’s mainly about the many visual details: rose petals curled up in Ryu’s stage, faces and bodies badly battered after the first round and so on. Oh yeah, and during the loading screen you can make your fighter grimace. Totally unnecessary, but very nice.
to the arcade
In addition to World Tour and Fighting Ground – both of which focus offline – there’s also a Battle Hub. And what a contrast to the meager portion online of Part 5. This is the place to be if you want to measure yourself online. Or you want to enjoy the atmosphere of the game hall. You are dropped into a futuristic version of an arcade where the arcade cabinets are arranged in a row. Here you can test your homemade fighter, buy new outfits, play old classics or go to one of the arcade cabinets and challenge a player to a fight. A community hub that could become the most important pillar of Street Fighter 6.
We’ll have to wait and see if Capcom can keep the Battle Hub alive with events and other live service content. But it’s already clear: unlike the dry menus of its predecessor, this Battle Hub is a breath of fresh air. This can be said of the entire fighting package that is Street Fighter 6. Capcom has clearly learned from its mistakes and is offering plenty of content to keep newcomers and veterans alike entertained. As far as we’re concerned, already the 2023 champ. Although it makes us very curious how competitor Bandai Namco will respond to this with Tekken 8. Maybe a delay to 2024?
