Street Fighter 5’s release left many fans disappointed due to its perceived lack of content. However, Street Fighter 6 is a complete departure from that, offering a remarkable and feature-rich fighting game experience. It boasts an impressive roster of 18 characters, including both new and returning fighters, all rendered in a stunning new art style. The online Battle Hub is exceptionally ambitious and outshines other fighting game lobby systems. Additionally, Street Fighter 6 provides an array of training tools and systems to help players improve their skills, making it a standout title in the genre.
Street Fighter 6 Review
In terms of gameplay, each Street Fighter game typically introduces a unique mechanic. Street Fighter 6 introduces the Drive System, which, in the opinion of many, is the best addition the series has seen. This system grants each character access to five powerful abilities governed by their Drive Gauge: Overdrive special moves, Drive Rush, Drive Parry, Drive Reversals, and Drive Impact. Overdrives serve as the new EX Special Moves and consume two bars of the Drive Gauge, while Drive Rush allows for rapid movement toward or away from the opponent. Drive Reversals provide an option to escape an opponent’s attack when blocking, consuming two bars. Lastly, Drive Impact, the most intriguing, will be discussed shortly.
This system is lauded for its versatility, offering numerous strategic options from the beginning of each round, as players start with a full meter and access to all Drive System abilities. There’s no need to build up the meter or worry about preserving it for subsequent rounds. Players can choose to initiate aggressive plays with Drive Rush, save meter for Overdrive special moves to enhance combo damage, or employ various other tactics, enhancing the strategic depth of Street Fighter 6.
The handling of the Drive Meter depletion is equally praiseworthy. When the meter is exhausted, the character enters a Burnout state, rendering them unable to use any Drive Meter-related techniques. Opponent’s attacks become more advantageous on both block and hit, chip damage occurs, and Drive Impacts become even more threatening. Despite being in a challenging position, it remains far from unwinnable. Movement speed, attack damage, and access to super moves remain unaffected. Moreover, the anticipation of opponent Drive Impacts adds an exciting layer of mind games.
Drive Impact, a pivotal move in Street Fighter 6, costs only one bar of Drive Meter and possesses super armor that can withstand up to two hits. If it connects while the opponent is in the midst of their attack, they are knocked into a crumpled state, allowing for a full combo. Even if the opponent blocks it, they are pushed back and lose half a bar of Drive Meter. When near the corner, it can lead to a corner combo, and if the blocked Drive Impact pushes them into the wall, the opponent gets stunned and vulnerable to a full corner combo. This move stands as one of the most potent universal mechanics in fighting games, requiring players to respect it to avoid being overwhelmed.
Despite its power, Drive Impacts are balanced by being reactable if players are vigilant, yet they can catch opponents off guard if not anticipated. A counter Drive Impact can absorb the opponent’s attack, allowing the player to respond with their own and potentially set up a full combo. Successfully countering Drive Impacts is immensely satisfying and can turn the tide of a closely contested round.
In conclusion, Street Fighter 6 offers a feature-rich and strategically engaging fighting game experience. With a diverse character roster, ambitious online features, and the dynamic Drive System, it delivers a knockout experience for fans of the genre. The introduction of Drive Impact adds an exciting layer of strategy and anticipation to matches, making each round a thrilling contest of wits and skill.
The New World Characters
Street Fighter 6 features a character roster consisting of 18 fighters, blending familiar faces with new additions. Among these 18 characters, 12 are returning favorites, while the remaining six are entirely fresh to the franchise. Even the returning characters offer a sense of novelty, thanks to the incorporation of new intricacies into their move sets.
For instance, Ken now boasts a command run that alters the properties of various special moves when used in conjunction with it. This provides them with EX-like attributes, eliminating the need to expend Drive Meter resources. Cammy’s repertoire now includes the ability to charge her special moves, infusing them with V-Trigger-like qualities. Dee Jay, on the other hand, introduces an array of new feints, making him an exceptionally tricky character to both employ and contend against.
The newcomers bring a breath of fresh air to the roster and are among the finest additions Street Fighter has witnessed. Kimberly stands out as a prime example, featuring a ninja-inspired fighting style that incorporates swift teleports to close the distance, punishing air throws reminiscent of the Izuna drop, and a repertoire of deceptive leaps from a considerable distance. Meanwhile, Jamie emerges as a formidable melee combatant with a drunken fighting style. His unique ability involves buffing himself by consuming swigs from his flask. After four drinks, his moves become exceptionally potent, featuring multi-hitting attacks that left me perplexed as to when it was my opportunity to retaliate, until I practiced against him in training mode.
Street Fighter 6 encompasses a diverse range of character archetypes, ensuring representation for every fighting style. Grapplers are embodied by Zangief and Manon, while Ken, Jamie, and Cammy embody the rushdown fighter archetype. The zoner category is filled by Guile, Dhalsim, and JP, and the powerhouse bruisers are embodied by Marissa and Honda. This roster composition caters to a wide spectrum of player preferences, delivering a comprehensive and satisfying character selection.
Street Fighter 6 World Tour
World Tour, while a significant improvement over Street Fighter 5’s cinematic story mode and a novel addition to Street Fighter 6, is arguably its weakest aspect. The concept behind World Tour is promising, offering an expansive single-player experience resembling an RPG where you create a character and immerse them in the Street Fighter universe. This entails becoming a disciple of various playable characters, learning their techniques, and developing your character through leveling up, equipping stat-altering gear, and selecting powerful skills. Additionally, World Tour incorporates lessons as sidequests, gradually introducing newcomers to the fundamentals of Street Fighter 6 across approximately 20 hours of gameplay.
However, the narrative within World Tour leaves much to be desired. Character development is shallow, plot twists are predictable, and the mute protagonist primarily serves as an errand runner for various gangs and factions. The storyline appears to prioritize facilitating your character’s travels to different countries to meet roster characters without adequately justifying these journeys. For instance, in one chapter, a random gangster requests the return of her stolen bag, prompting a global trip to Rome to create a counterfeit bag. In another instance, travel to Jamaica and Brazil is necessary because your mentor, Luke, seeks souvenirs and seemingly cannot shop online.
Nonetheless, World Tour maintains a light-hearted and enjoyable tone, aligning well with the Street Fighter franchise. Street fights are frequent, regardless of whether they are warranted, allowing players to employ extravagant moves like the Spinning Bird Kick to traverse gaps as if they were human helicopters. The mode offers a surprising variety of enemy encounters, effectively teaching newcomers how to handle specific situations that extend beyond the story mode. Enemies exhibit diverse behaviors, such as favoring high blocking, remaining airborne, or relying on projectiles, mirroring the tactics of various character archetypes. The inclusion of peculiar adversaries like refrigerators and Roombas adds an entertaining touch reminiscent of Yakuza-style humor.
World Tour features engaging minigames that gamify techniques commonly used in fights. These minigames simulate actions such as charge-type special moves, special move inputs, and combo execution, making them an enjoyable part of the experience.
One of World Tour’s most enticing aspects is the prospect of outfitting your character with moves from other fighters. By the end of the campaign, you can perform Dhalsim’s teleport, execute Zangief’s Spinning Piledriver, and utilize Ken’s Dragonlash Kick, creating a customizable character with potentially overpowered abilities. However, the process of leveling up your character’s style to acquire new moves is time-consuming. This is achieved by using a character, and even with focused usage of specific characters like Luke and Ken throughout the entire mode, reaching the maximum level can be challenging. The pacing of unlocking new abilities could have been more brisk, considering the multitude of rewards associated with ranking up each character.
Despite its shortcomings, I found World Tour to be a fun experience overall. It caters directly to players with limited fighting game experience, offering character customization elements, seamlessly integrating fundamental lessons through side missions and minigames, and presenting an abundance of content within two expansive open worlds, each featuring day and nighttime versions with unique side missions to explore.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Street Fighter 6 continues the legacy of one of the most iconic fighting game franchises in the industry. With a roster of beloved characters, refined gameplay mechanics, and stunning visuals, it’s a testament to the enduring appeal of Street Fighter. While it may not revolutionize the genre, it builds upon the series’ foundations, offering a satisfying and competitive fighting game experience. Street Fighter fans and newcomers alike will find much to appreciate in this latest installment.
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