Street Fighter 6 gets a crucial component of fighting games right: personality

Capcom appears to be making the right moves street fighter 6. In addition to a solid one-on-one fighting game, Capcom has created a lightweight RPG, a comprehensive set of training tools for both newcomers and veterans, and a proper arcade mode. It’s a far cry from the barebones, the esports-focused launch state of Capcom’s last flagship fighting game. street fighter 5.

I recently looked into this street fighter 6The various modes of , including World Tour’s fun, yakuza-like open-world exploration, where players can take their own character onto the streets of Metro City and battle virtually any resident there. It’s not as smooth nor as pretty as street fighter 6‘s other modes, but it’s the most beginner-friendly place to start; World Tour teaches players the most basic fighting game basics before sending them on a meet-and-greet adventure with the Street Fighter cast. This is also where players can make their ideal fighter or their craziest – Capcom offers immense anatomical freedom in character creation SF6.

Image: Capcom

The mode I’ve spent most of my time in and can’t stop thinking about was street fighter 6‘s Fighting Ground and plays in casual 1v1 matches against Polygon Editor-in-Chief Chelsea Stark. We had the opportunity to experiment with that SF6 Squad – 18 fighters at launch – and picking a favorite seems almost impossible.

Almost every character in the street fighter 6 The list is enticing, whether it’s classic characters like Ryu or Chun-Li, who feel instantly familiar and newly refined, or fresh faces like Marisa (a huge Italian kickboxer) and JP (a vascular dandy who’s just as could well be a wizard). These latter characters exude personality: Marisa rivals Zangief in both size and pride, yet she delicately carries her vanquished opponents away at the end of a fight; JP brings a sense of refined style and obvious Psycho Power abilities to the fights, ruthlessly kicking over his opponents when he walks away victorious.

Bookends with style and personality prevail street fighter 6. In addition to the post-battle flair, the game offers its fighters neat WWE-style performances, and they can engage in mean-spirited duels in pre-match duels. Capcom showed off this feature called Game Face a while ago, and after playing around with it, it feels infinitely entertaining to see the game’s World Warriors grimace, snarl and stick their tongues out at each other. Game Face is just one of hundreds of meticulous details Capcom is bringing to the table street fighter 6all in the name of making fighting games fun for the masses again.

ThisTree Fighter 6 The roster is incredibly diverse, with big hitters like Zangief and Marisa fighting alongside fast fighters like Cammy and newcomer Kimberly. Kimberly can teleport with her modernized version of ninja smoke bombs – aerosol cans – and feels like she’s a real weapon in the hands of fighting game pros. Their rushdown abilities make them sprint at an opponent and behave unpredictably, with follow-up moves like slide kicks and jumping leg grabs that keep opponents guessing… and frustrating.

Capcom has even managed to breathe new life into veterans like Dhalsim, Honda and Blanka, all of which feel utterly authentic to them street fighter 2 versions, but updated in a way that borrows from their designs. Dhalsim is more frighteningly rubbery than ever, Honda looks and moves more like a real sumo wrestler, and Blanka looks equal parts human and wild animal. Capcom has maxed out the character designs and personality traits of Street Fighter’s veterans, but somehow managed not to turn them into caricatures of themselves.

Image: Capcom

No member of the cast – which also includes returning fighters Ryu, Ken, Guile, Juri and Dee Jay – seems to have been overlooked. Whether they are new looks that make them different from previous versions, such as: street fighter 6‘s standard “Hot Ryu” and “Hobo Ken” or newly polished move sets, Capcom seems to have taken the “there’s something for everyone” approach not only to the game modes and features, but also to the characters themselves.

street fighter 6 and its new series of World Warriors are out on June 6th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. At least four other characters are slated to join the game as DLC in the game’s first year, including Akuma (who debuted in Super Street Fighter 2 turbo), Ed (first playable in street fighter 5), Rashid (also from street fighter 5) and AKI (a brand new fighter).