10 Things To Know Before Playing Street Fighter 6
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VOICE OVER: Ty Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
We are on the brink of the next era of “Street Fighter,” and we cannot wait to dive in! For this list, we'll be going over everything you should know about the game before you pick up your copy of "Street Fighter 6." Our list includes A Change in Leadership, The Roster, Battle Hub, Drive Gauge, and more!
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 Things to Know Before Playing “Street Fighter 6”! It’s finally here! We are on the brink of the next era of “Street Fighter”, and we cannot wait to dive in! In case you haven’t been keeping up with the marketing, here is everything you should know about the game before you pick up your copy. What are you planning to jump into first - the online modes, arcade ladders, or the training rooms? Let us know down in the comments!
“Street Fighter” has often carried the spirit of the arcades through its music, sound design, and UI. There’s this hype, this frenetic energy that few fighting games can match. The identity for “Street Fighter 6”, however, is vastly different. The UI has been simplified with a clean font and graphics. Music, on the other hand, is taking more of an urban vibe, integrating tracks that bring some hip-hop and rap to the world of “Street Fighter”. This sounds like it’d be a weird turn for the franchise, but from what we’ve heard so far, this might be one of the best soundtracks Capcom has put out for the series!
When it comes to the roster, we have both good news and bad news. The bad news is the roster is about the same size as “Street Fighter IV” and “Street Fighter V”. We’re looking at a grand total of eighteen characters at launch. Good news is that the roster is incredibly solid, practically an improvement over SFV’s initial roster! You got a ton of the classic characters returning with a small helping of six newbies to try out. If you wanna know who made it, be sure to check out our video on Every Character Confirmed for “Street Fighter VI”! And hopefully some of the characters that didn’t make it in initially (like Ibuki, Sakura, R. Mika…) will be added later down the line.
One character we do want to focus on a bit is Luke. For those who skipped SFV, Luke was the last character added to the game back in 2021 (not counting Eleven, of course). Luke is important to “Street Fighter 6” mainly because Capcom is trying to make him the new face of the franchise. He is the main character of the game, “an important character” for “Street Fighter’s” future according to director Takayuki Nakayama. Basically, they’re trying to do the same thing they did with Alex back in the “Street Fighter III” days. Whether you like him or not, these are Capcom’s plans for a new Ryu supposedly. So, don’t be surprised if your favorites take the backseat.
Now, we know that fighting games can be very intimidating for newcomers. Sometimes, you jump in, controls are a bit hard to grasp, you think you’re doing okay, and then, the online players tear you apart without effort. Well, Capcom is aiming to help ease newbies into “Street Fighter 6” with three new control styles. Classic maintains the six-button layout for light, medium, and heavy punches and kicks. Modern simplifies things by assigning the four face buttons as your primary attack buttons while the right trigger is for the combo assist feature. And if you’re someone who just wants to mash buttons, you can go with Dynamic.
The Drive Gauge is going to be the one thing allowing you to turn the tide of battle in SF6, and with it, you’ll be able to execute a handful of moves. Activating a Drive Impact will let you absorb an attack, thus allowing you to interrupt your rival. A Drive Parry will negate your opponent’s attack, and when done successfully, refill some of your Drive. Overdrive replaces EX Special Moves but provides the same function: powerful versions of a character’s special moves. Drive Rushes are dashes that let you quickly close in on your opponent. And lastly, Drive Reversals are counterattacks that can be triggered after blocking an attack. Master these mechanics, and it’ll make each fighter a bit more malleable for you.
World Tour is arguably the most ambitious feature in “Street Fighter 6”. An open world fighting game? Sounds ridiculous on paper, and yet…Capcom may have found a way to make it work. Here, you will create your own world warrior to go out and learn a variety of different moves from your favorite fighters. Some moves may even give you a new way to reach different areas! So far, the only confirmed areas we’ll be running around and fighting in are Italy, France, and Metro City, USA. But we have a strong hunch that more will be added alongside new characters later down the road.
The Battle Hub is going to serve as the main hub for “Street Fighter 6’s” online community, and it’s honestly kind of cool. Your online lobbies will now take form of a convention floor with arcade machines laying around, waiting for you to take on new challengers. And if you just want to watch some matches, there is a show floor with seating. In other words, you have a massive fighting game tournament event, a digital EVO that never closes. And if you want a break from “Street Fighter 6”, you can play other classic Capcom fighting games like “Final Fight” and the original “Street Fighter” games.
Well, with all of this effort being poured into “Street Fighter 6’s” online component, Capcom better make sure they have some damn good netcode! That’s probably what you’re thinking after that last entry. And they do have a plan in place: rollback netcode! This format of netcode has gradually become required in the fighting game scene due to its incredible accuracy and strong connectivity. While “Street Fighter V” did implement rollback netcode towards the end of its life, it was kinda messy. Hopefully Capcom has sorted it out and figured out how to make it work for SF6 in time for launch.
Another notable change in “Street Fighter” is in leadership. Many of us will forever remember Yoshinori Ono, who worked on much of “Street Fighter’s” history from the “Alpha” series to “Street Fighter IV” to “Street Fighter X Tekken” to SFV. Ono, however, left Capcom all the way back in 2020. In his place as producer for “Street Fighter 6” is Kazuhiro Tsuchiya. Prior to this, Tsuchiya served as programmer for “Mega Man 7” all the way back in 1992 before becoming a producer for “Asura’s Wrath” and “Mega Man 11”, director of “Haunting Ground”, served as Capcom’s supervisor for “Project X Zone” and “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”. SF6 will be directed by Takayuki Nakayama, who came in to take over directing duties for SFV after it was rebooted. Nakayama aimed to repair ties between Capcom and the “Street Fighter” community after SFV’s disastrous first few years by appearing more in public events and streams as well as taking in more fan feedback.
So, when’s it coming? Sixty-dollar question, right there. “Street Fighter 6” will launch worldwide on June 2, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and Windows PC. While we are excited about jumping in, we are a bit concerned for SF6, specifically for those stuck on last-gen still. Over the last couple years, we’ve noticed games that launch on newer platforms like PS5 and XS suffer greatly on older hardware like the PS4. Framerate problems, graphical errors, visual downgrades, the works…you’ve heard it all. On top of that, we are living in a time where PC ports are quite a mess (Capcom seeing its own problems with PC ports of the recent “Resident Evil” titles). So, if you don’t have a PS5 or XS, we highly recommend you wait on buying til launch or until word gets out about how the game runs on PS4 and PC.
New Flair
“Street Fighter” has often carried the spirit of the arcades through its music, sound design, and UI. There’s this hype, this frenetic energy that few fighting games can match. The identity for “Street Fighter 6”, however, is vastly different. The UI has been simplified with a clean font and graphics. Music, on the other hand, is taking more of an urban vibe, integrating tracks that bring some hip-hop and rap to the world of “Street Fighter”. This sounds like it’d be a weird turn for the franchise, but from what we’ve heard so far, this might be one of the best soundtracks Capcom has put out for the series!
The Roster
When it comes to the roster, we have both good news and bad news. The bad news is the roster is about the same size as “Street Fighter IV” and “Street Fighter V”. We’re looking at a grand total of eighteen characters at launch. Good news is that the roster is incredibly solid, practically an improvement over SFV’s initial roster! You got a ton of the classic characters returning with a small helping of six newbies to try out. If you wanna know who made it, be sure to check out our video on Every Character Confirmed for “Street Fighter VI”! And hopefully some of the characters that didn’t make it in initially (like Ibuki, Sakura, R. Mika…) will be added later down the line.
A Star is Born
One character we do want to focus on a bit is Luke. For those who skipped SFV, Luke was the last character added to the game back in 2021 (not counting Eleven, of course). Luke is important to “Street Fighter 6” mainly because Capcom is trying to make him the new face of the franchise. He is the main character of the game, “an important character” for “Street Fighter’s” future according to director Takayuki Nakayama. Basically, they’re trying to do the same thing they did with Alex back in the “Street Fighter III” days. Whether you like him or not, these are Capcom’s plans for a new Ryu supposedly. So, don’t be surprised if your favorites take the backseat.
Controls
Now, we know that fighting games can be very intimidating for newcomers. Sometimes, you jump in, controls are a bit hard to grasp, you think you’re doing okay, and then, the online players tear you apart without effort. Well, Capcom is aiming to help ease newbies into “Street Fighter 6” with three new control styles. Classic maintains the six-button layout for light, medium, and heavy punches and kicks. Modern simplifies things by assigning the four face buttons as your primary attack buttons while the right trigger is for the combo assist feature. And if you’re someone who just wants to mash buttons, you can go with Dynamic.
Drive Gauge
The Drive Gauge is going to be the one thing allowing you to turn the tide of battle in SF6, and with it, you’ll be able to execute a handful of moves. Activating a Drive Impact will let you absorb an attack, thus allowing you to interrupt your rival. A Drive Parry will negate your opponent’s attack, and when done successfully, refill some of your Drive. Overdrive replaces EX Special Moves but provides the same function: powerful versions of a character’s special moves. Drive Rushes are dashes that let you quickly close in on your opponent. And lastly, Drive Reversals are counterattacks that can be triggered after blocking an attack. Master these mechanics, and it’ll make each fighter a bit more malleable for you.
World Tour
World Tour is arguably the most ambitious feature in “Street Fighter 6”. An open world fighting game? Sounds ridiculous on paper, and yet…Capcom may have found a way to make it work. Here, you will create your own world warrior to go out and learn a variety of different moves from your favorite fighters. Some moves may even give you a new way to reach different areas! So far, the only confirmed areas we’ll be running around and fighting in are Italy, France, and Metro City, USA. But we have a strong hunch that more will be added alongside new characters later down the road.
Battle Hub
The Battle Hub is going to serve as the main hub for “Street Fighter 6’s” online community, and it’s honestly kind of cool. Your online lobbies will now take form of a convention floor with arcade machines laying around, waiting for you to take on new challengers. And if you just want to watch some matches, there is a show floor with seating. In other words, you have a massive fighting game tournament event, a digital EVO that never closes. And if you want a break from “Street Fighter 6”, you can play other classic Capcom fighting games like “Final Fight” and the original “Street Fighter” games.
Online Play
Well, with all of this effort being poured into “Street Fighter 6’s” online component, Capcom better make sure they have some damn good netcode! That’s probably what you’re thinking after that last entry. And they do have a plan in place: rollback netcode! This format of netcode has gradually become required in the fighting game scene due to its incredible accuracy and strong connectivity. While “Street Fighter V” did implement rollback netcode towards the end of its life, it was kinda messy. Hopefully Capcom has sorted it out and figured out how to make it work for SF6 in time for launch.
A Change in Leadership
Another notable change in “Street Fighter” is in leadership. Many of us will forever remember Yoshinori Ono, who worked on much of “Street Fighter’s” history from the “Alpha” series to “Street Fighter IV” to “Street Fighter X Tekken” to SFV. Ono, however, left Capcom all the way back in 2020. In his place as producer for “Street Fighter 6” is Kazuhiro Tsuchiya. Prior to this, Tsuchiya served as programmer for “Mega Man 7” all the way back in 1992 before becoming a producer for “Asura’s Wrath” and “Mega Man 11”, director of “Haunting Ground”, served as Capcom’s supervisor for “Project X Zone” and “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”. SF6 will be directed by Takayuki Nakayama, who came in to take over directing duties for SFV after it was rebooted. Nakayama aimed to repair ties between Capcom and the “Street Fighter” community after SFV’s disastrous first few years by appearing more in public events and streams as well as taking in more fan feedback.
Launch
So, when’s it coming? Sixty-dollar question, right there. “Street Fighter 6” will launch worldwide on June 2, 2023 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and Windows PC. While we are excited about jumping in, we are a bit concerned for SF6, specifically for those stuck on last-gen still. Over the last couple years, we’ve noticed games that launch on newer platforms like PS5 and XS suffer greatly on older hardware like the PS4. Framerate problems, graphical errors, visual downgrades, the works…you’ve heard it all. On top of that, we are living in a time where PC ports are quite a mess (Capcom seeing its own problems with PC ports of the recent “Resident Evil” titles). So, if you don’t have a PS5 or XS, we highly recommend you wait on buying til launch or until word gets out about how the game runs on PS4 and PC.
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