When it comes to fighting games, Street Fighter is the poster child for the genre. Fans may prefer others more, but there is no denying the influence this series has had on the industry since it began in 1987. It may seem wild that there are only six main games in this franchise since it has existed for over three decades.
However, it’s easy to forget all of the spinoffs, not to mention all of the other fighting games under Capcom’s belt. So, overall, how does Street Fighter 6 stack up to the rest of the series? Does it do anything better, or is it a failure?
8 World Tour
The story modes have always been lacking in these games. The arcade mode within Street Fighter 6 has the same style of offerings fans should be used to by now. Animated stills are presented for each character’s journey in the single-player mode. That’s for the main characters, but there is also the addition of World Tour, which is the true story mode of the game.
The player is a nameless fighter who wants to make their way to the top in Metro City. It gets wild, almost on the level of the Yakuza games, which is a real treat.
7 The Character Creator
Players can customize their World Tour character in Street Fighter 6 to their liking. The wealth of sliders and additional options is astounding for a fighting game. It adds to the charm of the World Tour as players can be whoever they want to be, from a tough brooding macho man to a flirtatious agile femme fatale.
Players have been sharing a staggering amount of creativity with their characters, like making Taylor Swift clones. Past games have offered costume changes and reskins for the main characters, but this is a whole new ball game in Street Fighter 6.
6 The Humor
The overall humor needs to be addressed in the game separately. Iconic characters are behaving in ways that no fan could see coming. For example, players will meet and befriend Blanka in Street Fighter 6, who can also become a mentor.
Blanka will give players a quest to hunt and track down a cryptid of someone dressing up like a cute version of himself. That’s just one example, but let’s just say it’s going to be hard not to laugh during Street Fighter 6, which is unexpected for the vastly humorless predecessors.
5 A Good Blend Of New And Old
Some fighting game developers struggle on balancing characters in their games. Should they create a bigger roster of new characters, or should they bring in more iconic characters to appease the fans? In this game’s case, Capcom has managed to strike a good balance between the old and the new.
There are seven new fighters along with eleven classics in Street Fighter 6 like Chun-Li and Guile. Plus, the old characters have been redesigned to add new flair to them like Ryu having a robe draped across his Beard Daddy body. It’s the best balance in the series to date.
4 Accessible Fighting
Fighting games can be intimating because there is a lot to memorize, and this series is guilty of that. Each character behaves differently as far as movement goes, and their special moves can be tricky to master. Street Fighter 6 fixes all of that by adding an automatic combo meter.
Players can hold down the trigger, and characters will perform combos, including specials like Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird kick. No memorization is required, but old-school fans can ignore this new play style as well. It’s great to see an entry finally be more accessible to both the hardcore fans and newbies out there.
3 The Collectibles
Even though the story presentations are lackluster in the arcade mode, they are worth checking out. Completing a character’s story in Street Fighter 6 like Luke’s will unlock a plethora of things. One of the best collectibles in the game is the artwork pieces which offer behind-the-scenes sketches along with some fan art.
There’s a particularly awesome one that reimagines Chun-Li as Mega Man, who is fighting a bunch of other characters who have also been turned into robots. Street Fighter 6 is a love letter to the fans, and there has never been this amount of nostalgia in the series before, except for the various Capcom collections, which is a whole other story.
2 The Online Integration
The net code for these games has always been strong, and this game does not disappoint. It is on par with past iterations, although the launch stability has been better than Street Fighter 5, which has a rocky start. The thing Street Fighter 6 does better overall, though, is creating an experience for players online. There is a place called the Battle Hub wherein players can chat with others in a 3D space before playing a match together.
Alternatively, there are arcade games that offer players classic games to check out, including Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight.
1 The Music
Capcom has created some of the best music in its catalog thanks to this series. Returning fan favorite themes for characters like Guile return albeit in remixed fashions. Music tracks are also something players can unlock and collect, which offers both new and old selections.
Besides character themes, the original music for the game is astounding, especially in World Tour. The influence of hip-hop on the soundtrack really brings the characters to life and it helps pump up the crowd too.
Street Fighter 6 was released on June 2, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
