It's official: the base roster for Street Fighter 6 is complete. If Capcom reveals any more new faces (like the other characters from last year’s leak), they’ll be part of the game’s DLC seasons. That or they’ll be unlockables if Capcom are feeling generous. Are they really going to make fans pay for Ed again?
That aside, the game has garnered a lot of positive press for giving the classic cast some new designs, including Hot Ryu, Cammy with Pants, and Hobo Ken. But the most glowing praise has been for the newbies, who have showcased a wide variety of interesting designs and gameplay. So, who are all the new characters in Street Fighter 6’s base roster?
7 Luke
Technically, Luke isn’t really new, as he made his debut at the tail end of Street Fighter 5’s last DLC season. However, Capcom made that additional season to satisfy players until development on SF6 could truly begin. So, Luke was thrown in as a surprise to serve as a teaser for what they had in mind for the future, kind of like the video game equivalent of post-credits scenes in Marvel movies.
He didn’t do much to set the community alight, as he was another cocky blonde in a game that had Ken, Ed, Falke, Kolin, etc. But in SF6, he’s become more level-headed after years of experience earned from fighting Ryu, Ken, and his military superior Guile, among others. That added temperament has made his true debut much more palatable, and he stands out better from the crowd. And that is important, given he’s the game’s poster boy.
6 Jamie
If Luke is SF6’s new Ryu, Jamie is his Ken —) which might be surprising as Luke, while more serious, isn’t exactly stoic. He’s still got some of his SF5 snark, but Jamie is definitely the livelier of the two. He mixes his kung fu moves with his breakdancing skills, rather like how his cousins Yun and Yang combined martial arts with skateboarding and rollerblading respectively.
Jamie looks up to his cousins, and follows their example by defending his neighborhood with his slick moves. He’s also Street Fighter’s first practitioner of Drunken Fist kung fu, powering himself up with each swig of his “medicinal tea.” (This is apparently because calling it straight-up alcohol would run afoul of broadcast standards for televised eSports events. So, it’s “medicinal” in the same way the bars in Ace Attorney serve “grape juice.”)
5 Kimberly
This new street ninja may have the biggest shoes to fill as the new generation’s equivalent of Chun Li. She’s at the forefront of the game’s new women, and there are a lot of them to choose from. Luckily, her unique design and move set earned her fans from the get-go.
In lore, Kimberly is a child prodigy who graduated from college early, but switched career paths when she saw Guy’s ninjitsu skills in action. She pressed him to teach her, proving her mettle by beating Guy’s master Zeku in combat. With little choice, Guy took her on as his student, where she learned the Bushin-ryu arts quickly. She combines its quick jabs and strikes with her interest in street art and 1980s pop culture, as she swings her spray cans around and pops in her headphones to power up.
4 Marisa
After Overwatch’s Zarya, Hi-Fi Rush’s Rekka, and Streets of Rage 4’s Estel, muscle women are currently en vogue in video games. Marisa may give them a run for their money as she’s one of the biggest, being 6' 8" and jacked to the gills. Hailing from Italy, she’s more of a striker with devastatingly strong punches and kicks. They’re not too fast, but they only need to hit a few times to KO her opponents.
However, she likes her (supposed) Greek roots beyond their Spartan aesthetic and warrior spirit. Outside the arena, she’s actually a jewelery designer who appreciates fine art. Just because she’s the size of a house doesn’t mean she can’t be cultured. This might be why some fans hope she’ll be friends with...
3 Manon
Like Marisa, Manon appreciates beauty, and seeks to improve herself in pursuing it, kind of like Ryu with his path to true strength. Only his path led him to become a fireball-throwing drifter. Manon’s path made her a famous supermodel, dancer and a judo champion. Not bad for someone who looks like Lady Gaga in sportswear.
Her style is a unique combination of ballet and judo. She’ll spin her opponents like a dancing partner, then fling them to the ground. The more throws she lands, the more “Medals” she earns, getting stronger with each one gained. Her graceful grapples contrast nicely with Marisa’s smash-mouth strikes. They would make a nice ‘Ken-Ryu’-style duo if Luke and Jamie don’t do the trick.
2 Lily
As the latest new character to be revealed, Lily has raised a few eyebrows. She’s a tiny, cute, Native Mexican girl, yet she has some similarities to her fellow Thunderfoot tribe member, the giant T.Hawk. Both characters favor aerial diving and leaping attacks, and they both spin their opponents around in the air before slamming them.
Fans have also compared her to SoulCalibur’s Talim, in that they’re both smaller women who back up their dual weapons with the power of the wind. She also loves nature and traveling like her Street Fighter 3 predecessor Elena. But her ball-headed clubs, wild spinning moves, and full body throws are all her own. There’s more to Lily than meets the eye.
1 JP
Fans have pinned Johan “JP” Pavlovich as SF6’s likely final boss. Aside from being the head of a successful company (like Tekken’s Heihachi Mishima and Fatal Fury’s Geese Howard), and a possible connection to other initial-only characters like SF5’s G and SF3’s Q, his trailer showed him commenting on a mysterious power that produces a purple flame.
Either it’s Psycho-Power, or he’s going to link Street Fighter to King of Fighters' Orochi flames for a new Capcom Vs SNK game. Chances are the former is more likely. He fights off his foes with casual strikes from his staff, alongside using his power to produce portals and specters to assault his opponents. It’ll be more surprising if he isn’t the final figure at the end of Arcade Mode.
Street Fighter 6 is due out on June 6th 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.