Street Fighter 6 is almost here, and it's looking to be the most newcomer-friendly Street Fighter title yet. With a robust launch roster of eighteen characters, there’s a character for everyone to pick up, whether players prefer the offensive rushdown of Juri and Ken, or the defensive screen control of Guile and Ryu.
However, with the current open beta on the go, players are likely wondering which of the eight characters available would be best for them to pick up and play in the short time allotted. Thankfully, a large portion of the cast is fairly simple, especially when using the new ‘Modern’ control scheme, so new players can easily hop in and enjoy Street Fighter 6 with little to no experience.
Updated on June 30, 2023, by Harry Schofield: With Street Fighter 6 out now and the launch roster rising to eighteen from the open beta's eight, there are several newly-accessible characters who are just as well suited to newcomers. While much of the new launch roster, such as the tricky trap character JP and graceful grappler Manon, is on the more complex side, there is still no shortage of characters that don’t require hundreds of hours to master. The following list has been updated to add a few more Street Fighter 6 characters that are perfect for beginners to pick up and train with.
8 Luke
Arriving as the new face of the Street Fighter franchise, Luke is clearly designed to attract new players with his cool-guy attitude and self-confident charm. Luke’s normal moves almost all advance him forward, helping him close the gap and get in on his opponent. His special moves include his fast-moving fireball Sandblast and his anti-air attack in Rising Uppercut, both useful for helping new players understand how to poke at enemies from a distance and defend from jump-ins. His Level 1 Super Art, Vulcan Blast, can be used to finish juggle combos out of light or OD Flash Knuckle, as well as punishing reckless fireballs from full-screen.
His signature special move, Flash Knuckle, has three unique versions depending on the strength of the punch used and can be held down to charge for even more damage. As these different Flash Knuckles are intuitive in how they can be used in combos – light Flash Knuckle combos out of light attacks, medium Flash Knuckle combos out of mediums, etc – and can often combo into each other, players who pick Luke will quickly get to grips with how Street Fighter’s combos function.
7 Ryu
Having served as the protagonist of the series for 30 years and staying similar to his original appearance throughout, Ryu is easy to pick up and play. Keeping his classic Shotokan moveset, Ryu can use his Hadoken fireball to keep opponents away, his Shoryuken to anti-air, and his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku to advance forward and phase through fireballs. Combined with his long-reaching and relatively fast normal moves, this all-rounder moveset is perfect for players who want to steadily learn the basics of Street Fighter.
In addition to his classic moves, Ryu can also use his Donkey Kick – a quick straight kick perfect for ending combos or extending with its OD variation – and Hashogeki – a close-range energy blast to maintain pressure – to keep opponents in check. His Level 1 Super Art, Shinku Hadoken, is especially useful for tacking on extra damage to combos and countering opponent’s projectiles on reaction due to its speed and projectile priority. Ryu has been the jack-of-all-trades for years and is still a solid option for new players to learn Street Fighter 6.
6 Ken
The yang to Ryu’s yin, Ken returns in Street Fighter 6 with his familiar rushdown take on Ryu’s Shotokan fighting style, making him welcome players who just want to go all out and hit as many attacks as they can. Ken maintains the Hadoken, Shoryuken, and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, but each is a little faster and further moving than Ryu’s to encourage advancing forward – his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku also acts as a juggling combo-extender rather than a single hit, allowing juggles into Shoryuken or Super Arts.
As well as these Shotokan classics, Ken also has a unique command dash activated by pressing two kicks simultaneously, which allows him to move forward quickly and cancel it into special moves or an overhead kick; Quick Dash can also be performed during combos to take opponents closer to the corner. His new Jinrai Kick is a spinning roundhouse that can cancel into three different followups for an overhead hit, a low hit, or higher damage respectively. Dragonlash Kick is also an effective combo-ender that can swap sides if the OD version is used. Overall, Ken offers a slightly faster version of the classic Street Fighter gameplay for players who want a little more fire in their moves.
5 Guile
The eternal family man, Guile may be one of the simplest characters in the beta, especially at new players’ lower level of gameplay. With only three special moves, players can quickly understand how Guile wants to play Street Fighter 6: keep the opponent away with Sonic Boom projectiles and deny their jump-ins with reversal Flash Kicks. Unlike most other characters in the beta, these moves are performed with charge inputs – holding a direction for around a second before quickly inputting the opposite direction and the attack button simultaneously. This can be a small hurdle for players who may be used to motion inputs such as Ryu’s quarter-circle-forward Hadoken input, but once players get the hang of it, Guile will make their opponents feel like he’s impossible to get in on.
Guile’s new special move, Sonic Blade, summons a stationary projectile that can be used to make opponents second guess moving forward or, more interestingly, increase the power of any Sonic Boom that is fired through the Sonic Blade. As such, Guile excels at defensively controlling space on the screen and ensuring opponents struggle to land a hit on him. His Level 1 Super Art, Sonic Hurricane, is best used to add damage to the end of a combo, but its diagonal variation (executed by pressing Heavy Punch specifically to activate the super) can be used as a backup anti-air if the player doesn’t have Flash Kick charged at the time. Guile has always been easy to learn and hard to master, making him a great pick for newcomers.
4 Juri
Basking in her opponent’s suffering, Juri excels at keeping the opponent exactly where she wants them. Her long legs make up the majority of her moveset, giving her excellent range on her normal attacks, and her high mobility makes her a terrifying force who’ll suddenly go from full screen to right next to you. Her Saihasho projectile is slow-moving and hits low, letting Juri follow it to start her pressure and make her opponents guess if they have to block high or low. Her Ankensatsu compliments this, being a jumping axe kick that hits overhead and can be used during combos alongside her Go Ohsatsu, a high-damaging roundhouse kick-to-end combos. If under pressure, Juri’s Tensenrin is a swift anti-air to get opponents off her; if opponents are jumping too much, her Shiku-sen divekick is quick enough to make them think twice.
Her signature special move, Fuhajin, can be used to enhance all of her other moves with ‘Fuha stocks’, which can be stacked to improve the speed and power of moves like Saihasho and Ankensatsu, to make Juri even more threatening. Her Level 2 Super Art, Feng Shui Engine, is unique in allowing Juri to cancel normal moves into stronger normal moves that she wouldn’t be able to otherwise, making even a single light attack connecting incredibly damaging for the opponent. Juri is perfect for players who want a little more versatility in their playstyle and wish to scare their opponents.
3 E. Honda
The world-famous sumo Edmond Honda has always been a solid pick for beginners throughout the series, even back in his Street Fighter 2 debut. His game plan is simple: maintain suffocating pressure using his heavy attacks and Hundred Hands Slap, his most important special move, which scores a knockdown on hit and keeps him safe on block. It can also be enhanced with his new Sumo Spirit special move, adding an extra hit to let Honda continue a combo off of the slaps.
If his opponent retreats too far away or tries to zone him out, players can use his Sumo Headbutt and Sumo Smash to quickly approach across the horizontal and vertical spaces respectively. Both of these moves are safe on block, and the OD versions have one hit of super armor to blow past fireballs or keep-out jabs. If all of this isn’t enough, players can also mix in their Oicho Throw command grab to create a strike/throw mix to catch unaware opponents off guard. As long as players can keep cycling these options to keep the pressure going, they’ll find success with this sumo.
2 Marisa
As well as the box art star Luke, the massive gladiatrix Marisa seems to be designed with new Street Fighter 6 players in mind. Her status as a brawler-type character means she thrives off of heavy hits and punishes. Most of her heavy attacks and special moves have super armor, letting her break through opponent’s pokes to land massive damage on counter hit. Her heavy attacks can also be charged, giving Marisa new combo routes when fully charged and mixing up her timing to bait and punish reckless pokes.
Marisa can easily navigate the neutral game by using Gladius and Phalanx to advance forward with armor, stay safe on the block and push the opponent to the corner. Once she has successfully approached her opponent, she can use her simple confirms (many of which involve using the same attack twice on hit) to lead into consistent special cancels, high damage, and good okizeme to repeat her pressure sequences.
1 Blanka
The Brazilian beast is one of Street Fighter 6’s most obnoxious and difficult characters for opponents to deal with, which makes him well-suited for new players hoping to secure easier wins. Core to his game plan is his Rolling Attack and Backstep Rolling Attack which launch him across the screen at high speed, staying safe on block and gradually chipping away at the opponent’s health if it hits, which is likely considering how quickly the move comes out.
Blanka can also use his new Blanka-Chan Doll special move to drop a doll on the ground which slowly moves towards the opponent. If left alone, the doll simply represents another problem for the opponent to worry about, increasing their mental stack and thus opening them further to Rolling Attacks or Wild Hunt command grabs. If powered up by Blanka’s Electric Thunder special move, however, the doll will become electrified, gaining extra hits and moving faster, allowing Blanka to chase it and pressure the opponent with both the doll and his own attacks simultaneously.
Street Fighter 6 is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.