Capcom revealed a good chunk of new information regarding its upcoming new fighting game Street Fighter 6.
Alongside the fascinating take on a new story mode, there are more details that have been shared, including some that were not covered in the June 2022 State Of Play broadcast.
First, we get to see the first four characters making up the SF6 roster. Ryu and Luke were already revealed in the teaser trailer, but now we have some background details. Luke’s a contractor working for a PMC and fights using mixed martial arts. Ryu has now conquered the Satsui no Hado within him.
Alongside Ryu we have another Street Fighter staple returning in the form of Chun-Li. She’s now looking for Li Fen, continuing the suggestion that SF6’s story takes place right after Street Fighter V (but maybe not before 3?). Like Ryu, Chunners has a bit of a makeover too with this entry transitioning to using the RE Engine, but her defining features remain exaggerated as you would expect.
Joining the new challenger list is Jamie. The “self-styled Chinatown peacekeeper” looks up to Yun and Yang, and is an expert dancer who can take a swig of a ki-unleashing drink to get access to more moves.
There is one more character teased in the new trailer, a new challenger named Kimberly.
If Street Fighter V has the V System, Street Fighter 6’s main mechanics is called the Drive System. The Drive Systems includes five different techniques, all utilising meter called the Drive Gauge, and accessible to all characters. This includes a hit-absorbing attack that can wall splat (Drive Impact), parries (Drive Parry), stronger versions of special moves ala EX Moves from past games (Overdrive Art), a quick dash forward from a parry or a cancelable normal attack (Drive Rush) and a counterattack (Drive Reversal).
Drive stocks regain over time but excessive use will leave you into a Burnout. It’s a vulnerable state, and should you get hit by a Drive Impact and hit the wall, you’ll be stunned.
Street Fighter 6 is still a six-button fighting game with punches and kicks of three levels each. But for newcomers, there will also be an optional “modern control type” which simplifies inputs for special moves and super arts. Instead of quarter-circles and other motions, special moves in modern control type require one button and one direction. Or in the case of pulling Ryu’s Hadouken, just a button press.
Lastly, one of the interesting new additions is having real-time commentary. Ever fancy having your offline fights at home being commentated (they don’t say “shoutcasting” in fighting games) like it’s a pro match? Now you can.
The commentators feature so far, Jeremy “Vicious” Lopez for English and Aru for Japanese, are part of the official Capcom Pro Tour circuit and more will be revealed soon.
Think of it as having real-life commentators shouting about your performance in sports game, but this time for esports. A neat gimmick, but could be valuable for newcomers should the comments made for each good hit or missed opportunities be good enough to teach players to get better at the game.
Street Fighter 6 will also have a new kind of single-player story mode, World Tour.
Street Fighter 6 will be out in 2023 for the PS4, PS5, PC (Steam) and Xbox Series X|S.