Honestly, now is a great time to be a fighting game fan. Guilty Gear good, new smash substitute in multiversethere may be a new Netherrealm game coming, there will definitely be a new Iron Fist came, and street fighter 6 It could be a relentless promotion cycle for the next nine months or so.
There are plenty of reasons to be particularly excited about Street Fighter VI. First of all, Capcom’s fighting games division is under new management, and the core creatives in charge of SF6 are the very same people who dragged Street Fighter 5 out of the gutter and finally made it a high-quality and shocking game in the final seasons. Game Balancer. It also looks beautiful – in my opinion the best looking 3D Street Fighter yet – thanks to shrewd art direction and Capcom’s excellent RE engine technology.
But another thing I’m excited about based on what we know about the game so far is that it seems to continue the Street Fighter tradition — the modern fighting game trend of eschewing cameo characters.
I don’t hate guests. In fact, a lot of the time, I like a good, well-executed cameo. It makes sense that Mortal Kombat crosses over into Injustice (and vice versa). I was primarily responsible for Spartan Nicole in Dead or Alive 4. Bandai Namco is also particularly good at guest roles – Link in SoulCalibur 2 and Akuma in Tekken 7 secure top spots on the guest list of the most iconic and best fighting games of all time. But…I don’t want Street Fighter like that.
I know this is an easy way to generate publicity and get your game to new audiences. I also know that the power of crossovers has been cemented in the minds of developers thanks to the massive success of games like Smash and, of course, games like Fortnite. I understand. Sadly, for my sins, I’m a Street Fighter legend. sorry Sorry. I try not to. But there is nothing I can do. This is me. This means that I think Street Fighter has a very rich cast of characters available, and in the direction that it can be used with new characters, I don’t want character slots to be wasted on guests.
If you want to make crossover games, Capcom has a lot of channels. Even after the woeful MVC Infinite, Marvel’s relationship is beyond repair (it may or may not be – given that Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is finally re-released via Arcade1Up), Capcom could easily slap another publisher ala Capcom vs SNK , and even do a generic Versus fighter, which is Capcom’s best fight against a character from a slew of outside companies that have signed individual deals, Smash Bros. style. If you want to see Ryu fight Ryo Hazuki, you know, it can happen there. or in Project X Zone. Or, in fact, in Fortnite. Put Ryo in Fortnite!
Part of the reason I like it, I guess, is because every other major fighting game is starting to bow to this trend. SoulCalibur was the first to actually embrace the concept (for better or worse), but it spread very widely – to MK, Tekken, DOA, Samurai Shodown, and Killer Instinct. Street Fighter has remained “pure”, keeping its crossover ambitions in different games. I really like it.
I also really enjoyed the excitement of seeing the Street Fighter universe build. If you’re only following these games tangentially, you probably don’t know or just don’t care – which is fair enough – but Street Fighter has a surprisingly rich storyline with fairly well-defined characters and a generally meaningful canon. The sense of growth in the universe reaches unprecedented levels in SF6, and, considering it’s finally a new game that pushes the series’ timeline forward – that means a confident, skilled Ryu and a spring who takes on a young apprentice Li, because instance. Everyone is free from the trauma associated with Shadaloo, which is good.
Because of the way Street Fighter has developed, seeing the unveiling of newcomer Kimberly this month is a feast for those obsessed with action scenes and storylines. From a gameplay standpoint, Kimberly looks like an interesting mix of familiar action and street style with new graffiti accents. For those who care about characters, it’s exciting to see the bloodlines of classic characters like Guy and Maki passed on to a cool new face.
I also like that Street Fighter 5 and 6 both put a lot of thought into the many returning characters – meaning instead of looking and playing the same characters, they mix and change in interesting ways. Ryu, who may be the Old Faithful, has some brand new tech in SF6 that should significantly change the way he plays. I’d much rather see development time and effort than recreating characters and mechanics from other games.
Obviously, this could all change. Capcom may announce that Sub-Zero is coming to SF6 tomorrow. That looks unlikely, though—early leaks appear to have revealed the game’s full cast, which features only Street Fighter veterans and brand-new characters. I hope that’s the way the game is, even with DLC.
The guest characters are cool. I don’t want what I’m saying here to imply otherwise. But in a world where every other fighting game feels like a guest, and the entire genre is built around lucrative crossover fighting games like Smash and Multiversus, I’m glad Street Fighter seems to be playing it straight and keeping it The sandbox pure. May this continue.
