Street Fighter 6’s simpler modern control scheme explained

To the uninitiated, fighting games can seem impenetrable. The inherent complexity of a series like Street Fighter is part of what makes it so popular with fans of fighting games. But it also makes it difficult for casual gamers who might want to learn and play the game without spending dozens of hours memorizing complex combos and counters. street fighter 6The answer to this conundrum is a new “modern” control scheme that Capcom hopes will lower the game’s barrier to entry and allow players of all skill levels to jump right in and feel competitive.

street fighter 6‘s modern controls basically halves the number of buttons the player has to worry about for basic inputs, while assigning certain essential functions to their own dedicated buttons. Rather than having six separate buttons for light, heavy, and medium kicks and punches, the simplified control scheme puts light, medium, and heavy attacks on the controller’s face buttons. This means that players using the modern controls have less precise control over them the Attacks your fighter uses with each input – you can’t choose between a heavy punch or a heavy kick, for example. If you press the heavy attack button instead, the game will choose for you based on the character you’re using.

The fourth face button is dedicated to each character’s special attacks, which vary depending on which direction you push the stick, similar to the Super Smash Bros. series. This makes it easier to pull off flashy specials without having to memorize complex combos or land precise timing. Super attacks are performed by pressing the heavy and special keys at the same time.

Image: Capcom

Meanwhile, the triggers have specific functions that are easy to understand. Grab attacks are assigned to L2 (when using a PlayStation controller), while L1 performs “Drive Impact” attacks that consume your Drive gauge, one of them street fighter 6‘s other new features. These attacks are powerful, but if you use up your entire Engine Gauge, you won’t be able to enter Parry Stance – which is assigned to R1. Assuming this stance, your character will crackle with blue energy and block any attack that comes your way (except grab attacks) without the need for precise timing. This also uses up your Drive gauge, but also refills it quickly if you successfully block attacks. Finally, holding R2 and pressing the face buttons will perform various predetermined combos without requiring any more complicated input.

Less precise control over their fighters might not be what high-level players are looking for, but the Modern scheme is for those who would otherwise resort to frantic button presses. A Capcom representative told Polygon that the modern scheme can act as a stepping stone for players to eventually adopt the “classic” controls; For example, while modern controls allow you to use grab attacks with L2, you can also use grab attacks by pressing the same key combination as in the classic scheme. This allows players to get started with the more complex inputs at their own pace while mostly sticking to the new modern style.

“We want to have a lot more ways to play and have everyone from all skill levels, whether you’re an eSports competitor or even a first-time combatant,” said Jackie Simmons, the senior brand manager working on Street Fighter, during a recent hands-on event. event with street fighter 6. Simmons said while she likes the modern controls, other members of her team still prefer the classic scheme. Still, she has the feeling that she can go toe-to-toe with them.

In fact, we played against another, more experienced player during our demo. Our competitor used a fighting stick and switched between classic and modern controls, while we stuck to modern controls and used a traditional gamepad. Our competitor certainly won more rounds, but we also won a few even while switching between several characters, including Ryu, Jamie, and Chun-Li. The more nuanced aspects of each character, from their distinct move sets to specific character traits like Jamie’s drunkenness system, are all still in play and will take practice to master, whichever control scheme you prefer – as will the new Drive system that adds strategic layers to every battle.

Image: Capcom

The most experienced players still have an advantage with the Classic scheme, as they have finer control over what attacks their fighters are using at any given moment. Also, high-level players will find it easier to counter those with modern controls, as the modern scheme puts limits on what attacks each character has access to.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Capcom has attempted to add a simplified control scheme to the series. Capcom vs SNK 2 EO and street fighter 4 3D output presented similar ideas with varying degrees of success. But this might be the game where the feature gets stuck.

“[The developers] took the input and feedback from people who aren’t that experienced in fighting games as well as people who were ex-competitors/ex-FGC members playing on both sides to have that balancing act in terms of gameplay,” said Simmons. “You don’t have to panic as a first time fighter and go straight to button mashing. You actually have the feeling of interacting in the game.”

street fighter 6 will be released sometime in 2023. Capcom’s new fighting game is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X.