Until now, when you went to Capcom France to try out Street 6, you had to settle for a few characters. Four for the hands-on demo for the month of June 2022, eight for the preview last September, but this time it was the right one: the 18 fighters who will be available on June 2 were all there. Difficult to hide our enthusiasm to find the familiar figures of the saga such as Blanka, Honda, Zangief, Dhalsim, Dee Jay or even Cammy, especially since physically, they have all been redesigned with an absolutely devastating look. First observation for Blanka and Honda, both lost in reach. Some will rejoice in this update, because they remember that our two colossi were able to reach their target at the other end of the screen, via deceitful slides or elongated shin kicks. Others like us grumble, but understand this desire to rebalance things. You obviously have to get used to the new management of distances. Dhalsim on the other hand has not lost his reach, nor his legendary slowness either, but the strength of the Indian sage lies elsewhere. The latter is still as flexible and his physical faculties allow him to dodge enemy attacks or surprise where you least expect it. Classic.
As for Cammy, not only does she now appear more dressed up (we are in 2023 and Capcom has captured this), but in addition, she has lost her usual long braids. We’re not going to lie to you, she has much more style today. On the other hand, it remains as agile and swift as ever, with attacks that can hit the ground as well as in the air. As for Dee Jay, he remains quite close to what he was in Street Fighter 5, with attacks that allow him to be quite aggressive, with interesting footwork and punches that can multiply. Then there remains Zangief, undoubtedly the character who has the most glow up as they say, both in its visual rendering and its monstrous attacks. The Russian displays an impressive stature and his mugs hurt even more than before. Clearly an opponent to be wary of, or master.
NEW BIG CHALLENGERS
We could also talk to you about the new characters and detail them, but we’re going to keep a few cartridges under our belt and wait to have the code review to better understand them. However, we can already tell you that Marisa and Manon are among our favorites. The first is distinguished by its gladiator build and its square cut, and above all the fact that its gameplay is based solely on its fists. Inevitably, with her colossus physique capable of competing with Zangief (although she is a woman, we remember), impossible for her to jump in all directions. She will therefore play her efficiency in this ability to pierce the opponent’s guard and hit hard, very hard. Like Zangief, in 6/7 moves, she can knock out her opponent. Manon, on the other hand, is the opposite. Admittedly, she also imposes physically with her large size, but she differs from Marisa by her gameplay based almost exclusively on her footwork. Very flexible, it has the ability to do the splits for many of its shots, which will allow it to have a significant reach. And then, icing on the crescent, Manon is French. A short word to end on Lily, who is none other than the youngest of the roster of this Street 6, and who belongs to the same tribe as T-Hawk: the Thunderfoot. The latter is absent from the game, but he can count on Lily to represent her, although she is played differently, with a more aerial approach. Small and with a short extension, it can however count on its two boomerangs to try to live up to the most imposing protagonists of this Street Fighter 6.
VS FIGHTING FOR DUMMIES?
With an existence of more than 30 years, the Street Fighter saga probably sounds obvious to many players, especially for those in their thirties and over. But for the new generation, the one who grew up more with Fortnite and Call of Duty, it’s not necessarily easy to make quarter circles or rear semi-circles, especially with an arcade stick. We are not equal when it comes to video games, been even when it comes to Versus Fighting. Capcom is perfectly aware of this and so that Street Fighter 6 is not limited to the circle of insiders, the Japanese publisher has taken the radical decision to simplify the controls of the game. By default, when you launch the game, these are the controls simplified that are imposed, which means that a Hadoken or a Shoryuken is triggered only by pressing a single button. Yes, it’s enough to beat the palm of the hand on the forehead, but it’s obviously the best solution for Capcom to attract the general public, or at least new players. Fortunately, it is possible to configure the game and choose the classic commands and thus find its habits.
On the other hand, in the “World Tour” mode, you will have to wait for a certain level of adventure to unlock the classic gameplay, the “Career” mode imposing this childish grip to precisely seduce the Millennials. Be reassured, only 30/45 minutes of play are necessary to unlock the classic controls, Capcom’s goal is not to scare away the fans of the first hour either. In any case, the primary interest of this third preview at Capcom France was to discover this “World Tour” mode, but only until Chapter 3. Sort of MyCareer from NBA 2K but transposed into the world of Street, the goal is to allow players additional content outside of matchups, whether they are local on the sofa or online against other opponents around the world. It’s also a way to seduce the general public (him again), and no doubt to integrate guests who could make the game even more popular. It is through this prism that 2K Games has managed to explode the popularity of the game with a new audience, also via partners on several points. FIFA has also followed suit quickly and it is no surprise that the fighting game is also getting started.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF LO
First step: the creation of his avatar and the editor is rich in possibilities. So much so that everything is possible, almost without limit, which gave rise in the first phases of closed beta to unexpected monstrosities. You can customize everything, from sex to physique, with the possibility of even mixing faces. Moreover, if you are no longer interested in humans, you can opt for a robotic look, it is also available, with the added bonus of the voice that goes with it, since it is also possible to configure the sound that comes out of the vocal cords. Once your character has been shaped, you set off on an adventure, with a certain Luke as your coach. Introduced as a DLC character (the very last one by the way) in Street Fighter 5, it is the new hero of Street 6 and he who appears on the cover. Yes, there is a desire at Capcom to change, and once again to attract a younger audience. Luke is also in their image. Younger, more fiery, more impetuous too, and it is through his learning that we will train in this “World Tour” mode. The latter works in several open areas, with a representation of New York (this is Metro City in which Haggar was elected mayor) in a condensed version or even collected. We have indeed gone from an imitation Time Square to Chinatown in a few minutes, the two districts being located a stone’s throw away and loading time too. Inevitably, with an engine developed especially for the fight in 1V1, Street Fighter 6 was not built to play in the open world. Technically, it shows, with less well-modeled NPCs, poor management of the elements of the decor which pop up in an even more shameful way than the open world of Zelda Breath of the Wild and a management of fairly basic movements.
The interest of this “World Tour” mode is not at the technical level, of course, but these technical wanderings can perfectly rot the experience, or even the immersion. Luckily, the atmosphere is quite satisfying, with life on the streets (and quite a lot of traffic) and plenty of NPCs to chat with. They don’t all have something interesting to share, but it does give a boost to this new world. That said, Capcom has taken care to set up a scenario, in particular through the relationship that our avatar will have with Bosch, this second student (also coached by Luke) who will take a different route and that we will try to reason. Our cutting hand that Bosch will eventually become a recurring character and available in the game’s Versus mode… Otherwise, interactions in World Tour mode often end in fights (normal…), but which impose objectives quite precise. Initially, this is a life-size tutorial, with a certain number of combos to achieve, but things will vary over the encounters. It will not be uncommon, for example, to have to eliminate several enemies at the same time, or to eliminate an opponent with very specific attacks. Exploration is also an essential element of the World Tour mode, and he will also learn to use the smartphone which allows him to stay in touch with Luke. It is through the device that we will receive information with the latter, but also continue to interact with the other characters crossed in Metro City. You can also take photos, play music, consult the game map, but also manage your inventory. Because yes, among the activities offered in the World Tour mode, there is a whole cosmetic aspect with clothes to buy and collect, knowing that the game offers many shops on the map.
But it’s not just the clothing style that will change during the “World Tour” mode, the fighting style as well, since each encounter with an emblematic character of the game will give access to his range of moves. Chun-Li is also one of the first characters who will put you to the test and at the end of training, you inherit his attacks. Better, it will even be possible to combine the move-list of several emblematic characters of the series. It will be the same principle for the rest of the roster that we should discover in the adventure. Capcom has also confirmed that each DLC fighter that will be added post-launch will have an integration into the “World Tour” mode, in order to continually push the player to stay as much as possible in this mode where we can expect most likely in-game purchases. To see now how this mode will behave over time, if it will be interesting enough to spend hours on, or if it’s just a booby trap for millennials who have trouble with taking in hand of an arcade stick.
Finally, let’s end this last visit to Capcom France with the “Extreme” mode of Street Fighter 6, which is a mode in which the fights are handicapped by the presence of penalties added in full. A bull that tumbles in fury with sharp horns and that must be avoided, a time bomb to be sent before it explodes, Mettaurs from the Mega Man universe which also cause damage when they are sent on the adversary (gas, electricity, explosion) and finally electric pestles which appear in the decor and which forces the players to leave the danger zone, these are the variants available and which make it possible to vary the pleasures. In short, you will understand, Street Fighter 6 wants to play the generosity card and not repeat the mistakes of the previous episode.