Street Fighter 6 review: Great fun for both casual and dedicated players

It was early March 1991, and my friend and I were celebrating his 14th birthday in Santa Cruz, California, spending as much of our weekend at the boardwalk arcade as possible. His mom handed us each a $20 bill for the change machine, and we were determined to stretch our quarters as far as we could.

Scrolling brawlers like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Final Fight were our favorite games. We also loved squaring off in what I consider the first true fighting game, the buttonless, Robotron-style, twin-joysticked Karate Champ.

When we came across a Street Fighter II: The World Warrior cab sitting in the middle of the arcade, we stopped dead in our tracks. Everything about it, from the six buttons per player to the large dynamic sprites and backgrounds, felt larger than life to our teenage brains.

While we were standing there, mesmerized and a little intimidated by the machine, the floor manager came by with some guests. He turned to his guests and said, “We just got this game in. I think it’s going to be big.” Uh, yeah.

Street Fighter II was a phenomenon. That lone game in the middle of arcade floors would multiply into rows, with lines stretching behind each one, people waiting to put their quarter on the glass to "get next." It seemed like everyone was playing it, and when the home console ports hit (we were SNES players), that felt even more true.

Over time, the hype faded. I left for college, got married, started a family and a career, and lost touch with the friends I used to play with. Arcades mostly died or became shells of their former selves. But I never lost my love for Street Fighter, even if my time with it was mostly dabbling in MAME.

Nearly two decades after losing that strong connection with fighting games, I rekindled my interest. I picked up Street Fighter 4, and I then became a somewhat-serious Street Fighter 5 player. I was playing online, locally with friends, and starting to occasionally travel to compete.

I sold most of my pinball machines (once an arcade rat, always an arcade rat) and started collecting Japanese "candy cabinet" arcade machines. I now have four Sega Astro Cities, two Taito Vewlixes, a Konami Windy, and a Neo Candy 29, mostly dedicated to fighting games. I started playing the titles I missed out on during my time away, like Street Fighter III: Third Strike. My friends and I still play our preferred flavor of Street Fighter II, too, Super Turbo (or as we call it, ST).

The sixth time’s the charm

As I’ve grown older, I find that I like sharing my hobbies as much as I take pleasure in them myself. Fighting games aren't just fun to play and watch; they’re part of a vibrant and diverse community. I want more people to enjoy them.

They also have a reputation for being more complicated now than in the Street Fighter II days—they can be very intimidating and hard to learn. Nobody wants to buy a new game and feel like the only thing to do is hop online and get destroyed by someone who’s been playing for years.

Enter Street Fighter 6.

Capcom has done what I’ve been hoping some developer would do for years. It has made a game that’s deep and compelling for hardcore players while making it more accessible and interesting for new or casual gamers. It’s a tricky balance, but I think Capcom has pulled it off.

The secret sauce is a compelling single-player experience that dynamically teaches you the game, a variety of control schemes that range from familiar to very user-friendly, and party-game modes that add a dose of chaos and fun to even the playing field across different skill ranges. All of this is married to a core game design that’s deeper and more flexible than Street Fighter 5. Oh, and it has excellent rollback netcode.

The game has 18 characters at launch, including the original World Warrior cast. All the familiar faces like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Blanka return, but they're older and more mature in their fighting journey. Returning characters from other entries are Cammy, Deejay, Juri, and the new main protagonist, Luke, who made a brief appearance at the end of Street Fighter 5.

The new characters are varied, fresh, and fun. French fighter Manon combines judoka with ballet. Jamie is a b-boy with a drunken master style. (Capcom insists that the gourd he takes swigs from to power up mid-match doesn't contain alcohol. Sure.) Kimberly aspires to be a ninja but has a fetish for '80s music; she fights while listening to a Walkman and covers her opponents in spray paint during her super moves.

Every character feels interesting, and even the returning fighters have new moves or tricks. It feels like the right blend of familiar and different. Whatever your style or experience with the series, there’s a character that will fit your approach.

Let’s start with the obvious entry point, the controls.

Button mashing

Fighting games have a reputation for being the ultimate button-mashing experience. The thing that first caught my eye in that arcade so many years ago was the six buttons, representing three different strengths of punches and kicks. It’s also one of the first things that can feel overwhelming to new players. Add in the joystick or D-pad motions and the need to learn the timing of various combos, and it’s no wonder the uninitiated feel intimidated.

For the first time in a mainline Street Fighter game, Capcom offers different control schemes that players can freely choose between.

Classic is the familiar buttons.

Classic is the familiar buttons.

Modern is more Smash-like.

Modern is more Smash-like.

Dynamic is so simple that button mashing actually works.

Dynamic is so simple that button mashing actually works.

Modern is more Smash-like.

Dynamic is so simple that button mashing actually works.

The Classic controls are everything you’re used to from Street Fighter and will be immediately comfortable for vets. It's the usual six buttons doing what they’ve always done. Do a quarter-circle motion, press punch, and out comes Ryu’s fireball. Press light punch and light kick together to execute a throw.

With the Modern control scheme, attacks are boiled down to three buttons: light, medium, and heavy. Pressing down and heavy might give you an uppercut, while holding down/forward and heavy performs a sweeping kick. A new special attack button will feel familiar to people used to games like Super Smash Bros. Pressing special with Ryu will throw a fireball. Holding forward and pressing special does his classic dragon punch. If you’ve never quite mastered the Z-like motion to perform that move, you can now do it with a single button press. Throws have a dedicated button. There’s even a combo assist button that will help you land certain multi-hit combinations.

Dynamic mode provides the true button-mashing experience. I like to think of it as a "kid brother" mode. There are only three buttons, and they perform different attacks depending on which one you press and the range from which you press it. With a single button, you can throw a fireball from across the screen, punch someone when closer to them, or execute a throw while up in their face. A combo button makes you jump in for an attack from a distance or execute several moves in a row from up close. It’s so easy that it feels like cheating, but with a little practice, I was able to feel in control of my actions.

Classic and Modern are available in all modes of play—online, offline, and even competing in Capcom’s Pro Tour (the winner of which will walk away with a $1,000,000 first-place prize). In theory, Classic gives you more detailed control over every move but takes more practice, while Modern trades a bit of finesse for easier execution. Classic motions still work in Modern mode, so you can do something like practice your motion fireballs while using the special button for your dragon punches.

Dynamic is only available for a limited set of offline game modes. You won’t have to face off against auto-combo monsters in online play. But even with the heavy training wheels, Dynamic mode players still have to move their characters, make decisions, and react to gameplay. It could be a very fun and effective way to learn the basics of the game (or just have a good time).

There are different ways to approach the game, different levels of required commitment, and different ways to learn. You don’t have to graduate from one control scheme to another, but you might find using one gives you the experience and confidence to branch out. If nothing else, a group of friends facing off using Dynamic controls would make for a fun evening that feels accessible to all levels of play.

It’s a party

The Modern controls aren’t the only way Street Fighter 6 draws some inspiration from Super Smash Bros. Want to mix things up? How about playing a match where a bull charges through the fight every few seconds, sending characters who don’t jump in time flying? Or a mode where a little hard-hat enemy from Mega Man is kicked back and forth before shocking one of the players?

That's all possible in Extreme Battle mode, where you can also set different win conditions, like the first to five knockdowns instead of the first to deplete the opponent's life bar. These extra conditions give newer players something else to focus on besides the competitive beatdowns that might discourage some people from wanting to try.

You can also set up a quick team tournament with an interface that fills out the bracket. Take turns playing the arcade mode to unlock character endings and artwork. The classic beat-up-the-car mode returns, but this time, it’s a semi-truck. Playing with friends is the best way to play fighting games, and I'm very happy we now have more options to help people of all skill levels participate.

World Tour

Aside from party modes and new control schemes, the heart of Capcom’s strategy to make Street Fighter 6 a complete and compelling experience for casual players is the World Tour mode.

Most modern fighting games provide a basic story mode, and some, like Mortal Kombat 11, even have lavish production values with voice acting and CGI. But they all tend to follow the same formula: watch a cut scene, two characters find an excuse to fight, and you button mash through an unfamiliar move set with a character you may have never played before to get to the next part of the story. It barely counts as a game.

Street Fighter 5 didn’t even have high production values. The story was boring and contrived, the fights were perfunctory, and it was ultimately an unmemorable experience. There was little to recommend it to anyone looking for something outside of the basic versus fighting loop.

Street Fighter 6 ditches this tired formula. Instead, the story mode takes place in an open world, where you generate your own character with a surprisingly deep avatar creator. Imagine a body type, and the game can make it—even some bizarre and nightmarish creations.

The avatar creator allows incredibly fine adjustment of just about every body feature.

The avatar creator allows incredibly fine adjustment of just about every body feature.

Maybe you're feeling like a catgirl.

Maybe you're feeling like a catgirl.

The avatar creator allows incredibly fine adjustment of just about every body feature.

Maybe you're feeling like a catgirl.

Hitting random is great if you're in a hurry.

Hitting random is great if you're in a hurry.

The random generation stays pretty safe, though—the real nightmares require hands-on tweaking.

The random generation stays pretty safe, though—the real nightmares require hands-on tweaking.

Hitting random is great if you're in a hurry.

The random generation stays pretty safe, though—the real nightmares require hands-on tweaking.

After an introduction from your new coach, Luke, you hit the streets, free to wander around. There are RPG-lite fetch quests, random fights, mini-games, a slowly developing overarching story, and the highlight of it all, meeting and training with the main characters of the game.

Train with Chun-Li and you can learn her spinning bird kick. Luke will start you off with his version of a dragon punch and fireball. Seek out Blanka in Brazil and he’ll recruit you to help his tourism business—and teach you his lightning attack. Go to Italy and meet new heavy-hitter Marisa, who will teach you some of her charge and lunge punches.

As you gain experience, you’ll open more special-move slots you can pick and choose to populate with your various sensei’s attacks. It’s low-key hilarious to mix and match the moves with the design of your avatar.

Buy food to give you different power-ups or replenish your stamina. Earn money to take to the various shops to customize your outfit. Play mini-games to smash boards, break bottles, or parry basketballs. After a while, you can return to Luke and he’ll expand your moveset. Before you know it, you’re playing the full game with all the combat options.

It’s not going to challenge an open-world RPG like Yakuza: Like a Dragon for depth of story or gameplay. But it’s fun to run around the world, doing spinning bird kicks off the top of buildings and beating down multiple groups of thugs at once. Nearly everyone you run into can be talked to for a bit of flavor and lore or challenged to a fight.

Chun-Li is the first master you meet and learn from.

Chun-Li is the first master you meet and learn from.

As part of your training you can play mini-games that teach you how to make your character move and jump during attacks.

As part of your training you can play mini-games that teach you how to make your character move and jump during attacks.

Chun-Li is the first master you meet and learn from.

As part of your training you can play mini-games that teach you how to make your character move and jump during attacks.

FooTube, and 'infooencers' are a running joke throughout the story.

FooTube, and 'infooencers' are a running joke throughout the story.

One of the gimmicks of the open world battles is fighting more than one opponent at once. Notice how I'm using Chun-Li's stance, indicating that my moves are in her fighting style.

One of the gimmicks of the open world battles is fighting more than one opponent at once. Notice how I'm using Chun-Li's stance, indicating that my moves are in her fighting style.

FooTube, and 'infooencers' are a running joke throughout the story.

One of the gimmicks of the open world battles is fighting more than one opponent at once. Notice how I'm using Chun-Li's stance, indicating that my moves are in her fighting style.

I haven’t been able to put in enough time to finish the mode yet; I've played it for several hours and still haven’t met even half the cast. But I did play enough to see how it cleverly teaches you the game's mechanics without requiring you to spend a lot of time in tutorials (though there are excellent in-game tutorials for every character if you want them). And as you level up your avatar, you’ll be able to take them into the main online hub of the game. Everyone will see your custom design and the outfits you buy, and you can even challenge people to casual fights using your custom movesets.

It’s all slightly goofy, but it's a well-designed gameplay experience that’s miles above canned story modes and cutscenes.

Battle Hub

Aside from playing with friends offline, running around the open world, or spending time with the various training modes, tutorials, and combo trials, the last pillar of the game is the Battle Hub.

The Battle Hub is like a mix of a club and an arcade. Everyone’s custom avatars congregate in various servers to play on arcade cabinets, show off their outfits, visit shops, or even hang out in a DJ area with music. There are arcade cabs with classic Capcom titles like Final Fight or the original Street Fighter II. Your avatars can engage in mock battles using the moves you learn in the World Tour. And, of course, there are cabinets dedicated to Street Fighter 6 matches.

You can sit down at an empty cab and wait for a match in training mode, join a cab someone else is waiting at, or queue up or spectate during an already-in-progress match.

You can also skip the 3D-world interface and use a menu to search for a Casual or Ranked match or set up or join a custom room to play with friends or strangers.

Ranked matches use an accumulating point system to place people of similar skill levels together. There's nothing on the line in Casual matches if you’re looking for a stress-free experience.

The rollback netcode is excellent. I was able to match up against a friend in Canada without a single hiccup. Except for when he lost power briefly during a storm and had to reboot his router, the gameplay was smooth and lag-free. Stats at the top of the screen show the connection quality, whether or not your opponent is wired or on Wi-Fi, and your real-time ping and how many rollback frames you’re experiencing.

For reference, our match hovered at around 90 ms of ping and two rollback frames. Once the game launches, players in most locations should be able to find matches even closer, but it’s nice to know I can play with my friends in New York from Southern California without any issues.

Something for everyone

I’ve really only scratched the surface of this game. There’s a whole essay to be written about the actual fighting game mechanics alone. If you’re a serious player, the new drive system and meter management will give you a lot to explore. The tutorials are great, and the training mode is incredibly full-featured. There are quick settings to turn on things like anti-air practice, which makes the dummy perform random jumps. People who love to lab combos and study frame data have a ton of tools to nerd out on.

The game is packed full of details. It’s obvious that the development team loves fighting games, loves Street Fighter, and put in extra effort where they didn’t have to. When you’re queuing up for a match, pressing different directions will change your character’s facial expression. There’s an option (on by default) to show your characters taking battle damage over the course of a fight.

The review game didn’t have all the colors and costumes unlocked, but from early teases, it’s clear there will be a lot of options. And yes, surely plenty of optional DLC outfits. It seems there will be some in-game currency you can earn through play, too, but I wasn’t able to explore that yet.

There’s even an entire accessibility section dedicated to sound cues. Blind and sight-impaired Street Fighter players will find a wealth of new options to help them play, like sounds that indicate distance to an opponent or if an attack hit high, mid, or low. It’s a really thoughtful touch, and I'm not aware of any other game doing something similar.

An optional commentary feature provides eight different personalities that give play-by-play and color commentary on your fight in both English and Japanese. (Disclaimer: a couple of the commentators are friends of mine and players in my weekly arcade sessions.) You can make your casual matches against the CPU sound like the grand finals of an esports competition.

I expect this game to have years of support in terms of balance patches and new characters and content. The "game as a service" model isn’t a great fit for every genre, but for fighting games, it’s one of the best bang-for-your-buck ways to keep playing for a long time. And even if you never shell out a dime for DLC, you’ll still be able to play online against new characters other people buy.

There’s something for everyone here. If you’re an old-school Street Fighter player like me, the game is alive and well, waiting for your return. If you’ve never really felt like fighting games were accessible to you, this might just be the game to welcome you in.

The good:

• The core fighting game experience is compelling and well-thought-out.
• The blend of returning classic characters and new faces feels well-balanced.
• This is the first fighting game in ages that feels like it cares about all levels of players having fun.
• The single-player content cleverly teaches you the game, which is great for those who find the in-game tutorials dry or intimidating.

The bad:

• The menus have a dizzying array of options, which is great for customizing, but simple things like switching your control type to Classic for all characters can take a little hunting.

The ugly:

• Running into someone who had a little too much fun making a nightmare in the character creator.

Verdict: If you’re at all fighting game-curious, this is the one to buy.