Oh, when they pitched the Street Fighter 6 intro movie, there was a fly on the wall. Fighting game movies have rules. We want a montage of various beefcakes walking hunched over to the camera and rocking heavy to the crescendo of his track. These customs are sacred and cannot be broken. From Tekken to Guilty Gear to King of Fighters to Street Fighter 5, they all follow the same recipe. For Street Fighter 6, we decided, “No, let’s not do that. Instead, why don’t we do some 1970s pro-rap style rhythmic poetry?” ah Gil Scott-Heron? The aesthetic of neon graffiti? And instead of a social message, let’s actually be about the meaning of strength! Readers, how did this thing slip past the upper echelons? I don’t know if it was. I can’t imagine how they sold it to their shareholders. I don’t understand why one of the biggest franchises decided to tinker with this formula. But it’s a breath of fresh air and raises important questions such as: strength?
This may seem trivial, but in the context of a fighting game, it just about makes sense. These games are notoriously difficult. Many use motion input, which even beginners can easily input. day to day To make sure I get it done. after that You need to string them together into multi-hit combos with tight timing.and after that I need to pull off a combo in the middle of the match, while blocking everything your opponents attack you, desperately searching for openings and anticipating the evil mind game nonsense they’ll throw at you next. And for what? So if you go online, you’ll probably be lucky enough to avoid getting completely eviscerated by a Randian in a bedroom on the other side of the world. Why bother? The SF6 movie reaches its only obvious conclusion. “We’re all a bunch of fools.”
I’m a bigger idiot than most. I’ve been obsessed with fighting game trailers for years and would buy them all when they came out. I paid full price for Tekken 7, Injustice 2, and Samurai Shodown, and each time I was ranked only to be humiliated, humiliated, and tea-bagged by Batman. did. When Street Fighter 5 came out, I wanted to get better so badly that I got a professional arcade stick and another Ken his Shoryu angrily rattled around while punching me in the face. I was there. So when I bought Street Fighter 6, it turned out to be a mistake. However, miraculously it worked this time. I’m not 100% sure why this happened, but it has something to do with Street Fighter 6’s cast of amazing fighting idiots.
Capcom recognized that character models were the primary canvas for storytelling in the relatively sparse visual environment of fighting games. And they chose to tell as many vibrant and colorful stories as possible. Of course, there is no shortage of classic, well-proportioned beauty. Cammy is still wearing her Lycra leotard and newbie Jamie has been working on his abs for days. But it’s clear that Capcom wants to represent a wide range of body types, personalities, and identities. Roman gladiator Marisa has the physique of a giant. Her main antagonist, silver-haired JP, hides a sinister secret beneath her dapper demeanor. French judo ballerina Manon moves with the grace and poise of a swan. And these character quirks not only add texture to the story, but often also serve to help you. learn the game.
A great example of this is Ryu, the main character of the series, who is the first character I chose. He’s essentially just an ordinary guy in a karate uniform, but Capcom has somehow made him into a mere martial arts practitioner. Every inch of the man’s nerves embodies the spirit of the fighting game: a single-minded obsession with improvement, footwork, fundamentals, and a desire to fight stronger opponents. You can see it in the set of gnashing teeth in his jaw on the victory screen and in the way he encourages his opponents to: get up Every time he scores a knockdown. You can see this in the DLC costumes as well. Even though he’s wearing a tacky jacket on the surface, his jeans are torn and scuffed from sparring and faded white.
This is also reflected in his moveset. learn the basics. Ryu taught me control. This is how to throw a fireball. How to backdash. How to play an honest neutral game. His kit revolves around fair play, such as dodging projectiles, jumping in with uppercuts, and spacing out whiff moves with nasty thrust kicks in the center of the screen. All of this took me from iron to gold rank.But Ryu encouraged me to play. Too fair! I was moving backwards when I took the hit.When I struck down people, I forgave them out of honor. stand up again.and this is do not have We have changed the way Street Fighter is played.
The next character was MI6 operative Cammy White. From her clipped English accent to her triangular silhouette, everything about her is an arrow pointing forward. All of Cammy’s techniques pop out across the screen. When she knocks down her opponents with her “Spiral Arrow” you land next to them and roll in another attack while they’re trying to get back up to gain an advantage.This teaches the following art Knockdown mystery game. You see, while they are rising there is no time to attack.If they try – and they intention try it. Just attack again. Eventually it will be blocked. However, if your opponent blocks it, you can grab it. And if they jump onto your grab, they’re vulnerable to attack. It’s rock, paper, scissors, but the odds are in your favor, but your opponent doesn’t necessarily know the rules.
Cammy also taught me the “frame trap.” These moves, when blocked, give the opponent enough time to lower their guard, but not enough time to land an attack before the next one connects. trap!And once they fall for it, you defeat them again! Repeat the flush until you induce an unsafe reversal. If the situation is reversed, the punishment can be even more severe. These tricks helped me reach Diamond rank. But I was too dependent on Unga Bunga’s progress. My opponent started accusing me.So I finally turned on the switch, this time I changed it to the new AKI.
AKI was a master poisoner, his hair turned white from exposure to chemicals, and he went half-insane from toxic fumes. She is modeled after a viper, and all her movements are serpent-like, frighteningly fluid, writhing under fireballs and baring her fangs. And while her approach options are weak, her kit is built around her patience, and her opponents are at bay until she finds an opening to prepare poison and launch a deadly attack. Keep her arms outstretched.
AKI-san taught me a sense of expectation. She taught me to “shimmy.” The idea is to bait and grab your opponent, duck at the last moment, and then lunge. She taught me the art of “setting up” them by doing a scary serpentine dance to throw them off their rhythm, tricking them into thinking it’s their turn, and then catching them when they act. Critically, AKI also taught me defense, timing, blocking blows, waiting for my opponent to take risks, and turning the tables.
Finally, then 200 hours, AKI-san has pushed me up to the highest rank, “Master.” And you know what I learned? I’m not that strong yet. There are still people who can beat me in straight sets. I still get tea-bagged by angry Kens. But I’ve also learned that it doesn’t matter because I’m not here to win anymore.I just want to learn more. I want to learn Chun Li. His long legged kicks and thrusts would solve my vague neutral game. I want to learn how to dee-jay and fool my opponents with feints and mix-ups. I want to learn JP and zone people from behind the screen using hard reads and wicked conditioning.
And that’s what I like about Street Fighter 6’s philosophy. Because being “strong” isn’t about god-like reactions or flashy combos, it’s about being a fighting game weirdo. It’s all about being Ryu the hard worker, watching hour-long theory videos, learning the absolute details, and enjoying every sweaty moment. Or muscle his tricky little AKI, researching fancy setups until they’re hard-coded into memory. Or Cammy, a single-minded person who analyzes her weaknesses and overcomes them like an arrow that travels straight. So what is strength? Forget about strength. That’s the wrong question. Strength is a byproduct. It’s a symptom. Street Fighter 6 teaches you something even better: how to be a fighting game idiot.
