Street Fighter 6, we have thoroughly tested the closed beta of the highly anticipated Capcom fighting game
Street Fighter 6
Today's Capcom is very rarely wrong, but it is not necessary to forget that the current series of successes of the Japanese house derives from enormous internal transformations, a reorganization practically obligatory to overcome the so-called "dark period" that saw it entrust to teams external many important IPs (with sometimes tragic results) and embrace truly reckless forms of monetization. Almost a paradox, however, that among all the sections one of the last to be revolutionized was that of fighting games, until not many years ago still led by that handsome face of Yoshinori Ono.Now, as far as Ono has various prestigious titles in his history - and remains a charismatic character to say the least - anyone who has closely observed his work in recent years cannot fail to have noticed its limits, perhaps dictated by ideas that are now too old for a company with completely renewed energies .
After the departure of the good Yoshinori, therefore, a myriad of fans were nothing short of curious to see the potential of a new Capcom fighting game, even better if it belonged to a historical series and of sure impact as Street Fighter.
The answer was not long in coming and in recent months it has manifested itself among us through a series of interesting Street Fighter 6 gameplay videos, capable of capturing the attention of any lover of the genre in a few minutes . The features needed for a big comeback seemed all there already, apparently confirmed by a handful of direct evidence for a lucky few. However, until now we had never had the opportunity to spend several hours in peace with the latest Capcom child, and even less to test all its mechanics in a comfortable training mode. When it came time for the closed beta of Street Fighter 6, therefore, we dove with a pike on the occasion, eager to understand if this could really be one of the best fighting games ever. The answer? The foundations of Street Fighter 6 are so granitic, that Capcom would have to do something truly atrocious (and highly unlikely) to miss the perfect center this time around.
The evolution of a roster
The Street Fighter 6's new mechanics are definitely an important core of why Capcom's new creature works so well, but we'd like to start by focusing on the roster, as that already managed to surprise us, while offering only eight usable fighters at the moment. This new chapter of the series seems to want to give fans almost "ideal" versions of the various characters: fighters capable of maintaining all the "bases" that have made them iconic over the years, but also a series of new tricks and moves that have been lost over time. which greatly expand its use. To give you a prime example, let's take the classic "shoto" Ryu and Ken, as we have rarely seen them so diversified in a game of the series, despite both having an unmistakable feeling. Ryu, for example, remains close to his past incarnations, but in addition to having recovered very interesting moves (such as the push kick that throws into the wall) much of his strategy is based on the "denjin" charge, which allows him to perform combinations normally. impossible with normal specials and to launch upgraded hadokens at extreme speeds. Ken on his side instead has rekka with kicks - a series of special moves that vary according to the inputs and are in effect mini adjustable combinations - and keeps the "triggerable click" of Street Fighter V, with lots of modified moves if used while activating the run.Even newcomers like Jamie and Kimberly take full advantage of the history of the saga, with the latter in particular being an extraordinarily more varied version of the Guy from Street Fighter IV. The beauty is that the above is just the tip of the iceberg, given that this plethora of moves only really explodes when combined with the mechanics mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph, for a number of options to approach the fight in all stellar sincerity (especially if compared to what we saw in the fifth chapter).
Street Fighter 6: the editor of your avatar is full of options, and we spent more time than expected. Virtually every match, in fact, revolves around the careful use of the Drive Gauge, a bar that recharges over time and is used for every maneuver. We've described these mechanics before, but in short, the bar allows you to perform stunning, shock absorbing charged attacks called Drive Impact (which automatically stuns a corner opponent even if they are parrying), a maintainable parry that when used with perfect timing on the shots offers great advantages, a counter on parry to recover distance, and finally the Drive Rush, a shot that cancels the animation of a shot and quickly moves the player forward.
All the maneuvers described above are already very useful, and even at medium-low levels the games quickly turn into a dance of Drive Impact and parry to limit the use of bullets, really nice to see. If that were not enough, adjusting to the use of the Drive Gauge is really very important, because if you wear it you enter a very vulnerable state of fatigue, where you begin to suffer damage in parry from the specials (normally this chip damage would be absorbed by the bar), and it becomes really difficult to defend yourself in the absence of parry and Impact. Yet, despite the importance of each mechanic described above, the protagonist of high-level games seems to be Drive Rush, because its uses are much more creative than we initially expected ...
Shoot first, we'll think about the rest after
Street Fighter 6: among the modes already available there are also some more caciaroni matches to say the least hilarious. In this you will have to be very careful of explosive spheres dropped periodically in the arena The Drive Rush is not simply an interesting way to cut animations and perform elongated combos: it can only be activated on already erasable moves with special moves or from an empty parry (this' last is the best way to use it suddenly), and any attack you execute after starting it gains exactly 4 frames of advantage. Now, it may seem like a trivial matter, but that short extra window in all respects "stuns" the enemy just enough to create commonly impossible combos, because normals that previously did not have the necessary advantage to bind to others suddenly glue to the shots without any problem. With a sensible calculation of distances, therefore, the Drive Rush allows you to abuse normals with a huge radius, or to maximize the damage by attacking devastating super and special where it was not possible before. It is a conceptually very simple mechanic, which completely transforms the approach to confrontations by giving some characters exceptional tools. Ken, for example, can take advantage of the Rush to cancel other maneuvers with his active sprint in a spectacular way to say the least; Guile, commonly very static and defensive, now has a potentially devastating tool of movement on his side if used at the right time; Kimberly ... well, let's just say that against a Kimberly good at handling setup and movement being on the corner is hell, that's enough.Barely a day has passed since the start of the beta, and online we already see mind-blowing combos, crazy strategies, and assaults unthinkable in past chapters. Capcom has opened the doors to fun this time, and we really hope they stay that way after launch.
Street Fighter 6: Supers are devastating and separated by the Drive Gauge, so it is practically certain that at least one will start during a match. However, the beta didn't make us drop our jaws only thanks to the combat system. Already now, in fact, we have got our hands on the editor of your avatar, full of details and able to create fighters of all kinds (yes, even stuff out of the worst nightmares conceivable by the human mind). Plus, players have finally gotten their first taste of the Battle Hub, the detailed virtual lobbies where the bulk of online matches will take place. Let's be clear, the game interface is still undoubtedly improvable in many respects - as once again you have to manually select your warrior (and preferred arena) before jumping into battle and this remains fixed until you change it out. from clashes - but if nothing else, the Hub embodies all the best aspects of the virtual lobbies that Japanese developers love so much, along with the convenience of simple matchmaking away from the stations. Sitting in the cabinets available in fact allows you to play with anyone nearby or jump into training mode, however if you do not want to wait for the players to get up and leave their seats you can simply look for random games, without the hassle of a seamstress. You don't know how much we would like Arc System to learn this simple but sensible lesson.
The training mode, then, is also among the most complete we have ever seen, with a perfect frame data indicator and a myriad of options, not to mention that the lobby even offers cabinets with playable classics (in this beta there was Final Fight, but we expect more) and "caciarone" mode for users who just want to have a good time.
Street Fighter 6: Drive Impact can be very annoying in the game. But it's not that complicated to predict and counter it once you understand the opponent's habits. The latest gem? Perhaps most important of all: the netcode. For heaven's sake, there was some problem during this closed beta, and Capcom has stopped everything several times for maintenance, yet we must say that we were left speechless at what the Japanese company did with the netcode rollback of the game. Our games in the European lobbies have all been practically perfect, with very few jumps and almost nonexistent latency. Never before have we had such a clean and flawless experience during a fighting game beta, and even overseas players have had the opportunity to compete smoothly online on this first day. It is quite crystal clear how this time the software house has done everything in its power to offer the public an impeccable competitive experience, and we can only be delighted with the choice made. Ah, the game already offers crossplay too, just to put another icing on the cake.
With a fun fighting system with enormous potential, a netcode that is nothing short of exceptional, and a roster that already dawn left us speechless, Street Fighter 6 seems to have what it takes to be one of the best Street Fighters ever, if not the best. This closed beta has exceeded all our expectations, constantly surprising us and making us water for all that comes next. To miss a game with such solid foundations, Capcom would have to make big mistakes in the coming months, and we honestly don't believe it will happen. Street Fighter and fighting fans all, get ready.
