ULTRA STREET FIGHTER 6 SERIES

This caught my opponent off guard multiple times, and he didn't have the same moveset to do the same. It's clear Ken is a master of Shoryuken and kicks, as I even found a simple three-hit combo that played with hitboxes: low, medium, then high. No overly complicated combos, just tactical kicks, punches, and special moves that we quickly pulled off. They felt great to play as, and that's because they were easy to jump into. My opponent's character, the drunken-fighter Jamie, had a similar moveset, but with different unique moves to master. His shotgun punch is the same action as a Hadouken, and he even has a Shoryuken-type uppercut. In my first time playing Luke, the poster boy of SF6, I didn't have to look at the character move list to know his unique moves. It reigns in my point about simplicity Street Fighter 6 isn't a hard game to pick up. In my playtime, I didn't take much notice of it, but for advanced gameplay, I can imagine a lot of gauge management throughout a match. You can still use a Hadouken whenever you want, but a special version of it - what we've come to know as EX moves - will take up a slot or two. This is known as the Drive Gauge, which manages your character's ability to pull off a special move. No more parry skills or special character arts, just an all-encompassing system that shows a six-segment meter below your character's health bar. Speaking of, Street Fighter 6 introduces a new Drive System, which simplifies all the mechanics we've come to know in Street Fighter. Here are my first impressions of Street Fighter 6, but be sure to check back here for even more coverage in the lead-up to its release.

ULTRA STREET FIGHTER 6 SERIES

Street Fighter 6 will be available in 2023 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. While I didn't get the chance to try out all the new game modes, I played a few 1-on-1 rounds using a fresh-and-stylish Ken and (relatively) new character Luke, and I didn't want to put the PS5 DualSense controller down. After a few rounds of playing the next installment in one of the most iconic fighting game franchises of all time at EGX London 2022, I'm delighted to say that my hype hunger has been satiated.

This, along with the 'back to the streets' vibe I was getting from the graffiti-filled footage we've seen, brought back the Street Fighter hype I had been craving for years. There's even Extreme Mode, a party mode that lets players mix things up with different 'rules and gimmicks.' That first one even offers players the ability to customize their character from head to toe in a seemingly open-world adventure. We've seen the amount of content that will be available right off the bat: World Tour, Fighting Ground, Battle Hub Game Mode. With Street Fighter 6, Capcom may have learned its lesson. Sketchy online gameplay, limited characters, and lackluster single-player options had me convinced that there was no point in getting a Street Fighter entry in its first iteration - just wait for the 'Ultra' or 'Champion' editions when there's more content. I had my fair share of excitement for the launch of Street Fighter IV and for Street Fighter V, only for both to be a letdown at launch.

Street Fighter 6 is the first entry in the iconic franchise that I've been overly hyped for in years.

Ultra street fighter 6