Capcom’s got a pretty healthy slate of new games coming out within the next 12 months, but it seems particularly excited aboutStreet Fighter 6. Since its announcement back in February, Capcom has been desperate to show offStreet Fighter 6just about anywhere it can. First appearing at Sony’s June State of Play, Capcom showed off the game’s newAdventure Modeand some returning characters. Just a few days later,Street Fighter 6made another appearance, this time at Summer Games Fest, where more fan-favorite characters were shown and fans got a better look at gameplay.
After a bit of a lackluster reveal, andStreet Fighter 5not quite hitting the mark, it seems as though Capcom is really trying to pushStreet Fighter 6as the true next generation of fighting games, and its new control schemes are the perfect example of this. On launch, players will be able to choose from two control schemes: a “Classic” scheme, which will be instantly recognizable to fans of the fighting franchise, or a “Modern” scheme, which may just revolutionize the fighting game community.
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How the New “Modern” Control Scheme Could Change the Fighting Game Community
Just followingSony’s State of Play showcase, Capcom unveiledStreet Fighter 6’s new control schemes on the PlayStation Blog and its own official website. While the Classic scheme will see players enter combos the same way they’ve done for years, by moving the stick in a specific sequence of motions while pressing a combination of buttons, the Modern scheme allows players to simply press a button and push the stick in one direction to deliver a special move.
TheStreet Fighterfranchise may be one of the biggest fighting game series in the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most accessible. This new Modern control scheme seeks to remedy this in one easy move, giving new players the opportunity to pull off some of the game’s flashiest combos with absolute ease.Street Fighterused to be the most accessible fighting game franchise purely because it was one of the only ones, but it isn’t the 1980s anymore, andmodern releases likeMortal Kombat 11have shown that fighting games don’t need to have convoluted control schemes to remain engaging and competitive.
Although this new control scheme greatly streamlines the combo process, taking it from a good handful of button presses to just two, this change won’t eliminate the element of skill inStreet Fighter 6. Just because newcomers will be able to fire up a special move doesn’t mean that that hit will land. TheStreet Fighterseries has never been just about who can actually pull off the special moves, it’s more about how they’re used. Move timing is crucial tothe competitiveStreet Fighterscene, and this Modern control scheme doesn’t mean that players will automatically know when they should be timing their moves.
That being said, this new Modern control scheme is undeniably a good thing fortheStreet Fighterfranchise. Following the disappointing release ofStreet Fighter 5, Capcom needs to make sure thatStreet Fighter 6lands in as many homes as possible, and making the game more accessible cannot be a bad thing, especially when the Classic control scheme still exists for veterans. All this new control scheme can do is bring new fans to the franchise, and potentially bring more fans to the fighting game community as a whole, which is always a good thing.
Street Fighter 6will release in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
