Halfway through the Street Fighter 6 preview session, something strange happened. I was told that what I experienced on the World Tour would be available to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 owners in two days. Of course, that means you might already know every part of the character creation process, what the first few fights entail, and have a feel for Metro City’s version of Times Square. Yet I saw the glorious foolishness that lay beyond.
But I’m moving on. After all, the most anticipated fighting game of the year features a slew of modes, and I got to see a lot more than the demo that will be available on Steam when you read this preview. First, as the Street Fighter 6 release date approaches, it will launch with a full arcade mode with stylish artwork to complete each character’s journey. You can choose between a short campaign or a default campaign, with regular 1v1 combat against a computer controlled opponent. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it past arcade mode, as preview progress stopped after the bonus stage, where I repeatedly kicked the semi-truck until it exploded. However, his presence is welcome after Street Fighter 5 ditched the popular single player mode.
Although you now have access to one of the Extreme Mode rules and tips, namely Down & Out and Bull Stampede, you’ll only see snippets of the rest. These rules affect victory conditions or, in one case, the moves you can make. They’re a lot of fun to play when paired with towers like Mecha Fiend, in which Metz from the Mega Man series joins you and fires bullets at the enemy.
I also had to play the combo challenges as Cammy and the character guide as JP. Combo Challenges aren’t new, though there are more than you’d probably expect for each character. The difficulty of these challenges is greatly increased by teaching you combinations that you could use in an online match. The character guides do a great job of laying out the Street Fighter 6 roster because they explain so much more than just what the super moves do. For example, JP’s manual describes him as a character good at keeping enemies at bay, also known as a “zoner” among fighting game enthusiasts. However, he never uses slang, instead preferring to demonstrate how each move works and when to use it. He even lets you take control at any time to practice. I wish he would be more explicit when you can try a new interaction as some of the tracks share the same inputs, but other than that he is a fantastic base teacher.
None of this could prepare me for what was to come, the main event: the World Tour. After creating one of the many monsters that spawned throughout the day, my future prodigy was released onto the streets of Metro City. Most of the NPCs here have levels next to their name; if so, they are ready to fight. Sure, you could win the fight and gain experience, but completing the objectives will reward you with extra Zenny to buy healthy meals at the pizzeria or gear at the store. At first only a flashy pink cap is offered, but soon my options expand. Then I immediately remembered the ProZD skit on “clothing to kick ass”.
So what do I think of the Street Fighter 6 World Tour? To be honest, from what I’ve seen so far, it’s ridiculous in every way. I’d say it’s similar to the Yakuza games, but with the relaxed violence and hidden object gameplay of Mortal Kombat: Deception’s Konquest mode. You can, for example, hit any level NPC to start a fight, cutting off part of his health bar in the process. Is chaos fun? Indeed. Do you create strange scenarios? Yes, again, especially when I kick a cop and his closest colleagues remain completely unfazed.
On my way to visit Chun-Li, I see a stairway to the left and curiosity takes over. Going upstairs, I find not only some healing items and a permanent buff, but also a level 27 NPC who looks like a superhero, complete with spandex. He asked me questions about destiny and how I could live a better life. So I responded to his lecture by giving him a quick jab to his perfectly chiseled jaw.
This is the moment where I discover that with enough skill, I can defeat an opponent many levels above me. The main trick is to look for when they are glowing brightly, as this highlights when they are in a counter state, making them vulnerable to later combos. It was easy to cry for this wannabe crime fighter, but he hits a lot harder thanks to the difference in level, so it was a bit stressful.
Continuing the game as planned, I meet up with Chun-Li and quickly adopt her fighting style. At each level, I get to pick new skills, and full skill tree brackets unlock a new set of perks that affect your regular stats in the first place. On top of that, I can assign moves from different styles of fighters like Luke’s Flash Knuckle, even though I’m using Chun-Li’s basic moves. I also get a gift in the middle of the next chapter that I can use to improve my relationship with the fighters, improving their mastery of the style and unlocking new moves to buy. I can save on them until I find a fighter whose style suits me, but I think the incentive to unlock new special moves on purchase is a good compromise if I’m not a big fan of regular fighter moves.
Fights with much tougher opponents stand out more. Much later, I kicked the builder in the teeth. As it turns out, the stunt fights in Extreme Battle mode make their way to World Tour as well, so falling lightning added to the chaos while trying not to get destroyed by a level 28 master with a knife. By the way, this NPC is also one of the vendors for minigames, of which I found several, ranging from destroying a truck in arcade mode to cooking pizza by pressing buttons quickly.
Not everyone is waiting for you to punch them in the face, as many NPCs will come right at you. They’re usually Mad Gear thugs with boxes on their heads, but I’ve also had to fight Roombas and armed drones. Although you can fight more than one fighter at the same time, just like in Street Fighter Alpha 3’s Dramatic Battle modes, there is a limit to the number of fighters that can be displayed on the screen at the same time. However, there seems to be no limit to how many reinforcements can arrive afterwards, leading to tense fights at night when more enemies are present.
Another thing I really liked, besides being able to use Chun-Li’s spinning bird to fly across rooftops, was the amount of references to Capcom history that I saw. Only Metro City Plaza has a fire juggler in the same costume as the Molotov-throwing enemies from Final Fight, a “walk of fame” listing Capcom’s forgotten fighting games of the past, including the Dreamcast 3D Plasma Sword fighter, and signs. Hakan Special Extra Virgin Olive Oil” is a reference to the oil of the same name from Street Fighter 4. There are many more in the game, and I had to take regular breaks to review them.
All of that to say that Street Fighter 6 World Tour is at its best when it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and thankfully it does most of the time. It clearly wants to appeal not only to those who haven’t played a fighting game in a while, but also to veterans who love Capcom’s back catalog and silliness. In my preview, I couldn’t get out of the confines of Metro City, but I can imagine other places filled with wild combat. Who knows, maybe Zangief’s training montage is just him fighting an entire family of grizzly bears.
Source : PC Gamesn
