Video game review: ‘Street Fighter 6’ is a bold revamp that widens the fanbase

Every once in a while “Street Fighter” reinvents itself, and in the process, manages to draw new players to the fighting game community. It’s this fresh blood, embraced by a welcoming fanbase, that has kept the genre alive long after the demise of its ancestral home — the arcades.

The latest chapter in the franchise, “Street Fighter 6,” brings an even more inclusive approach to fighting games. Capcom streamlined years worth of fighting game mechanics and made the release more approachable to all skill levels. Trying to make the game easier for newcomers to pick up, the developers offer in-depth guides to teach novices the ins and outs of the systems and the characters so newbies can pick a fighter that appeals to them. Lastly, the developers acknowledge that not everyone is a fan of competitive gaming and they added a surprisingly deep single-player campaign called the World Tour.

A HUGE ADDITIONNo matter your skill level, players will find at least one element they like in “Street Fighter 6.” The most ambitious addition is the 20+-hour campaign that dabbles in “Like a Dragon” territory. Mostly set in a New York-inspired Metro City and Nayshall, a fictional country in Asia, this mode has players creating their own character who decides to sign up for martial arts classes at the Buckler Academy.

As the protagonist learns self-defense, the fighter runs into a rival student named Bosch. At first, the two don’t get along but they form a bond as they follow the instructions of their teacher Luke. Over the course of the campaign, the player finds out Bosch is into serious business, and while trying to help the friend, the protagonist ends up involved in an underground resistance movement fighting the exploitive shackles of a nongovernmental organization led by Johan Petrovic.

Amid the campaign, players will discover up to 18 other martial arts teachers who are fighters who players can select in the online Battle Hub or Fighting Ground modes. Players will globe trot to different locales learning from these masters. They’ll build relationships with them and add their moves to their repertoire. By the end of the campaign, they’ll end up with a fighter that will have the basic moves of one fighter, but the special attacks of others.

A CUSTOMIZED CHARACTERThe approach means players create an individual that’s unique to them. They’ll level them up by battling the Mad Gear gang, other aspiring fighters and even drones and refrigerators as they explore the larger Metro City and Nayshall maps. Players will also travel to other locales, but they’re smaller and adapted from the stages of the more traditional modes.

The World Tour resembles “Like a Dragon” with its odd side quests and wacky missions, but their design and storylines are boring at best and illogical messes at worst. The mode aspires to be comparable to Sega’s formidable action franchise, but it lacks any real personality. Despite those flaws, the mode is sorely needed because it provides an amazing amount of depth and world-building that “Street Fighter” has lacked.

In previous iterations, players have caught glimpses into a more intriguing world through the fighting game’s stages and cut scenes, but in this chapter, Capcom lets them actually explore the places that have been just backgrounds in the past. This also adds an air of authenticity because players can visit the World Warriors and see them interact with students or at their jobs. It helps brings the franchise to life.

BATTLE HUB AKA THE MAIN MODEWhat’s great is that players can bring their World Tour character into the Battle Hub, complete with outfits. This is the online mode that’s meant to mimic the arcades of the past. Of course, players can adjust a setting that lets them automatically match up against a human opponent, but it’s much better to explore the environment and pick out a rival.

Although it’s less efficient, there’s more of a thrill in choosing an opponent for a couple of matches. It feels more organic and it harkens back to the days when you would put a quarter on the arcade cabinet if you wanted to challenge someone. Explore the Battle Hub more, and players will discover old Capcom arcade games and an Extreme Mode, in which unusual rules and scenarios are thrown into the mix to create fresh twists on matches.

The Battle Hub is where fans will be spending most of their time, and Capcom did a great job of making the virtual environment an inviting places that resurrects the spirit of the arcades. The only problem is that it takes a bit of time to figure out the confusing setup for it. It’s not intuitive and takes a few minutes of exploring the menus.

A TRADITIONAL EXPERIENCEFighting Grounds is where fans will find mostly offline modes. It’s essentially the mode one would find in a fighting game in the PlayStation 2 era. Players will find an Arcade Mode alongside robust training options that cover every single aspect of the game. The World Tour also does an OK job at teach concepts, but players will have to find missions that cover the subjects.

This is where you can learn how the Drive System melds parrying and EX moves from “Street Fighter III” and Focus Attacks from “Street Fighter IV” into a more cohesive whole. The developers even introduced audio cues that let players know the type of hit delivered. It’s an elegant refinement of what came before.

Digging deeper into Fighting Grounds, players will find modes for parties. If you have friends over, they can play “Street Fighter 6” in a slew of ways including Team Matches and the Extreme Battle mode, where players can pick the rule set and gimmicks.

All of this makes this reinvention of the series appealing to gamers of all shapes, sizes and skill levels. Just like the avatars fans see, the fighting game community is a diverse one and “Street Fighter 6” serves to bring in a new generation of talent to the forefront.

‘STREET FIGHTER 6’

3½ stars out of 4Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, PCRating: Teen