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    Street Fighter 6 Impressions from Japan Expo Paris 2022

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    Japan Expo 2022 took place last week in Paris, France, and Street Fighter 6 had a large presence on the show floor. While Capcom didn’t make any new announcements regarding 2023’s most anticipated fighting game, a playable demo was available to the public! I’m not going to dive too deeply into the competitive minutiae, the build that was playable last week is likely going to be very different from the Street Fighter 6 we’re going to see at release, but I’ve picked out a few things that caught my attention!

    The 28-hit Combo That Wasn’t Worth Much

    One player wanted to take the playable version of Street Fighter 6 to its theoretical limits. Using Jaime, one of the characters new to SF6, a Japan Expo attendee managed to string together a 28-hit combo that made use of the new “Drive Rush” system and a Level 2 super move…but only removed about a third of the opponent’s life bar. The first few hits did a normal amount of damage, but then the damage scaling went to work. Damage scaling isn’t a new concept, by any means, but reducing the damage of a super move to almost nothing seems harsh.

    EX Fireballs Smother Their Lesser Versions

    When someone throws a fireball or other projectile at you in Street Fighter, one potential counter is to nullify it with your own. By using some of your super meter, you can upgrade your projectiles to an “EX” state that allows them to pass through other projectiles and deliver a hit to the opponent. Street Fighter 6, at least as it exists now, has expanded that particular counter by allowing EX fireballs to not just nullify a normal projectile, but to continue unfazed and hit the opponent multiple times! Several players at Japan Expo experimented with EX fireballs, and there looks to be a lot of potential versatility in this modified mechanic.

    No More Crossing-up Baby in the Corner

    In Street Fighter 5 if you had an opponent pinned in the corner, and you just couldn’t break through their blocks, it was possible to jump and, if timed correctly, execute a move that would hit behind the opponent and push them out of the corner (a cross-up). After several players made attempts to do this kind of cross-up in Street Fighter 6 at Japan Expo, it doesn’t appear to be possible! A cornered opponent stays in the corner, and while this may not be final, this change could be hugely significant for Street Fighter 6’s competitive scene.

    “Advantage” Settings Can Mimic Training Mode

    Before a fighting game is released, demos and network tests are common. During pre-release testing and demonstrations, players are usually not allowed to enter the game’s training mode. There are reasons for this that I won’t get into here, but apparently if players set their “advantage” settings to maximum in Street Fighter 6 there is a level of health and super meter regeneration that turn regular matches into a near-training mode. It’s unclear right now if this is intentional or will remain in the demo build of Street Fighter 6 as it moves to other conventions, but right now it’s a pretty neat workaround.

    Those are my four favorite little quirks or features of Street Fighter 6 as it appeared at Japan Expo 2022. I’m curious to see what changes will be made before the demo comes to Evo next month, if any. Regardless, the top-tier players at Evo 2022 will definitely be putting Street Fighter 6 through its paces and I will be right here to let you know how things shape up.

    William Schulz headshot-200x200

    Will is a long-time gaming enthusiast, with a real passion for the experimental. He also loves fighting games...but they don't necessarily love him back. But that's ok.