Street Fighter 6 is coming up on half a year since its launch, and Capcom’s been busy tracking the usage data over months, with some of it is pretty surprising.
The debate between both styles has been decisive. Classic is a the standard 6-button fare with all three punch and kick variations covered from low to high. On the other hand, Modern simplifies the scheme with all three strengths put to buttons with no differences between punch nor kick. Specials and Drive Parry are mapped to buttons as well as an Assist – which allows combos to be activated based on super meter from time to time. Getting out that Jamie string on a whiffed Spinning Lariat, that could potentially take out 40% of an opponent’s bar with one button presses rapidly – yeah, that could sting. The movelists, per character, are split up to compensate for this. In one sense, it’s perfect for gaining better ground as a beginner or even to understand a playstyle of a character. The devs agree. However, there have been some complaints since it’s considered legal to even enter the Capcom Pro Tour with a Modern control scheme.
October’s run has Lily, Luke and Marisa being top 3 on the Modern end. T-Hawk’s shortchage successor has a 50%-50% split. The Street Fighter 6 poster boy John Cra…err Luke has 4% lean to the tried-and-true six shooters. 21`Marisa is at a 5% in favor of Classic. Lily and Marisa fall under the Easy type, with the only thing that differs between them being the power advantage of the gladiator girl Marisa. Each of the Modern Top 3s is mid-range.
On the Classic side, long-time brawler vets Ryu and Guile are here with newcomer JP. What is in Classic, stays in Classic, with only low and high 20% on the Modern for the top 3. JP being the most command-heavy, long-range character between the three, is a surprise for me. JP has some insane keepaway game that could turn things into his favor against standard-range combatants. His teleport would make sense on a Modern player since it gets him in after the Ground and Air Spike setups. The flyboy Guile taking to the 2nd place could be one, also, since his charge moves are what rounds his kit out.
From both, it feels like there’s a lot of “playing it safe” in terms of variety. 5/6 mid-range runners more times than other archetypes represented here. For Modern’s side, there isn’t a whopping commit all the way compared to Classic.
In the usage data per rank, Ken and Cammy seem to be the common denominators in each category of Ranked. Jamie makes at least one appearance with a more sober step in Rookie, while Jury, Luke, and Ryu take the latter tiers. Marisa only appears in the third set with power to the fists. Jamie’s insane speed and second-form Drunken style is probably what the attraction is.
To get to the correct amount of drinks to activate does need some deplorable gaps in a match. Compared to September’s, Luke and Marisa switched in the 3rd tier. And in the 2nd tier for Iron to Gold, Luke replaces Marisa.
Street Fighter VI is available on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
