Bookmark This Page; Street Fighter 6 is a master class in game design

Street Fighter 6 was a revelation when it was released in 2023. My deep dive on the game almost sent me to the hospital. If you want to find out why I called it a master class in game design then Bookmark This Page.

The Street Fighter 6 master class index

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 1

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 2

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 3

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 4

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 5

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 6

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 7

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 8

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 9

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 10

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 11

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 12

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 13

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 14

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 15

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 16

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 17

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 18

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 19

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 20

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 21

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 22

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 23

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 24

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 25

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 26

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 27

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 28

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 29

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 30

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 31

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, final part

What was your impression of Street Fighter 6, was it the best game in the series or not? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; the best of Capcom-Unity, and Street Fighter manga

I miss the old Capcom-Unity live events. If you want to see some of the best stuff I posted on the old site then Bookmark This Page.

Street Fight Club: Special Weekend Posting!!! - A 1UP classic from July 19, 2008

The Street Fighter X Tekken Event Coverage! - A 1UP classic from March 2, 2012

The Street Fighter 6 Original Soundtrack Release Event

Another Rufus blog... A 1UP classic from May 15, 2008

Bengus, the Vampire Savior - A 1UP classic from May 9, 2008

Ryu Final, the real Street Fighter III and IV - A 1UP classic from January 30, 2008

Ryu Final, the real Street Fighter III and IV, part 2 - A 1UP classic from January 31, 2008

Were you a member of Capcom-Unity? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Bookmark This Page; Looking at the character designs in Street Fighter V, and Street Fighter 6

I am probably best known for my deep dives on fighting game character designs. If you want to see what I did not like about Street Fighter V’s character designs, or my initial reactions to the SF6 designs then Bookmark This Page.

The return of Charlie Nash, or how zombies make the best fighters...

Necalli, a first look and second take on the new Street Fighter V character...

A look at Ed from Street Fighter V, design meets legacy...

How age and gender helped make the Street Fighter cast unique...

Zeku, the ninja spirit from the '70s finally returns!

From Strider to Zeku, where did the lighting-quick ninja come from?

G, or the evolution of power-hungry characters in fighting games

The new Evil Ryu, a look at Kage

A quick take on Luke, the new Street Fighter.

Capcom Fighting All Stars, the fighting game that never was. A reprint from 1UP / Capcom-Unity.

A first take on Jamie, the new Street Fighter 6 character

Luke in Street Fighter 6, what's different?

A look at Marisa, the Street Fighter 6 gladiator...

Ken Masters, from champ to chump in Street Fighter 6

A new look for Guile, or correcting a mistake? His update in Street Fighter 6.

A look at Lili, the new native Mexican fighter in Street Fighter 6

E. Honda, the return of a sumo legend in Street Fighter 6

Ed, and Rashid. A look at two Street Fighter V stars in Street Fighter 6

Juri in Street Fighter 6, how her design got better with time

Manon in Street Fighter 6, representing a style over 200 years in the making

Dee Jay is back in Street Fighter 6, is he better than we remember?

A look at JP in Street Fighter 6, is this old money personified?

Dhalsim, and Blanka, the return of the strange characters in Street Fighter 6

The Red Tornado returns in Street Fighter 6, a look at Zangief.

Cammy gets an entirely new look for Street Fighter 6, let's see how

The greatest fighting game boss returns to Street Fighter 6, a look at Gouki

Let's talk about A.K.I., the Dragon Lady of Street Fighter 6

Meet Kimberly, is she the Urban ninja of Street Fighter 6?

Ryu becoming the master in Street Fighter 6, a look at his new path

Chun-Li's new look in Street Fighter 6. Is it a step backwards?

Some details in the Street Fighter 6 trailer I wanted to talk about

Figuring out the changing Street Fighter style, part 1…

Figuring out the changing Street Fighter style, part 2…

Figuring out the changing Street Fighter style, part 3…

Figuring out the changing Street Fighter style, final part

Style Wars, looking at Kimberly in Street Fighter 6, and Isla from King of Fighters XIV.

The Street Fighter 6 pre-order trailer, a love letter to the series, and a look at JP

The Street Fighter 6 pre-order trailer, a look at Manon, the graceful judo practitioner

The Street Fighter 6 pre-order trailer, a look at Marisa, the modern gladiator

Lili gets a makeover, just in time for Street Fighter 6!

Gouki in Street Fighter 6, the greatest fighting game villain has returned

Did you enjoy the character deisgns from Street Fighter V or 6 more? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

A look at Yasmine, Filipino representation in Street Fighter 6

Hello friends, welcome back to the blog. This entry is a follow up to the one I posted on Arjun. This has to do with the new character reveals for Season 4 of Street Fighter 6. I said that the design behind Arjun was poorly executed. His appearance, and costume was essentially a copy of the concept art for Ryu in SF6. It was bland, and lackluster, and made me think that the team’s Senior Designer Yusuke Hashimoto had nothing to do with his look. I could almost argue the same thing with the other new character introduced for the game. Yasmine was the first new female added to the game since its launch. The other women introduced in the seasonal updates were pulled from older games.

Before Capcom said anything about the origin of the character, or her move set I knew where she was from, and what she represented. She appeared to be a Filipino. Making her the first Asian-Pacific islander represented in the series. The colors of her uniform were rooted in the flag of the Philippines. It was white, blue, red, and yellow. The sun icon on her shoulder was modeled very much on the sun logo on the flag. As many national flags there is tremendous meaning behind the colors, shape, and symbols featured on it. Not the least of which are the eight rays emerging from the sun, which represents the eight provinces that rebelled against the Spanish in 1898. Her top was based on the Barong Tagalog, a traditional shirt strongly rooted in national identity. It wasn’t just worn by residents in casual, or formal settings, but also by politicians in the Senate.

In her hands she had an ornamental karambit. This knife was used in the traditional fighting art Eskrima, sometimes referred to as Kali or Arnis. For many people in the USA their first exposure to this martial art was in the 2003 film The Hunted featuring Tommy Lee Jones, and Benicio Del Toro. It highlighted the lethality of the fighting art. It was made popular in recent years from The Raid movies. The Raid 2 specifically from 2014 featured Iko Uwalis as the undercover cop Rama, and Cecep Arif Rahman as the Assassin. Their karambit battle was one of the best sequences in martial arts cinema. Yasmine could have used sticks as a weapon. Most people were familiar with stick fighting with the Filipino martial arts. The staff, and sticks were already featured by Eagle, Rolento, and Falke in the series. The advantage of the karambit was a stronger national theme.

Since Yasmine’s karambit was not a blade in the traditional sense it was still a weapon that could be used for trapping, as well as striking. I think this tool was inspired by the wooden fishing hooks carved by Pacific Islanders. There was a lot of cultural influence between Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The karambit was only part of a strong ethnic identity that united the three nations. Her martial arts belt was also accurate to her region. Karate practitioners tied their belt in the front, in the Philippines the belt was knotted at the right hip. Her name, and school were written on the belt. It was worn is very specific way for the Filipino martial arts. In some schools a sash could be used in place of a belt. 

Everything that Capcom did with the new character seemed to be the polar opposite of the last time a Filipina was used in a fighting game. If you were familiar with fighting games then you realized that Yasmine was not the first Filipino fighting game character. She wasn’t even the second. Josie Rizal debuted in Tekken 7, back in 2015. She was a time-release character that came out in April of that year. Series producer Katsuhiro Harada said that he had wanted t include a Filipino character going back to Tekken 5 in 2005. He didn’t get a chance to do so until much later. Unfortunately for him this character would be very divisive. Fighting games were big the world over, Tekken was especially popular in the Philippines. The downside was that even though Josie was proposed as an eskrima fighter, without any weapon it was hard to tell. She was voiced by Ananda Jacobs, and had no detectable Filipino accent. The other was she had the name of a national hero, and the attitude of a crybaby.

José Rizal was a writer, nationalist, and doctor whose work helped inspire the country to rise up against Spain. He was executed in Barcelona for rebellion after a brief exile in Cuba. He had no direct involvement with the resistance, but his death helped spark a revolution. The fact that Bandai Namco used the name of an icon, but put it on a crybaby girl was read as a direct insult to millions of Filipinos. The Japanese had committed many war crimes against the Philippines, China, and Korea during regional conflicts. It was not hard to imagine that they still looked down on other cultures even if this was not the intention from the developers.

To add fuel to the fire Namco put a Filipina in a fighting game much earlier, and was more culturally sensitive about it. They did this with Talim in Soulcalibur II. The game came out in 2002. It was directed by Jin Okubo, and Yoshitaka Tezuka. It was produced by Hiroaki Yotoriyama. The Soulcalibur, and Tekken teams had a friendly rivalry inside of Namco. They traded jabs with each other at gaming events, but deeply respected each other at the same time. The Soulcalibur series was a sword fighting game which pulled elements from ancient history. It was much closer to fantasy than historical to be honest. In the case of island representation Talim was a sort of amalgamation of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. Her costume was pseudo-traditional, as was her weapon. It was a hybrid karambit, and tonfa. She demonstrated that the studio was capable of better representation if they tried. Yasmine was a better design compared to Josie, but I think that Capcom was trying too hard to swing in the other direction.

The taped shins, and hands signaled to audiences that Yasmine was clearly a fighter. The use of the Filipino national flag as primary colors on her costume, with the sun, and stars as accents let us know what region she was from. Her hair color was purple, a mix of the red, and blue from the flag as well. You would think this made her a fantastic design, and a prime example of inclusion done well. I would argue that it was sloppily done at worst, and ham-fisted at best. For starters I want you to think about which characters in the game wore their national flag as the primary colors on their uniforms. Zangief did indeed wear the old USSR colors on his shorts. Ryu was a happy accident in that his gi was white, with a splash of red on his headband. Contrary to popular belief Blanka was not green because of the Brazilian flag, but because he was modeled after the Amazon from Nintendo’s Pro Wrestling. Past that none of the World Warriors from SFII or New Generation from SFIII used their national colors as their costume.

Street Fighter IV, and V started the trend of turning the colors of a national flag into costumes. We could see it with Abel from Street Fighter IV, Manon from SF6, and Laura from Street Fighter V. I argued that of all the new characters introduced into the franchise Juri Han was the best because she poached the most from Chun-Li’s design roots. I mentioned that the purple in her hair, and uniform were created by mixing the red, and blue from the South Korean flag. I would argue that the purple hair featured on Yasmine was a result of the same logic. I thought it was a cheap, and unnecessary design choice.

Any other color hair would have clashed Juri, and Yasmine’s costume. At the same time we had to address the Asian colored hair phenomenon. For decades Asian characters were coded with attitude thanks to colored hair streaks. Teen Vogue covered this issue, and Glamour said it was time to retire this trope. I was aware of it when I talked about how Juri Han’s design got better with time. It might seem insignificant to you, but I think that turning a flag into a costume was cheap. I think that giving colored hair to an Asian, or Pacific-Islander was sloppy. This pandering to tropes was not limited to Capcom. Even Preecha, the new female Muay-Thai fighter from SNK had colored hair with contrasting streaks.

Going with popular generalizations was not a substitute for actual research. You cannot achieve great design by pandering to the lowest common denominator. With some effort you can have a great national figure, and undo years of ugly caricatures. This was why I respected Designer Yusuke Hashimoto, and the team working on SF6. They managed to take Dhalsim, and Blanka which were the two ugliest caricatures in the franchise, and make them significantly better by changing just a few details. Not only that. I would argue that Rudra was an even better design, and a sort of way for Capcom to quietly retire Dhalsim. It seemed like an impossible task for Capcom, or any Japanese developer to do better. I knew it wasn’t impossible. A generation ago we had T. Hawk. He was originally going to be the new Zangief for Street Fighter III. Along with Cammy, Dee Jay, and Fei Long. However they were pushed into the Super SF II update before his design was refined. 

I wanted to see Mexican representation in the SF franchise, but this was not it. T. Hawk was a member of the fictional Thunderfoot Tribe from Mexico. He was about as authentic a native as Iron Eyes Cody. For those that didn’t know Iron Eyes was born Espera Oscar De Corti. He was an Italian-American that was cast for Native-American movie roles going back to the 1920’s. He spent the next 70 years convincing the USA that he was the real deal when in actuality he was perpetuating stereotypes. With his face paint, moccasins, jean vest, and feathered headband T. Hawk was doing the same thing for the fighting game crowd. I was saddened to see how little Capcom cared to present a Mexican fighter correctly, and even more disappointed with what was done with El Fuerte. When Lili / Lily was announced for SF6 she was pulled from the same tribe, and had essentially the same design elements. In any other timeline her look would have remained the same from concept to publication. Yet the SF6 team did a lot more homework, and revised her appearance several times before her debut.

The changes to Lily were subtle, but made for a much better overall design. Her physical appearance was mostly the same. But the color choices, costume, and fashion worked much better without the pandering. Capcom got rid of the face paint, and feather. Her clothes did not have to be a poncho of red, white, and green. The colors of the national flag. An oversized jaripeo shirt did just fine. Even the change in her boots from Central to Northern American worked better. I had a similar thought on Yasmine (and Arjun). It was good to see the Philippines get representation, especially with a strong female warrior. But she was version 1.0 of the character. I knew that version 2.0 was going to be much better, just as it was for Juri, and Lily. That was my belief anyhow. What did you think of this character reveal? Who were you most interested in using in the next season of Street Fighter 6? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Arjun in Street Fighter 6, a great warrior with a mediocre design

Hello friends, it’s been a few years since I’ve talked about Street Fighter 6. I was happy with everything that went into the game, and saw little reason to discuss the seasonal updates. Either you played them, or you didn’t. In the past three years I didn’t talk about the SNK characters that turned up in the game. I didn’t talk about the return of Elena, Crimson Viper, Ed, Sagat, or Alex. I didn’t even talk about the introduction of Ingrid from the cancelled project Capcom Fighting All-Stars or Tifa from Final Fantasy VII. I didn’t even talk about the resurrection of Bosch either. Yet with the Season 4 trailer that was played during the 2026 Summer Games Fest we have some new faces that I did want to talk about.

The first that caught my eye was Arjun. It was mainly due to the fact that he looked like Ryu with wild hair, and a long beard. As it was Ryu had taken on more of a monk-like appearance in the game. He already had a short beard, and wore a Kāṣāya, or traditional brown colored Buddhist monk robe over his gi. It showed growth for the character, and helped visually signal his story arc had concluded. He was not the young warrior traveling the globe as he was in the original Street Fighter. Nor was he the wandering champion post Street Fighter II. He had finally become a master, and had settled his life in a temple. He was essentially a philosophical, and visual opposite of Gouki / Akuma at this point. The thing I wondered was why the designers at Capcom would reuse the overall look. In fact Arjun appeared very much like some of the earlier concept art for Ryu. I honestly think this was a poor design choice from an otherwise great art team.

Street Fighter 6 Designer Yusuke Hashimoto was an absolute master of his craft. I had already sung his praises on this blog. He knew the importance of character art, and fashion design from his work on PlatinumGames Bayonetta, and Bayonetta 2. He helped redesign the iconic uniforms worn by all the classic SFII World Warriors, the New Generation from SFIII, and some of the faces introduced in SF IV, and V. If there was a person that I trusted to help create a new SF 6 character it would be Mr. Hashimoto. With that said I think Arjun fell flat. Some people online theorise that this design was from somebody else on the team, because he might be busy helping with a SF 7 roster, or major SF 6 update. In either case I appreciated that Capcom was putting in a distinct warrior to represent Nayshall in the game. Previous to Season 4 Bosch was the iconic fighter from the region. He had a great look, a great origin story, and his arc was crucial to the plot of the World Tour mode. Unfortunately he was an unplayable character. This was similar to the other important characters from the region, including Nayshall freedom fighter Rewancha, Fou-Lu the dragon of Nayshall, and Kalima the leader of the Nayshall Resistance.

These were all fantastic designs, but sadly all the Nayshall figures were NPCs as well. It’s great that we would finally be able to play as Bosch in Season 4, however we would be getting a completely new representative too. I believe that Arjun was a good guy. Not only that but I think this person created to take down JP once and for all. The name Arjun was based on Arjuna from the Mahabharata. He was a mighty warrior in the story, and regarded for his bravery, strength, but also for his talents in the arts. The name itself represented several things such as white, clear or silver. He could see those things in the color of his pants, and the silver chains on his belt. Arjuna can can also go by other names such as Vijaya (विजय) – always victorious, invincible and undefeatable, Jiṣṇu (जिष्णु) – triumphant, conqueror of enemies, and Bībhatsu (बीभत्सु) – one who always fights wars in a fair, stylish and terrific manner and never does anything horrible in the war. All of these things might be true of the character. If so then he is the opposite of JP. He would be fighting to undo his silent coup against the people of Nayshall.

Capcom did tremendous world building around the fictional Nayshall. This region, its language, and NPC designs borrow heavily from Nepal. The actual border country sits between China, and India. Nepal itself pulls elements from multiple cultures, while also creating its own identity. Nayshall was as unique in the Street Fighter universe. There was a tremendous love, and respect that the team at Capcom had for the people they were reflecting. You could tell in the look of this place, in the plot of the game, the language on the billboards as well as the graffiti in the lowlands, not to mention the thousands of supporting details. Nayshall was easily one of my favorite places to visit in any modern game. In fact I said that this place had more life, and personality than any of the regions in the Norse God of War titles. I stood by my statement then, and still think that way today.

With that said I still think Arjun is a poor design. I haven’t even seen his move set, or know his exact role in SF6. From a visual perspective however I think he has one of the weakest looks in the franchise. It is very plain, and poorly thought out. Several of the NPC characters had a better look. I get that the concept art for Ryu was worth revisiting. Yet I do not think that it was strong enough to support an entirely new character. I don’t know what the studio was thinking with Arjun aside from someone to carry the plot forward. There was another new character announced for Season 4 that I thought had stronger design elements. I’d like to talk about that in the next blog. Until then I would like to know what you thought about the SF6 announcement this year. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Street Fighter 6 master class index

I am grateful for all the new readers to the blog at the end of 2024. I noticed that a number of different entries into my Street Fighter 6 master class were getting shares. For those that do not know I did a 30-part series in 2023. It took a lot out of me, in fact I got super sick because I was spending so much time working on it. I’m pacing myself better now. For those that are interested here are all the links. I discuss the history of Capcom, Street Fighter, Final Fight, and the arcade legacy. We look at the mechanics of fighting games. We dissect the origins of the cast, and how they were improved over time. Plus how the new developers were making everyone a better fighting game player. Please share this if your friends love fighting games. 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 1 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 2 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 3 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 4 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 5 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 6 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 7 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 8 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 9 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 10 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 11 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 12 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 13 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 14 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 15 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 16 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 17 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 18 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 19 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 20 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 21 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 22 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 23 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 24 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 25 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 26 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 27 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 28 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 29 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 30 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, part 31 

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, final part 

As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Street Fighter 6 Original Soundtrack Release Event

Hello friends, I have an extra special weekend posting for you. Earlier this week there was a special event announced by Capcom. Here is the official statement. 

Join us at Amoeba Hollywood as Capcom celebrates the release of the Street Fighter™ 6 Original Soundtrack Collector’s Edition Vinyl on Tuesday, February 20th at 5pm! Featuring a special performance by artists behind the video game’s songs “Not On The Sidelines” and “Legends” – GRP, Randy Marx, Rocco 808, and Jayy Starr – and an intimate conversation with Takayuki Nakayama (Game Director), Yoshiya Terayama (Lead Composer), Shuhei Matsumoto (Game Producer), and Koyo Sonae (Soundtrack Executive Producer).

The album, and the extras are perfect for collectors. I love the attention to detail that the studio put into the releases. I didn’t pick up the day of the signing, as I had just paid my car insurance. Thus I didn’t have extra funds, but I will hopefully be getting the set soon. I still wanted to support the Street Fighter crew, and the musicians as well. I decided to dress up for the event. If you have been following my blog then you would know that I was always eager to go to any Street Fighter event in the LA area.

Whether it was the original Street Fight Club, or the Super Street Fighter IV Launch Party, or the Street Fighter X Tekken event, then I would dress up in my El Fuerte mask, and show out. The original mask was made out of a white tee shirt, and foam sheets. The second mask from around 2009 was made by an actual luchador mask maker in Mexico. I had long since retired that mask, as it started showing wear, and tear from age. I don't think I've worn it in almost 10 years, but it will always be an important part of my memories. 

Given my size (6' 7", 300+ lbs) I wanted to put together a Zangief outfit, and possibly a Mike Haggar costume. I was always a Zangief main, with Hugo, Sodom, Alex, and Birdie also being secondary characters. But that cosplay was supposed to be for some point in the far future. Then six days before the Amoeba event I decided to get serious about putting something together. I got a haircut the night before the signing. My brothers had been trying to get me to sport a Mohawk for 30 years. I finally obliged. I guess the look does work on me.

The primary challenge was putting together the suit. I actually had a gray striped suit, black tie, and vest from a wedding that happened a few years ago. The thing that I didn’t realize was that I had lost a lot of weight from when I first got the suit, so it ended up being really baggy on me. I’ll have to get it tailored next time there is a Capcom event. I didn’t have a red shirt, but thankfully I found one at the local JcPenney.

I got an inexpensive watch chain, wrist watch, and pocket watch from eBay. I think I only paid $30 for all of those combined. To add an extra layer of authenticity the pocket watch was an old Soviet timepiece. I also bought arm garters, but I forgot to wear them when I got dressed the night of the signing. The only thing I’m missing is Zangief’s gold pin on the vest. If anybody has a 3D printer, or could help me source one then please let me know!

It was a rainy night in LA during the signing. The winter weather had been very strange in the southland for the past two years. It’s been much wetter than normal. Los Angeles County can go months, if not years without steady rain during winter. My wife, and I made it out to Hollywood, and found parking just in the nick of time. The crowd had already started growing inside the Amoeba Records.

The Street Fighter 6 team, and record producers did a Q&A session, while the record store played selections of the soundtrack in the background. I know somebody was filming but I don’t know when, where, or if the video will be shared.

The questions were thorough. We found out about the challenges of approaching a popular franchise with a new musical approach. The team talked about incorporating Hip Hop into the soundtrack, and searching for authentic voices that could capture the spirit of the brand. As for the special edition album, Koyo Sonae explained how he grew up with the Street Fighter II book, and CD. He said that it was very influential to him while growing up. He would listen to the CD while pouring over the illustrations.

I think Mr. Sonae was referring to the Street Fighter II Complete File book. It had a lot of concept art, and character art that was extremely rare. He wanted the SF6 albums to have the same reception with the current generation of fans. That’s why it came with an album sized book featuring detailed illustrations, and original art. It would be the kind of thing that fans would be pouring over again, and again while listening to the game music.

The translator did a great job memorizing the lengthy questions, translating them for the team, and then memorizing the lengthy responses, and letting the audience know. There’s no way I’d be able to do anything remotely close to that in English, and Spanish. I’d have to translate one sentence at a time just to keep up.

After the Q&A session the team took a short break. Amoeba then lined up the guests, and set up a table for the signing. For those of us that didn’t purchase the album, we were allowed to get a limited print for an autograph. That was a very generous surprise. I was prepared to go home early, as the web site said the signing was for purchases only. My wife, and I literally turned up just to show our support.

Takayuki Nakayama got a laugh out of my outfit, and commented that even my belt was spot on. On the other posters he was just signing, but for mine he drew a Zangief. That was the first blessing of the night.

Mr. Nakayama asked for a picture, and posted it on Twitter / X that night. I thanked him, and the team on his post. He then followed me! A second blessing! My night had absolutely been made!!! Thank you to Amoeba Music for hosting the event. Thank you to Takayuki Nakayama, Yoshiya Terayama, Shuhei Matsumoto, and Koyo Sonae. Thank you to GRP, Randy Marx, Rocco 808, and Jayy Starr! I wish you all continued success.

I encourage visitors of my blog to support the fighting game community, and the larger gaming world any way you can. If you can host a tournament that’s great. But if you can help mentor young players, share their interests, and encourage their hobbies that would be even better. I’m getting old, and gray, but my passion for Street Fighter has never been hotter. If you ever get a chance to attend an event I encourage you to do so. It’s a chance to make some friends, and learn what goes into making your favorite titles. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Street Fighter 6: A master class in game design, final part

Street Fighter 6 Designer Yusuke Hashimoto had an impossible task. Update the look of the classic SF characters without causing an all-out riot with the fans. I did a quick take on all the leaked designs last year, like Zangief for example. Mr. Hashimoto had impeccable fashion sense, knew how to work with color, and use fabric, and layers to tell a story with costuming. He worked on Bayonetta, and Bayonetta 2 previously. Those games had some amazing designs, turning witches, demons, angels, and other religious figures into a dazzling runway fashion show but with guns, and cheeky humor. I would argue that he approached each SF character with a certain level of respect. He wouldn't be turning them into Bayonetta characters, but preserve their roots as best as he could while trying to update them a little. He might have asked himself what did they wear in a formal setting? What did they wear when they weren’t fighting? I believe that half the SF6 lineup were wearing casual outfits on purpose.

We wouldn’t expect Chun-Li to walk around the city wearing 30 lbs. spiked bracelets on each wrist, and wrestling boots. So she was given a very casual makeover that still looked like classic Chinese costuming. The same applied to Luke, Jamie, Kimberly, and the other new faces. They each had fight wear, and street wear as alternate costumes or vice-versa. Mr. Hashimoto had probably gone through the Capcom archives to see what some of the concept art was for each character, and even abandoned characters like the Fighting Literary Master that was in the planning stages of SFV. The bearded professor archetype would be easy to apply to the Red Cyclone. Presenting Zangief an intellectual when he wasn’t wrestling perfectly captured his personality. Zangief was absolutely dedicated to his craft. When he wasn’t training we could expect to find him learning new subjects with the same level of intensity. In the game he finished books faster than he finished reps in the weight room.

The animation team was as insightful as Mr. Hashimoto. They dug into the archives when modeling the cast. The studio used concept art to create taunts, and victory poses from. They captured an absurd amount tiny details for each character that either was missed, or never created in the first place. For example Zangief was known for being covered in scars. This was because he wrestled bears in the Siberian tundra. However all of his scars were only on his front. As a trained wrestler he never gave his back up to an opponent, and never ran from a conflict. In canon he actually had one scar on his back, but this was from taking an assassin’s bullet for the former president of the Soviet Union. I think it was only mentioned in a novel, and never illustrated in any manga. This tiny, insignificant detail was modeled, and skinned onto the character. As I said previously, the amount of work that went into SF6 was absurd.

The SF6 art team also had to figure out what style, aesthetic, and proportions they were going to go with for the cast. One of the things that really made Japanese audiences upset was when the studio changed the look of Cammy between SFIV, and SFV. many Japanese gamers said Cammy looked ugly in Street Fighter V. They said the studio was trying to appeal more to European tastes, rather than keep her looking more like an anime character. I had covered the aesthetic debate previously on this blog. It was hard to make the visuals of a franchise stand out from the competition. Every now and then we would get a genius like BENGUS to create new looks for the character that were recreated in sprite form. The SFIV models were based on Daigo Iken's work, and SFV models were trying to use the BENGUS style. Unfortunately proportions that worked in 2D did not always work in 3D.

The models in SFIV, and SFV were getting bulkier, and bulkier, and it was hard to see relative heights between the fighters because they were so thick. Not to mention that the character models looked like they were made out of lumpy clay. The exaggerated BENGUS proportions that looked brilliant as sprites in Street Fighter Zero / Alpha were hard to recreate in 3D without making the characters look grotesque. The SF6 team went back to the more realistic proportions that AKIMAN, and Shoei used when designing the SFII lineup. These more lifelike designs were easier to read on screen, their moves, and animations flowed better, and the differences between fat, skinny, tall, and short body types really stood out.

Cammy got a similar type of ground-up makeover. I don’t know what the average Japanese or global reaction was for the cast. Based on the fan art I’ve seen online it looked like people on both sides of the Pacific were really digging her new look. She still had a youthful appearance, but her eyes weren’t too big, or cartoonish like with Lily. Her muscular frame was still there, as was her love of cats. For anybody that believed athletic women couldn’t have her model looks I would argue that she might have been based on Team USA weightlifter Samantha Wright. Her bright eyes, soft features, and naturally pursed lips beguiled that she could easily out lift many men in the gym. It turned out that it was possible to find a balance between realistic, and stylized aesthetics for the cast. In this way it could be argued that the developers were able to strike a look that could appeal to international audiences.

In my book Capcom had knocked Street Fighter 6 out of the park. Every element that went into the game was influenced by 35 years of the Capcom legacy. We're not only talking about the Street Fighter franchise but also Final Fight, Rival Schools, Tech Romancer, Vampire / Darkstalkers, Star Gladiator, Muscle Bomber / Saturday Night Slam Masters, and Warzard / Red Earth. It also allowed players to enjoy more than a dozen classic arcade games in a virtual arcade open 24/7. The studio was making nods to anime, manga, wrestling, and pop culture all throughout the adventure. Capcom was doing all of this while pushing the franchise into the future. Character design, plot, music, sound, animation, modeling, balance, level design, stage layout, world building, control, and balance were executed to perfection. Capcom did the impossible. They elevated the fighting genre, and put it on par with the best AAA adventure titles. The games that took 30 or 40 hours to complete now had competition from a completely different format. We did not have to play as Link, Mario, Spider-Man, the One-Armed Wolf, Kratos, or any other named character. Instead we could make up our own avatar and become the hero of the Street Fighter universe. I do not think that any other studio could have pulled it off. At least not nearly as well. In fact I do not think that any other studio did anything more revolutionary for gaming in 2023. Street Fighter 6 was an absolute master class in game design.

I’ve spent the past three months on this blog showing the individual elements that when combined made for what I consider to be the game of the year. What more could I say to convince you? When voting opens up on the various forums, and websites later this year I sincerely hope that you consider Street Fighter 6 as the best of the lineup. Thank you for joining me on this series. I appreciate every view, share, and comment. I put a lot time, energy, and myself into this series. I'm exhausted, and will probably rest for a few months before writing something new. Thanks for watching me massacre the English sentence structure. I wouldn't have done it without you. If you are a long time fan of Final Fight, or Street Fighter then I would like to hear your impressions of SF6. If you have never played any game previously then tell me your experiences in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!