Commencing the wave of next-gen fighting games, Street Fighter 6 has landed with a splash. Over the last few years or so, the series that popularised the one-vs-one fighting genre in arcades has fallen by the wayside, with the younger series of Mortal Kombat and especially Tekken rising to the fore. Street Fighter 5 felt shallow when it launched in 2016, and the mechanics just couldn’t keep up with its competitors. Fast-forward to 2023, and Street Fighter 6 has well and truly laid down the gauntlet for its local and online multiplayer modes and solo campaign.
Street Fighter burst onto the scene in 1987 as a predominantly single-player arcade game. As Ryu, you’d fight ten different opponents, utilizing the mighty Had?ken and Sh?ry?ken to land momentous victories. Even in this 80s arcade classic, you could play one-vs-one, with P2 taking on the role of Ken Masters. Still, it wasn’t until Street Fighter II: The World Warrior that it really took hold as a multiplayer experience. On the arcade unit, both players could select from multiple fighters, leading to Street Fighter becoming a colossus of gaming. It’s Street Fighter II that continues to hold as the ultimate in the series, despite most sequels doing well with critics and fans.
For example, Street Fighter II is the focus of the Arcade1UP home arcade cabinet of 12 games – six of which are SF games – and a huge selling point for budding new online gaming platforms. As explained by the CasinoReviews.com new casinos page, emerging sites need to compete quickly, so they draw in popular and recognizable games from studios like NetEnt, Microgaming, and Playtech. Of these, NetEnt offers a grand stock of licensed slots, which includes the ever-popular official Street Fighter II slot, which Snatch Casino has jumped on. In the slot, you can pick from any of the classic characters to create the slot fights and determine its volatility and special features.
Street Fighter II truly captured the imaginations of entertainment makers across all mediums. It’s arguably why there are now eight movies, with another live-action one in the works at Legendary Entertainment. Perhaps the very best of them, however, is Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, which came out three years after the now-legendary 1991 game. In console gaming, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike did very well with critics and audiences, per Metacritic, and Street Fighter IV dazzled reviewers. Then came a tremendous slump in the form of Street Fighter V in 2016, which was seemingly rushed out to compete with the runaway success of Tekken 7 (released in 2015).
It’s a ' a hefty following, but few could deny that it’s lost ground to Tekken and MK. So, launching first was key, as was doing so with the game being complete, raring to go, and stuffed with modes and multiplayer options. Earning a perfect Famitsu 40, it’s clear that SF6 has landed exceedingly well with critics.
While it didn’t make the Co-Optimus calendar of co-op game releases this year, SF6 is at least a local and online multiplayer game, certainly inspiring a similar experience to beloved couch co-op games. There was an opportunity for true co-op gameplay via its new story mode, World Tour, and the Battle Hub. For now, though, co-op-like play comes from the Fighting Ground, where you battle your friends at home or people over an online connection in one-vs-one combat. Welcomingly for newcomer duos, a new modern controls scheme has been introduced alongside the classic six-button mapping, allowing veterans to introduce newcomers to the fighting experience.
Street Fighter II popularised video gaming to arcades decades ago, and now, with Street Fighter 6, the series has set a very high bar for both expansive solo play and couch battles. You don't tend to do much cooperating, but it’s certainly a blast to play with your peers on the couch.