Hiya!

Sometimes, you just forget an idea you’ve had a long time ago. A while back, I wrote about my thoughts regarding the “gimmick” mechanics for the returning Street Fighter 6 characters during the Beta test. Well, more than half a year has passed since I posted it and I haven’t made a follow up to it! I was planning to rate the remaining characters when Capcom officially released it but I just never got around to doing so. Better late than never, I guess!

As there are still so many characters to go through, I opted to just focus on a specific batch this time around, namely the original World Warriors from Street Fighter II who weren’t part of the Beta. There are just 4 of them but there’s still a lot to go over so let’s start!

E. Honda’s Sumo Spirit

Capcom seems to have designed Street Fighter 6’s version of E. Honda to hit like a truck. He’s very beginner friendly as well as a pain for beginners to face off against thanks to his very abusable specials. His Sumo Headbutt and Sumo Smash specials usually are the banes of a lot of newbies existence, which means his Hundred Hand Slap usually can be taken for granted. However, if you use his Sumo Spirit install, the Hundred Hand Slap can be even more dangerous than his other more abused specials.

The Sumo Spirit install buffs his next Hundred Hand Slap so that it does an extra hit. It may not sound like an extra hit is not much but it does enough hitstun to allow E. Honda to link into his crouching light punch, which is cancellable so you can extend the combo for more damage. What’s lesser known about the Sumo Spirit buff is it allows for some moves, like his crouching heavy punch and his Neko Damashi (down, down and punch special) to become special cancellable.

The biggest problem is finding the right time to activate the Sumo Spirit buff. You can only have a single Sumo Spirit in stock and, if you do the Hundred Hand Slap, you would need to activate the buff again. It’s unsafe to do it when too close as E. Honda is very vulnerable while the animation is happening. You can do it after knocking the opponent down but you lose your advantage if you do so. Also, the Overdrive version of Hundred Hand Slap will allow you to link into E. Honda’s crouching light punch as well. So, it’s only really nice to get when you have the advantage in the match. It’s definitely not a real comeback mechanic for him.

Rating: 3 out of 10

Blanka’s Blanka-Chan plushies

Blanka’s new mechanic is a storyline carryover from Street Fighter V. In that game, Blanka starts selling plushies in his image in order to make some money. It’s kind of weird Capcom managed to use that and develop it into a game mechanic. The Blanka-Chan plushies don’t do anything and will just stay on the screen until you “activate” them with either his Electric Thunder or doing any of his Blanka Ball attacks while his Level 2 Super is activated. Depending on what version you used to “electrify” them, the Blanka-Chan dolls will start to move forward in different manner. If they touch the opponent, they will take some damage and also allow Blanka to extend combos.

The Blanka-Chan plushies seems like a very straightforward mechanic but is really difficult to utilized to its full potential as there is a lot of setup involved. First, you have to toss a Blanka-Chan plushie onto the field. Once it’s standing somewhere there, you then have to activate it with electricity. This isn’t really much of a hassle like with E. Honda’s Sumo Spirit but it can be problematic against opponents who don’t let up the pressure.

However, once you do get some breathing room and have the Blanka-Chan doll somewhere, it does become an additional threat for your opponent to factor into their battle plan. Having a Blanka-Chan doll while the opponent is in the corner allows for some crazy pressure as you can mix them up with either a low or Blanka’s overhead while the doll is “attacking” your foe. It may be hard to get it out but it can be worth it if you lab the right setups.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Dhalsim’s Yoga Float

Technically, Dhalsim has 2 gimmicks: the Yoga Float and he can charge up his Yoga Fire so it becomes 2 hits. Well, the charged up Yoga Fire isn’t exactly fire as it’s only great in projectile wars at full screen as you have to charge it up. It’s good to create some blockstun but it’s not that great. His Yoga Float, on the other hand, is pretty useful in the right hands.

Dhalsim’s regular jump is a double edged sword as it goes really high and floaty. So you can’t really jump over projectiles with it and expect to do a jump in combo regularly. It’s just too easy to anti-air! His Yoga Float mechanic, however, works much better as he doesn’t go up as high and Dhalsim can move back and forth in the air with it! Not only that, Dhalsim can activate Yoga Float while jumping so he can avoid landing on projectiles or grounded attacks.

Another understated use of the Yoga Float is Dhalsim will drop down the instant he presses any of his normal buttons. This may not seem like a lot but this does mean you can actually control how long Dhalsim is in the air! That’s not something most characters can do! This also makes him rather difficult to anti-air as the opponent doesn’t really know how long Dhalsim will be in the air. This I feel is a move which is really underestimated and should be part of any Dhalsim’s main toolkit.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Zangief’s Charged Heavy Attacks

I will say I usually have the most fun playing as Zangief, even though I suck with him. I just don’t have the patience to sit back and wait for my opponent to make a mistake. I’m also not good at making split second reads. However, what makes him fun is his damage output! I would like to say Zangief has another “gimmick” with his Bolshoi Storm Buster Level 3 Super as, in its normal state, does almost 50% damage! The mere fact it can wipe out half of his opponent’s lifebar is the ultimate comeback mechanic if there ever was one!

However, Zangief’s main gimmick is he can charge up some of his heavy attacks, namely his standing heavy punch and his jumping heavy kick. The jumping heavy kick does feel more gimmick-y as it’s hard to really use in an actual match. If it connects cleanly, the opponent will be flying into the corner, making it great for corner carry. If it hits on a counter state, the opponent will bounce off the wall and Zangief can combo the flying opponent with his down-forward medium punch into Double Lariat or just jump up and grab them out of the air with the Borscht Dynamite.

The charged up standing heavy punch has much more utility. Zangief can absorb 1 hit as long as it’s not an armor breaking move. This makes it great against opponents who are trying to get in with an aerial attack but at an angle. It can also be used as an impromptu Drive Parry and attack combo if Zangief is in Burnout. Oh, when it’s fully charged, it’s plus on block, leading to pressure situations. So, while the charged up jumping heavy kick isn’t all that, the charged up standing heavy punch is.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Zangief’s Life Constitution

I do have to mention Zangief has a passive buff which people tend to forget. Most characters have 10,000 points of life in Street Fighter 6. Marisa and E. Honda have 10,500 points. Zangief, on the other hand, has a whopping 11,000 points of life! Capcom gave him 10% more life than most of the cast! To be fair, it is warranted as Zangief players have to work their way up close to do the damage they need. In a game that has projectile happy characters like JP, Zangief needs all the help he can get!

An extra 1,000 points may not seem like a lot. This is essentially the equivalent of 1 heavy punch and 1 light kick for most characters. However, this does mean they have to work just a little harder to KO Zangief. It’s this little life buff that may make the difference in a close match.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Byee!

Who has the best “gimmick” mechanic in Street Fighter 6 so far? Let me know in the comments section below!