Hiya!

I used to say Capcom has done a wonderful job of balancing Street Fighter 6. Even when it came to adding new characters like Akuma, they’ve managed to make it so players of all levels will still generally enjoy playing as or fighting against them. My opinion has soured a little as I, and a lot of others, believe Capcom worked on M. Bison a little too much. He’s become a huge problem and, even when I did my review of the Shadaloo Dictator, I could see he was going to be a headache to face.

I do acknowledge he has a couple of weaknesses, namely him not having any a really good anti-air and a true reversal options outside of the universal Wake-Up Drive Reversal and his Super Arts. Even with this, he still is super strong because of how much damage he can do. As I’m a newbie, I didn’t really know how much but it turns out M. Bison technically can touch you twice and you’ll die! Even Akuma dreams of this damage output!

While Shadaloo’s Dictator has only been out for around a week or so right now, there are already people calling for Capcom to nerf M. Bison. This may seem like a huge overreaction for some but, since Capcom has been trying their best to integrate fresh meat, I mean, newcomers into the fold, having a character who has super good tools which sort of breaks the meta of the game is counterproductive. So, while I have a strong feeling Capcom will eventually nerf M. Bison, the question is more of when.

I’m asking this question because EVO, the biggest and most prestigious fighting game tournament in the world, is just around the corner. Should Capcom hit him with the nerf bat before EVO or would it be better to hold off until after? Well, I’m here to debate myself regarding just that!

As I said earlier, M. Bison was just released a week or two ago. While everyone says he’s a super strong character, people are still developing strategies for as well as against him. It’s so easy to look at those combos which evaporate 75% of an opponent’s healthbar and complain how overpowered he is. The problem is there are hardly anyone looking for solution so as not to get hit with those kinds of super damaging combos. There are too many creators showing off his damage while very few, like MC Mura, who are looking for how to solve the M. Bison problem.

Then again, all that damage they do show off in those combo videos are always “best case” scenarios. These life bar crushing videos always has M. Bison with a full Drive meter and a full Super Art meter as well as his life in Critical, meaning he’ll do the Critical Art version instead of the standard Level 3 Super. M. Bison can still do a lot of damage but he does seem to be very Drive meter hungry to really get the most out of him. In an actual match, you will need to use up the Drive meter to OD Double Knee Press to launch opponents, OD Psycho Crusher to detonate Psycho Mines and, of course, use his insanely fast Drive Rush in an actual match. So, I don’t think we’ll be seeing any Shadaloo Dictator at EVO doing a 75% combo in Top 8 due to Drive meter limitations. Okay, maybe 50% but 75% is pushing it.

Even so, M. Bison has too many tool which make him a counter for a lot of characters. He can quickly get in with a virtually unreactable and properly spaced Double Knee Press. He can bait anti-airs by feinting with the Shadow Rise and preemptively stopping with an early Head Press. He can stuff regular projectiles with his regular Psycho Crusher and pass through OD projectiles with the OD version of Psycho Crusher. Heck, the OD Psycho Crusher will go through Super Art projectiles like Rashid‘s Level 2! That’s just stupidly good! Too good for one character I would say!

However, everything I just mentioned above is all theory. Not everything works out the way we want, especially in the heat of a match. Yes, there’s the threat of the properly spaced Double Knee Press. Well, then you have to get in little by little to make it become unsafe to throw out! Is M. Bison faking his Shadow Rise? Try jumping at him with a jumping attack to surprise them! If M. Bison keeps using his Psycho Crusher to go through your projectiles, then vary the timing of your projectiles or don’t throw them out until you get into a range where you can chuck them out without him reacting to them!

This does lead to another problem and that is you’re not playing your character anymore. You’re just playing against M. Bison. You’re not controlling Akuma anymore with your air fireball gimmick. No, you have to restrain yourself because M. Bison has a Psycho Crusher which eats up projectiles and works as a decent ranged anti-air. You can’t control the pace of the game with your Level 2 Ysaar as Rashid because M. Bison can stuff it with his Level 2 Psycho Punisher since he saw the mini-cutscene of you doing it! Even if there are solutions to the M. Bison problem, you’re just playing within those boundaries and denied the fun and freedom of playing Street Fighter the way you want to play.

Ultimately, I do believe Capcom should nerf M. Bison before EVO because, if not, I can see a Top 16 with mostly M. Bisons. I do think “nerf” is too harsh of a word for what I want, however. “Tweak” seems more appropriate. Capcom can do little things like have his Double Knee Press do less pushback so it becomes a smidge harder to make safe. Have the moves which causes the Psycho Mines to detonate do more combo scaling. Make his Level 2 Psycho Punisher vulnerable throws at startup instead of invincible to everything.

Nothing I’ve said changes how he plays fundamentally. It just makes him do less damage overall and weakening his Double Knee Press pressure a little. He’ll still be scary but not overwhelming. After EVO, Capcom can go further than that.

Byee!

What’s your take on M. Bison? How hard should he be hit with the nerf bat? Let me know in the comments section below!