In hindsight, it was only a matter of time before SNK let Terry Bogard, pretty much their mascot to appear in Street Fighter 6. They and Capcom had already established a good working relationship with several crossover games, with one of them re-released and a couple more pending in the near future. SNK already allowed him in other games so, yeah. It does make sense for the legendary Hungry Wolf to make the transition over to Street Fighter 6.

So, how does Terry Bogard fit in with Capcom’s latest entry of the Street Fighter universe? Well, I’m happy to say he’s incredibly fun but, although he does come off like a very straightforward character, there’s a lot of nuance in this version of Terry Bogard.

First off, I will say it did take me a while to get used to Capcom’s take on Terry Bogard’s look in Street Fighter 6. I’ve always felt SNK designed their characters to have a leaner and lankier look than the way Capcom makes their characters. So, to me, Terry does look a little out of place against buffer looking fighters like Ryu and Guile. Even when compared to Ed, probably the skinniest of all the male characters, Terry’s proportions still look a little weird. Still, credit to Capcom for capturing the basic elements of what an SNK character would look like in the game.

When it comes to Terry’s gameplay and general strategy, you may be tempted to play him like a generic Shoto but that would be a mistake. Although Terry has the basic building blocks of a Shoto as he has a projectile, an anti-air attack and some kind of forward moving attack, there are some things which differentiate him from your regular Shoto. I will say his Rising Tackle is just your typical Dragon Punch move and you should use it as such. The rest of his specials are a whole other story!

A good example of this would be his projectile, the Power Wave and the Round Wave. The light version of the Power Wave is a projectile which travels on the floor, meaning it won’t clash against most other fireballs. The medium version will hit other projectiles but it doesn’t travel full-screen. The heavy version of the Power Wave isn’t even a projectile as it become the Round Wave, a splash of energy that is plus on block and can juggle the opponent. The OD version is pretty awesome as it can juggle opponents and, if done close, allows Terry to link into more combos! It can be tricky doing fireball wars with Terry, both for the player using Terry and those fighting against Terry. I’ve hit a couple of Ed players thinking they could use his Psycho Spark to counter the light version of the Power Wave, only to get counter hit as a result.

While Shotos have the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku as their neutral skip attack, Terry Bogard has several and they’re all pretty good under specific circumstances. Terry’s best neutral skip move would have to be his Burning Knuckle. Opponents with quick reflexes should be able to spot the startup and react to it but against normal players, this is a great way to get in if spaced right. I do have to mention how the light version of his Burning Knuckle is actually a different move called Quick Burn. This is a 2-hit special with the 2nd hit being an overhead. You can definitely catch opponents asleep on the wheel with this. Crack Shoot can go over projectiles if timed right and is generally safe even when blocked, making it an incredible pressure tool. As Crack Shoot is considered an airborne attack, this makes it great for going over low attacks for a counter hit.

The crown jewel of his neutral skip moves isn’t exactly a neutral skip move but it’s Terry’s best combo tool. The Power Charge has Terry charge forward with a shoulder tackle. While super punishable on block, each version of the Power Charge is great in its own way. The light version is a great Punish Counter tool as, if you hit it in this manner, you can link into most of Terry’s light normals. Also, if used at the right distance, you can still link into his lights! In fact, some of his combos leave him at the right space for this to happen! The medium version will launch the opponent into the air, meaning you can link it into some attacks afterwards. The heavy version of the Power Charge is the most useful as Terry can cancel it when it connects! Most of his bread and butter combos are derived from choosing which Power Charge to implement in the situation.

Accompanying Terry’s awesome assortment of special moves are a more than decent set of normal buttons and target combos. All of his light attacks have more than decent range for lights. His standing medium kick has great range and can link to his standing light kick if it hits. His standing medium punch is a workhorse of a button as it has great range, is cancellable to specials and supers and is his starter for almost all of his target combos. In theory, this means a really good Terry player can hit this move and, depending on the situation, either go into a combo or a target combo when it so suits them.

The only target combo which doesn’t start from his standing medium punch is his crouching medium kick, which is, once again, a very awesome button. It reaches pretty far, hits low and cancellable. Now, every Street Fighter 6 knows the potential of a low poke that can reach very far and is cancellable into a special or, more importantly, a Drive Rush. You will definitely see a lot of Terry players fishing with this move and, if it hits, will go all out afterwards. Once again, a reliable bread and butter combo starter. The only real weakness I see with Terry’s normals is they’re all negative on block. His only frame trap is with the Round Wave. Then again, Round Wave makes him +5 on block, making it a highly exceptional pressure tool. So, maybe not having a frame trap button is the worst thing in the world for Terry.

Speaking of his target combos, I do have to mention one of them specifically, the Passing Sway. There was a strong possibility this was going to be a troublesome move as it, in theory, would allow Terry to lead to a mixup as he could switch sides with it. Thankfully, the folks at Capcom knew this and Terry can only do the ender if the hit connects. If it’s blocked, Terry is left wide open. If it does hit, however, Terry’s foe is in for a whole lot of trouble as the ender is totally invincible and both enders, is safe on block. This move is going to be a headache for newbies.

Terry’s Super Arts are good but more situational than I would like. His Level 1, the classic Buster Wolf, comes out pretty fast at 7 frames and is invincible to strikes and throws. A great GTFO move if you’re in burnout. His Level 2, the Power Geyser, is a weird one. It’s totally invincible to everything and is a phenomenal anti-air. The Power Geyser is also unique as, if you’re willing to burn a ton of resources, it can be as damaging as a Critical Art! If the Power Geyser connects cleanly, pressing 2 punch buttons will execute the Twin Geyser at the cost of 3 Drive Meters! If you have 1 full Super Bar left after this, you can press 2 punch buttons after the Twin Geyser to fire off the Triple Geyser! That’s asking a lot but, if you’re going to finish off your opponent, you might as well! Finally, his Level 3 and Critical Art, the Rising Fang is, well, kind of disappointing. It doesn’t have a whole lot of range for my liking.

As I mentioned before, trying to play Terry like a traditional Shoto is a mistake. I learned that from experience as I couldn’t really get the hang of him when I first got my hands on the character. It was only when I figured out what makes him different from your traditional Shoto, such as the uncharacteristic projectile and his follow up attacks from his Power Charge, when I truly understood what Terry was all about. I do think he’s more than a viable character in Street Fighter 6 and he is a lot of fun. Nice to see him get out of South Town and make his way to Metro City. I’m a fan and my Avatar opted to cosplay as him while I’m still on my Terry Bogard high.

Too bad I’m too cheap to spring for the official outfit!

Byee!

What do you think of Terry Bogard’s rendition in Street Fighter 6? Let me know in the comments section below!