Street Fighter 6 sets a high bar for Tekken and Mortal Kombat

William Davis Published 23/08/2023

Street Fighter 6 may have revitalized the brand in the fighting game world, but how will Tekken and Mortal Kombat respond?

For a while now, it’s seemed like Street Fighter’s glory days were behind the series, with the more modern experiences of Tekken and Mortal Kombat taking over in the fighting game space. Aside from the generational release of Smash Bros., these three are at the top of the pile when it comes to the fighting genre. Luckily for Capcom, Street Fighter 6 was released to incredible critical acclaim.

Across platforms on Metacritic, Street Fighter 6 earned a 90 to 92 score. It’s a “Must-Play” according to the review aggregator, which is a banner that only goes to a handful of releases each year. Soon, its rivals will weigh in with their new games, but the bar set by SF6 has only reinforced the series and rekindled the gaming world’s affection for its grand legacy.

Street Fighter 6 met with critical acclaim at launch

A huge part of the praise that has been delivered to Street Fighter 6 is its controls. Street Fighter has long had one of the more trying controller set-ups, but with SF6, players can switch from Classic Control Type to Modern Control Type. For players who have difficulty with motion inputs, this makes entry to the legendary series much easier. Another big part is the customization and play-your-way mindset that clearly went into the game’s design. Now, you can create your very own fighter for a single-player open-world mode called World Tour. Included in this open world is the possibility to take on side quests, customize your character, and battle almost anyone who you dare to challenge.

It adds much more to the setting than the arcade-style fighting modes that we’re so accustomed to, helping to expand the Street Fighter name as a whole. The series’ legacy is grounded in classic 80s and 90s arcade gaming, but the ability to adapt and expand has held Street Fighter in such high esteem over the decades. You could look to the live-action and animated shows and movies like Street Fighter II: V, Assassin’s Fist, and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie as prime examples of good expansions on the series. Along with another movie said to be in the works, the series also recently branched out into another form of gaming.

In one of the more impressive uses of a license to theme a game, the Street Fighter II: The World Warrior slot game utilizes character selection and incorporates the need to beat other fighters as core mechanics. The game can currently be played via platforms like LeoVegas, which is ranked among the best franchises to offer top-rated CasinoBonusCA free spins promotions. The no-wagering bonus is for the infinitely popular Book of Dead slot, but the rest of it can be used to explore this unique take on the arcade sensation.

Evidently, Street Fighter has proven very popular at just about every casino it’s featured in. While it does translate well to slot gaming, perhaps Street Fighter’s best medium switch has been into the world of manga. The current run, Days of the Eclipse, offers a strong prequel to the new game.

Will Tekken and Mortal Kombat adapt to the new era?

Between Street Fighter 5, Tekken 7, and Mortal Kombat, it’s fair to say that the Bandai Namco’s Tekken came out on top. While the Rage system and 2D crossovers brought major controversy, the visuals, characterizations, and fighting itself were all superbly done. It managed to extend its run tremendously through a strong competitive circuit and a run of guest characters. Akuma and Geese Howard brought in fans of other fighting franchises while Negan and Noctis brought JRPG and TV fans respectively

In any case, both Mortal Kombat and Tekken currently outsell Street Fighter as franchises, with MK way ahead overall. However, the two will adapt again for the new generation. The Tekken 8 system is getting an overhaul as well as a new aggression-rewarding mechanic known as Heat, and Mortal Kombat 1 looks for enhancements through a story mode as well accessibility features like the assist feature of Kameo Fighters.

Both of Street Fighter’s rivals are a fair bit away from release, so there’s more time to showcase the full extent of each game, but at the very least, Street Fighter 6 has made up a lot of ground and set a high critical bar.

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