Street Fighter 6 has brought fighting games to a whole new generation of people. Heck, it’s even managed to bring back fans of the series who were burned by the last entry in the series. One of the ways it has helped new and returning players get into the complex world of fighting games is the introduction of Modern Controls.
Modern Controls are a breath of fresh air and allow people who can’t wrap their heads (or fingers) directional inputs and precise links to press buttons and have cool stuff happen on screen. It’s a fun way to play the game, but not all characters are great with the scheme. We are going to go over the very best so you can hop in and get going as smoothly as possible.
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Ryu/Ken
Starting things off we have the returning legends themselves, Ryu and Ken. Whilst they are not the same character, they do share a lot of DNA. The big difference in gameplay is that Ken is more of a rushdown character. What does this mean for Modern Controls? Not much.
Both these characters are great with Modern Controls because they don’t lose out too much when it comes to normals, they get a one-button dragon punch, and their neutral fireball game is decent enough. You will still want to learn how to do a QCF motion so you can change up your Hadoken speeds, but other than that, you are good to go with these two.
Luke
Luke feels like he has been designed with Modern Controls in mind. This guy just does work with this control scheme even if he comes packaged with a few downsides. Like with all characters using Modern, he loses a bunch of normals so his neutral game takes a hit. The upsides of Luke are quite significant though.
Of course, you have access to your projectile and dragon with one-button access in addition to all your Supers being instantly deployable. This lets Luke play the projectile game when he needs to, anti-air on command and has a Grab Super ready to go. He’s just a solid character who works extremely well with Modern.
Jaime
Jaime is one of the harder characters to play in Street Fighter 6 because he’s a little bit on the technical side of things. His gameplay revolves around ‘levelling up’ but getting incredibly drunk. Understanding and executing his ever-expanding array of attacks can be pretty hard when running Classic.
With Modern, however, Jaime manages to be a lot of fun as the execution barrier is lowered substantially. The only directional input you need to learn when playing Jaime is how to chug on his flask. That’s a simple down-down motion, so once you get that down, you are good to go. Become the drunken master you were born to be.
Lily
Lily has the honour of being one of the easier characters in the game. So easy, Capcom actually recommends new players start with her, and frankly, we have to agree. Lily is a fast and aggressive player with safe gap closers, a fun wind-stack mechanic, and a very basic mix-up game plan.
She is the perfect introduction to a nimble aggressor, and Modern Controls don’t take away too much from her kit. Whilst she loses some of her better neutrals, she still manages to retain some solid tools. Throw in the benefits of Modern Controls when it comes to Specials, Supers, and combos, and you have a really solid character.
Zangief
Zangief has historically been a pain in the butt to learn because his main gimmick – his throws – require very difficult inputs to pull off. Not only that, Zangief is very slow making it hard for him to get around the stage and engage. Modern Controls doesn’t fix the latter, but man, does it fix the former.
Zangief can now SPD with a single button press, and sure, you get a 20% damage reduction, but it really doesn’t matter all that much when the upsides are instant unfailable Command Grabs. Not only that, but Zangief has a very solid neutral game with long-reaching pokes which he retains in modern. We can see Modern Zangief being incredibly popular thanks to a very simple game plan, effortless execution, and solid footsies.
That’s all we have on controllers today. Be sure to check out our other articles for more Street Fighter 6 guides, lists, and the latest news.
