There are 18 characters in Street Fighter 6 as of writing this article. That number is bound to increase – if it hasn’t already. This ever-expanding buffet of morish character dabbling is great for players as they can find the perfect character – the lucky bundle of pixels ideal for them.
But that also means it can be a nightmare to find the perfect character – that lucky bundle of pixels ideal for them. How do you pick when there are so many options in front of you? It’s not like you can play them all simultaneously. You need a main to learn the game and get started on your journey, but that first step seems insurmountably difficult.
Worry not, however, as this is a common dilemma that has a few common answers. You are not alone in this, and we are going to walk you through overcoming your indecision position – your analysis paralysis.
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How Do You Pick Your Main In Street Fighter 6?
First things first, you need to absorb this tidbitty nugget of wisdom – don’t just pick a character based on how easy they are to play. This will bite you in the butt 100% of the time because you are going to get better with time. Sure, an easier character might lead to a more immediate reward, but that’s not the foundation you should lay.
Instead, you should do the following:
Play Who You Think Looks Cool
Seriously. We aren’t joking when we say this. If you think Jaime has a rocking ponytail and you want what he’s dripping, then play Jaime. If Kimberley and her Jet Set Radio graffiti vibe ignites your heart, then grab a rattle can and get going.
Visuals might not seem important, but they can, will, and do play a huge role in whether or not you will enjoy a character. Why? Fighting games are all about expression, and this comes in many forms. One of which is the visual design of your chosen avatar. If you can connect with them on this base level, that is enough to bypass most hurdles.
How did we pick our main? Well, we really liked E. Honda’s funky cardigan and amusing win-pose face. That’s it. That is how we picked our main. That’s what got us playing Street Fighter 6 for countless hours and hundreds of battles. A cardigan. Let that sink in.
Play Who You Think Looks Cool 2, Electric Boogaloo
The above was all about the visual appeal of the character model, but what if you are digging multiple characters at once, how do you move past that? Well, we keep it bare-bones and we go off visuals again, but in a different way.
We all like watching cool things happen on screen, and we all like being the ones doing the cool things on screen. So you should pick a character who appeals to you the most when things get wild. Ken’s brutal Critical Art and flurry of flaming kicks look awesome. Cammy zipping around the playspace and mixing people up looks cool. Heck, JP swaggering around bopping people with his cane just looks fancy.
You want to see the thing you like to play out on screen, so pick the character who most embodies your coolistic ideals.
Don’t Be Put Off By Mechanics
Next up is mechanics and why you should mostly ignore them. One of the most common babblings we hear on the interweb is, “I like X but I don’t like Y mechanics”. This could be (and usually is) in relation to Charge mechanics.
Here’s the spicy rub you need to get your chosen dishy main picked, consumed, and enjoyed. Ignore mechanics at first. If you like characters, you will learn their mechanics. No mechanic in Street Fighter is insurmountably difficult, and the common pushback against Charge in particular is mostly unearned.
In the end, you will be bad at every character you pick when you first start. The mechanics will not change that in any meaningful way. You will need to put in the time to learn regardless, so why discriminate based on comparatively ephemeral feelings of fear?
Don’t Listen To Other People
Here’s a noggin muncher – don’t listen to other people. That includes us technically, but we’d implore you to hang on a bit longer. Tier lists, difficulty rankings, and popularity charts all mean nothing in the end. These are all thrown at you and are designed to help people choose a starting/new character.
The truth of the matter is that if you like a character, regardless of their position on any of those lists, you will end up playing them in the end. Listening to other people will simply delay your enjoyment of a character you wanted to play all along. This is something we’ve learned after decades of experience, and imparting this knowledge to a budding new fighter will hopefully help you bypass this learning curve.
The Long And Short Of It…
Play who you want. Ignore mechanics, ignore other people, and most importantly, don’t ignore yourself. Knock down those barriers, learn the character, and enjoy the experience. You’ll have a much better time chilling with a character you picked, than a character someone else said was easy.
That’s all we have on Street Fighter 6 for now. Be sure to check out our other lists and guides for more Street Fighter content.
