Street Fighter 6 is hitting milestone after milestone and this is in part thanks to a killer cast of characters. Whilst not the largest pool at launch coming in at only 18, the roster of new and returning faces has really clicked with, well, new and returning players. With more characters on the way (such as the recently announced Rashid), fans are well and truly eating well.
Not all characters are made equal of course. Some are far more difficult to pick up than others, some have more complex game plans, and some are just awkward (looking at your Dhalsim). This list is going to go over the easiest characters that you can cut your teeth on, and we’ve tried to include a diverse set of mechanics and playstyles. There should be someone on this list for everyone.
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Ryu
It’s impossible to have a list like this and not have Ryu leading the charge. Ryu is the poster boy for Street Fighter as a whole, and he embodies core fundamentals above anything else. Ryu is an all-around solid character coming in with a fantastic Projectile, great Normals, and legendary Specials.
Not only that, but his combos are super simple to pull off thanks to his more reserved playstyle and chunky damage numbers. Throw in easy Classic inputs and a fantastic array of Supers and you have a character who will not only get you started with the game but will also help you determine your own playstyle. Ryu is a launch pad and a damn good one at that.
Luke
Luke is one of the newest characters to grace the Street Fighter roster and is the guy who adorns the box art. Despite his disproportionately large forearms, Luke is one of the best characters in Street Fighter 6 – period. Of course, since he is also on this list, he nails the ease of access too.
Luke is very much like Ryu, although Luke has a far better projectile game, some throw shenanigans, and as a general rule, is far more aggressive. Finally, Luke has a very interesting mechanic whereby you can power up your moves by holding down your buttons instead of tapping them. He’s slightly more complex than Ryu, but his game plan is easier to grasp since he has more focus.
Luke, like Ryu, loves both Modern and Classic controls to boot.
Lily
Lily is interesting because mechanically, she is a bit more complicated than both Ryu and Luke but she makes up for it with one of the easiest to execute gameplans in Street Fighter 6. Lily is all about building up Wind Charges and then diving into the fray to deliver flashy aerial combos and Command Grabs.
To get started with Lily all you need to know is how to cancel your Normals into your Specials to gain Wind. From there, your Specials are easy to pull off, have great frame data, and can mess with your opponent thanks to some great mixup potential. The only downside is her 360 Command Grab, but since Lily is so easy to use in every other way, you can treat this as a learning opportunity to nail those inputs.
Guile
If Lily has a game plan that revolves around getting buff and then diving in, Guile’s game plan is about pressuring people with powerful ranged attacks. Guile is a Charge character, which you can find out more about here. In short, however, Charge is often considered one of the more difficult input methods to grasp.
What makes Guile special, however, is how easy he is to learn despite that. Guile loves to hold Down+Back and throw out a variety of projectiles. When an opponent gets too greedy, you can do Flash Kick to punish them. Rinse and repeat. As you play more you will pick up on the nuances of Guile, but in terms of raw accessibility, Guile is your man.
E. Honda
E. Honda is another Charge character so comes with all of the hiccups that Guile does, however, E. Honda isn’t just a Charge character. He is more of a Hybrid that likes to push people into corners before battering them into submission. To make this easier, E. Honda even has more Health than most characters, so you can make more mistakes. Great, right?
Well, there’s more. Despite being a hefty Sumo, E. Honda is fast. Thanks to his Sumo Headbutt and Butt Slam, E. Honda can close the distance with ease. Did we mention these attacks are also safe on block? Because they are safe on block. It’s entirely possible in lower ranks to spam your Headbutt and win. Expand that with some basic combos, and you are good to go.
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.
