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Fighting games are known for their diverse cast of wacky characters each oozing juicy gimmicks and interesting mechanics. Street Fighter 6 is no exception to this expectation, and actually manages to be a wonderful mix of guys, gals, and…green people? Despite all of that intrigue in the mix, most characters tend to fall into categories or archetypes.
Sure everyone can throw out a sneaky grab, and yeah, most characters can kick when in a bind, but dig deeper and you’ll notice some characters falling neatly into small groups. We are going to go over each of these groups and let you know which character is the cream of the crop.
More Street Fighter VI content:
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All-Rounder – Ryu
The humble All-Rounder is a class of character who can do just about everything. The catch is that they often can’t compete directly with a more dedicated character in their chosen field. All-Rounders are great starting points for new players as they can get a wide array of experiences without having to jump around the roster.
Easily the best character in this category, in my opinion, is Ryu. Ryu has always been the poster boy for the series, and he embodies the spirit of the All-Rounder perfectly. Rolling in with great damage, health, combos, Specials, and Normals, Ryu can go toe-to-toe with most other characters. You can never go wrong with this guy.
Rushdown – Ken
Rushdown characters are all about aggression. They want to get in, smack people about, and refuse to give their opponents time to breathe. Their damage tends to be on the lower end of the spectrum, and their combos typically stretch into infinity, but they are a lot of fun. To make the most of them you will need to put more time into combo practice, but the nature of their style makes it very easy to pick up and mash.
For me, Ken is the quintessential Rushdown character in Street Fighter 6. Whilst he does share a lot of DNA with Ryu, the tweaks to his gameplay turn him into a monster fuelled by endless aggression. That Ryu DNA also makes Ken very easy to pick up to boot. Plus, I am a sucker for flaming uppercuts.
Corner Pressure – E. Honda
Some characters really like to get you into a corner and then never let you leave. These guys share some DNA with Rushdown but end up being their own thing. They typically aren’t as fast, but come with more HP and far more damage per hit. They are also excellent at carrying their opponent into the corner with ludicrous amounts of knockback.
E. Honda is our chosen Pressure character because he is easy to pick up, his carry game is second to none, and he has a great neutral game. Throw in a chunk HP pool, easy-to-execute Supers, and his legendary Headbutt and you simply can’t go wrong with this guy. Get them in the corner and slap them into oblivion.
Footsies – Chun-Li
It’s easy to get lost in the combos and the over-the-top action of Street Fighter VI and neglect Footsies. Every character tends to play this little sub-game, but some characters are especially good at it. So good in fact, they could forgo the rest of the game just to poke you with long-reaching normals.
Chun-Li is the perfect Footsie character because she has so many normals at her disposal, and a massive chunk of them have range. This is made even better thanks to her newly-added Stance that gives her even more attacks in addition to her great specials and aerial defence, and Chun-Li takes the baton and never stops running.
Zoning – Guile
The path of the dishonourable Zoner is paved with the bodies of newbies. Zoners are all about keeping you away. Putting as much space as they can between the two of you, and then filling that space with projectiles. Nothing invokes rage like a player Perfected by a Zoner.
Of all the Zoners in Street Fighter 6 (of which there are a fair few), Guile stands out as our go-to pick. Guile is all about throwing Sonic Booms and has a seemingly endless number of variations of that one move, making it hard to counter. Not only that, but Guile can fight up close and personal, something not all Zoners can pull off. Oh, and he has Flash Kick to punish anyone foolish enough to jump into his space.
Grappler – Zangief
Grapplers, as the name suggests, like to get their hands on people and throw them about. Their throws tend to be very powerful, but in exchange, they tend to be lacking in other areas. If a Grappler does get into range, however, things very quickly tilt in their favour.
Zangief is the template all Grapplers are built from. He is the original Grappler and he hasn’t aged a day. In fact, he’s gotten even better with time and is even easier to use thanks to relaxed inputs and Modern Controls. Zangief has a massive health pool, long-ranged attacks, and throws so powerful you can win just by landing three of them. Never underestimate Zangief.
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.
