Here in the age of post-release video game development, we’re constantly trying to sniff out patterns to better predict the kind of content coming down the drain. Capcom has shown some method behind their madness in the past (the original Street Fighter 5 roster was split into characters released in three specific games, for example), and before the recent reveal of Street Fighter 6 Season 2, we had some suspicions that the upcoming characters might all come from Street Fighter 4.
Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama sat down for an interview with Venture Beat, during which he addressed Capcom’s compass for crafting characters, and in short, they don’t do it through gameplay.
“We don’t really focus on exactly what title these characters come from when we have to decide who to introduce and who to add to the game,” Nakayama replied when Venture Beat asked why it took so long for SF6 to get the original Street Fighter 3 (Elena) under development.
Indeed, we have yet to see any entry since SF3 that boasts more original characters than any other series to date. It could be argued that Season 1 was Street Fighter 5 themed, as two characters, Ed and Rashid, are straight from the game, while AKI, who is a clear evolution of the SF5 character FANG, was also included. Akuma is straight out of Street Fighter 2 though, so you have to stand on one leg and squint to make the theory work.
Still, with no direct representation from the aforementioned SF3, the Street Fighter Alpha series, and only one Street Fighter 4 newcomer to SF6’s roster so far, Capcom was still set for game-specific seasons if they chose.
While game variety is not a priority, Nakayama explained that country of origin and fighting style are a priority.
“We look at the characters individually, seeing what fighting style they use, their countries of origin,” he continued. “Elena is an African character who uses capoeira, which is very unique and different from the rest of the cast. It’s not really the intention to create balance and make sure there are characters from every single title, but more the individuality of the characters. That helps us decide who’s a good fit.”
Street Fighter, from its earliest days, has always been about featuring specific characters from certain parts of the world. The “World Warrior” concept that the cast of Street Fighter 2 is now often themed around has been a prominent part of every franchise since Street Fighter 2, and even the premiere game in the series took special care to note where each fighter was from.
While it’s Capcom’s prerogative to operate this way, we have to wonder how fans ultimately feel about this approach. With more than three and a half decades of production behind us, there are tons of potential legacy characters and fighting styles Capcom could bring back, and fans certainly have priorities outside of their country of origin when it comes to who they’ll shell out extra cash for a game.
What’s more, the creators of Street Fighter chose to fill half the DLC roster for Season 2 with guests from SNK’s Fatal Fury (one American and one Japanese, for what it’s worth)
What do you think of this approach from Capcom and who do you most want to see in the distant Season 3? Maybe we can tease out the most likely candidates based on where they’re from and how they fight.
