I’ve spent the majority of my life playing Street Fighter and yet I’ve never become particularly good at it. Oh, sure, I can best unsuspecting and equally unskilled friends and family members, but I’ve never truly grasped the art of stringing moves together into an actual strategy. I just like throwing Hadokens, y’know? I don’t think I’m alone in that — there are a lot of casual street fighting men and women out there, and Capcom has tried to sell Street Fighter V as the perfect stepping-on point for new, lapsed and casual players.
Having played and reviewed Street Fighter V, I can say the mechanics do feel more accessible than they have in years, but unfortunately some other aspects of the game are far less welcoming. I recently asked Street Fighter V Associate Producer Peter Rosas the new fight mechanics and why some of the game’s modes and artistic choices seem to contradict Capcom’s casual-friendly messaging…
Why did Capcom decide it was time to streamline the series with Street Fighter V?
As Street Fighter IV had already been out for about eight years, we noticed that it became rather difficult for newcomers to play competitively due to a large number of complex mechanics present, as well as the robust roster. As the real magic of Street Fighter lies in out thinking your opponent and not in performing long combos filled with numerous button presses, we felt that it was the perfect time to hit reset and go back to basics.
Speaking of going back to basics, explain the new V-System. Why would it appeal to less experienced gamers?
The Variable System, or V-System, is the core of Street Fighter V’s battle engine. It consists of V-Skills and V-Triggers, both of which allow players to access the deeper aspects of their character through simple button presses. V-Skills, performed by pressing the medium attack buttons together, allow players to perform a skill that may help them around their character’s weakness. V-Triggers, performed by pressing the heavy attack buttons together, allow players to perform a unique ability that can help them potentially win the game even when they’re at a deficit.
What about the EX Gauge and Critical Arts? How do those work?
The EX Gauge is where EX attacks and Critical Arts pull from. EX attacks are improved versions of a character’s special moves that contain unique properties, such as complete invincibility, higher damage output or faster start up speed. These EX attacks take one stock of the EX Gauge. Critical Arts are a character’s most dramatic and damaging attack and take up the entire EX Gauge to perform.
Pulling off Critical Arts can be pretty difficult. Doesn’t that run contrary to making Street Fighter V more accessible?
Not necessarily. Players don’t have to use Critical Arts to find success within Street Fighter V. They’ll fare perfectly fine if they use the EX Gauge for EX attacks. What’s more important to success is the proper use of V-Skills and V-Triggers, which are performed through the simple press of a few buttons.
Do you feel Street Fighter V strikes the right balance between accessibility and complexity?
Definitely. In Street Fighter V, players have been provided access to the deeper strategic aspects of their character with the press of two buttons. What they do once they access those aspects is up to them.
On the subject of things to do, Street Fighter V is currently lacking in single player options, which a lot of casual gamers prefer. Why wasn’t more of a focus put on single player?
Although the game didn’t launch with a traditional Arcade Mode, we are excited about the two all-new single player modes (Character Story and Survival) currently in Street Fighter V and we have plans to refine and expand onto those experiences in the near future. Additionally, we’re unveiling two new Challenge Modes this month and looking into adding a Versus CPU mode soon, as well. The Story Expansion will be released in June 2016 as a free update to all players. This is the first time in franchise history that fans will be able to play through this type of cinematic experience in a Street Fighter game. More new (unannounced) gameplay content for offline players will be made available for free throughout 2016 and beyond, so players who prefer the single player aspects will have plenty more to chew on soon.
Street Fighter V‘s roster is pretty eclectic. Which characters should beginner players focus on?
I’d say beginners should start with Cammy or Birdie. Cammy is extremely fast, very straight forward and has a minimal amount of special moves to learn. Beginners will be able to concentrate on which attacks to use quicker without having to worry about performing special moves. Birdie is a slower, long range, higher damage character. Beginners will find success with him if they learn which attacks hit the furthest.
Playing online can often be a rude awakening for less-skilled players. Has anything been done to make this a more welcoming experience?
Our matchmaking system has been tweaked to ensure that players are always playing someone around their skill level. Even if a player meets another who may be more experienced than them initially, within a few games, they should be put into a more appropriate skill bracket. The wins will come eventually… it just takes some practice and determination.
Was any thought given to attracting more women to the Street Fighter franchise? There’s been some debate over the female fighter’s costumes.
Definitely, and we’ve been seeing an increase in female players and female attendees at our competitive events. In Street Fighter V, all of the female fighters are extremely strong and capable of going toe-to-toe with the male fighters. As for their costumes, these are slightly modified legacy designs that have been popular ever since they were first introduced. And to be fair, many of the male characters in Street Fighter V have some interesting attire, too! Zangief is never one to be shy and the new battle costume for Ryu has been dubbed “Hot Ryu” by our fans. Since the early days, Street Fighter has had a long history of providing players with colorful and unique characters set in a rich and fantastical universe. For Street Fighter V characters that have appeared in previous Street Fighter games, we wanted to stay true to their original look, but update them in a way that made sense for each character’s unique journey.
My favorite way to play Street Fighter is on the same couch with my opponent. Are there any plans to expand local multiplayer? Perhaps the ability to set up tournaments or some sort of party-friendly mode?
In terms of expanding the local multiplayer options, we don’t have any plans right now, but that could change in the future.
Capcom has said they want Street Fighter V to be an evolving platform. Could we see significant changes in the balance or style of the game, or will the focus mostly be on more content (fighters, stages, etc.)?
Yes. In addition to adding more new content on a regular basis, we plan to make balance changes to the title at the conclusion of the Capcom Cup, our large annual tournament in December that celebrates the culmination of our yearlong tour (Capcom Pro Tour). This will give us time to monitor the player landscape and get a better idea of what difficulties players have faced throughout the year. Once the balance update has been finalized, it will be available for free to all users.
Finally, and most importantly, when’s T. Hawk being added to the game? A Street Fighter game isn’t complete until it has T. Hawk in it.
Last I heard, T. Hawk was out maintaining the safety of his Thunderfoot tribe! Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to announce regarding T. Hawk right now, but we plan on adding a bunch of new characters in the years to come, so you never know!
Don’t worry, folks, I’ll always be here to pose the hard T. Hawk questions other reporters are afraid to ask. A couple weeks after release, how are you feeling about Street Fighter V? Does it really have the casual appeal Capcom thinks it has? Fight it out, below.