Even when Street Fighter has elevated its sprite work ( SFIII) or gone artsy ( SFIV & V), it’s generally lagged the competition in terms of sheer visual spectacle.

That said, there is a persistent feeling that this could look better. With some major legacy character updates and a new generation of fighters (some of whom have ties to absent favorites), it’s easy to see the work that’s been done to balance the size and speed of each brawler while relishing their individuality. Running on Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, the character models are chunky and weighty, despite still having a more “realistic” look than the previous two games, which leaned more cartoonish. Graphically, the game walks a fine line between grounded design with visual flourish. It all feels a little on the nose, but not entirely out of place as the hip-hop overtones were famously a major part of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - one of the series’ most revered entries - and the graffiti aesthetic goes back as far as the very first game. That translates to an urban setting for the menus and single-player campaign, a collection of hip-hop-themed tracks for the soundtrack (including its main theme) and informs some of the new characters joining the roster. As we learned when speaking with its creative team, one of the major sticking points for this entry was going full bore into the “street” part of the fighter. Street Fighter 6 does something similar, but instead of going full ink wash, it plays up a graffiti accent that evokes the series roots as an “urban” brawler. Street Fighter IV famously dragged the series out of the pixel-art era with fully 3D models on a 2D plane, but it maintained a timeless look by leaning into a pseudo cel-shaded aesthetic defined by bold lines with paintbrush-like strokes. The first thing you’ll notice upon booting up Street Fighter 6 is its slick presentation.

When did street fighter 6 come out