Hands-on with ‘Street Fighter 6’ and Capcom’s other TGS demo lineups

Although I can’t travel to Japan at the moment, I did find myself with some hands-on time with Capcom’s Tokyo Game Show lineup. The publisher hosted media earlier this week to check out the demos that were available across the Pacific.

Here are thoughts on some of them:

“Street Fighter 6” was one of the games I wanted to get my hands on first. It’s been a while since I played an entry to the series, and this take is intriguing. The new focus revolved around the Drive System, which is a separate meter from the Super Art Gauge. The bottom meter is used for the flashy Super Art attacks that can turn the tide of battle. It turns into a Critical Art when the vitality gauge is below a quarter or so.

The Drive System is similar to the V system, but it simplifies and unifies a lot of the mechanics from past games. The meter is the same for all characters. It’s how players perform EX attacks, which are now called Overdrive moves. It’s also tied to Drive Parry, which lets players repel an opponent’s attack and replenish the Drive meter. Parrying works similarly as in “Street Fighter III:” Players tap to negate damage. They can also perfect parry almost all attacks except fireballs in order to instantly punish attackers.

In order to make players more aggressive so they don’t turtle up, Capcom introduced Drive Impact, which is a move that can absorb an opponent’s attack and knock them back with a hard blow. Players can also perform a Drive Rush, which is a dash cancel from a Drive Parry or a cancelable normal attack. Essentially, this is used for combos or create openings for attacks.

Lastly, Drive Reversal is a counterattack that’s used while blocking to push away aggressive opponents when being pressured.

Over the years, all these wrinkles have appeared in the “Street Fighter” franchise in one form or another and the Drive System tries to harness these elements into a more cohesive whole. It sort of works because of the way the Drive Gauge replenishes automatically and can fill up faster with the right moves.

I finally got some hands-on time with #StreetFighter6. I also played a bit of #MegaManBattleNetworkLegacyCollection and I fought and died to Flaming Espinas. Here are my thoughts. https://t.co/nV6JskdT7k pic.twitter.com/xpkyP50fqQ

— Gieson Cacho (@gcacho) September 16, 2022

It creates more strategies as players have to manage this meter and find moments to be aggressive or defend. Players have to especially watch out for depleting the Drive Gauge completely because it puts them in a Burnout State, and a hit off the wall can force players into stun. That’s now the only way to get into that state, and fighters can no longer mash out of it. In high-level competition, it could be the kiss of death.

From what I played, it’s a promising foundation that should grow with a new cast of characters. “Street Fighter 6” is scheduled for release in 2023 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S and PC.

“Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection” should be on the radar of Japanese role-playing game fans. It features all 10 – yes that’s right 10! – games in the series. It should be noted that the third through sixth entries featured a “Pokemon”-style dual versions. That’s still an absurd value.

I’ve never played them, but the collection allows newcomers to jump on these classics that came out during the Game Boy Advance through the Nintendo DS line of systems. There’s a reason why these titles have a hard-core following, and after playing a bit, I could see why. The battle system is strangely brilliant and has almost collectible card game element.

“Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection” is scheduled for release in 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PC.

The “Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak” preview offered a look at Flaming Espinas, which is coming out in Title Update 2. I fought it in the Forlorn Arena, and it was a brutal fight to say the least. Half the crew I fought it with didn’t have too much “Monster Hunter” experience and its devastating explosion attack wiped out the squad.

Pro tip: If Flaming Espinas, stands still and lifts its head, run away as fast as you can or you’ll have a bad time.

I also went up against Flaming Espinas in #MonsterHunterRiseSunbreak and it went like this. It basically murdered everyone in the group. pic.twitter.com/4zRDXvyUdh

— Gieson Cacho (@gcacho) September 16, 2022

“Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak” Title Update 2 is scheduled for release Sept. 29.