847.9 hours played
Written 14 days ago
Since my time played speaks for itself, I'll begin by outlining what I believe are the two biggest (and valid) criticisms of this game, which come from both the product and competitive aspects of the game.
1.) Mental Stack and Easy Offense
Competitively speaking, I think it's a weaker game at the very highest end, strictly compared to SFV. The ceiling isn't so low such that the best players aren't constantly winning, but that system (Drive) oriented strategies are really difficult to stop without taking risk. This isn't because the drive system itself is inherently bad, but that it's taxing for even the highest level of player to consistently check and counter, along with all the other character and general matchup-specific worries you're trying to take tabs on during a match. At the low end competitively, you're not worrying as much, but once you hit Diamond+ into the Master tier, system, mechanics generally introduce a lot of chaos into the game.
The game is also very heavily oki oriented, meaning there's a lot of guessing involved. Characters are larger compared to previous games, the camera is more zoomed in, the stage is smaller, resource chip, etc - all leading to a more explosive game, where one wrong interaction in neutral can cost you the round/game. Consistency in fighting games is difficult with all the tools and playstyles involved, and due to the game's design, this game definitely exacerbates that fact.
In Master Rank, this will generally reflect in a +/-100 to 150 disparity in your MR (which can fluctuate to that much in a couple hours, due to how MR is tied per match played), depending on how consistent your playstyle is. FT2 will likely feel not enough to accurately represent the holistic capability of both players involved - you'll feel like you're losing to worse players, and if you're frustrated, then your mental's definitely making it so. Rely on the bigger picture and larger statistics to help gauge your progress (Win rates vs Characters, Over Time, etc.)
That being said, it's still very much a competitive game with a lot of integrity attached to it. And personally, I think its gameplay is more fun than SF5.
2.) Post-Launch Content
Capcom sucks at marketing, but they suck at live service more. I can only speculate as to why - shifting development into MH Wilds, future greenlit projects, difficulty of developing quickly at standard with the RE Engine - but this game does not churn out content at the same pace a purely live-service game does. It makes sense, considering it has a box price as well, but don't expect the same level of content as a purely live-service F2P title, whose entire revenue model is built around it. This is a criticism, but also a plea that hopefully Japanese FGs, including SF, will catch up to the benefits a pure live-service model's brought to other competitive genres, and prioritise content that supplements the competitive aspect of their competitive game more, than a standard title with a competitive system (my personal bias).
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Despite these two critiques, I think it's still the best 2D fighting game of this generation. The best are still winning because SF skill + SF6 skill has continued to show that it's superior than just SF6 skill (playing around the unique system mechanics of the title). The game also has a great cast (that you will learn to hate as you play), intuitive gameplay, and a host of great features.
FG's require active learning to improve and discover the fun, which is a lot like real martial arts, or learning an instrument. They don't require more time, but they do require some more effort to master, and that can be unappealing to a lot of people. But it's precisely why it's built the way it is that provides that catharsis rarely matched anywhere else. Hitting that max damage combo mid-match for the set win really is like learning to play your favourite piece of music. Hope some of this helps.