If a time traveler were to have appeared in my living room circa 1993 as I was gleefully mashing my way through Street Fighter II Turbo and told me that, in 30 years, I’d get to create and customize my very own fighter and play in a world crafted around Street Fighter lore…I…I don’t know what I would have said. Because, first off…time traveler??! And second, where would be the fun in that? I mean, my SNES heydays with Street Fighter II Turbo and Super Street Fighter II were really all about playing the game alongside another human being, beating them, or, in my case, not beating them but making them work for their wins. Sure, I liked to play the games on my own occasionally; but honestly, fighting games were never, and still aren’t much of a single-player go-to. Here in the present day, all that changed with Capcom’s addition of an RPG-lite mode, World Tour, to Street Fighter 6. The demo completely turned on its head my long-held notion that fighting games were only enjoyable versus another real-life fighter.

As I reflect upon the dozen hours I’ve spent in SF6’s World Tour, there are a lot of things I could chat about. Among the good are its RPG elements (simple but effective in making your character feel unique), character interactions, and solid gameplay. I also think it’s cool that players can choose between the classic SF control scheme (what I’ve been using) and a new modern, streamlined one. (Classic offer much more versatility, but it’s certainly not for everyone!) Among the bad are the repetitive, dead-eyed NPCs; too many random enemy encounters (though they reduce a little as you level up); and the small environment (for a place called “Metro City,” it’s tiny, even if it does offer some vertical exploration). However, so far, the most memorable aspect of SF6’s World Tour is how it’s helped me become a better Street Fighter player. If fact, SF6’s World Tour is probably the first time in my history with the series that I’ve played anything Street Fighter that’s forced me to improve my skills.

While it’s true that Street Fighter and I go way back, I never really learned how to win at it. Oh, I learned the game’s basic controls, and that I was much more a fan of the quarter-, half-turn scheme applied to Ken and Ryu over the forwards-backwards pattern applied to Chun-Li and Blanka, but I remained prone to button-mashing through fights, a fact that I still live with (and is quite evident in my fighting game series on our YT channel). I just wanted to play fighting games because I found them entertaining, and because I liked being mildly competitive, even if I felt silly about being “bad” at the games themselves. I never really thought about how to play to win by watching and reacting in ways that made sense. I just wanted to get into a fight, cause some damage, maybe get in a 360 pile driver, and at least make the other players work for their wins. I knew this mindset wouldn’t fly after I played SF6’s demo. And the biggest question in my mind after playing it was: would I enjoy playing a fighting game in which I had no choice but to “git gud?”

At present, the answer is mostly yes. I say “mostly” because I’m not used to playing a fighting game in the same manner as I would a standard RPG. SF6’s World Tour offers gear that provides better stats and items that raise health and give buffs. I have been changing my character’s gear, but those changes are based on the kind of fighter I want her to be rather than improving her stats (though any benefits are nice to receive). As for items, most of the time I forget they exist. I learned early on that my character’s health didn’t regenerate between missions. So, I had to keep an eye on her health and remember to use vitality (health) items in between everything that was going on. You can also pause during battles to use items, but again, as that’s not a “thing” in regular fighting games, it’s not a “thing” I think about in this one. Oh, I’ve done it when I’ve remembered, and when I’ve tired of getting knocked out (the game offers limited chances to “rise up” when that happens), but those instances have been few and far between, because again, when I’m in a fight, I’m playing a fighting game, not an RPG.

This comes back around to the notion that SF6’s World Tour is actually helping me learn Street Fighter all over again. It’s forcing me to act and react during fights in ways that make much more sense than just pummeling controller buttons ad infinitum. My timing in fighting games perennially stinks, but I’m obtaining a better understanding of when to attack, block, throw, parry, and drive. After spending so many years with Street Fighter, it’s a little humbling but also very welcome. Part of me continues to want to become better at fighting games, and Street Fighter 6’s World Tour is helping me do just that. Although, I never want that to overtake the sheer joy I get from playing fighting games just for fun.

All images, including lede, were captured by author during PlayStation 5 gameplay of Street Fighter 6 (© Sony, Capcom).