There has been a lot of speculation (as well as a healthy dose of concern) about how fighter-style characters will perform in Street Fighter 6. The archetype has always had a hard time playing well with everyone else on a given roster due to the nature of the game. somewhat polarizing that comes with having commands as the tool a character is based on.
What Capcom has shown us so far has the community very excited for Street Fighter 6, as well as cautiously optimistic about its balance, but now that we’ve seen more of what newcomer Manon can do with her unprecedented approach to grabbing commands. , we have to wonder if she will become a top-tier fact or not.
Although it’s still early days (the game won’t even launch until June 2), we’ve got a decent amount of rendered footage from the developers, and thus includes some revealing interactions that give more seasoned Street Fighter fans a idea of ​​what to expect. when it comes to the nuances of the game.
Our fears of vortex-based grabs have eased a bit, as we noticed that most commando grabs don’t seem to allow for much follow pressure. This means that the more traditional approach to grappler characters (spend your life trying to get close, get a big advantage where you never let your opponents get off the repeated pressure of okizeme once you do) probably isn’t an option. stuff.
That’s true of Manon, as we’ve seen her in action against Cammy and Marisa, but as that footage eased our initial fears, a new one sprouted at the same time. Manon has a unique ability to level up the power of her Command Grabs upon landing, and it appears that this perk system deals directly with the amount of damage each successful Grab deals.
Leveling systems like this have been in Street Fighter for a long time, but they’ve pretty much always been limited to single rounds… Manon’s hasn’t. While this kind of approach has always been more similar to Jamie’s drinks, Manon’s level-ups stick throughout the match, meaning she will inevitably be a stronger character in later rounds.
Manon starts at level one and increases damage with her commands up to level 5, where they clear large amounts of health at once.
Such command grabs can be initiated not only from nearby traps, but also from certain sequences that start with hits. One of his flak attacks puts his opponents in a juggling state where he can even catch them in the air with, you guessed it, a CG.
This doesn’t automatically break or overpower itself, but as we consider what it’s going to look like in practice, we start to get that sense of dread back a bit.
There’s a reason why characters leveling up tend to operate the way they’ve traditionally done (and again, SF6 roster member Jamie still abides by these round-specific rules), since naturally you’re going to make a character who starts out at a noticeable handicap with the potential to become much more powerful than his opposition Yeah they can successfully jump through additional hoops.
Reaching max levels is not a given, and to balance the fact that these characters start from the back, developers often make the max a bit overwhelming. We imagine that most of Manon’s games going into round three will see her start said round at level 5, and this kind of power, which is so central to the character design, feels potentially too focused.
Once again, it’s always been difficult to balance characters around the unique dimension of commands, and while Manon’s case is somewhat different than in the past, the same basic issue seems to be on the table here.
If these moves get too powerful, she’ll be overpowered, and if Capcom weakens them too much, she’ll quickly run out of stamina. It’s possible that the developers hit this mark correctly, and we’ll wait and see before making a full judgment, but this is getting highlighted a lot right now as a potential issue.
Check out this video on the matter by mc mura and then let us know your thoughts on it all in the comments below.
