Street Fighter 6: Exclusive First Look At New Dynamic Control Scheme Meant To Help Button Mashers Excel

After having completed a Street Fighter 6 training session in Osaka Japan and several interviews, I’m now in the backroom of a small sandwich shop with a view over the Higashiyokobori River. While I am enjoying my sandwich, Takayuki Nakayama (director Street Fighter 6), is sitting next to me. He asks me if Street Fighter 6 has been enjoyable to him, after we have discussed our histories and shared stories about Street Fighter.

He was impressed by the art and gameplay, and he agreed that the Real-Time Commentary is an excellent addition to fighting games. He smiles and nods until I tell him that I do not feel Modern Controls are for me. However, my colleague is a fan. This is a smart way to make Street Fighter players from different levels of experience and allow them to compete with those more familiar. He grinnes as he explains that there is actually another control plan. My interest was immediately piqued. He could not give me any name but Dynamic Controls at that time.

This is the restaurant in which we had our conversation

Soon after, we return to Capcom’s offices and I start asking questions about Dynamic Controls. After much discussion, the team brings me an updated version from the opposite side of Capcom’s office. Nakayama is seated in front of the screen with Shuhei Matsumoto, the producer. They are getting ready to play against each other on their gamepads. Matsumoto selects Dynamic Controls and tells me to watch his hands and compare it to the action on-screen.

Much to my surprise, Matsumoto places his controller on the table in front of him and begins using his index finger to tap face buttons one at a time. Matsumoto’s character has a wide range of attacks despite his inexperience. Dynamic Controls do not test Street Fighter player skills, they are meant to be fun and include everyone.

Sometimes, the term “button mashing” can be interpreted as an insult to those who hit their buttons randomly on their board or pad in the hope that it will trigger an effective attack. But for Nakayama that thought gave him his inspiration. In a regular fighting game, they would be able to see the opponent’s reaction and thereby trigger an attack. [mash buttons], they just do a lot of whiffs,” he says. “We were looking for something more important than just a few buttons to make something happen.

While some initially considered Modern Controls an “easy mode” since it simplifies it down to fewer buttons and inputs required for effectiveness, Capcom has worked to balance Modern and Classic Controls against each other, so they are both competitive in matches – Nakayama even thinks we’ll see some high-level competitive players using Modern Controls in the future. Modern Controls as well as Classic Controls can be used in any game mode. The game and developers do not pressure players to switch to Classic Controls once they have experienced Modern. Dynamic Controls, however, are intended to be more “easy” than a mode and are therefore only available for local play.

It is believed that A.I. essentially decides, dynamically, which attack to perform as you press the face buttons based on your character’s current position and situation; if a character is far away, pressing the face button might throw a projectile, while that same button might pull off a combo in an up-close encounter. Although button mashing can be a valid strategy with Dynamic Controls you still need to think strategically. You still have the option of manually performing parries or moving the character by using the dpad. It’s clear that the control option is not something I will be using, although it would have made Street Fighter II Turbo more fun to play with my younger brother.

Street Fighter 6 seems to be the most accessible entry in the franchise’s 35-year legacy. Classic Controls are what I prefer, as I have a lot of experience with Street Fighter II and will probably always use them. However, Modern Controls and Dynamic Controls allow more people to enjoy the game.