In anticipation of Street Fighter 5’s (SF5) release tomorrow, February 16, Sony PlayStation treated the franchise’s Filipino fans to an exclusive night out with the game’s beta release demoed by Singaporean professional fighting games player Kun Xian Ho.
The fifth main entry to the Capcom-produced series, Street Fighter 5 takes place between Street Fighter 3 and Street Fighter 4. Mainstays such as Ryu, Ken, M. Bison, Chun-Li, Cammy, Dhalsim, and Zangief make their return, while characters such as Akuma and Sagat will be absent from the roster due to—according to Capcom—game balance issues. All in all, 22 playable characters have been revealed, 16 of which will be available from the get-go, with the remaining six to be launched throughout 2016.
Besides an updated roster and improved visuals, the game debuts a couple of minor and major tweaks under the hood. First, chip damage has been completely removed, meaning matches will no longer end with a blocked attack knocking out the defender in anticlimactic fashion.
Second, the first few frames on a backdash will no longer result in invincibility. Though it can still be used to get out of an attack’s range, the move can easily be punished with a forward-travelling punch or kick.
Third, Street Fighter 5 will feature easier attack links for longer combos. As opposed to the previous title’s one or two frame window, SF5 will have at least a three frames buffer. With the change, newbies will find it easier to chain attacks, while the pro scene will see less dropped combos.
Lastly, the Revenge Gauge has been replaced by the Variable Gauge which determines the availability of the V-Skill, V-Reversal, and V-Trigger abilities. Filled through receiving damage, the new gauge allows for the activation of unique moves and stat boosts in the case of V-Skill and V-Trigger, while it allows for the execution of a counter attack in the case of V-Reversal. The V-Gauge also resets every round, encouraging players to empty it as often as they can.
One of the event’s highlights included Xian giving the Filipino fans a tutorial session wherein he gave professional advice to the country’s aspiring amateurs. He also took some of the fans to school via a one-on-one match in the SF5 beta. Moreover, the fans got to participate in a 32-man bracket tournament with the overall champion moving on to face Xian, the grand prize being a Mad Catz Arcade FightStick TE 2.
Street Fighter 5 will be available for PS4 and Microsoft Windows users, and will feature cross-platform play.