Home Gaming Street Fighter V – Beta Round 2 impressions

Street Fighter V – Beta Round 2 impressions

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STREET-FIGHTER-WESLEY

STREET FIGHTER V BRO! Like Star Wars films, proper Street Fighter games only roll around every once in a while, except they’re not rubbish space operas. Street Fighter V is on track for 2016, and Capcom is deciding to get balance issues sorted without the need of  turbo re-release, by beta-testing the hell out of this incarnation of tarmac fisticuffs.

The first beta…wasn’t that great. You’d have had better luck actually landing that big fish that you keep drunkenly telling you friends that you caught that one time on a trip, than getting into a lobby to actually fight someone in the first beta.

Beta round two however, seems to be faring better. It’s testing cross-play between PlayStation 4 and PC, as well as introducing some new characters. So how do they handle then? Let’s break ‘em down quick:

Ken

Ryu’s palette swap is getting even more diverse in Street Fighter V. Alongside a cosmetic upgrade, ol’ Ken Masters feels like a more aggressive character here, even more so than in previous incarnations.

While Ryu can often feel like a reactionary character, Ken is clearly going to balance the defense-heavy nature of that character with an array of offense-heavy abilities. You can pretty much see that in all of his attacks, which work to push Ken toward an opponent, rather than creating a safe space/

It’s still early days here, but I’m already liking the rush-down persona which is finally giving Ryu’s rival a unique flavour of foot to face offense.

Rainbow Mika

The infamous wrassler, is an absolute beast in Street Fighter V. A grapple-heavy attacker, Rainbow Mika extends attacks with Irish whips that set opponents up for punishing beatdowns and heavy damage combos.

The challenge here however, is that Rainbow Mika’s V Trigger skill can be tricky to master. By calling in Nadeshiko to provide some tag-team assist, players can disrupt opponents, but also leave themselves open to counter-attacks. It’s going to require some key timing, to properly utilise this V Trigger to its full potential.

Vega


The Spanish Ninja is an interesting new character to get the hang of in Street Fighter, with the veteran now having access to two stances. Vega is a proper menace in the air with his various rolls and leaps, but he happens to be even better as an anti-air fighter.

The range on these counterattacks are impressive, while his no-claw stance allows for big combos and easy cancels, bamboozling opponents expecting a more straight-forward fight.  The Matador also has a handy dodge, although this does need more testing.

Necalli

Street Fighter V’s first brand-new character is an animal on the streets, Necalli may not be the quickest fighter around, but he’s able to set up moves to get him around opponent guards and close the distance with a slash attack that gives him some armour to survive anything headed his way.

As the kind of character who can rush down on opponents, you don’t want to find yourself trapped in a corner by Necalli. His V-Skill allows him to control the battlefield with foot-stomps that can break up defenses, while his V-Trigger unlocks more power for him the second it fills up.

Opponents will then need to readjust strategies for the powered up Necalli, as his combos, frame data and Critical Art completely changes, mixing up the flow of combat.

It’s an idea that will result in battles being completely shifted in favour of a player, should Necalli players manage to master his transformation.

Last Updated: October 23, 2015

5 Comments

  1. And just like Star Wars films, the only good one is the second one.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      October 23, 2015 at 14:09

      Episode 2? You must be daft
      *Runs

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        October 23, 2015 at 14:11

        lol

        Reply

    • RinceThis

      October 23, 2015 at 15:04

      Ohhhh, gates OPEN!

      Reply

  2. FreddyBear

    October 24, 2015 at 21:25

    “rubbish space opera” – Destiny? 😛

    Reply

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