Gamer68
Fujin!
So the third and final Beta Phase ended last night, and I thought it would be cool to make a thread about how a feel about Street Fighter V so far and just tear the game apart. I played all 3 Beta Phases as well as some of the Stress Tests, so I feel like a have enough experience with the game to get an opinion on it so far. Of course, changes will be made by the time of the full release, so we will have to keep that in-mind. Before I go on, feel free to post your opinions on the game as well!
System/Gameplay:
Right now, I honestly feel like Street Fighter V is too simple. That's not a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either. Firstly, the game doesn't have much combo potential. In the first Beta Phase, you could do light > medium > heavy combos. They ended up removing that, though. You can no long go light > medium, and this removes a lot of the combo and conversion potential. They did this to make people want to use their mediums and heavies more, but I'm not sure if that's working. Because, secondly, jabs feel like they have a lot of priority in my opinion. There was a few times where someone could just keep throwing out lights and I felt like I could do anything. The light attacks would counter everything I did. Heck, there was few times where I would HIT the opponent, but before I could follow up with another attack for pressure, they would JAB out of it. An example is with Dhalsim: I ended up landing his divekick, but before I could follow up with another attack the opponent started to jab combo me. After the short combo was done, they started to jab me on block for pressure. I heard about this happening to a few other people who played other characters as well. Some attacks in this game seem to be neutral or negative on hit, that or there's some weird priory system in place.
Aside from jabs, I feel like throws have a big place in this game. If you don't like games with a lot of grabs, then SFV isn't for you. Currently, there is a lot of grabbing in SFV -- rather it's normal grabs or command grabs (there's a lot of cmd grabs in SFV, by the way). The least used mechanic/move in this game is probably the V-Reversal. I don't think one person used a V-Reversal on my online, even when they were under a lot of pressure. To be honest, I only used it once or twice online. I'm not sure why it is exactly, but I just don't feel like using a V-Reversal. I would rather save my V-Stock and just work to get out of the pressure, then activate my V-Trigger as a reversal/come-back. V-Reversals aren't useless by any means, and they really can save you sometimes. But I just don't feel like they have a very big place in this game at all.
Speaking of V-Triggers, they are a WAY better come-back mechanic than the Ultras in SFIV; which could take away a large portion of your health quickly and fairly easily. V-Triggers will buff or aid your character in some way, but you will still have to work and get the damage. It's also worth noting that some characters can combo into their V-Trigger. Here's a simple combo with Ryu: Jump-in HK, Standing HP >> V-Trigger, Crouching HP >> Heavy Shoryuken.
Also worth noting as that this game doesn't have chip kills, with on exception: Only Critical Arts can chip kill. There's not much to say about Critical Arts, they are basically just your normal cinematic supermoves. They cost all of your meter (you have 3 stocks). You can also combo into most CAs. So it's possible for you to make a combo like this with Ryu: Jump-in HK, Standing HP >> V-Trigger, Crouching HP >> Shoryuken >> Critical Art. Of course, that uses all of your resources, but hey! It looks cool and does a lot of damage! Anyway, back to talking about no chip kills: I like this, but I also hate this. On one hand, it's nice that I can't die because I blocked a fireball when I only had 1% health left, but the other hand it also means that I will have to work to get my wins more. It just depends on the scenario, sometimes it cool and sometimes it's annoying.
Anyway, I feel like the gameplay was better in the first Beta Phase. There was just a little bit more to everything. But now, it feels a lot more jab, grab, and footsie-based. I'm all for simplified mechanics so it's easier to finally get into Street Fighter, but right now it's a little TOO simple.
EDIT: I was wrong about jabs. Although they do feel strong, there was something I actually wasn't aware of. @KIllaByte brought this to my attention:
As you can see, stronger normals beat weaker normals. So there's that!
Characters:
All of the characters in the game feel unique and different compared to each other, even Ryu and Ken feel more different compared to each other than ever before. Here are my thoughts on them so far:
Graphics/Presentation/Stages/Music:
The graphics are mixed in this game. Most of the character models look fine (aside from maybe the hair) and the backgrounds look great too. But the characters/props in the backgrounds look horrible, and they seem to only be animated at 24fps or something. Some of the playable characters animations can also look weird, like Ryu's light punch or forward dash.
As for presentation, this DOES feel like a Street Fighter game. I really like how the UI looks. The main menu looks great, so does the character selection -- which displays the actual character model and lets you preview colors/costumes.
All of the stages are unique, just like the characters in this game. Here is a list of stages:
The music in the game is good so far. Some of the stage music sounds "meh" but I'm really liking everything else. My favorite tracks are probably the new Main Menu theme, Hillside Plaza theme, and Rashid's theme -- but there are so many other good tracks as well. Like Nash's, Ryu's, Ken's, and the Bustling Side Street theme. The character selection music is pretty great as well.
Final Pre-Release Opinion:
I think Street Fighter V is a great game, but it's missing something when it comes to gameplay. It isn't as open with freedom like Street Fighter IV, a lot of stuff they you feel like you should able to do, you can't. The character variety is great, though. All of the stages are good too, and there really is some great soundtracks in this game.
I feel like there's going to be a lack of content on release, though. Only 16 characters and 11 stages. I doubt there's going to be many modes, and I'm fully expecting the "Story" to pretty much be like the tutorial we see at the beginning of the Beta -- so it's probably going to be disappointing (the story). Even though there will probably be a lack of content, less content does mean that it will be easier to learn. Which is a good thing, because that's what Capcom was wanting. Plus, we will see plenty of additional content post-launch.
I can't wait to try out the full game, F.A.N.G wasn't in the Beta so I'm excited to see what he's like. And of course, some of the stages also wasn't in and the rest of the modes, and offline gameplay/training and so on. Can't wait for the full game!
EDIT: Thanks to @EMPEROR PRYCE for teaching me what an "Option Select" actually is.
System/Gameplay:
Right now, I honestly feel like Street Fighter V is too simple. That's not a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either. Firstly, the game doesn't have much combo potential. In the first Beta Phase, you could do light > medium > heavy combos. They ended up removing that, though. You can no long go light > medium, and this removes a lot of the combo and conversion potential. They did this to make people want to use their mediums and heavies more, but I'm not sure if that's working. Because, secondly, jabs feel like they have a lot of priority in my opinion. There was a few times where someone could just keep throwing out lights and I felt like I could do anything. The light attacks would counter everything I did. Heck, there was few times where I would HIT the opponent, but before I could follow up with another attack for pressure, they would JAB out of it. An example is with Dhalsim: I ended up landing his divekick, but before I could follow up with another attack the opponent started to jab combo me. After the short combo was done, they started to jab me on block for pressure. I heard about this happening to a few other people who played other characters as well. Some attacks in this game seem to be neutral or negative on hit, that or there's some weird priory system in place.
Aside from jabs, I feel like throws have a big place in this game. If you don't like games with a lot of grabs, then SFV isn't for you. Currently, there is a lot of grabbing in SFV -- rather it's normal grabs or command grabs (there's a lot of cmd grabs in SFV, by the way). The least used mechanic/move in this game is probably the V-Reversal. I don't think one person used a V-Reversal on my online, even when they were under a lot of pressure. To be honest, I only used it once or twice online. I'm not sure why it is exactly, but I just don't feel like using a V-Reversal. I would rather save my V-Stock and just work to get out of the pressure, then activate my V-Trigger as a reversal/come-back. V-Reversals aren't useless by any means, and they really can save you sometimes. But I just don't feel like they have a very big place in this game at all.
Speaking of V-Triggers, they are a WAY better come-back mechanic than the Ultras in SFIV; which could take away a large portion of your health quickly and fairly easily. V-Triggers will buff or aid your character in some way, but you will still have to work and get the damage. It's also worth noting that some characters can combo into their V-Trigger. Here's a simple combo with Ryu: Jump-in HK, Standing HP >> V-Trigger, Crouching HP >> Heavy Shoryuken.
Also worth noting as that this game doesn't have chip kills, with on exception: Only Critical Arts can chip kill. There's not much to say about Critical Arts, they are basically just your normal cinematic supermoves. They cost all of your meter (you have 3 stocks). You can also combo into most CAs. So it's possible for you to make a combo like this with Ryu: Jump-in HK, Standing HP >> V-Trigger, Crouching HP >> Shoryuken >> Critical Art. Of course, that uses all of your resources, but hey! It looks cool and does a lot of damage! Anyway, back to talking about no chip kills: I like this, but I also hate this. On one hand, it's nice that I can't die because I blocked a fireball when I only had 1% health left, but the other hand it also means that I will have to work to get my wins more. It just depends on the scenario, sometimes it cool and sometimes it's annoying.
Anyway, I feel like the gameplay was better in the first Beta Phase. There was just a little bit more to everything. But now, it feels a lot more jab, grab, and footsie-based. I'm all for simplified mechanics so it's easier to finally get into Street Fighter, but right now it's a little TOO simple.
EDIT: I was wrong about jabs. Although they do feel strong, there was something I actually wasn't aware of. @KIllaByte brought this to my attention:
As you can see, stronger normals beat weaker normals. So there's that!
Characters:
All of the characters in the game feel unique and different compared to each other, even Ryu and Ken feel more different compared to each other than ever before. Here are my thoughts on them so far:
- Ryu: He was really good in the first Beta, he was garbage in the second, and now he's a pretty good character. He has good damage, he's easy to pick up and learn, and he's still pretty fun. Basically, what you would expect and want from Ryu. He has some shenanigans when he's in V-Trigger, because if you fully charge a fireball and your opponent tries to block it -- it will break their guard and you can get a free combo. You can make them block your Crouching MK, then cancel into EX Fireball (which charges faster), charge it and release while they are still blocking. If they don't jump out of it or jab out of it, you will guard break them and get a free combo. You can also do stuff like make your opponent block your Crouching LK, then quickly go into a grab. And of course, he still has his Crouching LK, Crouching, LP, Crouching MK >> Fireball block string. Over-all, a really good well-rounded character.
- Chun-Li: Didn't play her much in the first Beta, played her some in the second, didn't play her AT ALL in the third. What I've played of Chun-Li in the past, it seems like she's a pretty good character but it's hard to get an idea of what you are supposed to do with her exactly. I also don't think I've played a really good Chun yet either, so I haven't seen anything amazing or "nuts" with her yet. Can't say much about this character...
- Nash: A solid character. I played as him a lot in the first and second Beta, but I didn't get to play as him in the third Beta. It seems that he has gotten nerfed(?), but he still is really good. He's a pretty well rounded character for the most part, but he does lean towards the offensive side. I played one guy who had this crazy block string, and then right after he would finish he would jump-in and try to do a cross-up. He can be hard to deal with. Especially since his V-Trigger allows him to teleport either behind you, above and in-front of you, or above and behind you -- it's basically an instant mix-up. He can even combo into it. I think Nash has more combo potential than a lot of the other characters. He is also one of the funner characters to play as.
- Bison: Played as him a lot in the first Beta, since then, not so much. I've heard that he is one of the best characters in the game (or at least at one point), but I don't have enough experience with him to say -- in the third Beta I think I only played 1 person who was being Bison. But I will talk about my past experiences with the character; he has great pressure. That's pretty much Bison in a nutshell -- just constant pressure. I think most people who play him won't really know what to do exactly, but if you come across one who does, you better watch out. He can push you into the corner with ease, chip away your health consistently, and will keep you blocking and not being able to do much.
- Cammy: I've heard people say that Cammy might be one of the best characters in the game right now, but I have yet to see anything to add to those claims. Cammy is a great character, and easily the fastest character in the game. But I don't think she's one of the bests. Cammy seems to be about getting in, and mixing-up your opponent -- quickly. But I've yet to see a player actually do that. I think every Cammy I faced online I ended up beating, some of them with ease. Cammy is probably one of the easier characters to pick up and learn, but being honest, I don't find her very fun. Her V-Skill is uninspired and kinda weird, her V-Trigger is good but it ends quickly, and her Critical Art is kinda wonky too. It seems her normals are really good though. I don't know, I just don't have much to say about Cammy.
- Birdie: He is a interesting "long-range grappler" character. He can grab you from a distance with his chain, he can pull you out of the air with the chain too, and he can even leap from one side of screen to the other and grab you. Birdie was arguably the BEST character in the first Beta, and even though he is kinda nerfed now, not by much. Birdie is still a very solid character, and he might even be the funnest grappler in the game as well. His V-Skill is one of the most unique in the game, allowing you to 1) Eat a doughnut to gain V-Stock, 2) Throw a banana peel on the floor that the opponent can slip on, or 3) roll a can across the floor that hits low. He V-Trigger on start-up is an anti-air attack now, and he can combo into his Critical Art. He has great damage, great health, and he is just fun to play as -- the goofiness of the character also adds to the fun. A really solid character.
- Ken: Even though he's a shoto, he's very different from Ryu. He has a lot more command combos that he can cancel out of, he can run cancel when he does his V-Trigger, he's way more offensive, and more. Of course, like usual, his Fireballs aren't as good but his Shoryukens and Tatsumakis are better than Ryu's. And his new design also adds to the differences between the two -- he doesn't wear a similar Gi anymore. Ken has some of the most combo potential in the game in my opinion, able to do things like: Jump-in MK, Back+MP, HP >> Hadoken >> V-Trigger, EX Tatsumaki. This combo does a lot of damage, and can literally take an opponent from on side of the stage to the other. He's a lot of fun to play, too. However, his V-Skill is probably the worst in the game. Right now, it's just useless.
- Necalli: A character that has some crazy pressure if played right. His stumps, jabs and ground pound will leave you blocking, and on top of all of that he has an anti-air and command grab. He can get in a pressure you into the corner, then go for a cmd grab, or he can annoy you from a distance and bait a fireball or jump-in. I haven't played much of him though, and I haven't really felt like playing much of him either. I think I only fought a few Necallis online even when you combine the second and third Betas together. I think he's a cool character and I think I might would want to see more of him, but right now, being honest, I'm not very interested in Necalli. It's worth noting though, that Necalli seems to be the final boss if the opening cinematic is anything to go by. I wonder what his story is...
- Vega: One of my personal favorite characters in SFV. I used to hate Vega in past games, but I really do like him in SFV. I like his new design and stance, and I feel like they complement his moveset, story, and personality. His new 2 stance mechanic is also very cool, and I like how his mask and claw is handled now. His new slash special is pretty cool, and so is his command grab. His EX Roll is invincible to projectiles, and his EX Izuna Drop hits while he is jump towards the wall. He's a lot of fun to play, and he was even one of the best characters in the game at one point. He's been nerfed now, but he's still a good character and fun to play.
- R. Mika: She seems like a solid character, but I personally don't care for her moveset. She was really good (possibly the best?) in the second Beta. She could do a ton of damage, and great combos, and she even had a vortex. However, she ended up getting nerfed. Her vortex is gone, and I don't think her damage and combos are as good. And like I said before, I personally didn't care for her moveset in the first place. But I'm sure a lot of people will find Mika fun -- especially if they are fans of wrestling. Can't say much about this character though. I don't think I played one Mika or even saw anything about her in the third Beta.
- Rashid: The character that everyone is sleeping on -- including myself. He's a great character, but no one is really playing as him. No one is really training with him and trying to find stuff either. It's hard to say if he's a great character a competitive stand-point, but I can say he's great at a "fun" stand-point. Wall jumps, rolls, long jumps, divekicks, anti-air projectiles, and so-on. He also has one of the coolest V-Triggers in the game, in my opinion. He's able to throw out a tornado and get an option select. Go for a mix-up, stay back, push the opponent into the corner more, run-in and grab, etc. A fun character to play as.
- Karin: Arguably the best character in the third Beta. Karin has great normals and specials, and you can choose one of multiple follow-ups for a lot of her specials. Her V-Trigger adds rekkas, which of course means more pressure, but they also have multiple different follow-ups too! Karin is so hard to deal with but can be so easy to play, some will consider her "braindead". On top of great normals and a ton of option selects, she also has a V-Skill that can literally crush projectiles, as well as a special that leap over them... and will also give her another option select. This character is a in-your-face character that's practically just one big mix-up. I'm sure she will get nerfed, though...
- Zangief: He's the only true grappler in this game. Even though there's Birdie, plus a lot of other characters that have cmd grabs, Zangief is the only TRUE grappler. He has a ton of health, and dishes out a ton of damage, but you do have to work to get in. He has a new air cmd grab that has INSANE range, his V-Skill allows him to adsorb attacks like projectiles, his V-Trigger allows him to pull his opponents in, and more. Aside from Karin, I think Zangief is the most broken character in the third Beta. Just go to /r/StreetFighter on reddit, and there's plenty of post there showing off some of the crazy stuff Zangief can do.
- Laura: Kinda a weird character. I'm not sure what Laura's play-style is supposed to be exactly. She can pressure you and get mix-ups and set-ups with her projectile, but she's also kinda a grappler. She also has an anti-air and a weird elbow attack, which has an option select. I think the best way to describe her is being a pressure character (like Bison and Necalli) mixed with a semi-grappler like R. Mika. She's interesting for sure, but I need to play and see more of her to get and idea of what she's really like.
- Dhalsim: Last but not least, Dhalsim. The only TRUE zoner in SFV, and he's a great one -- and redesigned! He has a new design, a new stance, new moves, and his fireball has been changed. His fireball now archs, so it acts like an anti-air, overhead, and projectile all in one. The EX version is his classic straight projectile, but it does 2 hits. His V-Skill allows him to hover in the air for a short amount of time, and his V-Trigger has him lighting the floor in flames -- which slowly turns the opponents health into Grey Health if they are around it. And of course, his normals are long-ranged attacks. He seems a lot funner in this game, and I like his new design. But one thing remains the same: I have no idea what to do with Dhalsim. I've seen people play this character and make him look amazing, but I just don't know what to do with him when I'm playing. I new more time with the character before I can truly say rather or not a like him.
Graphics/Presentation/Stages/Music:
The graphics are mixed in this game. Most of the character models look fine (aside from maybe the hair) and the backgrounds look great too. But the characters/props in the backgrounds look horrible, and they seem to only be animated at 24fps or something. Some of the playable characters animations can also look weird, like Ryu's light punch or forward dash.
As for presentation, this DOES feel like a Street Fighter game. I really like how the UI looks. The main menu looks great, so does the character selection -- which displays the actual character model and lets you preview colors/costumes.
All of the stages are unique, just like the characters in this game. Here is a list of stages:
- Bustling Side Street (China)
- Union Station (London)
- Forgotten Waterfall (New Zealand)
- Kanzuki Estate (Japan)
- Hillside Plaza (Brazil)
- Underground Arena (Russia)
- City in Chaos (New York)
- Apprentice Ally (India)
- Shadowloo owned landing field (Actual name unknown, location unknown)
- Lair of Four Kings (Location unknown)
- The Grid (Training stage, location unknown)
The music in the game is good so far. Some of the stage music sounds "meh" but I'm really liking everything else. My favorite tracks are probably the new Main Menu theme, Hillside Plaza theme, and Rashid's theme -- but there are so many other good tracks as well. Like Nash's, Ryu's, Ken's, and the Bustling Side Street theme. The character selection music is pretty great as well.
Final Pre-Release Opinion:
I think Street Fighter V is a great game, but it's missing something when it comes to gameplay. It isn't as open with freedom like Street Fighter IV, a lot of stuff they you feel like you should able to do, you can't. The character variety is great, though. All of the stages are good too, and there really is some great soundtracks in this game.
I feel like there's going to be a lack of content on release, though. Only 16 characters and 11 stages. I doubt there's going to be many modes, and I'm fully expecting the "Story" to pretty much be like the tutorial we see at the beginning of the Beta -- so it's probably going to be disappointing (the story). Even though there will probably be a lack of content, less content does mean that it will be easier to learn. Which is a good thing, because that's what Capcom was wanting. Plus, we will see plenty of additional content post-launch.
I can't wait to try out the full game, F.A.N.G wasn't in the Beta so I'm excited to see what he's like. And of course, some of the stages also wasn't in and the rest of the modes, and offline gameplay/training and so on. Can't wait for the full game!
EDIT: Thanks to @EMPEROR PRYCE for teaching me what an "Option Select" actually is.
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