TGS 2015: Street Fighter V Plays the V Card - Preview

by VGChartz Staff , posted on 20 September 2015 / 7,173 Views

Street Fighter V is the latest iteration of the premiere fighting game series from Capcom and it looks to continue the momentum that its predecessor, Street Fighter IV, built up and brought to the franchise. Because of the fast-paced nature of the gameplay and short match duration, Street Fighter V was one of the most accessible and popular attractions at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, holding down premium floor space at both Sony’s and Capcom’s booths.

My first fight took place in Union Station. I selected the old stalwart Ryu, though sadly I had no way of selecting his new and ravishing shirtless and bearded attire. My opponent chose Chun-Li. The PlayStation 4 demo station used arcade fighting sticks, not PS4 controllers.

The graphics build upon the beautiful art direction introduced in the last game. The black outlines have been softened a bit, giving the game a more fluid and natural look during gameplay. The lively background animations are also striking and stages feature a new level of interactivity; I inadvertently kicked over a trash receptacle mid-fight. Though I am far from an expert I was able to pull off Ryu’s iconic move set without incident, utilising chains of hadoukens, shoryukens, and hurrican kicks for a rather simple victory.

For my next fight I wanted to take one of game’s new characters for a spin. I selected the recently-revealed Rashid while my opponent chose relative newcomer Rainbow Mika. The stage was set against the backdrop of a beautiful secluded waterfall. Unfamiliar with Rashid’s move set and with little time to learn I resorted to a flurry of well-timed punches and kicks in the hopes of chaining together a combo. I managed to kick up a mini tornado that dealt a decent amount of damage and clutched a close first round victory by executing one of Rashid’s special moves that resembled Cammy’s famous Spiral Arrow. Aside from being adept at kicks and having a fondness for twisters, Rashid is surprisingly nimble on the battlefield, able to jump off the side of the screen and roll through opponent’s attacks, thereby evading them.

My opponent brought out the best in R. Mika for rounds 2 and 3. Mika resembles a luchador wrestler but her costumes prominently highlight her bouncy chest and firm buttocks. As expected from a grappler type, Mika excels at grabs and throws. My opponent managed to call in a fellow female wrestler, wearing a crimson red costume in contrast to Mika’s powder blue, to help with tag team attacks including a surprise body slam from above. She snatched victory with a tag team special move that ended with both women smashing their behinds against Rashid’s face while he hung upside down in midair. The last round came down to the wire and while I was able to shift the tide of battle by performing Rashid’s V-Reversal, in the end Mika got the best of me with a Stone Cold Stunner.

The V-Gauge is central to Street Fighter V's new battle system. New to the game are V-Skills - moves that are unique to each character and allow them to do things such as absorb an opponent’s attack or throw it back at them. A V-Reversal will, for example, use one stock of the V-Gauge to counter-attack automatically.

The V-Trigger will deplete your character’s entire V-Gauge and allow them to use a unique ability such as powering up or teleporting to a different area of the stage. While fighting games are fun as quick pick up and play experiences the real treat will come when fans are able to dig in and discover the intricacies of new character moves and balance tweaks that have been made to the fighting system. For that we will have to wait until the full game launches.

Street Fighter V will release in Spring 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and PC.

6 Comments

llyod85 (on 21 September 2015)

I know R Mika has a crazy revealing outfit, but she looks like she's full-boobing it in that screenshot.

binary solo (on 21 September 2015)

So the V gauge is like the MK meter? I have a Street fighter v-card and I probably won't give it up for this game, since I'm not into highly technical fighters. Tekken and Naruto Ultimate Ninja storm are about my level. I leave SF and MK to the experts.