Street Fighter 6 Year 2 is well underway, with SNK's Terry Bogard crossing over on September 24. Fans got a new look at him at Gamescom Opening Night Live, with The Best War Games later playing a demo for Terry at the event. What was immediately clear is how Capcom and SNK nailed Terry's presentation and vibe, while also making him fit into the world of Street Fighter 6.
Terry Bogard is a name known in many fighting game circles, with fans the world over loving his personality and movesets. That, combined with his personal story development, saw Terry become an icon for SNK, with Terry also appearing in non-SNK related games over the past few years. He famously crossed over with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate some time back, and his next one will be Street Fighter 6.
Street Fighter 6 nails everything that is loved about the fighter. From his stylish appearance and his stance to his moveset and Super Arts, this is not some Street Fighter 6-exclusive version of Terry Bogard but the arrival of SNK's version in Capcom's beloved fighting game. Even down to the nitty gritty of his moveset, his Buster Wolf feels just like the real thing instead of a new move with the same name. Taking a fighter across properties yet retaining that identity is no doubt a hard task, but it seems Capcom and SNK nailed it with this crossover. We were able to play as him for about 30 minutes at Gamescom, where two things stood apparent: Terry's moveset is complex but intuitive, and his skills excel as a mid-range fighter.
Terry is a Complex, Yet Intuitive Mid-Range Fighter
After checking Terry's combos and Super Arts, it became clear that there were a lot of necessary inputs for his best moves. That's to be expected from Street Fighter 6, but we found ourselves testing his kit and checking the menu less and less as the demo proceeded. Once we performed a move, we found it was easy to recall the inputs as they logically followed the move's presentation. As such, he embodies the "easy to learn" aspect of some Street Fighter 6 characters, but more importantly, it definitely seemed like he was a "hard to master" style of character as well. There's little doubt some fans will absolutely run away with Terry and he'll get plenty of love from the community, and it'll be interesting to see what is possible with him at the highest levels of play.
His moveset as a whole will keep opponents on their toes, as he's capable of quickly closing a distance or hitting opponent from a mid-range position. His reach fits perfectly in with his character presentation, and it's clearly possible to play him in different ways. We found Terry as fun to play as a close-up juggler, keeping our opponent pinned or in the air the entire time, as we did making sure we kept distance and performed Terry's various combos and Super Arts to move in and out of the fight. His moves like Passing Sway, Born Knuckle, and Buster Wolf were great ways to close or move distances and play him that way, while his normal combos, Power Geyser, and Rising Fang aided in ensuring he could easily punish up close.
It's hard to say how Terry will ultimately shake up the Street Fighter 6 meta (this was against AI after all), but his versatility, range, and "easy to learn, hard to master" status will no doubt ensure he makes some splash in the fighting scene. He can do it all, and the game makes sure it feels like that.
Street Fighter 6
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- RE Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Street Fighter
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Arcade
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
