Street Fighter 6 recently concluded its first season of DLC with the raging demon Akuma, and immediately announced plans for a follow-up. While Season 2 began with the unexpected return of M. Bison, the most shocking reveal by far was the arrival of two guest characters, Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui. Street Fighter 6 players should start to brace for impact, because Terry is just around the corner.
Terry Bogard is the first of his kind among Street Fighter 6 crossover characters, with previous guests mostly limited to an existing shared universe owned by Capcom itself. Hailing from Fatal Fury and consistently reappearing in King of Fighters, Terry is a legendary fighting game protagonist on par with Ryu himself. Likewise, Terry tends to pack quite the punch in his home games, and he may prove twice as powerful in his upcoming guest appearance.
Street Fighter 6 Hands-On Terry Bogard Preview
Terry Bogard's overall fighting skills, Super Arts, and SNK roots shine brightly in a recent Street Fighter 6 demo at Gamescom.
Terry Bogard Will Make Waves in Street Fighter 6's Meta
Street Fighter 6 May Be Following a Guest Character Trend with Terry Bogard
There's already an incentive to design DLC characters to be more powerful than the average fighter, and this has already proven true for Street Fighter 6's Year 2 DLC. However, guest characters tend to take this principle to a whole new level. There is currently a strong precedent in which guest characters from other fighting games tend to be absolute powerhouses.
One great example comes from when Akuma himself left his home in Street Fighter to trade blows in Tekken 7. Akuma is infamous for being broken throughout Street Fighter history, so there wasn't too much surprise when he was a menace in Tekken 7. If anything, there was one factor that made him even more powerful than ever before. While the rest of the cast couldn't jump, Akuma still could.
This was simply done to let Akuma maintain his traditional playstyle, but it had very far-reaching consequences. Developers made Akuma one of the strongest characters by simply allowing him to play with the rules of his home game. Thanks to recent gameplay showcases, it seems that Street Fighter 6 is taking the same approach with Terry Bogard.
Street Fighter 6 DLC is Shockingly True to Terry's SNK Roots
First and foremost, Terry retains all of his special moves from his home series. This is to be expected, but it already sets him up for success by giving him a larger arsenal than most of the cast. Terry's explosive damage potential would already be enough reason to give players a scare, but Terry's most powerful options come from lifting mechanics directly from Fatal Fury.
With his Passing Sway target combo, Terry can dodge an attack by jumping into the background of the stage, then counter-hit his opponent from behind. This move is inspired directly by Fatal Fury's lane system, and is sure to give fans a headache. This isn't where the SNK inspiration ends, as Terry can expend Drive Gauge to empower his Super Arts. The ability to unlock extra Supers without spending extra meter is undoubtedly strong, and will allow players to wield immense damage output if they can safely manage their Drive Gauge.
Terry Bogard Has the Best of Both Worlds in Street Fighter 6
Terry Bogard won't be released until September 26, but developers have already been very transparent about Terry's design. Terry Bogard was featured in a gameplay reveal trailer at Gamescom which enlightened fans about what to expect from his release. Street Fighter 6 will be receiving a major update that includes multiple long-awaited features, but it seems that Terry may have the biggest impact of them all.
It's rarely a surprise these days when a guest character dominates the rest of a fighting game's roster. However, Terry's guest inclusion in Street Fighter 6 is truly a match made in heaven. Terry is just the right kind of character to take advantage of the game's Drive System, while still supplementing it with a few mechanics from his home series. These factors combined means players should keep an eye out, as Terry Bogard might just become the new top character in Street Fighter 6's meta.
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
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, PS5, & Xbox Series X|S
- Franchise
- Street Fighter
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Arcade
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
