Hands-On: Dive Into "Street Fighter 6" on Nintendo Switch

Capcom isn't heavily featured at the Nintendo Switch 2 release, but they're providing two top-notch games previously launched elsewhere. Among them is "Kunimitsu-gami: Path of the Goddess," an unexpectedly excellent title I covered earlier, along with another highly recognized one — "Street Fighter 6."

The top-tier fighting game is set to debut on Nintendo’s latest console next month, bearing many similarities to its predecessors. Players familiar with the title from their experiences on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S will find themselves right at ease, smoothly maneuvering through the menus and diving into both online battles and the extensive single-player mode.

I participated in a 1 versus 1 battle and had fun with a lineup featuring extra characters from Years 1 and 2 of the game. I experimented with fighters such as Aki, Akuma, and M. Bison. Upon release, the game will include all Year 2 combatants up to Elena.

The Nintendo Switch 2 edition of "Street Fighter 6" includes two special modes designed exclusively for this platform: Calorie Count and Gyro Battle. Both utilize the Joy-Cons and offer a control style tailored for less experienced gamers. While these aren’t meant for hardcore competition, they serve as fun additions suitable for social gaming sessions.

In Calorie Count, moving the Joy-Con left or right scrolls through characters, whereas tilting the controller triggers a pre-set combination move. Using the analog stick initiates a Super Art, and pressing either the face or shoulder buttons executes a Drive Impact. Given how straightforward these controls are, beginners find it effortless to learn, allowing most players to triumph simply by waving the controller back and forth.

This move propels the fighter ahead, often resulting in a series of attacks. A distinctive feature of Calorie Count is that victory isn't achieved through reducing an opponent's health points. Instead, players secure a win by accumulating sufficient character movements and calorie burn-offs within a 60-second round, including a critical 15-second period known as crunch time.

Following the match, the game tracks how much energy in kilocalories each character has expended. As an illustration, when I played with E. Honda, he ended up burning approximately 1308 kcal. Additionally, the game provides comparisons using familiar foods corresponding to these calorie amounts. Despite what the title might suggest, this feature doesn’t function like a fitness mode; instead, it serves merely as another entertaining aspect of "Street Fighter 6."

In Gyro Battles, the Calorie Count control system remains intact but introduces an additional maneuver called Driving Parry, activated through pressing either the SL or SR buttons. Designed for those who enjoy the user-friendly nature of Calorie Count controls yet seek a higher level of competition, this feature allows participants greater flexibility during combat. With access to more actions per player, strategic depth increases significantly within each match.

It falls short compared to the precise combat mechanics found in regular matches, yet this mode still demands a bit more strategic thinking and foresight from players.

"Street Fighter 6" is set to be released on Switch 2 on June 5.