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The pros and cons of modern vs classic controls in Street Fighter 6
SF6's new control scheme is labeled as Modern, but is it the right fit for players new and pro? What's the difference between Modern and Classic controls and which one is right for you?
Street Fighter 6's Modern vs Classic controls. Which one is better? The new Modern scheme binds special moves to a single button. Is this a revolution that will expand the player base or will the phasing out of the quarter-circle forward dilute the game?
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Modern controls explained
When Street Fighter 6 was released on June 2, 2023, a debate followed regarding the game's inclusion of a new Modern control scheme that purported to make playing Street Fighter 6 simpler and more fun. Many who considered Street Fighter too hard to get into suddenly became more interested in the release. While the original Street Fighter Classic controls remained, experienced players felt a twinge of concern that the Modern scheme would dilute the player base. This led to the question of Modern vs Classic controls, which one is better?
But what are Modern controls? Street Fighter is known as a six-button fighting game. This translates to there being six different attacks, one each for light, medium and heavy versions of punches and kicks. Classic controls retain this arrangement. However, the Modern control scheme reduces the system to just four attack inputs. A single button each for a light, medium and heavy attack, with the fourth button reserved for special moves. Modern controls also removes the elaborate stick movements needed to perform these special moves.
Under the Classic scheme, to perform Ryu's Hadouken, the player would need to input a quarter circle forward with the stick followed by pressing one of the three punch attack buttons. Under the Modern scheme, the player can simply press the special move button.
Hadoukens are awesome
© Capcom
Capcom created this Modern control scheme to entice new players to Street Fighter 6. One of the biggest hurdles new players face is how complicated control inputs can get. It can be a major turn-off for some people, who just want to throw fireballs and uppercuts at each other only to be told that they need to practice incessantly to build up the required muscle memory to do them.
The Modern control scheme is designed to remove that hurdle and let any player jump in and have a good time. Capcom put a lot of time and effort into making Street Fighter 6 look and play amazingly, so, of course, they would want the maximum number of people playing it.
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SF6 modern controls: pros and cons
There are pros and cons to Modern controls. On the pro side, it can make Street Fighter 6 accessible to a wider audience. It can let anyone with a passing curiosity play the game and have a chance against anyone else. Modern controls can also act as a gateway for players to learn about the real way to play Street Fighter or any fighting game.
Controlling Street Fighter can be tricky
© Jason Halayko/Red Bull Content Pool
The trick to playing fighting games isn't solely in the execution of special moves. Being able to pull off a Shoryuken is all well and good, but the key is to know when is the right time. If a player goes online and tries to win matches by showing off how they can do non-stop Shoryukens, they'll very quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the K.O. screen. What they needed to have learned was that the right time to perform a Shoryuken is when your opponent jumps toward you. As an anti-air move, the rising uppercut of the Shoryuken will neatly punish anyone for very obviously jumping at you.
Therefore, rather than a new player putting all their efforts into practising the stick gymnastics needed to perform forward, down, diagonal forward and punch in quick succession, Modern controls mean they only have to remember to press the special move button and forward. While that may sound initially like a bit of a cop-out, we need to remember that fighting games are fast and it can be hard for new players to know how best to react when an opponent is bearing down.
With Modern controls, this new player has the how-to-execute hurdle removed from their game. The one that remains is when-to-execute, which is the much more important lesson. As a result, this new player is learning the fundamentals of becoming a good Street Fighter 6 player first, before the tedium of memorising button inputs.
Guile's Somersault Kick is another useful anti-air move
© Capcom
Modern controls also give players an assist button, which when held while mashing an attack button will result in a useful combo that otherwise would have required a more complicated series of inputs. The same principle as before applies here. Through easier inputs, players gain an understanding of the benefits of effective combo strings over just hitting random attack buttons.
However, Modern controls aren't a golden path to a sure victory. To accommodate a special move button and easier inputs, some of each character's moves had to be taken away. As said earlier, Street Fighter is a six-button fighting game, with each button corresponding to a light, medium or heavy punch or kick. Reducing that down to three buttons takes away three of those moves. Effectively removing half of a player's attack options.
This might seem inconsequential at first, because the player has an easier time performing special moves. However, all those lost basic attack moves represent other possible ways to extend a combo. Combos are more than just fun things fighting game players harp on about, they represent sustained damage to your opponent. Someone can't attack you if you can keep up a relentless barrage of attacks on them. With fewer moves available to a player, the ability to keep up the offensive is lessened.
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Best and worst SF6 characters for Modern controls
There are some Street Fighter 6 characters that really benefit from Modern controls. Characters who have command-grabs, like E. Honda and Manon, each have a throw hiding behind a half-circle stick input. This can be very hard to pull off when under pressure. Changing this to a simple button and direction press means new players will get a chance to actually use it and understand its utility. This is doubly true for Zangief, who has two very useful throws that require a full circle of the stick and can be very challenging to pull off, especially because one can only be done while in the air. Again, Modern controls make this a simple button press.
Zangief's throw moves are super powerful, but also difficult to perform
© Capcom
Some characters miss out on a lot when you use Modern controls with them however. Charge characters like Blanka and Chun-Li especially. Blanka, as a mix-up character, needs to have a lot of variety in high and low attacks to break an opponent's guard. In the Modern control scheme, Blanka loses an overhead attack that can break through a player who's crounch guarding, severely limiting his potential.
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Classic controls explained
Modern controls haven't replaced the original ones. The Classic scheme is still available in all its glory, where some move inputs have been the same since the original Street Fighter way back in 1987.
Gameplay from the very first Street Fighter
© Capcom
As stated earlier, the Classic scheme retains Street Fighter's six-button layout, with three buttons for light, medium and heavy kicks, and the same three kinds for punches. Therefore, Classic controls give players access to the full selection of a character's move list.
There will even be some character's special moves that are wholly lost in the Modern control scheme. For example, Jamie's The Devil Inside move, which is used to power up Jamie's other moves and even unlock new ones like Bakkai and Tenshin, is nowhere to be found in his Modern moveset. Classic players have access to it, though, and are free to amp up their moves to experience Jamie’s full fighting potential.
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SF6 classic controls: pros and cons
Classic controls allow players to unlock a character's full potential by giving them all the possible options for stringing together combos and reacting to their opponent's strategies. What the Classic control scheme represents is a much higher skill ceiling for players. There's a reason why all the pro Street Fighter players play with Classic controls – it gives them access to all available tools.
Adel 'Big Bird' Anouche wins Red bull Kumite 2023
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
One way of thinking about it is the difference between using a manual and an automatic car. An automatic can take the stress and complication of gear changing away from the driver, but at the cost of engine control. Someone might find driving up a sharp incline difficult in an automatic because they can't drop down a gear for more power. Modern controls are like driving an automatic, but Classic controls allow players to pick the right move for the current situation.
Classic control cons come in the form of them being a lot more involved to use. A player will need to memorise a wider array of move inputs, some of which can be quite difficult to master. For example, to perform Cammy's Delta Red Assault Super Art, you need to input down, diagonal forward, forward, down, diagonal forward, forward and punch rapidly. It's quite a feat to do this at the right moment in a match without telegraphing what you're about to do. It’s not surprising that new players can feel overwhelmed when they learn that the most powerful moves are locked behind elaborate stick movements.
Street Fighter 6 tips from pros and events
Is modern or classic better?
It doesn't come down to an overall which is better. It depends on which of the two schemes is right for you at a certain time. Modern controls can be seen as an alternative learning route. Rather than having to study control inputs first, a new player can first study which moves are best to use in different situations. Once they understand those fundamentals, they can switch to Classic controls and learn the full inputs to gain access to another suite of moves for their character.
The inclusion of a Modern control scheme is Capcom's attempt to welcome new players to Street Fighter and ensure they have fun, but Classic controls are where a player can start to get serious and more competitive. The real winner in the showdown between Classic and Modern controls is us. They represent options for players of all different levels, so we can all have fun playing Street Fighter 6 together.
