Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object
Capcom has released a brand new “Developer Match” video for its incoming tussler Street Fighter 6 — And the new video is pretty special, as it gives fans their best look yet at two latter-day character reveals: Mighty sumo champion E. Honda, and the spritely young newcomer, Lily!
As opposed to the last video, which was an earth-shattering duel of the titans, this new clip sees the younger and much more diminutive Thuderfoot tribe princess take on the veteran meat-mountain that is Street Fighter veteran Honda. Don’t let her size fool you, however, as Lily’s twin clubs not only provide her with deceptive reach, but she has the might of nature on her side, able to hoist the sumo up and above at will.
Long-time Street Fighter players will note Lily’s use of Condor Spire, Condor Dive, and Tomahawk Buster, as well as her own spin (literally) on Mexican Typhoon. Clearly, the mighty T. Hawk has trained our girl to maximize her strength potential, despite her relative size and youth. Lily’s Super sees her hook her opponent and soar to the skies, ultimately bringing Honda crashing down to Earth.
As for Honda, the gravity-defying warrior brings all of his classic tricks to the party. We get to see his lightning-fast and tough-to-punish headbutt attacks, his devastating Oicho Throw, and, of course, his faithful Hundred Hand Slap. Street Fighter 6 seems to truly embrace Honda’s sumo nature, with a style that seems entirely based on constantly pressing the fight with forward momentum. Honda’s lineage is also reflected in his great super, which seems him burn a makeshift ring to the ground with his opponent’s feet, before attempting to force them out of the circle.
While unsuccessful in this instance, I’m interested to see what the resulting animation will be from his fully charged Critical Art. As an aside, the “Foot Drawing Circle” animation looks pretty painful, and is certainly going to be rough on characters such as Juri, Manon, Luke, and other non-shoe-rocking fighters. Regardless, from this clip, both fighters look pretty spectacular, with Lily bringing a whole new twist to T. Hawk’s style, while Honda ain’t fixin’ what ain’t broke, retaining his frustrating, aggressive, and highly damaging game plan.
Street Fighter 6 launches on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox June 2, 2023. Be sure to check out our other reports on Manon, Marisa, J.P., Dee Jay, Lily, and Cammy, as well as 50 things I loved about the beta, our thoughts on how the game is shaping up, and a list of Do’s and Do Not Do’s for the new sequel.
