The June 2022 State of Play PlayStation presentation revealed the first official trailer for Street Fighter 6 since the teaser in February, along with a few of the characters in its roster. At the moment, there are five confirmed fighters, and more may be announced in the time leading up to Street Fighter 6's release. The trailer has a mix of returning and new characters, along with one stealthily slipped in at the end.
In the State of Play trailer, returning fighter Luke is shown practicing his boxing moves on a punching bag before it cuts to someone - possibly either Luke or Ryu - walking the streets of somewhere called "Metro City" if the neon sign shown on a skyscraper is to be believed. Street Fighter's Luke and Balrog are among the best video game boxers, and it looks like Luke will return in a new open-world format that hopefully will allow for a more fleshed-out game that isn't just limited to the series' famous brawls. Few details on Street Fighter 6 are available so far, but it promises to be an innovative and colorful game with an entirely new combat system.
Each of Street Fighter's characters has their own unique fighting style, as well as backstories that help them feel more three-dimensional. Perhaps the most famous, Ryu, practices the Ansatsuken martial art, while another big Street Fighter name, Chun-Li, uses a form of Chinese Kempo mixed with various other disciplines. The wide variety of playstyles is a part of what makes the series so enjoyable, and will hopefully make a return in Street Fighter 6. Whether M. Bison, one of the 90s-era's most difficult bosses and Street Fighter's iconic final encounter, will return along with other fighters is yet to be revealed, but hopefully at least a couple of past villains will make an appearance.
The First Fighter Revealed In Street Fighter 6's State of Play Trailer Was Luke
Luke was the first fighter shown in the State of Play trailer for Street Fighter 6, and also featured in the February teaser trailer. He first debuted in Street Fighter 5 as the last DLC character. After his father was killed in a terrorist attack when he was a child, he ed the military in hopes of becoming strong, but left at the suggestion of Guile after he found that he wasn't obtaining the kind of strength he was looking for. He's now apparently a contractor for PMC who teaches mixed martial arts, and his prominence in both trailers appears to set him up as a major character in Street Fighter 6, perhaps even a co-protagonist.
Street Fighter 6's trailer showed Luke's new look, as he sports quite a different appearance from SFV. His hair is darker than the bright blond of his first incarnation, and he has prominent facial scars that call back to the bandage he sported on the bridge of his nose. His clothing reflects the stars and stripes motifs from his old body tattoos, and he has a new set of orange gloves that have black on the inside rather than blue, although he still has his dog tags around his neck. Like in SFV, Luke uses an offense-focused American MMA fighting style that blends techniques and moves from many different disciplines, but he appears to focus on boxing in the trailer. Luke has been called the future of Street Fighter by Capcom, so it will be interesting to see how his character unfolds in Street Fighter 6.
Chun-Li Was The Second Fighter Revealed In Street Fighter's New Trailer
Chun-Li, like Ryu, is a classic Street Fighter character that's been with the series almost since its inception, and was the second fighter shown in Street Fighter 6's trailer. She was taught martial arts by her father from a young age, and later in life became an Interpol operative investigating the Shadaloo organization. She swore revenge on M. Bison for murdering her father, which she got in the Street Fighter 5 expansion, A Shadow Falls, with the help of the other fighters. In Street Fighter 6, she's now a kung-fu instructor who cares for Li-Fen, a girl she rescued in A Shadow Falls. It's possible - but unconfirmed - that this is the woman she's shown fighting against and easily defeating in the trailer.
Chun-Li's Street Fighter 6 appearance is quite different from most of her iterations, as well as her secret costumes in the various Street Fighter games. Her signature qipao is a lighter blue, and her tights are now blue instead of brown. Her ox-tail hair style lacks the white wrappings in her most well-known appearance, and her bracelets no longer have spikes. Chun-Li's fighting style doesn't seem to have changed much if the trailer is accurate; it takes from the many different disciplines she's studied, including capoeira, karate, and taekwondo, incorporating them all into her own unique fighting style that's focused on powerful kicks and agile movements.
Ryu Was The Third Revealed Fighter In Street Fighter 6's New Trailer
Ryu is one of the most recognizable characters in the Street Fighter series, and was revealed third in Street Fighter 6's trailer. After being orphaned as a boy, he is taught martial arts by Gouken, and once grown, journeys the world to hone his skills and ponder his true purpose, facing Street Fighter's powerful character roster along the way. Over the course of various tournaments, he struggles against the Dark Hado - or Satsui no Hado - within him, eventually managing to seal it away using the Power of Nothingness. In Street Fighter 6, he's now overcome his dark side, and is seeking to become even stronger than ever.
Ryu's appearance hasn't changed much from past incarnations, with the exception of his new beard. He's exchanged the upper part of his gi for a long red headband, and has gloves and sandals instead of bare hands and feet, along with wrappings around his midsection. He presumably still practices the Ansatsuken martial art taught to him by Gouken, which has classic moves like the Hadoken and Shoryuken.
Jamie Was Revealed Fourth In Street Fighter 6's State of Play Trailer
The fourth fighter to be revealed in the Street Fighter 6 trailer is one not featured in even the best Street Fighter games, Jamie. Unlike the others, Jamie is an entirely new character, and most of his past and backstory are unknown. It is known, however, that he has taken it upon himself to be a peacekeeper in his home of Chinatown, and idolizes the Twin Dragons of Street Fighter, Yun and Yang. He's described as a dancer who values justice and friendship on the Street Fighter 6 website, and may be friends with Luke due to their appearance together in the trailer.
Jamie uses a Zui Quan fighting style, also known as the Drunken Fist. It involves imitating the actions of intoxicated people and making unpredictable moves, but not actually imbibing alcohol. However, Jamie does drink out of a gourd canteen that he keeps on his waist in the trailer, so it's entirely possible there's a more tangible soure from some of his fighting game combos in Street Fighter 6. He also incorporates breakdancing into his fighting style, evidenced both in his fights against a group of masked enemies and with Luke.
Kimberly Was Stealthily Revealed In Street Fighter 6's Trailer
In addition to Jamie, another new fighter was revealed in Street Fighter 6's trailer, although they may have gone mostly unnoticed. For a brief moment, a new character named Kimberly appeared when the trailer was showing off the Battle Hub. This fighter is largely mysterious, and is not yet featured on Street Fighter 6's official website. The promise of multiple new fighters is an exciting one, and hopefully more new faces will be in Street Fighter 6's final roster once Capcom chooses to finally reveal in its entirety.
Source: Street Fighter 6