Street Fighter 6 is shaping up to be an interesting reboot for the franchise. There’s going to be custom characters, an open-world story, and according to a leaked roster, several new characters.
We’ve already been introduced to Jamie, but the second-newest character to be introduced to Street Fighter is Kimberly. She’s fast, nimble, and “excels in sports like track-and-field and cheerleading,” as noted by game director Takayuki Nakayama. She’s also Black, and in an interview with Fanbyte, Nakayama said that it was very important to the development team that they make Kimberly “as authentic as possible.”
“A lot of people on the team are fans of Black culture,” Nakayama explained. “In order to make her as authentic as possible, we spoke with many Black employees within the company. We also hired consultants to help us design the character and her mannerisms.”
As a Disciple of Guy, Kimberly’s Bushinryu fighting style will be at least somewhat familiar to longtime Street Fighter fans, but Kimberly adds her own ’80s pop flair. She never goes anywhere without her Walkman, and her arsenal of attacks includes spray paint–the perfect weapon to complement Street Fighter 6’s new urban aesthetic.
Capcom is prioritizing “open communication” with Street Fighter 6 both in terms of developing the new game and introducing new characters. Or sometimes reintroducing older characters. Fans might have noticed Ken looks a little disheveled in his reveal trailer alongside Dhalsim, E. Honda, and Blanka. That’s because Ken is on the run from the law.
According to the official Street Fighter 6 website, Ken is facing “accusations of orchestrating a criminal plot” that has “forced Ken to abandon his family and business and go into hiding.” So no, Ken isn’t going through a messy divorce, but it’s clear he’s a man down on his luck.
Capcom’s presentation at Tokyo Game Show introduced us to more of Street Fighter 6’s game modes, including its World Tour where players will create their own custom fighters to take part in street brawls in a new open world. There’s also a new Battle Hub online social space where you can challenge people to fight, be a DJ at an ongoing rave, or play old Capcom games.
