Goodbye SFV

Written on May 31, 2023

Talk about a comeback story, huh… I think that's the only way I could really the only way I could explain Street Fighter V at this point. From rags to riches, this game has consistently been able to keep me entertained for the last, and I can't believe it at this point, seven years. If you told me that they would give the game five full seasons of support and it would end with 45 characters, I would have called you a liar.

My journey with this game has been quite interesting since it was the first fighting game I got on PS4. Back in 2016, I didn't even play on PC outside of emulation at various libraries and on my laptop. I also hadn't played a fighting game outside of Smash Bros, Ulitmate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Ultra Street Fighter IV, and emulated Alpha 2. So when I originally got this as a gift from a friend, who did not like it, I was quite apprehensive.

"It was hot garbo." - My friend.

Launch SFV, to put it really lightly, sucked. For a casual player like me, it was super bad. When I could stand the native input delay, the only thing I could play was character stories, survival, and versus CPU. To say that single-player and casual content was thin was an understatement. Out of all of these, the only thing that had a challenge was survival which felt hollow.

I don't actually remember a lot of my time in Seasons One and Two because I played it really lightly. However, I remember not really enjoying it outside of playing Abigail once he was released. Though, even that couldn't really keep my focus. Something about the game was always pushing me away. I realize now it was really the lack of single-player content.

I remember coming back for quite a bit during Season Four, around the time when Gill was released. Seeing all those new mechanics and stuff was really cool. I got somewhat addicted to playing Arcade mode and unlocking all the art pieces. I learned how to play Menat, which was quite the experience.

Over time I think Capcom really turned it around and for the last couple of days, I've been playing the game again on my PC. As an experience today, I can only call it great. There's almost too much content at this point. Arcade, Survival, Story, Trials, Extra Battles, and that's all without touching online play. I don't think there is a game that will be as satisfying as Street Fighter 5 in terms of just hitting a crush counter, well outside of Samurai Shodown. If you haven't given it a try, I'd highly recommend it, even with Street Fighter 6 around the corner.

So thanks, Street Fighter V, despite all my thoughts, you've been a great game that's kept me quite entertained despite your faults. Here's to more with Street Fighter VI!