Capcom revealed new details and gameplay for Street Fighter 6’s next DLC character, Ed, during the IGN Fan Fest. Director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto were on hand to discuss changes made from Street Fighter 5 and how he’s changed. Check it out below.
Nakayama reveals that Ed’s stature has been toned down over the previous game. “In terms of the visual aspect of Ed, in terms of his design in Street Fighter 5, he turned out to be a little more macho and bigger framed than they were intentionally going for. For Street Fighter 6, we were able to nail that down a little more.”
Interestingly, Ed’s fighting style in Street Fighter 5 was a precursor of sorts to the Modern control scheme in Street Fighter 6. For the latter, all his buttons now focus on punching.
“It was an experiment for the developers when they were working on Street Fighter 5 to make Ed the prototype of the modern controls we see in Street Fighter 6. However, his move roster has been updated from the past title. It’s not a complete replica of what you experience in Street Fighter 5. We’ve made some tweaks and updates so his Modern controls in Street Fighter 6 are also fun and compelling,” said Nakayama.
“Ed is strong in close-range combat with his boxing fighting style. He has a lot of target combos. Unlike his move set in Street Fighter 5, he no longer has kick moves. They’re all punches. His kick moves are designated to these flicker jabs with pretty good reach. So not only is he strong in close quarters, but also talented in terms of mid-range attacks as well.
“However, he shines brightest when he is up in the face of the opposing character and has a lot of unique combos only capable through Ed. We recommend you get aggressive. Get in there and show what you’ve got.”
Alongside Ed’s release, there’s also a new stage – Ruined Lab. It seemingly teases the return of M. Bison, the Big Bad of the series and leader of Shadaloo. Nakayama didn’t confirm his return but drew attention to Bison’s signature hat. “If you look at the chair in the very center, there is some kind of red thing lying there. I think that’s probably the noteworthy item.”
Ed joins the roster on February 27th, so stay tuned for more details and check out his Character Guide video here. Street Fighter 6 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4 and PC. Check out our review here.