There’s been no shortage of Street Fighter V news over the past six months. Capcom has stepped up their publicity efforts with their latest project in the form of constant dialogue with fans via posts on Capcom-Unity’s official blog, frequent public beta tests, and steady trickle of character reveals with accompanying exhibition tournaments that feature top Street Fighter players. Unintentional data leaks, meanwhile, have revealed hidden assets like alternate costumes that have stirred the flames of hungry Street Fighter fans. But amid the bustle, Street Fighter players have been pondering one important question: where’s the story mode?
Since fighting games emphasize player-versus-player combat over narrative, story modes tend to take a back seat in this genre. Yet as other fighting games with rigorous story modes – like Arc System Works’ Blazblue and Guilty Gear series – demonstrate, they can be useful vehicles for getting players comfortable with the playstyles of their favorite characters, in addition to giving player matches an added aesthetic dimension. Ryu and Ken’s friendly rivalry, for example, marks matches between these two characters as a little more special than usual from a storytelling perspective.
Peter “ComboFiend” Rosas proudly announced on Capcom-Unity’s blog earlier today that Street Fighter V will be receiving single-player story modes for each character. ComboFiend states that the story modes will be excellent avenues for easing new players into the Street Fighter universe.
We [Capcom] knew there would be a lot of new players who are jumping into the franchise for the very first time so we wanted to provide a way for everyone to become familiar with the eclectic personalities of each fighter. Each character has their own storyline that provides background information on what drives them to fight, and what their relationships are to the other characters.
In addition, the story mode will feature full voice acting and artwork by the legendary Bengus, who is well-known among classic video game fans for working on many famous Capcom titles like the Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha, and Darkstalkers series.
While this initial story mode will be presented in still image format, ComboFiend notes that the story mode included with Street Fighter V’s launch is merely the beginning. This Summer, Capcom will release a full-fledged cinematic story mode as free downloadable content. The trailer can be seen below:
Cinematic trailers are a first for the Street Fighter series, and represent a big step forward for the franchise. ComboFiend states that the cinematic story will “[take] players deep into the Street Fighter action and mythology through beautifully rendered cutscenes” as it bridges the gap between Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter III (chronologically, the series goes Street Fighter I > Street Fighter Alpha > Street Fighter II > Street Fighter IV > Street Fighter V > Street Fighter III).
The sinister M. Bison and his Shadaloo organization feature prominently in the trailer, and ComboFiend confirms that they will play a major role in the story. He gave scant details about what else is happening in the cinematic, which has left fans scrambling for hidden clues.
Finally, ComboFiend announced that Street Fighter V will be undergoing one final beta test starting January 30 at 12:01 AM PT (8:01 AM GMT), and ending January 31 at 7 PM PT (February 1 at 3 AM GMT). The beta test will likely include a playable version of F.A.N.G., the bizarre, scarecrow-like assassin revealed last December, who has yet to appear in a beta test.
Street Fighter V releases on February 16 for PlayStation 4 and PC. Players who pre-order the game will receive deluxe alternate costumes for Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy, and M. Bison.