Street Fighter 6 is a phenomenal fighting game with a robust World Tour mode and a deep character customization system on top of a solid evolution of the fighting game franchise. With its arrival on the Nintendo Switch 2, the game continues to punch way above its weight class, even on what can be argued to be the underdog of its current generation iterations.
At this point, it has become a tradition. Of course, I’m talking about playing the latest and greatest version of a Street Fighter game on newly minted Nintendo hardware. Like Street Fighter IV on the 3DS before it, Street Fighter 6 on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a near-perfect rendition of the 2023 release. The Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, dubbed Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition, as it still does not quite have enough new content to be warranted the Super or Ultra Moniker from its initial release, is still a feature rich port with some brand new game modes to boot on Nintendo Switch 2.
Realistically, even without new content or an expanded roster affored by the Years 1-2 content pack, simply having a native port of Street Fighter 6 on a portable machine like the Nintendo Switch 2 may enough to warrant a double dip, and as far getting the game for newcomers, Street Fighter 6 on the Nintendo Switch 2 is an excellent port that does not feel like a compromise or massive downgrade when compared to other versions of the popular fighting game release.
In fact, Street Fighter 6 on Nintendo Switch 2 is comparable to the base PlayStation 5 experience in terms of framerate and overall presentation, with the exception of obvious upscaling artifacts on textures, such as skin where a noticeable grain or stipple pattern and banding can be seen where it is not present on PlayStation. Strands and clumps of hair and other fine meshes also look noticeably more aliased in up close shots, such as when selecting characters before a match.
“Like Street Fighter IV on the 3DS before it, Street Fighter 6 on the Nintendo Switch 2 is a near-perfect rendition of the 2023 release.”
Playing Street Fighter 6 in handheld or tabletop mode magnifies the upscaling and aliasing issues while also producing a noticeably softer image going from an upscaled 1440p to 1080p (or lower). One area Street Fighter 6 on Switch 2 does suffer is the frame rate, which does take a significant hit when fighting against generic NPCs in the World Tour mode, likely due to the seamless nature of transitioning between the overworld map and into a fight. Thankfully, Fighting Grounds matches and online battles are all locked at 60fps making it perfectly suited for competitive play.
Additonally, background assets such as NPC density seem to be paired back in select stages, but not enough where it really detracts or changes the overall presentation and feel of Street Fighter 6 on Switch 2 versus its prior console releases. Thankfully, most of the changes and image quality concerns are minor and in motion can’t even really be observed, ultimately making Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 the defacto portable version of the game that looks gorgeous on the 7.9” IPS display.
For those new to Street Fighter 6, Years 1-2 Fighters Edition includes the season pass characters from as the name suggests, the first and second year of the games release, which includes characters like Aki, Rashid, Ed, Gouki (Akuma) and Elena, in addition to guest characters from the King of Fighters series, which include Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui, bringing the current roster of playable characters up to 26.
“One area Street Fighter 6 on Switch 2 does suffer is the frame rate, which does take a significant hit when fighting against generic NPCs in the World Tour mode…
Additionally, Street Fighter 6 includes a fairly well-developed single player story mode called World Tour, which gives players access to their own custom avatar that can travel between different explorable environments, fighting random NPCs, befriending iconic Street Fighter characters while gradually unlocking a steady stream of cosmetics for your avatar and alternate costumes for pre-established characters, such as their classic 16-bit attire. On top of a dedicated Arcade mode, which features its own simplistic but thoughtful story beats for every character, the online Battle Hub, and the Fighting Grounds, there is a lot to enjoy in Street Fighter 6 on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Street Fighter 6, Capcom has taken the time to include three new modes, such as local wireless and two throwaway but fun casual motion-control centric Joycon modes, which include Gyro Battle, a mode where character inputs are wholly tied to quick gestures and Wii-era waggle motions, while the latter, Calorie Battle, ties-in your final score to food items derived from the World Tour mode, which makes for a silly and welcoming distraction.
When that timer ticks down and the bell rings out, Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition on the Nintendo Switch 2 can stand its own ground and give both World Warriors and newbies alike an excellent (and portable) rendition of Street Fighter 6.
