EVO took place over the last weekend and what would it be without a nice new Street Fighter V update for us all? It would be doing us all a disservice given the fact that Capcom had some of the larger titles there and Street Fighter V is the next major iteration to the franchise. Even if Xbox One players don't get to experience it and everything. Remember Street Fighter V is a PS4 and PC only title this time around. This is a bit sad for those missing out as there was not only a brand new character shown off for Street Fighter V out there but also some new gameplay that is fresh to the franchise and a real game changer over all of the previous versions that the Xbox Fanboys/girls will be missing out on.
First up we have a nice new look at a brand new character to Street Fighter V named Necalli. He looks to be a bit too close to Blanka for my tastes to be considered "new" but this is kind of how the whole fighting thing goes I guess. It was the same for MKX and some of their "new" characters to the franchise who truly felt like rehashes of old characters with a new model wrapping. None the less the latest Street Fighter V trailer shows off how he is a savage and has no issue displaying that to all of the fighters in the game. He even has the wild hair that changes based on actions here in Street Fighter V. How is this not a rehash?
Here, have a look at Necalli in action for Street Fighter V and tell me if you don't see the similarities between the old Capcom character and this new one.
Street Fighter V — Necalli
Possessing a wide variety of savage and close range attacks, all of Necalli's moves have been forged through the heat of battle to ensure he's inflicting maximum pain upon his opponents. Making full use of the Battle System mechanics, Necalli's V-Skill allows him to pound the ground with both fists, creating an explosion that damages the enemy whereas the powerful V-Trigger allows him to channel a mysterious energy that changes his hair color and alters his personality for a short period of time. Capcom will be revealing more information on Necalli's origin and storyline in the coming months so stay tuned for more details.
Not only did we get a new-ish character for Street Fighter V but we also had a bit of an update on how DLC, upgrades, and alterations to the game will be handled going forward in this edition. Apparently Capcom is ditching the need for having an Ultra version or a Super Hyper Mega How-Many-Adjectives-Can-We-Add version of Street Fighter V as all of them will be free and have the ability to alter the code moving forward. Pretty much the standard now with games but no longer will you have to purchase another title to get any balance fixes, bug fixes, or even new characters and add-ons to Street Fighter V. The idea is that the disc version is the only copy you will need to buy here.
To go even further, and to entice players to keep playing, all character DLC and other DLC will be available for free in Street Fighter V. Not in the traditional way of downloading a DLC bundle and calling it good but in a way that it will be part of normal updates and you can unlock these things for free with the in-game currency you earn will just playing Street Fighter V. I think someone forgot that "time is money" and that we will have to sink in time to get these things but that is semantics for now. Ideally this is just to keep all players on the same version of Street Fighter V so there won't be any worry that your friends and competitors are using a version you don't have and requiring more purchases you don't want to make.
For those who have a disposable income and lack of time there will be an option to use real world money to bypass the grind of Street Fighter V so you can have all of the characters and DLC without the work. Why anyone would ever do that is beyond me but I guess Capcom sees people doing that and doesn't want to miss the opportunity to make a buck. Kind of like the Krypt in MKX and the real money you can drop to have it all unlocked in one fell swoop. I know I'd just rather play Street Fighter V and enjoy the game and then get the sweet bonuses for my time and enjoyment of the game. Not everyone out there is me though.
So what do you think of the new character for Street Fighter V here? How about all that "free" DLC and updates we will be getting here? Do you think this is going to be the way other fighting titles will go or do you think we will learn a harsh lesson here with Street Fighter V? Let us know down in the comments. With the beta starting up here on July 23rd for those who pre-ordered Street Fighter V I am sure we will be seeing many new updates so keep it here so you don't miss a thing.