Street Fighter 6 Introduces Battle Damage & Perfect Attacks For Guile

As anticipation for Street Fighter 6 amps up, we have been getting a slew of information regarding the game. At the Capcom showcase held a couple of days ago, we got even more information regarding Guile. Guile was revealed as the next Street Fighter 6 character on the 9th of June and everyone has been enthralled by Capcom's fresh take on a classic character. While in the trailer everything still seemed the same with Guile, we have now discovered that there is a lot more going on under the surface. 

Of particular interest are two mechanics that may not affect Guile alone but possibly a large part of the cast and that is perfect attacks and battle damage.

In a post on their Twitter page, Street Fighter announced that Guile's sonic boom would be undergoing a slight change. Essentially, the change is that if timed perfectly, you can get a special sort of sonic boom. This sonic boom looks a tad different from the regular sonic boom. At first glance, it would seem that it was merely an aesthetic choice to make the sonic boom look better, but it seems that it will come with other properties too. For one, Guile doesn't shout 'Sonic Boom' when he executes a perfect boom, but rather, 'Perfect.' Also, footage of the game showed that when you throw out a perfect boom, you can link moves you previously couldn't. For example, a cr. MP into a sonic boom can't combo into anything else as a jab won't be able to reach. But, if you throw out a perfect boom, after the cr. MP, you'll be able to link into a jab and Flash Kick. Therefore, the perfect boom gives more combo potential. 

It would seem you can also get a perfect flash kick, although we have no idea what advantages this could give. Furthermore, we have learned that Guile's level one super (Sonic Hurricane) can be altered to hit diagonally making it a perfect anti-air. 

We are unsure if Guile will be the only one with perfect moves, but it would seem that every charge character would have some sort of perfect move that requires precise timing. 

The other mechanic showcased was the Battle Damage. This is not the first time we have seen battle damage in a game, but it would be a first for Street Fighter. You would see that on the screen after winning a battle, Guile is sporting some bruises. This is as a result of the fight he was just in. Sure, it can be classified as a cosmetic change, but it is still something of a novelty. It also seems to be a flex of how good the RE engine is. 

It is not clear if the battle damage mechanic will be optional, but it would be the smartest thing considering reactions have been mixed regarding this feature. It seems a lot of people generally like it as it makes combat feel more real, but there are a handful of people who'd prefer that no changes be made. 

There is still a lot more to come from Street Fighter 6 and we can't wait for it to come out. Street Fighter 6 will debut in 2023 and will feature crossplay and rollback netcode.