It seems Capcom has one last ace up its sleeve when it comes to Street Fighter 5, in the form of a new definitive update coming to the long-running fighting game soon. This update is likely to be its last, adding battle balance adjustments, some cute new visual filters and more.
Announced via the official Street Fighter Twitter account, the Street Fighter 5 definitive update lands on March 29, and in addition to the above, will also add new color variants to the Tracksuit costume for all characters, as well as a handful of CAP-JAMS remixes of iconic character themes.
We're not yet sure how far-reaching across the roster the new battle balance adjustments will be, but the definitive update trailer (watch below) showcases a swathe of new combo opportunities for a whole bunch of characters. As such, we're willing to bet the update is pretty substantial - fitting for what will likely be the last set of balance adjustments as we head towards the release of Street Fighter 6.
As per the trailer, the full list of new features coming to Street Fighter 5 via the definitive update are as follows:
- Roster-wide battle balance adjustments
- Cel-shading filter that gives characters a cartoonish look and bold, black outlines
- Pixel filter that emulates an old CRT display
- Eight new colors for the Tracksuit costume, available for all characters
- CAP-JAMS remixes of iconic character themes for Season 5 DLC characters Dan, Rose, Oro, Akira and Luke
Additionally, it's worth noting that the new visual filters are available in offline modes only. Understandable, as Capcom likely has concerns that their visual flair (particularly with the view-distorting pixel filter) could be overly distracting in ranked online play.
Street Fighter 5: then and now
Originally released in 2016, Street Fighter 5 has walked a rocky road to get to the state it's in now. The game launched with a relatively small roster, lacked both story and arcade modes, and featured largely uninspired gameplay for its time.
Now, the original version of Street Fighter 5 is barely recognizable. Through numerous title updates and DLC seasons, the game's roster has ballooned to 45 characters, adding exciting newcomers like Menat and Luke alongside surprise throwback characters like Final Fight 3's Lucia and Rival Schools' Akira.
The eventual addition of new gameplay mechanics like V-Shift and a fully featured Arcade mode has allowed Street Fighter 5 to really shape up into the game fans always wanted it to be, and that arguably bodes quite well for the upcoming Street Fighter 6.
