Just out of town for Evo 2022, two more characters have been announced for Street Fighter 6, the next evolution of the Street Fighter franchise due out in 2023. We asked Game Director Takayuki Nakayama how Kimberly and Juri were designed and a quick bio of the duo.
a new era is here
Hit the beat, wave the spray can, and welcome a new ninja to Street Fighter 6. After defeating his master, the 38th Zek, Kimberly invited himself to become a pupil of Gai, the 39th heir to Bushinryu. Kimberly grew up normally, but he is a genius who wants to graduate early and become a full-fledged ninja. She carries her portable cassettes with her players all the time because she’s obsessed with her culture of ’80s pop when she was in her prime.
Takayuki Nakayama: Kimberly’s design aimed to match Kimberly’s speedy and acrobatic movements, which are good at sports such as track and field and cheerleading. Combining a brightly colored jiu-jitsu gi with easy-to-move-in sneakers makes for a Bujin-ryu ninja costume. She has chosen hairstyles and costumes that show off her impressive silhouette, which is good at running and aerial attacks. Her waist spray can and portable cassette player are also used for special moves.
The music she’s listening to belongs to a certain person, but we’ll have to wait for the story to find out who it is. Ninja + pop star = ninja star, let’s take a look at Kimberly’s success.
According to Nakayama, Kimberly’s Technic weapon allows her to utilize her high physical strength and open up enemies in a variety of ways. It incorporates an urban twist to reimagine what it means. She can use her Genius at Play to stock up on spray cans, which she throws on the ground as shuriken bombs. During her Hidden Variable, Kimberly hides herself in a colorful smoke and instantly appears in front of her enemies to launch a surprise attack. Finally, she has her trademark ninja sprint. This can be followed up with a kick option or arc step where Kimberly pops out of her opponent.
something evil is coming
First appearing in Super Street Fighter IV, Juri continues to be a sadistic thrill-seeker, enjoying the suffering of others and taking immense pleasure in obliterating her enemies. Previously, her main motive was her revenge on M. Bison, but since he fell in Street Fighter V, she’s now chipping away at her time in the dark haze. What is she waiting for her now?
Takayuki Nakayama: For Juri, this costume retains the imagery of Super Street Fighter IV, but rearranged to match the Street Fighter 6 aesthetic. Her hairstyle has also changed, and I think it shows her individuality.
Under the jacket, a black tape that imitates the appearance of a spider covers the body. Her feng shui engine colors are purple, black, and white, accented by emerald her green. Also keep an eye out for her helmet on the bike we saw in her trailer, which matches her design. Her smartphone also reflects her personality and style.
Juli’s fans will be very happy to know that she retains many of her past tricks with different traits. Fuhajin returns and Juri performs her upward kick, saving Fuhastock upon completion. Saihasho, Ankensatsu, and Goosatsu have been named new special moves, but they may be visually familiar in the form of low projectiles and jumping ax kicks. However, if Fuha stocks are available, they can be chained together to power up.
Finally, Juri’s Flying Dive Kick, Sixen, is back from Super Street Fighter IV. This opens up more creative options for Juri’s playstyle, allowing her to catch her opponent off guard.
Two new commentators have appeared
In case you missed it, Street Fighter 6 has a new real-time commentary feature, with celebrities from the fighting game community commenting on your fights aloud. He had previously been revealed in June that Vicious and Aru were his two of the first play-by-play commentators. Now you can check out two more legendary commentators.
First, let’s take a closer look at the real-time commentary feature. Tournaments typically have two commentators working together. A play-by-play commentator who specializes in explaining the action with clear and rapid delivery, and a color-her commentator who provides further insight and analysis on the match. This concept is also reflected in Street Fighter 6, where you can choose between both play-by-play and color commentators in the settings.
Joining Vicious and Aru as play-by-play commentator is Tasty Steve, who brings his trademark energy, charisma and hype to his performances. Color his commentators revealed for the first time is none other than fighting game historian James Chen. He is honored to have these two Legends become part of Street Fighter 6 history. We will continue to release voices in the future!
That concludes the Evo 2022 announcement. We look forward to Kimberly and Juri bringing unique personalities to our character roster, and James Chen and Tasty Steve lending their voices to Street Fighter 6. Any guesses?
