Tokyo Recreation Present offered a possibility to check out the most recent construct of Avenue Fighter 6. Though Capcom simply pulled the curtain again on the subsequent batch of fighters to hitch the roster, my demo included the primary playable classes for the final trio of reveals: Guile, Juri, and newcomer Kimberly. Since Kimberly was the wildcard of that bunch, I opted to spend most of my hands-on time discovering what she brings to the desk. After only some rounds, I had a troublesome time wanting to modify to anybody else.
For those who haven’t been maintaining, Kimberly is a ninja pupil of Man who adores the ‘80s and graffiti. She incorporates the latter curiosity into her acrobatic offense, similar to throwing exploding spray cans like they’re shurikens. That’s foolish and unbelievable. She’s additionally set to play a pivotal function within the plot. I spoke to Avenue Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto who advised me that Kimberly, Luke, and Jamie act as the sport’s principal faces to go with the previous guard of Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li. Luke is the star, Jamie brings a technical sport, and Kimberly emphasizes velocity.
Given Kimberly’s obvious significance, it’s good to know she’s a blast to make use of. Kimberly’s swiftness permits her to rapidly shut gaps with assaults that rush opponents. I beloved executing her working step-up kick, the place she walks on after which kicks off an opponent’s face, flipping backward to instantly create distance once more. Or you possibly can comply with this transfer up with an over-the-top powerbomb. Talking of cool wrestling strikes, Kimberly can cave faces in with a dashing superman punch of kinds that she will chain right into a grapple takedown.
Her Hidden Variable assault stands as considered one of my favourite tips. This primarily acts as a smokescreen teleport as Kimberly drops an exploding spray can like a smoke bomb to create a “shock” ambush. I loved utilizing this to disorient my opponent and chaining it with strikes that push Kimberly away, permitting me to instantly regain floor. Plus, the colourful clouds simply look cool, even when inhaling in all of that paint ought to knock Kimberly out sooner than any punch may.
I additionally dig what I can solely describe as Kimberly’s tackle Ryu/Ken’s well-known hurricane kick. The one actual distinction is that she ascends vertically as a substitute of spinning throughout the display, making it nice for punishing adversaries who get too shut, negating aerial assaults, and launching opponents in mid-air. This transfer could be executed mid-jump, and nailing it feels immensely satisfying. That about sums up Kimberly as a complete. She has an entertaining and playful model that meshes properly with the present roster.
A demo isn’t sufficient time to grasp all of Kimberly’s intricacies, however she’s one other stand-out rookie in a sport that is doing properly in that respect. She’s probably the most enjoyable I’ve had taking part in a combatant in Avenue Fighter 6 as far as somebody who favors speedier, agile characters. I am unable to wait to get to know Kimberly higher when the sport launches subsequent 12 months.
