With the Rashid update, Street Fighter 6 proves its DLC plan is (almost) perfect

Street Fighter 6 has been out for just over a month now, and surprisingly, Capcom has already seen fit to release its first major content addition to the game in an update led by fighter Rashid.

Considered the protagonist of SF5, where he was on a solemn mission to avenge a murdered friend, Rashid is living a lighter life in SF6. An infuriating livestreamer endlessly parkouring and spinning around to see the sights, it’s great to have him back and see this character in a different place than the previous game, and a growing roster is a good thing too.

But this update doesn’t stop there, and it’s a great proof of concept of how SF6’s DLC setup isn’t just for those entrenched in ranked matches and the online battle hub; it’s for all three pros of the game, including those who loved its single player mode.

You see, Rashid is not just a new playable character for offline and online multiplayer battles, he is also an additional master character in SF6’s World Tour mode. Once you own it, a new side quest appears in Nayshall, the open zone area that is unlocked in the second half of SF6’s story. Complete that side quest to meet Rashid, who works like all the other main characters in the game.

That means that Rashid can become a “teacher” for the protagonist. Your created avatar can adopt his fighting style, learn his moves, and befriend him. As their relationship progresses, Rashid doles out a couple of side quests that will take him to various locations around the world. There are voiced cutscenes and a few comic book interludes along the way.

It’s all lovely, but what impresses me the most is what else joined the game along with Rashid. Capcom is clearly aware that many players will have finished World Tour by now, so new content is required to make leveling up Rashid’s style worthwhile. His solution is simple, but it fits perfectly with Street Fighter: Tournaments.

The two main zones in the Street Fighter 6 World Tour feature stadiums, so both Metro City and Nayshall are ready and raring to go, hosting fighting tournaments for players to participate in. There are daily tournaments, limited to once a day real world entry and with stronger rewards, plus unlimited “regular” tournaments that you can play as often as you like. These are honestly pretty bright.

In Metro City, each tournament has all the hallmarks of a proper competition: round-based structure, brackets, and even commentators. Prizes are available to win or place in the top four. These are endgame challenges, with character levels for these tournaments dating back to the 1960s. The rewards are clearly geared towards helping players with the endgame grind, unlocking skills, and creating characters for Battle Hub Avatar matches online.

In Nayshall, the Tournament takes on a different preset format, where you have to fight against a pre-defined set of opponents in any order you want and in the World Tour format, i.e. with huge health bars, two or three vs one fights, etc. Each completed round gives the player a key that opens a mysterious door below the arena; each unlocked room contains loads of useful endgame items. What’s surprising is that this new side quest line also introduces some minor new areas in the world. Quietly, and without much fanfare.

Each of the tournaments is also home to familiar faces. This is the part that I particularly love. World Tour characters appear here as competitors, giving you the chance to take on Final Fight’s Li-Fen or Thrasher Damnd again, but at a higher level. For those unfamiliar, these World Tour NPCs always base their moves on existing SF6 characters, but are all enhanced with some unique features of their own.

Rashid even brings one of those characters with him. Azam, his servant, appears in Rashid’s quests as an enemy NPC. Azam uses Rashid’s moveset, as you’d expect, but as a bigger guy, he also has a unique and absolutely sick commando grab that makes me wish he was a playable character.

Mega fans of Street Fighter and its extended universe may even find a surprise or two hidden in these tournaments. Fans are said to find a character in a pink gi who rolls, taunts, and shoots weaker fireballs. Although this isn’t actually the infamous Dan, it’s clear that one of his apprentices is racing in World Tour mode, which is pretty cool.

It’s amazing how little of a difference a couple of unique moves can add to even random nameless marks, and the DLC seems to be leaning towards that with content that serves to enhance the additions of big-name characters and flesh out the world of Street Fighter 6 further.

If you’re the competitive type, you’ve got a new character to play with, bringing all the glorious chaos to the meta that such additions bring about. If you like single player, avatar matches, and other casual stuff, there’s plenty for you here too. In this, SF6 does well to make a relatively decent justification for only offering four characters this year, whereas SF5 typically adds six per year as well.

It’s so close to perfection… and yet Capcom stumbles across the finish line, on price. Purchasing Rashid costs 350 Fighter Coins (about $7). However, the smallest volume of Fighter Coins you can buy is $10, which theoretically leaves players $3 out of pocket.

Yes, you can earn free Fight Coins in other ways. Yes, you can buy the season pass and get Rashid by default, but that’s not the point. A brilliant addition is undermined by the kind of cynicism and toning usually reserved for the dirtiest of mobile games, and that’s a shame.

On all other fronts though, Rashid is a huge win, and I can’t wait for the other three characters over the course of the year. Let’s hope Capcom does something with those Fight Coin packs before newcomer AKI arrives in the fall.