I’m still not done with Tears of the Kingdom. I’ve probably put 100 hours in and I feel like I’ve barely even started discovering all this wonderful game has to offer. I’ve saved towns. I’ve rescued sentient plants. My bird friend and I are about to win a Pulitzer for our hard-hitting coverage of what happens at the horsey houses. And I’m tired.
Tears of the Kingdom is a gorgeous, brilliant game. But it requires a lot of effort to make all those discoveries. I’ve lost hours trying to locate a shrine that my sensor wouldn’t shut the fuck up about. Some assholes demanded I rescue them from pirates and now they want me to go to Home Depot and pick up the supplies to fix the place. It’s not a chore, but it is a lot. So thank God that Street Fighter 6 is stupid as hell.
Don’t get me wrong: Street Fighter 6 is also an incredible game. Possibly the best game the series has had in, what, 15 years? 20? Its fighting systems are deep while welcoming new players with a new ‘Modern’ control scheme. Most of the new characters breathe life into the series. Most of the returning characters look like they’ve been hit by a car and then spit on by the driver. That last one is a good thing. It’s a good game. But its World Tour mode is so deliciously dopey. So spectacularly stupid. So magnificently moronic.
Making a character in a game is always an adventure in absurdity. With thousands of toggles, most custom characters land in two camps: generic boring guy or biological tragedy. True, Street Fighter 6 is pretty far from the first fighting game to let you design your own little kung-fu wizard. It’s not a revelation to the world that you can do it.
Rather, what makes World Tour so fun is that you’re just fighting random people on the streets with that absurd custom creation. Everyone looks weird. Everyone is ready to rumble. It’s like a Yakuza game if most people were simultaneously chill and ready to break your jaw. Pizza guy? Fight him. Mime? Take her down. School student? Kick their ass. It’s completely ridiculous and immediately owns it. Every element of World Tour mode is turned up to the most goofy Saturday morning cartoon setting.
Street Fighter 6 still takes a lot of skill. A businessman will wipe the floor with you if you’re way below his level. It’s embarrassing. But also pretty funny that some old dude is punching me in the face after we politely made small talk a few seconds ago. It all feels like a fight at the bar from Cheers: everyone knows your name; everyone’s glad you came; you’re about to have your arms broken.
Tears of the Kingdom isn’t the world’s heaviest game, but it’s still a bummer a lot of the time. Everyone is sad and afraid and confused about what’s going on with Zelda. Most of the people are absolutely helpless. Even the leaders of towns are like, “Hey, um, can you tell everyone I’m a pretty cool guy so they keep liking me?” It’s so much. I’m a knight in shining armor, a businessman, a repairman, a therapist, and a personal chauffeur. I’m trying to rescue the most important person in the kingdom, but first I have to give magic porridge to a grandma on death’s door.
In Street Fighter 6, I’m just kicking people in the face. Everyone’s a fighter. Well, not everyone. But most people on the streets. Some just like standing in the background pumping their fists going, “Yeah! Yeah!” while not really looking in the right direction. But even they are excited to be there! Nobody’s lives are the result of the devastating conquest of a magical realm. Folks just took free classes Chun-Li offered at the plaza.
I’m being a bit facetious here. There are quests in Street Fighter 6. There are stories to unlock and characters to meet. Not everything is rainbows, sunshine, and spinning bird kicks. But it’s all packaged in a silliness that I sorely needed right now. And it’s not like Diablo 4 was supplying that shit. It’s actually kind of ironic. Tears of the Kingdom is a lighthearted adventure with quirky characters but feels endlessly sad. Meanwhile, Street Fighter 6 is a game about a city of people who want to beat the shit out of you and it feels endlessly cheerful.
Nobody’s bad mouthing Tears of the Kingdom here. It’s still my current game of the year. I’m still going to keep playing it. I’m still going to keep completing shrines. I’m still going to ignore an increasing number of Koroks who just ain’t worth my time. This is, I want to emphasize, one of the best games I’ve played in years.
But sometimes I don’t want to look at 20 unfinished quests and a map packed full of places I’ve only briefly glimpsed. Sometimes I just want to fight someone who’s taking a coffee break.