The “Modern versus Classic” controls debate has been a topic of conversation in the fighting game community ever since the release of Street Fighter 6. Capcom has seemingly cracked the accessibility code by creating the perfect entry point for newcomers to the fighting game genre and circumventing its most significant barrier: execution. But opening the doors for a new generation worries some longtime fans. These players believe that, as fighting games continue to reduce the skill gap, modern control schemes are diluting the skill and satisfaction of execution in favor of gamers who can’t (or aren’t willing to) dedicate the blood, sweat, and tears required of the genre, regardless of how easy it is to perform a shoryuken. It begs the question, then, of whether simplifying controls to bring in new players is hurting or helping the genre.
No Doubt, Modern Is Strong
©Street Fighter 6 gameplay screenshot – Original
You can’t make a case for or against modern controls without understanding their strengths and weaknesses. The definitive case for modern controls is just how simple they make the game. Street Fighter is a six-button franchise. Every game utilizes the three punch buttons and three kick buttons, each allocated for light, medium, and heavy attacks. Modern controls consolidate these separate attacks into three buttons for light, medium, and heavy, with a fourth button dedicated to special moves. Usually, getting a special move, such as Ryu’s hadoken, requires a movement input as well as a well-timed press of a punch button. Each punch button changes the properties of the fireball, giving the player more choice in how to use it and in what situations. Modern controls make this move and tie it to just a single button press, removing much of the depth but opening up new possibilities in its own unique way.
Another example of how modern controls provide this unusual shift in depth is anti-air moves in Street Fighter, such as the DP or “Dragon Punch”. These moves are incredibly powerful when used at the right moment. Dragon punches are balanced around their long punish windows upon block or whiff, and their Z-shaped motion input. These moves are beneficial if you’re able to use them to hit your opponent out of the air consistently, but most players opt to use safer buttons or normals with extended vertical hitboxes, trading off damage for consistency. With modern controls, however, these moves only require a forward input pressed alongside the special button, making them incredibly consistent and just better overall.
Simplicity and Accessibility Are Modern Controls’ Strong Points
The strength of simplified specials also applies to supers. Supers are, by definition, the strongest moves in the game. They are flashy, deal tons of damage, and, of course, usually require a relatively complex input of some kind. With modern controls, players can access these powerful attacks with one motion input and two button presses. A Modern player can use this to catch their opponent off guard with the highly criticized yet highly effective wake-up super. Blocking a super creates a powerful punish window. While Classic players can buffer the super inputs during their wake-up animations and catch an opponent off guard, the difference is in execution speed and whether they can do it under pressure. Modern players simply have to press three buttons at once, allowing them to do it consistently and within a tighter window. Conversely, a Classic player predicting it on instinct is much harder.
But with all this strength and convenience, Modern controls do come at a cost — a fairly large one if you are competing at the top level. Modern controls not only limit the moves a player has access to, but also the power of those moves. Specifically, a character loses about half of their regular attack power, meaning they can’t quite combo as effectively. Traditionally, Ryu can change the properties of his fireball depending on the punch button, but a Modern player doesn’t get access to that level of nuance. The special button automatically selects one version of the special. As for damage reduction, special moves and supers performed in the simplified way deal 20% less damage than they would on Classic.
Modern Controls Trade Convenience for Effectiveness
Despite these limitations, modern controls are still a viable option, and skilled players have proven they can compete at a high level when using them. Some great players are already competing at a high level with modern controls, including Fem!Shep, Tachikawa, and Haitani. However, classic controls remain the choice of most pro players because of their higher skill ceiling and flexibility. Even if a Modern player can access their specials and combos with a press of a button, a skilled Classic player with full access to the moveset and damage output of their character should, in most cases, give the Modern player a run for the money.
Ultimately, the debate comes down to tradition versus change. Those who were and are skeptical about the inclusion of modern controls, and what it means for fighting games as a whole, should seek to understand that modern controls represent a moment of evolution for fighting games. They don’t automatically turn a casual into Daigo. Instead, their inclusion opens up the game to a larger number of brand-new players without ostracizing the people who built the fan base back during the coin-op era.
Anything that is bringing in new players to one of the most niche facets of gaming is a net positive. Yes, sometimes players will lose to Modern Zangief spamming SPD, but that player could be someone who would’ve never played Street Fighter due to its steep learning curve. Or they could have had physical difficulties inputting the motions that are alleviated thanks to modern controls. There’s a strong argument that modern controls haven’t ruined fighting games — they are saving them. The point of the fight is for everyone to coexist, train, and improve together.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Street Fighter 6 – License / Original