Why Alex In Street Fighter 6 Is Awesome

On March 17, a new DLC character will be coming to Capcom's fighting game Street Fighter 6. The character in question is Alex, a grappler character who first appeared in Street Fighter III: A New Generation. From what I've seen, I am loving what Capcom did with him in 6, and there are multiple reasons why.

To start off, he's depicted as a heel wrestler this time around, even having the nickname "The Man with No Allies." This signifies that he's going down a villainous path throughout his career and has made a heel turn, much like real-life professional wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns making heel turns after being booed and jeered by crowds. The title "The Man with No Allies" is also a callback to when he was marketed in III as a next-generation protagonist who would be a successor to Ryu, only to be rejected by fans. From my view, this was a genius move on Capcom's part: making being hated by fans part of Alex's backstory, mirroring real-life wrestlers who have made heel turns in their careers. His new outfit also reflects this villainous turn; he still has his red markings around his eyes and fingerless MMA gloves like his classic counterpart did, but otherwise, he's now wearing predominantly black with red accents, namely the red designs on his beanie which match the red markings around his eyes. He basically looks like a darker and edgier version of Alex.

This new outfit Alex wears is a brilliant design choice, because it signifies that Alex is done with being the hero of the story and has turned to the dark side. To use a video game analogy, if classic Alex is Sonic the Hedgehog, then SF6 Alex would be Shadow the Hedgehog. (Which is actually coincidental, because Shadow also happens to be black and red)

Next is his gameplay. From what we've seen so far in the gameplay trailer and the Character Guide video that Capcom posted on YouTube for Alex, he keeps signature moves of his like the Flash Chop, Power Bomb (or Power Drop if used after Heavy Flash Chop), and Air Knee Smash, but his gameplay was also revamped, giving him a new stance move called Prowler Stance which has 11 different follow-up options. He also has new super arts, these being the Raging Spear, the Sledgecross Hammer, and the Final Prison. He even has a new Level 2 super called Omega Wing Buster, which can only be done after an OD Power Drop, where Alex performs Kenny Omega's One-Winged Angel finisher on the opponent. He also has multiple versions of his Level 3 super, two for the normal Level 3 and two for his Critical Art.

Personally, I think it's so cool that he has different versions of his Level 3 super and Critical Art that depend on whether it results in a KO or not, and also the extra Level 2 super he can only do after an OD Power Drop. My favorites would have to be the KO versions of his Level 3 super and Critical Art, because they embody beauty in simplicity. Alex doesn't need any flashy techniques to finish off his opponent. All he needs is a leg lock to incapacitate his opponent so they can't get back up, or just straight up choking them out in the case of his Critical Art. Overall, I love how they revamped Alex's entire gameplay style for 6. And I still can't get over how Prowler Stance has 11 different follow-up options. That's crazy to me; no other stance move I can remember in Street Fighter games had that many options.

As I write this, Alex is just four days away from coming to Street Fighter 6, and I could not be more excited. It's rare that I get so hyped for a DLC character coming to one of my favorite games, and this is one such instance.

One more thing, too: this whole event has also awakened a new interest within me: pro wrestling. I watched a pro wrestling game for the first time ever, that being AEW Dynamite on TBS. And one of AEW's wrestlers, who's signed to it as the leader of The Elite stable, happens to be Kenny Omega, who also did motion capture for Alex and cosplayed as him and the other three Season 3 characters in the teaser trailer for it.