The history of female characters in gaming is one storied with controversy and questionable proportions. Fighting games is a genre that’s received some of the most critical scrutiny. You can’t throw a rock without hitting a woman wearing a complicated bikini and thigh highs. So many thigh highs. The Dead or Alive series is essentially only women in bikinis. It’s an issue that’s haunted gaming for the past two decades, inspiring critiques like Tropes vs. Women and The Hawkeye Initiative.
Street Fighter 6 Knocks Out Female Character Design
But during The Game Awards 2022, Street Fighter 6 revealed some gameplay of its fighters, including Manon and Marisa, two of the newest female contenders. These characters have distinct designs and obvious personalities, which should always be at the forefront of the design. But most significantly, these are characters without chest windows, unnecessarily brutal thongs, leotards, or thigh highs. This is a massive improvement, especially after the extremely controversial addition of R. Mika in Street Fighter 5, who managed to combine all three.
Related: All Confirmed Characters So Far in Street Fighter 6 – Listed
Each of the teased female characters not only have great outfits with plenty of flair, they’re also built like they can take a roundhouse to the face. This is a huge improvement that tones down some of the design discrepancy between the male and female characters, giving the whole game a more cohesive look.
Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come, as gaming in general has seen a distinct trend in more realistic and less sexualized designs for female characters. And with 2022 marking record highs of reported female gamers, things are likely to only get better.
If you’re interested in purchasing Street Fighter 6, it’s currently available for pre-order and is set to release on June 2, 2023 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
