In a recent episode of Talk and Block Catalyst, DreamKing, and I spoke on the three arguably best characters in Street Fighter 6: Luke, Ken, and JP.
The idea here is to put these frustrating fighters under the microscope to help our audience fight them, but also to try to tease out the common threads that run through all three so as to better understand what tools tend to make characters the best in SF6. Below you’ll find our discussion surrounding JP.
Unlike Luke and Ken, JP is a zoning character that performs best when he’s as far away as possible. His multitude of projectile attacks paired with the ability to teleport naturally makes him a threat from further ranges, but JP also boasts a handful of powerful buttons that he can convert off of from closer up.
His crouching jab, for instance, is especially useful as it has a four frame start up (the fastest a move can be in SF6) and can be easily confirmed into his cane spin special that knocks opponents back to a range where he can begin zoning them again.
Everyone knows that pressuring JP is a risk in and of itself since he has the unconventional Amnesia counter, the OD version of which beats both strikes as well as throws. This maneuver has proven especially frustrating to the SF6 crowd, though more and more players are learning ways to bait it out and punish it fully.
Indeed, JP has a strong tool for just about every situation in this game, and while there are most certainly answers and means of thwarting most all of them, being ready for the right counter at the right time can prove especially difficult because of his sheer wealth of options.
We discuss each of these particular strengths along with others during the segment, but also spend some time pointing out where JP’s weaknesses are. When you’re just outside of sweep distance, for instance, most all of the boss characters’ relevant maneuvers become commitments.
His projectiles have relatively longer start up times and fewer active frames than other fireball chucking characters, making him more susceptible to jumps and sudden Drive Rushes at the mentioned range.
Neither his farthest reaching poke (standing medium punch) as well as his low-hitting poke (crouching medium kick) can be cancelled, making them both vulnerable to Drive Impact. Neither jumping nor Drive Impacting are coverall answers to beat JP, of course, but understanding when and where to strategically use these maneuvers (and where not to) is a major part of the battle.
Check out the video below to hear all of what we have to say about JP and be sure to leave a comment here and directly on the video on YouTube sharing any and all thoughts you have. If you enjoy this content be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for plenty more.