Ed was recently released as the third DLC character for Street Fighter 6. Needless to say, Ed has seen a number of changes to his kit since his debut in Street Fighter 5.
One change that’s very easy to notice is how the fighter will no longer perform any kicks. It’s may be a bit jarring to those familiar with Street Fighter 5’s take on Ed, but it also does make some semblance of sense considering how Neo Shadaloo’s leader was trained to fight by Balrog.
Regardless, the decision to exclude kicking from Ed’s moveset was an intentional one designed “to respect his background as a traditional boxer,” according to Capcom through the PlayStation Blog back when Ed’s moves were first showcased. The only move in which he doesn’t throw a punch is his level 2 Super Art, the Psycho Cannon.
Rather than using his legs, the traditional kick buttons for Ed will now have him performing various flicker attacks. As such, the boxer is now labeled as a “Tricky” type character who excels at “Long-range” that is “Hard” to use on the character select screen.
In a recent interview with GameSpot, Street Fighter 6 Director Takayuki Nakayama talked a bit about Ed’s design process. It turns out that the developers consulted a professional boxer regarding Ed’s motion capture.
“When we did the motion capture for Ed, [we] worked with a professional boxer to accomplish that,” said Nakayama. “[We] were able to discuss the specific traits of a boxer that Ed needs to have.”
This process apparently caused various changes to what was originally planned for the character. Needless to say, it’s clear that Ed’s movements and mannerisms do greatly resemble that of a boxer’s.
Apparently, Ed’s idle pose was initially different. However, the conversations with this unnamed professional boxer eventually resulted in Capcom changing the animation to better suit a boxer.
“Actually, over time, his neutral standing pose changed just through these discussions,” continued Nakayama. “[We] were happy to be able to work with another professional to really nail down his movements.”
Though Ed no longer performs kicks, just like a traditional boxer, this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not using his legs. Footwork is actually an extremely important element in boxing.
Upon meeting up with Ed in the World Tour mode, as seen in his first trailer, Ed is fending off multiple Box Heads, with the Shadaloo emblem engraved at the front, all by himself. Due to the train’s unpredictable bumps, Ed’s opponents frequently lost their balance while Ed was able to maintain his stance at all times.
