A recent clip making the rounds on X has poured a splash of gas on the ongoing debate about throw loops in Street Fighter 6, fueling some intense reactions from community members.
The clip itself sees Master-ranked Ken and Luke players exchanging “that’s so Street Fighter 6” bursts of offense, making for a relatively easy target for those eager to point out “everything wrong with Street Fighter 6.” Others, however, have come to the game’s defense.
The round begins with three seconds of neutral before the Luke player Drive Rushes forward, scores a hit from mid-stage, and carries Ken to the left corner where he gets a safe jump set up and proceeds to start throw loop pressure.
After landing four throws in a row, the Ken player wakes up with a Drive Reversal that affords him some breathing room. He then proceeds to take his turn with a Drive Rush that results in pressure and the eventual opening up of his opponent.
This opening is enough for Ken to carry Luke to the opposite corner with a single combo and begin throw loop pressure of his own. Three consecutive throws are followed by a fourth separated by some jab string pressure, after which Luke guesses for game with a futile wake up level 3 Super:
I love street fighter 6 pic.twitter.com/oMuYqOoYKH
— Thunder DeLangis (@ThunderFGC) November 25, 2024
The majority of the ensuing thread consisted of comments decrying loops and more casual players asking why the game lacks a counter to throws, though the clip started getting enough attention to prompt re-shares with other points of view.
One such voice was that of SoCal competitor Anton “Filipinoman” Herrera, who responded to a particular post that insinuated the clip was evidence of an unhealthy game.
“I’ll be the one that does,” he said of players who might deem Street Fighter 6 health. “I seriously don’t get why it’s unhealthy. He guessed wrong like 5 times, lol. One forward throw in SF4 was me putting you in the nastiest mix possible for 40%.”
This points to a general defense retort for Street Fighter 6 that emphasizes the game’s wealth of options against even the most powerful tactics. It’s true that defending players can go for a reversal attack, a Drive Reversal (as seen in the clip), or tech the throw to escape these scenarios. That said, risk vs. reward of these options compared to the risk vs. reward of the throw looping aggressor are notably incongruent.
Perhaps the debate here could be generalized to a question of whether or not players can find excitement and enticement in exploring the revolving doors of options in these kinds of scenarios, or if the emerging top tactics in SF6 are simply as boring as they are efficient.
We ran a poll earlier this month asking players what they felt the biggest issue affecting Street Fighter 6 right now was.
“Amount/release time between DLC characters” came in first with 35.5% of the 2,000+ votes, but the comments section put forward the notion that the game had become a relatively stale and boring experience, in no small part thanks to repetitive top tier tactics, namely Drive Rush and throw loops.
Ultimately, the throw loop debate highlights a larger conversation about the balance between offensive and defensive strategies in Street Fighter 6.
While the game offers a range of tools for players to defend against or break free from these loops, the prominence of this tactic in the current meta raises questions about whether it creates an unbalanced, less enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
As the community expresses discontent and more clips like this make the rounds on social media, it will be interesting to see how Capcom responds. For now, the potency of throw loops will continue to define a significant part of the game’s meta, and it’s clear that the Street Fighter 6 community will have to continue to grapple with them.