Street Fighter: Duel Review

Round One: Fight!

Street Fighter 6 fever is in full effect within the fighting game community, and with it comes an Andriod mobile game that will surely excite fans of the series, Street Fighter: Duel. 

Street Fighter: Duel comes to us from Crunchyroll Games. Developers of Eminence in Shadow, My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero and Bloodline: The Last Royal Vampire, Crunchyroll are no strangers to mobile gaming. Street Fighter: Duel is in capable hands, but is it really a champion in the making?

Street Fighter: Duel takes concepts from most RPG gacha auto-battlers. Begin with the tutorial, see an overhead view of all your characters, tap their abilities to attack and watch till you win or lose. Once the game gives you full reign, players can let it play itself. This type of gameplay is not for everybody. Players who enjoy team building, leveling characters and watching their team go to work will enjoy it. I have played auto-battlers and enjoyed them, especially if the content and visuals are on point. But it breaks my heart to say that Street Fighter: Duel has neither the content nor the visuals to back it up.

Crushing Defeat

Street Fighter is known for having a long overarching story that spans decades. True for the first Street Fighter to Final Fight to Street Fighter 6. Every game is connected, all while having side stories to follow for each and every character introduced. Street Fighter: Duel has no story nor any side story. This is very lazy. Crunchyroll Games could have incorporated something to get players more invested in the game. Jumping into the game to knock out dailies and unlock rewards is not fun. It will start feeling like a chore after a day or two. 

Gameplay is as simple as it gets for an auto-battler. Each character has one of three types that counters the other or causes more damage, like rock, paper, scissors. In battle, players will have an overhead view of their characters and must tap on their abilities when ready. Once all the enemies are defeated, you win the battle and progress. One aspect of the gameplay I did enjoy was the different combos that can be performed. Mix and match your favorite character and different combos can be achieved. It also added a layer of strategy as some combos helped me through more challenging stages.

Visuals are essential in a game like this since you will watch more battles than participating. Visually Street Fighter: Duel does not impress. At first, classic attacks like the Hadouken are bright and vibrant, but the screen looks like a jumbled mess once mixed into combos. Animations look blocky and slow, like a game released five or ten years ago. Auto-battlers like Eversoul have set the bar high regarding animation quality, and Street Fighter: Duel does not come close. 

Save your Quarters

Street Fighter: Duel is a gacha meaning players must use summon tickets to roll for their favorite characters. You can earn or spend money on tickets. The game was very free-to-play friendly and chances are you will roll for your favorite character eventually. Within the first day, I picked up some of my favorite Street Fighter characters without spending anything. That being said, the game has some predatory monetization practices. The home menu is cluttered with different things to buy. I counted at least three different battle passes to purchase. And it just all feels forced like Crunchyroll Game’s primary focus is to get the player to spend rather than enjoy the game.

As a massive Street Fighter fan, Street Fighter: Duel is a disappointment. Highlights included collecting some of my favorite characters and seeing some cool combos. And that is it. The lack of any story is an amply missed opportunity. Visually, the game could definitely be more fun to look at. Gameplay is as barebones as possible and predatory monetization practices are the game’s primary focus. At the end of the day, Street Fighter: Duel is not a champion and should stay in the streets.