Meet Arjun in SF6: Thrilling gameplay but controversial character design

Arjun joins Street Fighter 6 (SF6) as the second DLC character of Season 4. The release date is Oct. 13.

To ignite early excitement, Capcom released an Arjun gameplay trailer. The video showcases the movesets and lets us take a look at this new addition to the series’ roster.

SF6 is the first game that features Arjun, making him another newcomer to the Street Fighter series. Arjun is the second character from India, alongside Dhalsim. Both practice yoga, but they look and fight very differently.

The controversy around the gameplay reveal is all about praising the moveset and criticizing the design.

Table of contents

• Arjun’s playstyle and moveset to satisfy Street Fighter 6 players
• Criticism of the character design explained
• Who is Arjun in Street Fighter lore?

Arjun’s playstyle and moveset to satisfy Street Fighter 6 players

Arjun mixes many super strong moves in his moveset: a command grab, an armored move, quick dashes, projectiles, and more.

• Arm of Justice is Arjun’s special move. This massive punch is safe on block, has a follow-up, and deals significant chip damage.
• Cruel Shoulder is a dash forward, a shoulder attack. The heavy version is plus on block, making the move a scary approaching tool.
• Breathing Ring and Breathing Shockwave can create a whirl of air and shoot it as a quick projectile.
• Divine Pillar pulls the ground up, hitting opponents from beneath. Arjun can grab the pillar and swing it as a club.

• With his command grab, Ghastly Interrogation, Arjun deals recoverable damage. If the opponent already has gray health, the damage becomes normal.
• Cat-Cow is a special armored state. Arjun absorbs hits and counter-attacks automatically to deal recoverable damage. This state has a far-reach follow-up attack, Moral Breakdown.
• Arjun’s Level 1 and 2 Supers are based on air shooting. Level 1 is invincible on startup. Level 2 pushes the opponent away.
• Level 3 creates illusions for the victim and deals great damage.

Arjun’s playstyle breakdown

Combined with huge and strong normals, Arjun can be a powerful pick in the Street Fighter 6 meta. People predict him to be a dangerous character, and they like this part of Arjun.

At the same time, players can’t yet figure out Arjun’s archetype in the game. He has received a mix of powerful techniques to smash opponents. Low speed somewhat compensates for this.

The gameplay trailer leaves an impression of Arjun as a hard-to-figure-out but potentially broken character. In normals, he is very similar to other characters, specifically Marissa. With specials, Arjun just breaks the natural limitations of heavy-hitters and grapplers.

Criticism of the character design explained

Arjun has received some negative feedback in the fighting games community (FGC), too. Specifically, people are criticising the design decisions by Capcom. We can highlight a few common points.

• Arjun is a generic character who looks like an NPC from the World Tour.
• His animations resemble moves of other Street Fighter characters.
• The textures in the trailer are poor and need to be polished to look good in the game.

Generic character: Arjun is a massive muscular man with long hair and beard. That’s pretty much it about him. People complain that Arjun lacks the uniqueness of other characters in the SF6 roster — in terms of his appearance and backstory.

Reused animations and postures: Careful explorers have noted many resemblances in Arjun’s animations, specifically with Marissa, E. Honda, and Dhalsim. In some moves, the character looks a lot like Zangief.

Poor textures: Arjun doesn’t look good for a modern game character. His overall textures are rather vague, without details, as if we are looking at someone from a couple of generations ago. The criticism mentions a gap between Arjun and other SF6 roster members.

Street Fighter players are quick to call Arjun a Bollywood character. Some like that, and some would prefer a return of a more notable legacy fighter.

Who is Arjun in Street Fighter lore?

As for the background story, Arjun is driven by revenge and the desire to clear his name.

Arjun was a policeman. Once, his partner was murdered. Somehow, Arjun became the main suspect. He wants to get rid of the accusations and punish the real bad guys.

Arjun is part of the Year 4 Character Pass in Street Fighter 6, alongside Yasmine, Tifa, and Bosch. To unlock him, buy the pass or purchase Arjun separately in the game for Fighter Coins — after the official release on Oct. 13.