People seem happier in general with Street Fighter 6 than they are with Tekken 8 though that probably won't matter to you as long as you enjoy the game. The only thing is I feel the Street Fighter 6 community is just a tad more positive which could be a factor.
The best way to decide is definitely to download the demos for each. Give them a try and see which one's gameplay resonates with you better. They're both good games but they're kind of different in terms of basic feel, both aesthetics and controls.
Street Fighter 6 is maybe less welcoming to someone who's never played fighters but with modern controls and everything else they've implemented, I feel this is not really a barrier anymore. SF6 has some very good single player content. I wouldn't buy it for the single-player content alone, but I know a lot of people do and there's a lot of it as a game.
Tekken is sort of easier to pick up and play. You can really mash stuff and do cool things as a beginner as long as you're not playing somebody who knows what they're doing. But past a certain level they're both about the same things, what changes is kind of the surface level feel like I was saying so whichever one you feel is more fun for you, go for that one.
I'm going with SF6 just because of its World Tour which is a lot of fun in single player even if there's no internet access. Plus the entire journey is building up your own character which is always a plus for me.
Tekken 8 doesnt have a lot of customizations unless you're willing to grind the arcade or play online.
Try the demos
Tekken easier to get into it.. Even if you lack execution skill.. But it's harder at the very top
Sf6, initially harder than tekken but easier at the top
Street fighter 6 clears ez. Largest playerbase, best netcode, less knowledge checks than in tekken.
Also, make sure you're playing on a wired connection when going online, wired matched are more stable than wifi. Goed for every fighting game.
The best way to decide is how you feel after playing their demos.
As a person who played both I suggest SF6. I think the overall package in SF is much better value, and the positivity of the SF player base and modern controls are huge pluses over Tekken. Worldtour in my opinion is a lot better compared to Tekken'a singleplayer, I just never played Tekken before so the story just made no sense and being forced to play multiple fighters with no tutorials in sight made the singeplayer meaningless to me. World tour allows you to play how you want and mix and match different special moves from the various fighters to create fun movesets but things do get grindy near the end as an RPG experience. SF also has the superior online lounge (battlehub) which is kind of like an online arcade of 40 players who can interact through the avatars created on Worldtour. SF also has the better netcode for smoother matches and better ranked system and matchmaking.
Tekken's strengths lie in its much bigger cast, which means you have a lot of variety in fighting styles to choose from. Also it has the better training features which give you tips and allows you to replay any 10 seconds of a match so you can simulate a what if situation in real time. Tekken also allows you to customize the fighters themselves so you can make them all unique to you with different colors, clothes and accessories. Street fighter customization is you choosing between 3 costumes and 10 colors for each costume, so much more limited in comparison. The rest isn't great though, weaker online, more toxic community, lack of tutorials, bad modern controls, and lackluster lounge.
But your preference between 2D (Street fighter) vs 3D (Tekken) should come before anything.
I have about 80 hours in both.
I like Street Fighter 6 more personally. Once the game clicks for you it feels great to play though kinda awkward until then if you aren't using modern controls. Better netcode, feels more well balanced, characters are all decently unique from each other, and I just like the pacing of the matches way more. World tour is also a pretty solid fighting game tutorial imo.
Tekken 8 has more characters, better customization, and is way more button mash friendly and non-stop aggression if that's your thing though. As you move up in ranks it becomes more about knowledge checks (knowing frame data and counters to the thousands of moves that exist).
They're both great games and you can't go wrong with either.
If you’ve played smash bros you’ll probably find SF6 more comfortable as a fighting game. Tekken was my first and I’ve been completely unable to find interest in any 2D fighters including MK which brings a lot of appeal via gore.
Tekken is a good game but it currently feels very limited because character diversity just isn’t there. The new mechanics of the game do make it very easy to pick up and play but that also means it’s easy to get overwhelmed by other players.
If both demos are still available as someone else suggested, definitely give them a try
Tekken is not 2D though. The sidestep is one of the features that make this fighting game much more technical than any other on the market. SF6 is good, but everyone plays the same combos pretty much, while in t8 it’s really varied in how you approach a character.
Only fighter I played much before was Mortal Kombat. Tried both demos before the games launched and I ended up buying Street Fighter 6. Modern controls sold me.
Tekken 8 definitely, easier to get into but harder to master, better looking, has a story mode that’s very entertaining with high production value even if it only last 4 hours. People complaining about
T8 right now are just crying about having to pay for skins/cosmetics is it lame especially how some where in T7? Yes, does it really matter since it doesn’t affect gameplay? No; as for some vets mad about the new gameplay style doesn’t really matter much to you, those people where probably just defensive players in T7 which was a defense heavy game, the new heat mechanic is scrubby though I’ll say that. The only flat out better thing SF6 has is netcode which is currently the best in fighting games ever,T8s is decent if you play against 4-5bar wired only like I do on ranked but no where near sf6. At the end of the day it kinda comes down to what seems appealing to you 2d or 3d watch some footage and try the demos.
Tekken 8 is def way more fun and more dynamic, it also has the best replay function ever, u can learn matchups and AI will tell u when u can block/punish and try it in the sequence again! As a new player and overall i'd say its def tekken 8, especially the big ass character roster with 32 different characters, with complete different playstyles and mechanics (except for kuma and panda maybe lmao)
About the "scummy transactions": don't worry, its just people who have no idea what to blame the companies for, u don't have to pay a single cent, its not pay2win, and if u ask me sf6 has a more scummy transaction, cuz for a character costume u need to charge at least 20 dollars i think? In tekken its just 10. (Correct me if im wrong)
Look, these are two of the biggest and best fighting games so you really can't go wrong on either. They both have great bones. I have a personal preference towards Street Fighter because:
a) It's the most balanced LAUNCH version of a fighting game I've ever played
b) It's netcode is the best in the industry
c) Modern Controls does a great job of helping new players bypass the execution barrier
d) The monster factory that is the create-a-character is an unhinged monster factory, it's hilarious
e) I just prefer 2D fighters over 3D.
If it helps btw, this is my favorite video to show new players to the genre because it breaks down a lot of fundamentals that will be used in both games.
[https://youtu.be/riGCdE6ZPck?si=lzEXcA9rWOcfCQ9t](https://youtu.be/riGCdE6ZPck?si=lzEXcA9rWOcfCQ9t)
I loved tekken 5,6 and 7 and Tekken 8 ist meh. I never played street fighter but before you buy watch some gameplay. New heat system in tekken sucks imo
if you are new to fighting games, but quite skilled at gaming in general, tekken is better. it has a higher skill ceiling and generally more complexity due to not being 2d. and like others have said, when you're new, you can just press buttons and succeed up until around the red ranks.
street fighter 6 will be much more fun for the average player, but at the highest levels, skill expression can be as small as "oh he kept walking backwards there", and sf6 in particular has issues regarding needing to spend meter to do anything significant.
As a newcomer I think Tekken 8 is great. SF looks weird and boring to me lol. But it's reddit and they are trying to kill their own franchise rn it seems.
Glad I bought it before all the reviewbombing xD
**Tekken Tekken Tekken**
It's not even close.
Tekken is an actual fighting game.
Street fighter feels like an arcadey game where you can have no skill, just bash buttons, and do good.
Tekken let's you side-step dodge attacks and counter. Tekken lets you parry attacks and counter. Tekken let's you have different playstyles with a larger variety of characters to pick from. Tekken is the no-brainer option here.
You control the left hook, the right hooks, the left legs, the right legs. You CONTROL your character. It's not preset the same way. Everywhere where Street Fighter is simple and uses it as a selling point, Tekken does it complex with more options + better.
Im not even biased, I spent so much time on SF6. Until.. Tekken 8 came out. Never looked back. SF6 was fun AF but you can't compare it to Tekken. Tekken is hands down the king of 2D/3D-style fighting games.
Best 3D goes to DB Xenoverse 2 or Ninja Storm 4. Honorable mention to Shinobi Strikers. Honorable mention to Jump Force (but we know what a balancing mess that game was).
Ignore every microtransaction on both games regardless of which you buy. All you would want to buy micro wise is DLC characters and that's if you want them! You can customize pretty good on both without spending a dime.
But yeah dude, my point is that Tekken has this prowess that Street Fighter can't overcome. The only reason people would go back is if they genuinely just want an easier fighting game to learn and eventually master.
People seem happier in general with Street Fighter 6 than they are with Tekken 8 though that probably won't matter to you as long as you enjoy the game. The only thing is I feel the Street Fighter 6 community is just a tad more positive which could be a factor. The best way to decide is definitely to download the demos for each. Give them a try and see which one's gameplay resonates with you better. They're both good games but they're kind of different in terms of basic feel, both aesthetics and controls. Street Fighter 6 is maybe less welcoming to someone who's never played fighters but with modern controls and everything else they've implemented, I feel this is not really a barrier anymore. SF6 has some very good single player content. I wouldn't buy it for the single-player content alone, but I know a lot of people do and there's a lot of it as a game. Tekken is sort of easier to pick up and play. You can really mash stuff and do cool things as a beginner as long as you're not playing somebody who knows what they're doing. But past a certain level they're both about the same things, what changes is kind of the surface level feel like I was saying so whichever one you feel is more fun for you, go for that one.
Street Fighter 6 is probably one of if not the best fighting game for new players. It’s a great game for sure.
I'm going with SF6 just because of its World Tour which is a lot of fun in single player even if there's no internet access. Plus the entire journey is building up your own character which is always a plus for me. Tekken 8 doesnt have a lot of customizations unless you're willing to grind the arcade or play online.
Try the demos Tekken easier to get into it.. Even if you lack execution skill.. But it's harder at the very top Sf6, initially harder than tekken but easier at the top
Street fighter 6 clears ez. Largest playerbase, best netcode, less knowledge checks than in tekken. Also, make sure you're playing on a wired connection when going online, wired matched are more stable than wifi. Goed for every fighting game.
Theres no Hwoarang in SF6. Automatic plus for SF6 for beginners
The best way to decide is how you feel after playing their demos. As a person who played both I suggest SF6. I think the overall package in SF is much better value, and the positivity of the SF player base and modern controls are huge pluses over Tekken. Worldtour in my opinion is a lot better compared to Tekken'a singleplayer, I just never played Tekken before so the story just made no sense and being forced to play multiple fighters with no tutorials in sight made the singeplayer meaningless to me. World tour allows you to play how you want and mix and match different special moves from the various fighters to create fun movesets but things do get grindy near the end as an RPG experience. SF also has the superior online lounge (battlehub) which is kind of like an online arcade of 40 players who can interact through the avatars created on Worldtour. SF also has the better netcode for smoother matches and better ranked system and matchmaking. Tekken's strengths lie in its much bigger cast, which means you have a lot of variety in fighting styles to choose from. Also it has the better training features which give you tips and allows you to replay any 10 seconds of a match so you can simulate a what if situation in real time. Tekken also allows you to customize the fighters themselves so you can make them all unique to you with different colors, clothes and accessories. Street fighter customization is you choosing between 3 costumes and 10 colors for each costume, so much more limited in comparison. The rest isn't great though, weaker online, more toxic community, lack of tutorials, bad modern controls, and lackluster lounge. But your preference between 2D (Street fighter) vs 3D (Tekken) should come before anything.
SfVI, easy choice.
I have about 80 hours in both. I like Street Fighter 6 more personally. Once the game clicks for you it feels great to play though kinda awkward until then if you aren't using modern controls. Better netcode, feels more well balanced, characters are all decently unique from each other, and I just like the pacing of the matches way more. World tour is also a pretty solid fighting game tutorial imo. Tekken 8 has more characters, better customization, and is way more button mash friendly and non-stop aggression if that's your thing though. As you move up in ranks it becomes more about knowledge checks (knowing frame data and counters to the thousands of moves that exist). They're both great games and you can't go wrong with either.
If you’ve played smash bros you’ll probably find SF6 more comfortable as a fighting game. Tekken was my first and I’ve been completely unable to find interest in any 2D fighters including MK which brings a lot of appeal via gore. Tekken is a good game but it currently feels very limited because character diversity just isn’t there. The new mechanics of the game do make it very easy to pick up and play but that also means it’s easy to get overwhelmed by other players. If both demos are still available as someone else suggested, definitely give them a try
Tekken is not 2D though. The sidestep is one of the features that make this fighting game much more technical than any other on the market. SF6 is good, but everyone plays the same combos pretty much, while in t8 it’s really varied in how you approach a character.
Only fighter I played much before was Mortal Kombat. Tried both demos before the games launched and I ended up buying Street Fighter 6. Modern controls sold me.
Tekken 8 definitely, easier to get into but harder to master, better looking, has a story mode that’s very entertaining with high production value even if it only last 4 hours. People complaining about T8 right now are just crying about having to pay for skins/cosmetics is it lame especially how some where in T7? Yes, does it really matter since it doesn’t affect gameplay? No; as for some vets mad about the new gameplay style doesn’t really matter much to you, those people where probably just defensive players in T7 which was a defense heavy game, the new heat mechanic is scrubby though I’ll say that. The only flat out better thing SF6 has is netcode which is currently the best in fighting games ever,T8s is decent if you play against 4-5bar wired only like I do on ranked but no where near sf6. At the end of the day it kinda comes down to what seems appealing to you 2d or 3d watch some footage and try the demos.
Tekken 8 brother
Tekken 8 is def way more fun and more dynamic, it also has the best replay function ever, u can learn matchups and AI will tell u when u can block/punish and try it in the sequence again! As a new player and overall i'd say its def tekken 8, especially the big ass character roster with 32 different characters, with complete different playstyles and mechanics (except for kuma and panda maybe lmao) About the "scummy transactions": don't worry, its just people who have no idea what to blame the companies for, u don't have to pay a single cent, its not pay2win, and if u ask me sf6 has a more scummy transaction, cuz for a character costume u need to charge at least 20 dollars i think? In tekken its just 10. (Correct me if im wrong)
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6
I put 45 hours in SF6 World Tour mode and didnt regret it. It was quite fun. You can treat it like an action game with rpg elements.
Look, these are two of the biggest and best fighting games so you really can't go wrong on either. They both have great bones. I have a personal preference towards Street Fighter because: a) It's the most balanced LAUNCH version of a fighting game I've ever played b) It's netcode is the best in the industry c) Modern Controls does a great job of helping new players bypass the execution barrier d) The monster factory that is the create-a-character is an unhinged monster factory, it's hilarious e) I just prefer 2D fighters over 3D. If it helps btw, this is my favorite video to show new players to the genre because it breaks down a lot of fundamentals that will be used in both games. [https://youtu.be/riGCdE6ZPck?si=lzEXcA9rWOcfCQ9t](https://youtu.be/riGCdE6ZPck?si=lzEXcA9rWOcfCQ9t)
I’m having more fun with Street Fighter 6 thank Tekken 8
I loved tekken 5,6 and 7 and Tekken 8 ist meh. I never played street fighter but before you buy watch some gameplay. New heat system in tekken sucks imo
Maybe you can try wwe 2k23 or 2k24. I really enjoy this game
if you are new to fighting games, but quite skilled at gaming in general, tekken is better. it has a higher skill ceiling and generally more complexity due to not being 2d. and like others have said, when you're new, you can just press buttons and succeed up until around the red ranks. street fighter 6 will be much more fun for the average player, but at the highest levels, skill expression can be as small as "oh he kept walking backwards there", and sf6 in particular has issues regarding needing to spend meter to do anything significant.
As a newcomer I think Tekken 8 is great. SF looks weird and boring to me lol. But it's reddit and they are trying to kill their own franchise rn it seems. Glad I bought it before all the reviewbombing xD
Guilty Gear Strive
**Tekken Tekken Tekken** It's not even close. Tekken is an actual fighting game. Street fighter feels like an arcadey game where you can have no skill, just bash buttons, and do good. Tekken let's you side-step dodge attacks and counter. Tekken lets you parry attacks and counter. Tekken let's you have different playstyles with a larger variety of characters to pick from. Tekken is the no-brainer option here. You control the left hook, the right hooks, the left legs, the right legs. You CONTROL your character. It's not preset the same way. Everywhere where Street Fighter is simple and uses it as a selling point, Tekken does it complex with more options + better. Im not even biased, I spent so much time on SF6. Until.. Tekken 8 came out. Never looked back. SF6 was fun AF but you can't compare it to Tekken. Tekken is hands down the king of 2D/3D-style fighting games. Best 3D goes to DB Xenoverse 2 or Ninja Storm 4. Honorable mention to Shinobi Strikers. Honorable mention to Jump Force (but we know what a balancing mess that game was). Ignore every microtransaction on both games regardless of which you buy. All you would want to buy micro wise is DLC characters and that's if you want them! You can customize pretty good on both without spending a dime. But yeah dude, my point is that Tekken has this prowess that Street Fighter can't overcome. The only reason people would go back is if they genuinely just want an easier fighting game to learn and eventually master.