YouTuber Johnny Massacre Blasts ‘Street Fighter 6’ Character Creator As “A Playground For Woke Activists”
Ryan Pearson
|
YouTuber Johnny Massacre has labelled Street Fighter 6 as “woke” after finding himself being unimpressed by Capcom’s decision to ditch the Male and Female categories in the game’s all-new character creator.
Street Fighter 6 via Capcom
Street Fighter 6 is currently in closed beta and the few who have had the chance to try out the game have shared their experiences with the new feature. Kotaku, IGN, The Gamer, and other video game media outlets have discussed the extremes players can push their characters’ body proportions; there are some, however, who have been focused on other details.
As seen in gameplay footage shared by Arekkz Gaming, the character creator has players picking their preferred “body type” rather than their character’s biological sex. While “Body Type 1” is clearly a male physique and “Body Type 2” is a female body, players may then select their “identity” of male, female, or “human.”
Along with the myriad of face shaping parameters allowing players to make a masculine or feminine face no matter what they pick, the 16 different voice options means players can pick a male or female sounding voice. Even under body “2” — always wearing a sports bra rather than being topless — players can give their character chest hair or a beard. When switching between bodies 1 and 2, the face remains the same.
Source: Street Fighter 6 Beta Gameplay – All Character Creation Options, Arekkz Gaming via YouTube
YouTuber and DJ Johnny Massacre (Ultrasound) focuses on media and political topics on his channel, and Street Fighter 6’s character creator drew his ire.
“Street Fighter 6 is officially woke. Here you can see no male or female categories but ‘body type ‘1’ and ‘2’. And male and female is selected not under ‘sex’ but under what you ‘Identify’ as. F U Capcom of America,” the YouTuber decried, closing with calls to boycott the game.
Source: Johnny Massacre Twitter
Johnny Massacre discussed Street Fighter 6 further in his eponymously named YouTube show. Starting with a derisive tone, he asserted, “Well done, Capcom, for changing the game for a bunch of trans activists who don’t even play it.”
He continued to mock, calling the Body Type “woke code” for biological sex, and noting that putting the male as Body Type 1 and female at 2 is sexist. “Are you saying women are weaker than males? I’m just holding you to your own woke critical standards.”
“A video game is a playground for woke activists,” the YouTuber asserted, as he came to the realization that fighting games are “trans activists’ wet dreams” — noting that a real life fight between a woman identifying as a man and a biological man would be incredibly one-sided.
Johnny didn’t let up, also claiming Dhalsim’s new design was also woke, as his skull necklace is no longer present, allegedly to prevent offense. While his design is inspired by real life Hindu Kapalikas, the games’ lore explains the skulls came from children in his village who died from a plague. This mark of respect didn’t stop Capcom putting ads for the Capcom Pro Tour onto the skulls in Street Fighter V.
Returning to Street Fighter 6 and Johnny, he argues Capcom tried too hard to avoid depicting Dhalsim as an “ignoble savage minority” as they “dumb down this game, and try to make it as inoffensive and politically correct as possible.”
Source: Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (2018), Capcom
Noting the character bio describes the Indian fighter as a peaceful man, Johnny insists he knew Dhalsim’s lore far more “than all the wokesists who defend it [the new design]” — pointing to one of Dhalsim’s quotes from Street Fighter Alpha II that has the yoga master saying, “I’m your master. Pain is a state of mind and I don’t mind your pain” after defeating an opponent.
The YouTuber reiterated removing the skulls from Dhalsim’s necklace was “obviously Street Fighter‘s new woke creators influencing the game; don’t want to make it too offensive!”
Source: Street Fighter 6 (2023), Capcom
Johnny claimed other “wokified” designs include Blanka, as the official Twitter for Street Fighter 6 also describes the fighter as a “kindhearted defender of nature” that gives jungle tours and cares for his mother; a far cry from his struggles of animistic rage and instinct of past games. Even so, his story mode in Street Fighter V did see him trying to quell his anger and even attempting to sell dolls for a living.
“Why don’t we just get rid of life bars and have a poetry recital competition instead?” sarcastically suggested Johnny. “Because we wouldn’t want to hurt anyone ‘street fighting’ — the name of the game. Quite clearly the activists at Capcom USA are pressuring Capcom Japan to do this.”
Source: Street Fighter 6 (2023), Capcom
Johnny then highlights his prior videos discussing the leaked Street Fighter 6 character roster, claiming less sexualized female costumes and more black characters were “minor concessions” Capcom were making for marketing, western shareholders, and Capcom USA.
He further claimed backlash and alleged “censorship” against his allegations were evidence of the game being woke — those supporting woke ideals “programmed” to react harshly when such matters were “called out” — and that Capcom’s concessions would escalate.
Source: Street Fighter 6 (2023), Capcom
Beyond Johnny’s discussion, Street Fighter 6 features an NPC host called “Eternity.” Appearing to be a very camp-acting man, some players have made some assumptions on Twitter, comparing Capcom’s flamboyant presenter to Ruby Rhod; Chris Tucker’s character in The Fifth Element.
“I’m very into Street Fighter 6‘s new trans/nonbinary Ruby Rhod,” @greonhal shared.
Source: greonhal Twitter
Wearing the colors on the transgender pride flag (blue, pink, and white) may have also contributed to the assumption, as user @SinaPlumiel noted, sharing pictures of both the flag and Capcom’s new presenter, and writing, “Trans Flag Color Picked From Eternity.”
Source: @SinaPlumiel, Twitter
“Oh no… Street Fighter 6 really went to the woke/progressive route,” lamented another user. “I hated it in Guilty Gear with Testament and I hate it here. You have lost me Capcom.”
Source: NintenCano Twitter
Along with trans characters being implemented into more games — such is the case with Bridget being retconned in Guilty Gear – Strive – despite prior lore, for example — character creators in some major titles have avoided using biological sex categories in recent years.
Even recent Pokémon games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Splatoon 3, Story Of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, and Harvestella have all featured a graphic for male or female characters without outright stating a gender.
Street Fighter 6 via Capcom
More About:Video Games