Bonus: Mental Stack, Asuka R#, and Street Fighter 6

What's on your mind can be exhausting

After just a couple of days playing Asuka R# in Guilty Gear Strive, I want to say he’s probably the hardest character I’ve tried to play in a fighting game, this generation.¹ This mage has over 20 different magic spells to cast, using a mana gauge that you have to constantly monitor and replenish, or else suffer grave consequences.

The spells themselves are randomly assigned, but Asuka has three “decks” from which to choose. The “moves”, and thus Asuka’s combos, are constantly changing. Even at moments which are effortless for most other characters in the game, Asuka must pay constant attention to the upkeep of his magic abilities. Refill, reload, and make sure you don’t get hit in the process.

When compared to characters like May or Sol, who don’t need to think about very much at all, it becomes clear: Asuka is a mentally draining character to use. So I thought it would be beneficial here to explain a concept that fighting game players like to call “mental stack”.