Street Fighter 6‘s fourth Fighter Pass begins with the all-new fighter Yasmine (Abby Espiritu, Blue Box). A Filipino girl in search of her missing brother, she brings a down-to-earth presence that sets her apart from her larger-than-life opponents. Her mild stutter and flagging self-confidence lend the fighter a vulnerability that makes her endearing. But even if she is unsure of her strength, she won’t let doubt keep her from searching for the things that matter to her.
Let’s start with Yasmine’s unique gimmick: Bayani Mode. After performing certain special moves, Bayani Mode becomes active. This mode increases her damage output. It is consumed by some attacks as well, ending the effect. Since the effect is fairly easy to activate, this mode quickly stops feeling like a bonus and starts to feel more like her default state, making it an easy bonus for the character to fully utilize.
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At the basic level, Yasmine brings a solid set of standard attacks to build her kit around, most of which are named in Tagalog. A moderate amount of reach lets her challenge in the neutral, and some of her standing and crouch kicks give her a chance to surprise her opponents during the poke game. But the best element of her standard attacks is her forward medium punch. While it has a bit of a wind-up, this strike counts as an overhead attack, giving her a convenient way to catch out enemies who over-prioritize their crouching defense.
Yasmine’s Bayani Mode is easy to activate and makes the new character easier to utilize.
Street Fighter 6‘s newest fighter’s first special is her Daloy ng Tubig. This forward-moving knife attack is good at starting combos from normal moves and leads into Yasmine’s Alon, which extends the combo for extra damage. Alon’s effects can change depending on the strength of the punch button used to initiate it, as well as whether or not Bayani Mode is active. This makes the move versatile, rewarding players who know exactly how to implement it in any given situation.
The next special in this fighter’s kit is her Talim ng Hangin. This move sees the character go low to the ground and spin towards the opponent when used at medium or heavy strength. Heavy has a slow start, so it needs to be used carefully. When the light is introduced, a feint plays out as Yasmine starts to spin, but then pulls out of it. Clever implementation of this serves as great bait to trick opponents into compromising positions.
My personal favorite special is the Mukha ng Langit. This maneuver launches the fighter into the air at a distance that varies with the strength of the attack button used.
While in the air, Yasmine can opt to launch a kick attack on her way down, a hand strike that targets behind her for use when crossing over an opponent for a mix-up, or simply land to catch her foe off guard with a completely different attack. If done early enough, this move can serve as a solid way to close the distance against enemies utilizing projectile attacks as well.
Yasmine’s Lipad ng Agila is easy to combo, thanks to its natural set of inputs.
The next special move in her kit is the Lipad ng Agila. This is her “uppercut” anti-air attack. Launching upwards with its angle, distance, and power determined by the strength of the attack input, this move delivers good damage even beyond its anti-air effectiveness. I found it was an easy combo follow-up to Daloy ng Tubig/Alon move, stringing together a solid chunk of damage through a very natural set of button inputs.
Perhaps the rookie fighter’s most unique move is her boomerang-like projectile attack, the Pangil sa Likuran. When launched, the attack departs at an upward angle before returning in a steady downward arc, threatening an opponent from behind.
The arc’s distance is determined by the strength of the input used. If the opponent lands a hit while the projectile is still in flight, it immediately dissipates. This is the only thing that makes it leave the field prematurely, though. If you manage to hit an enemy on its departure, due to their being airborne or exceptionally tall, the boomerang will finish its flight, offering extra disruptive damage.
The first of Yasmine’s super attacks is the Hiwa ng Kalagitan. Invincible on start-up, this move consumes one bar of energy as it launches the opponent into the air and then slams them back down to earth. Its invincibility makes it a fantastic choice to counter-attack an overly aggressive foe.
Her second special is more of a transformation than a move. The Nakatagong Lakas empowers Yasmine with energy, increasing her damage and preventing her Bayani Mode from being consumed by empowered attacks.
Street Fighter 6’s Yasmine is easy to pick up but exciting to master.
It also unlocks a new special move, the Linya ng Liwanag. The maneuver launches the fighter horizontally, allowing her to pass through her foe and strike from behind. It is a fantastic move that is hard to defend against. It makes the two energy bar consumption to enter Nakatagong Lakas more than worth it when combined with the amplified damage.
The final, three-bar super move is the Pamumukadkad ng Sampaguita. Thanks to its invincibility on start-up, the move serves great as a counterattack, as well as a combo finisher. It also does enhanced damage when used with less than 25% health remaining.
Yasmine brings a great balance of approach options and effective attacks to Street Fighter 6. With several key moves requiring precise implementation through specific strength inputs, it will take a little time to discover her full potential, but she looks like a fun and dynamic character to master.
Yasmine is available standalone or as part of the Season 4 Pass for Street Fighter 6, now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
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