Being that Street Fighter 6 finally moves the status quo of the franchise forward, quite a few characters are a whole deal better off here than they ever were throughout the series.
- Ryu:
- After having battled with the Satsui no Hado since the Alpha days, Ryu is finally at peace with himself, and it shows. Not only does he seem far more content here than he was in, say, SFV, but he's pretty much on his way to becoming a master of the Power of Nothingness, like Gouken before him.
- His forward taunt has him perking himself up the same way Sakura often would. Seems like she's rubbed off on him.
- Whenever he's walking towards the stage in the intro cinematic in VS mode, you can see him crack a slight smile, clearly excited for his next bout with his opponent.
- One of Ryu's conversation with the Player is how Ken basically forced a credit card onto Ryu. Apart from his usual odd jobs physical labor (Construction, Bodyguard, etc.), Ryu revealed that Ken basically takes care of all of Ryu's own income from Tournament winnings, surprise appearance and solving "local crisis" problems. Ryu says he had no idea he's been getting any sort of payment from those and that Ken made sure of it, saying that he's basically nearly set for life given his lifestyle. Ryu is clearly appreciative of his best friend's efforts to take care of him financially of his own efforts.
- With Bison dead and the Illuminati in disarray, Chun-Li is likewise in a really nice spot long after she avenged her father. Now she's a master of Kung Fu and raising Li-Fen like her own daughter, the latter of whom is noticeably older and one of her most promising pupils.
- Similar to Chun-Li, Guile is also finally at peace with Bison gone and Charlie Nash's death avenged. According to his character intro trailer
, he finally took his own advice as well: he went home and became a family man. - Unlike the three above, the same can't be said for Ken, whose life became ruined after he fell victim to a Frame-Up and had to leave behind his family and business in order to clear his name. Still, his intro has him rescuing a construction worker from a falling sandbag, which shows that he will not pass on a chance to do good - even when on the run. A great reminder that being cocky and Hot-Blooded aside, Ken is just as noble and heroic as Ryu. And his friendship with Ryu hasn't degraded at all even despite his circumstances.Ken: Never stop being you. Stable. Unshaken. After all... you're the reason I got my start.
- After everything Ken goes through in the prequel comics, and Mel's trust in him being vastly shaken, JP overplays his hand and ends up exposing Mel to the truth of the situation. The result is that even despite Ken's distance for his safety, Mel fully trusts his father's decisions and is keeping an eye out for him now compared to the sheer apathy he had for his father's antics at the start.
- Normally, Guile doesn't get along with Ken, despite them being brothers-in-law, and can only put aside their differences when bigger threats like Bison looms. When Guile hears about the situation Ken is in, he gets shocked and decides to investigate about the issue surrounding his brother-in-law and hopes that he makes it out okay because Ken is experiencing a similar issue with Guile when he was hunting Bison for revenge. It shows that despite their normally rocky relationship, Guile still considers Ken as a family, and as a Family Man, he happily helps a family member in need.
- Even Cammy, being The Stoic that she is, has clearly Taken a Level in Cheerfulness (especially after the events of the previous two games - nevermind her time in Shadaloo, and everything her and Decapre went through in A Shadow Falls), enough that a cat accompanies her in the Character Select screen and during one of her Win Poses, where she pets it as it shows up to cheer her on.
- Conversations with Cammy in World Tour eventually follow up on her relationship with Decapre: after her brainwashing was broken, Decapre eventually hooked up with Delta Red, solidifying her Heel–Face Turn. The two sisters are still largely mysteries to one another, but they do find time to have lunch together every so often. It's clear that whatever bad blood between Cammy and Decapre existed has all but vanished by now, and it's quite touching to finally see the two enjoy each other's company and put their tragic pasts behind them.
- One of Cammy's later dialogues with the players shows almost all of Bison's former Dolls, except the late Marz, have survived and moved on after the events of A Shadow Falls. Bison's still affected them, of course, but they're alive and building their own lives.
- Juri's relationship with the player in World Tour. It definitely starts out rocky, and she spends most of the bond trying to shove you away and putting you down. Despite all this, she's trying to toughen you up and stop people from taking advantage of you by being so mean to you. Later on in the relationship, she openly boasts about being your master and essentially owns up to the fact that she's proud of your progress, albeit after she orders you to go beat up a bragging thug and bring back a photo of his unconscious body.
- Manon spent most of her life isolated for her strength and skill in judo, to the point that being told that she is "Strong" is a Trauma Button for her. It's only when she meets Marisa genuinely calling her that does she finally open up.
- Almost every scene of the fighters teaching your character their martial art is quite wholesome, with the exceptions of JP, for very obvious reasons.
- Cammy acts as a stern, yet still very supportive teacher, giving constructive criticism on how to properly attack with finesse.
- Manon is willing to take time out of her no doubt busy schedule to teach you her art, and has a laugh along the way.
- Kimberly teaches you her parkour and urban navigation while having quite a laugh trolling you.
- Honda reminds you that no one gets strong without losing and to not lose hope.
- Lily teaches you to accept nature and become one with the wind.
- Marisa teaches you courage in the face of adversity, as shown with the test with her pet lion, Lucius.
- Ken initially berates you for recklessly throwing attacks around, but nonetheless respects your enthusiasm, telling you to think before you act.
- Ryu silently watches you train while meditating, but he's visibly impressed with you without having to say a word.
- Chun-Li's martial arts class has you follow her every move, with the hilarious aftermath of you falling on your ass after trying to replicate her leg stretch.
- The aftermath of Luke's training. He tells you that the road to victory is a long one but each step is worth it.
- You share a drink with Jamie, getting pretty wasted, but you still get to learn the art of the Drunken Fist in the process.
- Dee Jay teaches you how to move to the beat, and while your initial impression is a hilarious downer to him, he eventually steps in and helps you really get into the groove.
- Blanka's is mostly hilarious, making you wear a Blanka-chan costume to imitate his moves, but he's just so eager and happy about it, you can't help but smile.
- Guile teaches you to always keep your focus on the enemy.
- Zangief acts as a jovial and highly supportive gym coach, hyping you up to do a one-legged squat and cheering for you when you do. His advice? Nothing is impossible through training.
- You take yoga lessons with Dhalsim, trying to mimic his improbable stretching abilities to hilariously poor results. But as Dhalsim says, there is no need to rush, and one should just listen to what their body needs.
- Juri might not seem all that sweet, but the mere fact that you manage to win the infamously nasty sadist over into teaching you her style deserves special mention.
- Long after their falling out, Ed still finds the time during World Tour to reminisce fondly about his days with Balrog, still showing his respect and admiration for the former Shadaloo King. He states that over the years, Balrog never abused him and always saw him as a person rather than a pawn. Shown alongside this is a picture of a younger Ed trying on new clothes that Balrog bought him with a much happier expression on his face than the Perpetual Frowner he is today, even if Balrog's wardrobe choices are several sizes too big for him.
