The fourth-year character pass for Street Fighter 6 shows a clear disparity in character strength. A.J.'s relatively strong performance has led commentators to worry about Tifa, the guest character scheduled to join in early 2027, fearing she may follow a design philosophy that is easy to pick up and boasts high damage output.
Jasmine was released on August 3, 2026. Before her launch, she garnered attention for her fast-paced offensive style, dagger weapon, and Filipino cultural elements. However, the commentator believes that her actual damage output is on the low side, and her skills offer limited room for expression.
A.J., who followed, went in the opposite direction. His normal attacks have short range and slow speed, but he possesses powerful special moves that can build up significant gray health while the opponent is blocking, which can then be converted into high damage with a single hit. Some of his moves have frame advantage, and combined with a low barrier to entry, he is considered overly strong by the author and some players.
Based on this, commentators speculate that Capcom may have increased the accessibility and power of subsequent DLC characters to encourage purchases after Jasmine's lukewarm reception. Tifa already enjoys high popularity and commercial appeal regardless of her in-game strength, but the author remains concerned that she might adopt a design similar to A.J.'s.
Tifa has not yet been released, and an exact launch date has not been announced. The mentioned February or March timeframe is merely an estimate based on the existing schedule by players. Therefore, these judgments are not conclusions drawn from actual gameplay testing, but rather analyses and predictions based on the current trends in DLC character strength.