Street Fighter 6 director says “not to worry” about Elena’s Healing 

The Street Fighter 6 Year 2 Character Pass will include Elena. The Kenyan capoeira fighter who debuted in Street Fighter 3 is scheduled to make a comeback in the latest SF entry in Spring 2025. In a recent interview with Famitsu, Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama commented on the decision to include Elena and addressed a concern many Ultra Street Fighter 4 players are bound to have about the character. 

Elena possesses the ability to recover her health in both Street Fighter 3 and Ultra Street Fighter 4, but her Healing ultra in the latter title is particularly infamous for being almost “game-breaking.” This has made many fans anxious about the character’s potential comeback, but now that it’s actually been confirmed, Street Fighter 6’s developers are reassuring players that they can stop worrying about Elena’s healing.  

Commenting on Elena’s announcement, Nakayama mentions that the team wanted to include an African character, as well as a capoeira user in Street Fighter 6, which is why they decided to bring back Elena. Her new appearance will age her up a notch as is the case with other SF6 characters, and her fighting style will still focus heavily on footwork. On the other hand, Nakayama notes that the team has learned from Ultra Street Fighter 4: “I noticed that matches became extremely long in Ultra Street Fighter 4 tournaments whenever Rose, Yun or Elena appeared. We’re bearing this in mind as we work on the game, so you don’t have to worry about healing.” 

The director even jokingly mentions a proposal to make Elena heal the opponent instead of herself, “which was obviously rejected.”