Almost two years ago, Street Fighter V arrived on PS4, kicking off a new era of the legendary fighting game series. Two seasons of characters and two Capcom Cups later, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is on the horizon, bringing highly anticipated modes and fan-favorite characters to welcome in 2018! As we anxiously await the next chapter to arrive, we wanted to provide guidance for the many new features.

Here are five things you need to check out for SFV: Arcade Edition.

1. Play the newest character, Sakura, for free from January 16 through the 23rd

The Street Fighter series’ resident schoolgirl, Sakura, has graduated high school and now sports a more mature look that reflects her current job in an arcade. The best news is that Sakura will be free to play for all SFV: Arcade Edition and existing SFV players from January 16 through 23! Once you update your game with the Day 1 patch, Sakura can be used in all modes, including online play, so start taking notes as you go into battle with her.

Please note that any Fight Money and EXP earned during this time as Sakura will disappear once the free period is over. However, if you choose to purchase her individually or as part of the Season 3 Character Pass at any time in the future, the respective Fight Money and EXP will automatically be granted to your account again.

Sakura is the first character in Season 3 and will be joined by Blanka, Falke, Cody, G, and Sagat throughout 2018. If you purchase the Season 3 Character Pass, available for $29.99, you’ll immediately get all six characters once they become available. You’ll also receive their Battle Costumes with colors 3-10 and default costume colors 3-10 unlocked! In addition, if you purchase the Season 3 Character Pass in North America between 1/16 and 1/30, you’ll receive the nine bonus costumes below as a bonus.

2. Arcade Mode

True to its name, SFV: Arcade Edition introduces an Arcade Mode unlike any the series has had before. We’ve created an experience that invites players to relive all 30 years of Street Fighter history. You’ll choose between six different paths that each represent a main title in the series. Each path remains true to its respective title, containing the relevant characters, costumes, and music, in order to further celebrate Street Fighter’s 30th anniversary year. If you’re connected to the internet, your Arcade Score will be uploaded to monthly leaderboards where the top player will receive a unique title, so make sure to practice!

There are over 200 beautiful ending illustrations from various artists, which can be collected in Arcade Mode by fulfilling certain requirements. Here’s a sneak peek at one of these illustrations!

3. Extra Battle Mode

Once you’re connected to the internet, you definitely need to check out Extra Battle, a new mode that lets you obtain unique costumes, titles, Fight Money, and EXP! In fact, the opportunity to obtain the spunky costume below is available right when SFV: AE launches.

Rashid is dressed up as Viewtiful Joe from the Capcom series of the same name, which made its PlayStation debut on the PlayStation 2 in 2004. The unique costumes you can earn include these Crossover Costumes that feature your favorite SFV fighters dressed as characters from Capcom’s vast library of games. Unique costumes can be obtained during certain time periods in Extra Battle Mode by completing a series of challenges. Here’s another Crossover Costume to get you excited with Nash as Captain Commando from the game of the same name, which was available on PlayStation in 1998!

Every few weeks, a Golden Shadaloo Soldier will appear that will offer a decent amount of Fight Money if you can defeat it. Be on the lookout for these particular Extra Battle Challenges and mark your calendars accordingly!

4. Team Battle Mode

Do you have any friends or family coming over to check out SFV: AE with you? Team Battle Mode will be perfect to spark up some friendly competition. You can set up each local match to your liking, including the number of characters per team (up to 5), how much Vitality is recovered in between fights, if you want the matchups to be randomized, and much more. Team Battle Mode is also a completely viable option if you want to set up a team on your own or are trying to learn multiple characters at once since you can play against the CPU.

V-Trigger IIs

If you’re a returning player, one of the first things you may notice when selecting a character is the ability to choose between two V-Triggers. That’s because every character, including Sakura, now has a V-Trigger II, which can significantly alter their playstyles and open up potential they may not have had in the past. Head into Training Mode to see the new V-Trigger IIs in action and you may discover a new main! Or jump straight into an online match to surprise yourself!

Updating Street Fighter V

The Street Fighter V servers will be going down for maintenance in the early morning (Pacific Time) of January 16. The SFV: Arcade Edition patch and server maintenance will then be completed in the afternoon on the same day. After we have released the update, SFV: Arcade Edition disc owners must connect to the internet to receive the latest update, which includes Extra Battle Mode, Team Battle Mode and new balance changes. They’ll also be able to redeem the code that comes with the disc to unlock Character Pass 1 and 2 content.

Current owners of Street Fighter V will also need to download the patch in order to update to SFV: Arcade Edition. Once the download is complete, all the aforementioned modes and changes will be present when booting up the game.

We hope this rundown helps for when you first pop in the disc or update your game! The entire Street Fighter team is incredibly proud of how far the series has come over the years. Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition has plenty more to explore, so get ready to fight next week!