Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo/Ryu

Ryu's portrait in Super Turbo

Introduction

Ryu is the game's protagonist. He is considered a good all around character. Even though he is not the strongest in any aspect, he does have very good moves overall. Say, his projectile, the hadouken, is the second best in the game, only after O.Sagat's tiger. His special anti-air, the shoryuken, is also the one with second best priority among the ones that do not demand a charge to execute. Finally, he has a good super move, which helps him in tight situations.

Ryu's strategy in the Street Fighter II series is, mostly, to employ his hadoukens wisely so as to pressure enemies and either force them to take risks or get pushed into the corner. Would the enemy jump forward, Ryu has several moves to deal with that, being the shoryuken the most damaging one. However, unlike Ken, his projectile has a relatively fast start-up, which allows him to use it as a poke tool. This is the main reason why he has less trouble against a number of characters which have the advantage against Ken.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo Ryu does not have a completely invulnerable shoryuken nor a hurricane kick that is invulnerable up until it hits, like he did in CPS-1 Street Fighter II Champion Edition and Hyper Fighting. However, he gains better mobility with a short tatsu that recovers much faster and a command punch that works as a dash. In addition to it, he has another command punch that is unblockable against crouching characters.

Among all characters (old versions included), Ryu is considered the fifth or sixth best character on the game, only behind the so called "big four" or "big five", which consists of Dhalsim, Vega (Claw), Old Sagat and Balrog (Boxer), plus Chun Li if she is included. However, he actually has a small advantage against Chun Li on head-to-head combat. If mastered, Ryu can deal with pretty much any situation.

If you want to check Youtube and Nico Nico Douga for high level footage, check players such as ShootingD, Daigo, Futachan, Gotoh, Kurahashi, DGV (Dark Gaiden), Mike Watson, John Choi and Alex Valle, among others.

Color Options

New Ryu Colors

New Ryu's color options in Super Turbo
To choose the "Hold" color, press and hold any button except Start for 2 seconds. To choose any other color, simply tap the desired button.

--Raisin (April 6, 2007)

Old Ryu Colors

Old Ryu's color options in Super Turbo
Old Ryu's input code is RRRL. Pressing Short simultaneously with Jab or Fierce will give you the alternate color.

--Raisin (April 6, 2007)

Moves List

Ground Normals

Close standing Jab: ryu performs an elbow smash in front and above his head. Fast start-up anti-air up close, with just OK priority.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
3	No	Yes	Yes

Close standing Strong: Ryu performs a hook. This move has a not very good recovery, so try canceling it into some special such as the hadouken to avoid punishment.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
14	No	Yes	Yes

Close standing Fierce: Ryu does a close upper. Good priority anti-air if the enemy is on top of you, and if he is close it can be canceled into any special attack for a basic but damaging combo. Bad recovery.

Damage	Self-Combo	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
18	N/A	No	Yes	Yes
18	No	No	No	No

Far standing Jab: rapid-fire Jab that has very good priority (Ryu's arm is completely invulnerable) but just acceptable reach and very low damage.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
3	Yes	Yes	Yes

Far standing Strong: Ryu performs a straight punch. This move has very good recovery, reach and priority. Works as anti-air against some moves, but notice Ryu's body moves forward a bit, so you need some room to use it correctly. Ryu whole arm is invincible in this attack.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
14	No	Yes	Yes

Far standing Fierce: similar to the above move, but with higher damage and longer reach, but the head hitbox moves forward just as much and the recovery is hideous. This move can not be canceled into specials, so make sure it hits or you will pay the price.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
18	No	No	Yes

Crouching Jab: rapid-fire ducking Jab with OK reach and very good priority. Ryu arm is completely invincible.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
3	Yes	Yes	Yes

Crouching Strong: Ryu does a crouching straight. Good damage, stun, recovery and priority. Ryu whole arm is completely invincible.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
14	No	Yes	Yes

Crouching Fierce: uppercut from crouching position. Good damage and deceptive reach, but just average to low priority and long recovery. This move is unsafe on block and is mainly used in combos or as close-up anti-air. Favor standing Fierce if you can for the latter.

Damage	Self-Combo	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
18	N/A	No	Yes	Yes
18	No	No	No	No

Close standing short: Ryu performs a low kick. This move must be blocked low.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
8	Yes	No	Yes

Close standing forward: knee bash with a good recovery.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
15	No	Yes	Yes

Close standing roundhouse: Ryu performs an axe kick that hits twice if the enemy is close enough.

Damage	Self-Combo	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
19	N/A	No	No	No
3	Yes	No	No	No

Far standing short: high side kick with good priority, but sort of slow. Good anti-air.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
9	No	Yes	Yes

Far standing forward: high side kick with good priority, but very slow start-up. Good anti-air if you can hit the button early enough.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
15	No	No	No

Far standing roundhouse: Ryu's staple roundhouse kick. Mediocre anti-air that can be canceled in the odd event that it hits during the first active part. This move can not be canceled into specials if it hits while the leg is fully extended.

Damage	Self-Combo	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
19	N/A	No	Yes	Yes
19	No	No	No	No

Crouching short: rapid fire crouching low kick. Mediocre priority but good reach.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
3	Yes	Yes	Yes

Crouching forward: crouching side kick. This move has good reach and recovery, but is has projected vulnerable hitboxes before it becomes active. It is an important tool when closing the gap on the enemy and trying to push him into the corner as it can be canceled into hadoukens. It is also used in bread and butter combos.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
14	No	Yes	Yes

Crouching roundhouse: Ryu's sweep kick. This move generates a fast knockdown if it hits. It has good range and the priority is such that it beats or trades with a number of moves. The recovery, however, is very long, so good players will try to bait this move so as to punish it afterward.

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
17	No	Yes	Yes

Aerial normals

Neutral jumping jab

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
9	No	Yes	No

Neutral jumping strong

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
14	No	Yes	No

Neutral jumping Fierce

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
17	No	Yes	No

Neutral jumping short

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
9	No	Yes	No

Neutral jumping forward

Damage	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
14	No	No	No

Neutral jumping roundhouse

Damage	Self-Combo	Chain Cancel	Special Cancel	Super Cancel
18	N/A	No	Yes	No
18	No	No	No	No

Throws

Ryu can throw using Strong, Fierce, Forward, and Roundhouse. The direction of the joystick determines the direction the enemy gets thrown at. Both punch throws are the same, which allow Ryu to grab the enemy and throw him above his head. The kick throws are also the same and have Ryu pull the enemy towards himself, lay down and throw them with the aid of his leg. All his throws have the same range and do 22% damage. Due to the start-up and recovery properties, the towards+Fierce throw is often preferred.

Command Normals

→ + Strong = over head (swing) punch. This move can only be blocked while standing. It has properties similar to those of aerial heavy attacks, which can be checked on the different recovery times depending on hitting standing or crouching opponents. However, Ryu is considered on the ground and can be thrown out of the move if the enemy reacts to its slow start-up or attempts a reversal counter throw.

Damage	Self-Combo	Crouching recovery	Standing recovery
18	N/A	20	11
3	Yes	20	11

→ + Fierce = rush (dash, plexus) punch. This is a good move to push you forward so as to close the gap between you and the enemy. It works as a dash if you want to get in position for an anti-air shoryuken or simply get face-to-face to the enemy and throw before he reacts. A main advantage of using this move instead of walking while exchanging projectiles is that you can use a hadouken as soon as you recover, while walking forward and attempting a hadouken immediately will give you a shoryuken instead due to command overlapping.

Damage	Self-Combo	Recovery
18	N/A	20
3	Yes	20

Special Moves

All motions are listed under the assumption that Ryu is facing right.

↓↘→ + P: Hadouken, also known as the fireball. Ryu throws a blue ball of energy at his opponent. The strength of the punch determines its speed: Jab flies the slowest, while Fierce flies the fastest. The Jab and Strong versions do 12% damage while the Fierce one does 13%.

Although all 3 versions (Jab, Strong, Fierce) have Ryu release the fireball at the same interval, Ryu will recover from the vulnerable "after-throw" state fastest after a Jab fireball and slowest after a Fierce fireball. However, the difference is almost imperceptible. You can reduce the recovery of strong and Fierce hadoukens by kara or special canceling a jab or short into them. Conversely, all versions will have the longest recovery when canceled out of a Fierce or Roundhouse. Some characters such as Vega can punish hadoukens on block or hit from close distance, so watch out for that. In adition to it, the move can evade completely when used from point-blank range, as some characters' attacks move their hitboxes towards a bit. This leaves Ryu wide open for throws or any ground combo they want to use.

This move is known to do high amounts of stun damage. Three hits in a row and pretty much any enemy falls dizzy. It's been rumored (though not verified, to my knowledge) that this normal fireball has more dizzying power than the red fireball.

←↙↓↘→ + P: Shakunetsu hadouken, also known as the Red Fireball. This is very similar to the normal fireball, except it will knock a grounded opponent down if it hits at close range or put them in a burning hitstun if it hits a grounded opponent from farther away. Both damage and recovery are the same as those of ordinary hadoukens. As for some curiosity, this is one of the few special attacks that do not force a standing state on the enemy if it hits, but Ryu does not take any advantage or disadvantage from this.

Some Ryu players use plenty of red fireballs, while others opt for the normal one almost exclusively. It seems to be at least partially a matter of taste.

Getting a knockdown with a red fireball can be a good opportunity to flick in a Short Hurricane Kick just to build meter. You have a moment or two of free time as the opponent falls and rises anyway, so you can look to land from the Hurricane Kick in time to throw another meaty fireball onto the opponent who's just standing up and continue your pressure.

Ryu's fireballs (blue or red) will disappear if they do not hit anyone after some time, but this is rather long such that only Jab projectiles may ever disappear before leaving the screen, and that if both players walk or jump in the same direction the projectile is going for some distance.

→↓↘ + P: Shoryuken, also known as Dragon Punch or uppercut. Ryu does an upper which is fully invincible, follows up with a rising punch, then remains completely defenseless as he falls back to the ground. Hit anyone with with move and they will take a full knockdown. Jab makes him jump the lowest and most vertical, does 20% if it hits early and is only vulnerable around the head. This move is very good for evading projectiles, it's Ryu's best reversal. The Strong version rises a bit higher and does 21% damage, but it is vulnerable around most Ryu's torso too. Fierce rises up the highest, does the most damage (24%), but has the same worse vulnerability during the rising part and the longest recovery. It is much harder - sometimes impossible - to evade projectiles with these moves, and they trade or lose cleanly to a number of other attacks after the initial invulnerable frames. If Ryu hits the enemy during the rising part of the move, it will deal 18% damage for all versions.

Since a properly-timed Dragon Punch will beat most other moves, its simplest and most common application is as a general anti-air counter, because you have a lot of time to react and time the attack as you see the opponent approaching through the air. Because it'll knock down, you can continue pressuring with whatever you like, such as a meaty fireball or a cross-up attack. In addition to it, any character that can not alter its jump arc will be unable to evade the move if you time it late, for highest damage, as Ryu will be invulnerable.

You can also use it to stuff virtually any normal ground attack from your opponent, but the timing for this is much more difficult. It's high-reward but also high-risk strategy, since missing can result in you being wide open to punishment. Unless your opponent is very predictable, this can be considered a very high-level strategy that should only be attempted with caution. Again, it seems largely a matter of taste; some excellent Ryu players attempt a lot of ground Dragon Punches, while other great players almost never try them. Sometimes players will immediately do another ground Dragon Punch if the first one misses, reasoning that the second might connect with the opponent's counterattack if they time it just a bit too late.

The Dragon Punch is an excellent reversal move in general. Bear in mind, however, that the first frames when Ryu raises his fist are not anymore invulnerable while still considered on the ground. Thus, Ryu can be thrown out of the move that precise instant.

↓↙← + K (on ground): Hurricane Kick. Ryu advances with a spinning kick that will knock down the opponent if it hits. Different kicks have different effects: Short has the lowest duration and speed, while Roundhouse has the highest. The Short and Forward versions do 15% damage; the Roundhouse version does 16%. Ryu is invulnerable during the first four frames of the move and is airbone by the time he can be hit again: this makes this attack a good option for evading meaty cross-ups and tick throws such as Zangief's spinning pile driver or T. Hawk's typhoon: he can not be thrown out of the move from the ground, unlike a Shoryuken. As soon as Ryu recovers from the move, he can only jump or block. The next frame, he can not throw.

The Hurricane Kick safely travels right over some projectiles and, with good positioning and timing, can be used to punish characters like Dhalsim and Guile for trying to use them. More information can be found in the specific character matchups.

Another trick with the Hurricane Kick is to use it to set up throws. Often this is done at close range with the Short version so that it takes place quickly, hopefully before the opponent can react in time. They see the Hurricane Kick come out and stay ducking, and then you land and throw them.

↓↙← + K (in air): Air Hurricane Kick. The Hurricane Kick can also be done while airborne. Again, stronger kicks give it longer duration. Unlike the ground version, it doesn't always move Ryu forward; if performed while jumping backwards, Ryu will continue moving in that direction.

The Air Hurricane Kick has some interesting effects on the speed and trajectory of the jump, as felineki writes:

The character's vertical velocity is not directly affected. Rather, their gravity value is temporarily adjusted. Every character has their own jump gravity value (as I'm sure you've noticed, Dhalsim falls much more slowly from a jump than Claw). This normally stays constant throughout a jump. However, when a shoto performs a mid-air hurricane kick, their gravity value is temporarily decreased. This gives them the effect of falling more slowly if it is performed on the way down, or allowing them to gain more height if done on the way up.

The decreased gravity value lasts as long as the character's leg is out, able to hit. As soon as they pull their leg back in, the gravity value returns to normal.

In addition, they are given a slight boost in horizontal velocity as the kick starts (a forward boost if jumping forward or straight up, a backward boost if jumping back). This additional velocity lasts until they actually touch the ground.

The Air Hurricane Kick has a multitude of uses. It serves as an alternative air attack with alternative properties than Ryu's normal attacks and may interact with opponent anti-air moves differently. As it changes jump properties, it can surprise the opponent. Done correctly, it can actually cross-up enemy air counters like the Flash Kick to hit the opponent from behind. Or it can be used for purposes as simple as building meter on the way down from a jump that you otherwise aren't interested in doing an attack in, such as when jumping far back away from an opponent or jumping straight up over a projectile from a distance.

While the air hurricane kick looks like the grounded one, in fact it has much worse priority. Also, it does not recover instantly when Ryu touches the ground.

--Raisin (March 29, 2007)
--Special thanks to felineki for the info on the Air Hurricane Kick.

Super Combo

Shinkuu Hadouken: ↓↘→↓↘→ + P. Ryu becomes invulnerable and throws a projectile that hits up to 5 times and dissipates any other projectile it comes across. It can be used as a juggle, often as anti-air, in case it may hit up to four times. It gives you a long frame advantage if blocked. Note that if you use it from point-blank range, it will only hit couple of times, and then you will be wide open for punishment.

This move does 10% damage per hit, causes the hitstun of a Jab or Short and a blockstun as long as that of Fierce or Roundhouse attacks.

Combos

This section lists useful combos that are plausible for match play. Combos that end in a hadouken can use either the blue or red versions, and may knock down if the red version is used.

Bread & Butter

• j.hk, cr.mk xx fp hadouken
• j.fp, cr.fp xx fp hadouken
• j.hk, st.fp xx fp hadouken

Meaty Combos

• meaty f + fp, cr.fp xx hadouken
• meaty f + fp, cr.mp, cr.hk (xx fp hadouken if blocked)
• meaty cl.hk, cr.hk (xx fp hadouken if blocked)
• meaty cl.mk, cr.mk xx hadouken

Crouching Opponent Only

• f + mp, cr.hk
• cross up j.hk, f + fp, cr.fp xx fp hadouken

Cross Up Only

• cross up j.hk, cr.mp, cr.mk xx fp hadouken
• cross up j.hk, cr.mp, (hit-confirm) xx fp shoryuken

Corner Only

• meaty cr.mk, cr.mk xx fp hadouken
• meaty jab hadouken, (walk up if needed) cr.rh
• meaty jab hadouken, strong or fierce hadouken
• meaty jab hadouken, super

Juggles

• j.mp (2 hits), j.mp (xx hurricance kick for meter)
• j.mp (2 hits), j.mp (1 hit), super (2 hits)
• j.mp (2 hits), super (3 hits)
• anti-air super (2 hits), j.mp (xx hurricane kick to regain some meter)

If you use super as anti-air and it hits three or four times, you can not combo jumping strong punch after it.

Super Combos

• Any of the above combos that end with a crouching move xx hadouken can be modified to end with a super instead. To cancel a crouching normal into Ryu's super, press the button for the normal at the beginning of the second fireball motion for the super. Examples:
  • cr.mk xx super (d, df, f, d + mk, df, f + lp)
  • cr.fp xx super (d, df, f, d + fp, df, f + lp)
  • cr.mp, cr.mk xx super (d + mp, pause, df, f, d + mk, df, f + lp)

In order to cancel a punch into super, you have to pause for a split second before pressing the button, or you will get a hadouken instead of a normal. If using a kick, instead of pausing, you can just walk forward. This can be used to do walk-up cr.forward xx super.

Goryus 18:44, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Frame Data

The data is displayed in strength order, from lowest to highest. So, for close punches, the first line is for a jab, the second one is for strong punch and the last one is for the fierce punch. Numbers in boldface font are active frames, that is, when your enemy can get hit by the attack. Numbers in italic font denote invulnerability. Only special and super attacks have invulnerability parts.

Normals

Grounded normals have an inherent one-frame input latency when compared to all other moves, including jumps and walking. You can still block during that extra latency frame, so it is not really part of the moves' start-up frames.

Close punches
2 - 4 - 5
3 - 2 - 17
3 - 2 - 6 - 23 (the second active part cannot be comboed into from the first part)

Close kicks
5 - 6 - 4
3 - 6 - 9
7 - 8 - 4 - 11

Far standing punches
2 - 4 - 5
3 - 4 - 7
5 - 6 - 23

Far standing kicks
4 - 8 - 5
7 - 8 - 7
2 - 4 - 8 - 17 (the second active part cannot be comboed into from the first part)

Crouching punches
2 - 4 - 5
3 - 4 - 8
3 - 3 - 8 - 23

Crouching kicks
3 - 4 - 5
3 - 6 - 9
3 - 6 - 25

The recovery of jumping attacks is variable: the characters only recover after they land.

Neutral jumping punches
2 - (active until landing)
4 - 20
4 - 8

Neutral jumping kicks
3 - 40
5 - 13
2 - 4 - 4

Command Normals

Overhead (swing) punch (f+strong)
16 - 2 - 3 - 10

rush (plexus) punch (f+fierce)
10 - 1 - 2 - 12

Special Moves

Hadouken (fireball, wave fist)
12 - 40
12 - 41
12 - 42

Red Hadouken (red fireball, shakunetsu hadouken)
12 - 40
12 - 41
12 - 42

Shoryuken (rising dragon punch)
4 - 4 - 2 - 8 - 21 - 5
4 - 4 - 2 - 12 - 28 - 5
4 - 4 - 2 - 16 - 35 - 5
Ryu is invulnerable for the first 8 frames of this move. The next two frames, he is vulnerable and grounded (i.e., throw-able).

Tatsumaki Senpuu Kiaku (tatsu, hurricane kick, spin kick)
4 - 7 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 15 - 0
4 - 7 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 15 - 0
4 - 7 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 15 - 0
The first four frames from this move are completely invulnerable. After that, it has 7 more start-up frames. When Ryu recovers, he can only block or jump, thus the recovery listed as of zero frame. The next frame, he can not throw.

Strategies

Overview

Super Turbo Ryu is a very flexible character. He has powerful combos, solid mixups, dangerous traps, and a great super. His moves provide him with an amazing toolbox, allowing him to avoid projectiles and punish mistakes easily and on the fly.

Basics

Ryu's basic game centers around two moves: the Hadouken (Fireball) and the Shoryuken (Dragon Punch).

The Hadouken is a powerful move - it advances across the screen independently of Ryu, harming anything it touches. Even if blocked, it still does damage (albeit only a little). As a result, throwing one forces the opponent to react; they have to try and find a way around it, or they will eventually succumb to the constant chip damage.

Every character has an easy way to try and avoid the Hadouken: jumping over it. Unfortunately for them, Ryu has also been equipped with the game's best anti-air move: the Shoryuken. If an opponent reacts to a Hadouken by jumping over it, Ryu can respond by performing a Shoryuken as they are coming down. Since they cannot block while in the air, there is nothing they can do to prevent it from hitting them.

If a character jumps over a Hadouken from a distance, out of the range of Ryu's Shoryuken, he can still walk forward and force them to land on a cr.hk. They cannot block this when timed correctly, and it will knock them down.

Zoning

Ryu's ideal positioning against most characters is at the very end of their jump arc - this gives him the maximum amount of time to recover from a Hadouken, while still being in range to hit them with a Shoryuken if they try to jump.

The Fireball Trap

Ryu's famous Fireball Trap is a simple but deadly pattern he can follow on a cornered opponent. After scoring a knock-down on an opponent in the corner, Ryu can first position himself at the end of their jump arc, and then throw a Jab Hadouken as they are getting up. The Jab Hadouken hits meaty, after which Ryu can immediately throw a second Jab Hadouken, which hits just after the first. Finally, he throws a Fierce Hadouken just as the second Jab Hadouken ends.

If done correctly, the enemy cannot jump out of this pattern. If they try to jump between any of these fireballs, the next fireball will hit them on the way up, they will be knocked down, and the pattern can be begun again. If they decide to jump after the last fireball in the pattern, Ryu can use his Shoryuken to knock them out of the sky and back into the corner. Then he can throw a meaty Jab Hadouken as they are getting up, and repeat the process all over again.

A few characters can break the pattern by evading the Jab Hadouken with an invulnerable move. Ryu and Ken can use their Jab Shoryukens to escape. Honda can use a Buttslam, which can be countered by a Shoryuken, but if you have committed to throwing a Fierce Hadouken, you can get a move to whiff and be punished for it as Honda descends. In order to avoid this problem, consider using the button-release Hadouken.

Hadouken tick

If you knock an enemy down at their corner, try getting from close to mid distance and throwing a Jab Hadouken so that it hits near their back. This gives you time to walk up and throw them while their are worried about cr.forward xx red Hadouken, walk up and retreat to bait reversals and walk-up Jab shoryuken. If the Hadouken hits, you can combo a crouching kick as they recover. Note that this strategy has risks: as the Hadouken has to land really meaty, many special attacks that have short periods of invulnerability can be used to evade the projectile completely, which would not be possible otherwise. This includes Ryu's short tatsu, short flash kick, Dee Jay and Vega's (Claw) flip kicks and many supers.

Tencho bait

Throw a few Fierce or Strong Hadoukens at your enemy. If they get blocked and you feel they are about to jump in, step back and throw a Jab haodouken for them to land on it.

Feints

Ryu (or Ken) have to duck for a split second if they throw a Hadouken while walking or standing still. Other players can react to this and the move's initial frames to evade the projectile or even punish you for using it. Ryu can fake Hadouken by simply ducking and standing, or throwing some standing Jab or Strong punches. Use this against enemies that can punish Hadoukens on reaction, such as Vega (Claw), M. Bison (Dictator), Sagat and others. If they jump in, punish with a Fierce Shoryuken. Against charge characters, mix up Hadoukens with rush punches and short tatsus so as to be at the end of their jump arc while pushing them back to their corner at the same time. That is the most dangerous distance for you to be if they guess right, but with mix-ups it should get difficult for your enemies to jump the right time.

The Super

Ryu's super is one of the best in the game, and he is capable of charging it up very quickly. It has three important properties that make it so dangerous:

• It blows through lesser projectiles, and will hit the character that threw them. In matches against other characters with projectiles, such as Dhalsim or Sagat, getting the super charged is a major turning point - it neutralizes their fireball, and let's Ryu play the game at his pace.

• It can easily be combo'ed into for massive damage (see Combos, above). A basic combo into super does around 70% of an opponent's health in damage, and will almost certainly end the round if it hits them.

• When blocked, it keeps the opponent trapped in blockstun for a long time, allowing Ryu to close the distance and follow up with one of his deadly mixups (see Mixups, below). The additional blockstun can also be used to extend his fireball trap, with the pattern: meaty Jab Hadouken, super, Jab Hadouken, Fierce Hadouken.

Button-Release Hadouken

Check this article at Nohoho's blog for an explanation on how to use negative-edge special attacks to avoid whiffed normals.

Built-In Shoryuken

The built-in Shoryuken is an advanced technique that takes precise execution to be effective. When mastered, it will allow you to safe-jump on certain characters without the risk of getting countered. It is explained in this post at Nohoho's blog. Do not try to use this technique against characters you are not comfortable safe-jumping at.

Mixups

Once Ryu scores a knockdown, he has one of two choices: he can continue pressuring with his Hadouken, or he can move in and attack with his powerful mixups as they are regaining their feet.

Cross Ups

Ryu can cross up his opponents as they are getting up by jumping a little over them and pressing Roundhouse. When done correctly, this has to be blocked in the opposite direction, because Ryu is no longer in front of them when the Roundhouse kick connects. If Ryu deliberately aims at the spot right above his opponent's head, it is often very difficult to tell whether the attack will cross up or not - and if the opponent guesses wrong, regardless of which side Ryu ends up on, Ryu gains a huge opportunity to hit the opponent with one of his Bread & Butter combos. A common technique is to follow with a cr.Strong as you land so you can confirm whether you are hitting the enemy or he blocked. If your enemy did not block, immediately cancel the crouching Strong into a Shoryuken, for high damage and a full knockdown. Else, apply Ryu's usual mix-ups such as throw, cr.Roundhouse, cr.Forward xx red Hadouken, late Shoryuken or simply waiting for him to make a mistake.

In addition to the previous strategy, Ryu can jump forward the way he normally would for a safe jump, from the front. As he is at the apex of the jump, perform an air tatsu to cross the enemy up as you land, obtaining another knock down. You can also jump above your enemy in a way that a cross-up roundhouse would whiff. Before landing, perform an air tatsu to hit your enemy if he tries to walk up and throw you.

High/Low

Ryu's f + mp command normal has to be blocked high - it will hit any opponent who is blocking low. In addition, it can be linked into his cr.hk for a 3 hit combo, and a knockdown. Similarly, Ryu's cr.mk xx red hadouken has to be blocked low - it will hit any opponent who is blocking high (also scoring a knockdown).

If your opponent is not on fast enough, randomly choosing one of these two patterns as he is recovering from a knockdown will give you a 50/50 chance of hitting him again, scoring another knockdown, and continuing the assault. However, know that Ryu's f + mp has a slow start-up, which allows players with good reactions to block or even counter it.

Throw Baiting

Ryu has two normal moves after which he can always link cr.mk: f + fp, and cr.mp. In addition, he can link cr.mk after a meaty s.mk or cr.mk.

By performing one of these moves as an opponent is getting up, Ryu is threatening to hit the opponent with a powerful combo. To prevent this, the opponent will likely block the move. However, these attacks are also excellent throw set-ups - simply wait until the move has finished, and then press f + mp to throw the opponent.

Savvy opponents will know that they can escape the throw by either A) counter-throwing, or B) performing a reversal move. But here is the trick to this mixup: doing either requires them to stand up. Since cr.mk can be linked after these moves, you can link cr.mk xx red Hadouken instead of trying to throw them. This will hit them if they try to counter-throw or perform a reversal move, knock them down, and let you follow up with another mixup.

Additional Notes

It is important to pay attention to what happens to your Hadoukens after you throw them. Ryu can only ever have one Hadouken on the screen at a time, so if an opponent jumps straight up to pass over the Hadouken, attempting to throw a second one will simply fail and result in a normal move. This gives the opponent plenty of time to close the gap and fight the game on his terms.

In order to play Ryu well, you must be able to react to how your opponent reacts to your Hadoukens.

Goryus 17:24, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Match-ups

• • Balrog (Boxer)
  • O. Balrog (Boxer)
  • Blanka - Stay on the ground. Crouching strong beats a number of his pokes, but does not have enough reach to guarantee that you will control him in footsies. Use hadoukens from a distance to push him back. If he uses his horizontal rolling attack, block it standing and do a reversal fierce hadouken to punish him. If Blanka jumps in on top of you, use a shoryuken. If he jumps from a distance such that it would whiff, use cr.roundhouse, standing strong and jumping fierce as anti-air. Blanka can often counter those moves, so mix them up to keep him off balance. If you score a knockdown, use your projectile game or jumping fierce if you believe he will try a reversal. Do a hadouken as you land to punish a possible reversal back hop. The horizontal rolling part of Blanka's super can be hit by hadoukens.
  • O. Blanka
  • Cammy - Use your projectile game to zone her, and use standing strong or cr.roundhouse to punish jump-ins. If she gets up close, try a red hadouken between her pokes, or a walk-up cr.forward or roundhouse into hadouken only if she does not have super. Jump ins, spinning backfist and hooligan combination cam all be punished with a shoryuken on reaction.
  • O. Cammy
  • Chun-Li - Use a barrage of hadoukens to cancel her kikouken game, and rush punches or short tatsus to close the gap and push her into the corner. If she jumps, you will be in position for a shoryuken for high damage and a full knockdown. At the corner, keep the pressure up with hadoukens, rush punches into throw and crouching kicks into hadoukens. If she tries to escape, use close standing fierce or shoryuken. If he jumps from a distance such that a SRK is unsafe, block or jump back . Her super is a threat when charged. Because she can store it while walking forward, be extra careful with your projectiles. If she uses the neckbraker on your wake-up, block it low. It will change sides and hit as a cross-up if she does it from point-blank range. She can hit you out of hadoukens with a number of safe pokes such as standing forward kick. Time a projectile between pokes to avoid getting countered, but know you will be wide open for a dizzy combo if she guesses right and jumps in.
  • O. Chun-Li
  • Dee Jay
  • O. Dee Jay
  • Dhalsim
  • O. Dhalsim
  • E. Honda - Use your projectile game to zone him, and cr.roundhouse or SRK to punish jump-ins. Against buttslams, prefer shoryukens, back + strong or cr.strong xx red hadouken. If he gets up close, do not panic. watch out for opportunities such as a jump-in or a buttslam. Try red hadoukens between his pokes occasionally. If he does a super, block the first hit and use a reserval shoryuken to knock him out of the air.
  • O. E. Honda
  • Fei Long
  • O. Fei Long
  • Guile - Use a barrage of hadoukens to cancel his sonic boom game, and rush punches or short tatsus to close the gap and push him into the corner. If he jumps, you will be in position for a shoryuken for high damage and a full knockdown. At the corner, keep the pressure up with hadoukens, rush punches into throw and crouching kicks into hadoukens. If he tries to escape, use close standing fierce or shoryuken. If he jumps from a distance such that a SRK is unsafe, crouching strong should beat all his jump-ins.
  • O. Guile - Same as above.
  • Ken - Your fireball game is better. Force him to take risks and punish accordingly, closing the distance when possible to push him into the corner.
  • O. Ken
  • M. Bison (Dictator) - Learn the timing for crossing him on on knockdowns. If he tries a headstomp while you are standing, crouch to avoid it. Zone him carefully and be ready to shoryuken jump-ins.
  • O. M. Bison (Dictator)
  • Ryu
  • O. Ryu
  • Sagat
  • O. Sagat
  • T. Hawk
  • O. T. Hawk
  • Vega (Claw)
  • O. Vega (Claw)
  • Zangief
  • O. Zangief

Dark Gaiden has given some match-up advice on his interview on Shoryuken.com. Be sure to check that out!

Serious Advantage Match-ups

Blanka, O.Blanka, Honda, O.Honda, Cammy, O.Cammy, O.Dee Jay, O.Fei Long, O.M. Bison (Dictator).

Advantage Match-ups

Ken, Guile, O.Guile, O.Zangief, Chun Li, O.Chun Li, Fei Long, Thunder Hawk, Sagat, M. Bison (Dictator).

Fair Match-ups

Ryu, O.Ryu, O.Ken, Zangief, O.Hawk, O.Boxer.

Disadvantage Match-ups

Vega (Claw), Balrog (Boxer)

Serious Disadvantage Match-ups

O.Sagat, Dhalsim. Template:Super Turbo