Capcom vs SNK 2/Ryu

Introduction

Health (at Ratio 2)
14400	Above Average
Stun
70	Average
Dash Length
15 Frames	Short
Dash Type
Slide	Corpse Hop=No, Proj. Hop=No
Run Speed
8.2	Slightly Above Average
Roll Distance
140 pixels	Far
Roll Duration
27f	Long
Wakeup Speed compared to Ryu
0f	Average

Story

Ryu is the main character of the Street Fighter series, as well as THE fighting game character. He is a traveling martial artist who strives to test himself against strong opponents. Ryu is a practitioner of the Ansatsuken fighting style, alongside his best friend and rival Ken Masters. Strong and silent, Ryu's greatest pleasure in life is combat. He takes his training very seriously, even the basics. Occasionally, an evil power known as the Satsui no Hado threatens to overcome him, manipulating his desire for improvement into a desire for victory at any cost. Regardless, Ryu continues to train himself and travel the world, so that he may become the greatest version of himself that he can be.

Gameplay

Often you'll hear certain types of characters referred to as "shotos". These tend to be the simple, fundamental, and easy characters that can excel at any level. Ryu is the original shoto, and likely the purest one you can ever play. His control of neutral is stellar, with multiple great pokes, two fireballs, and a powerful anti-air. His main super, Shinkuu Hadouken, is a powerful utility super that allows him to punish fireballs or end combos with great damage. He can alter his air momentum with his Air Tatsu specials to keep his approach a bit ambiguous. His defense with his invincible Shoryuken is powerful, since he can deny pressure that isn't gapless. Even his rushdown is solid, though it is likely his weakest point. He has an overhead, a crossup, good hop normals, a solid low confirm, and of course two grabs.

While Ryu doesn't truly have many weaknesses, his main weakness is that his strengths aren't excelling in their categories. He does everything well, but nothing perfectly, and requires you to make intelligent decisions and make solid gameplans. Ryu rewards consistency, and without it his strengths will falter. He does still have weaknesses, mainly that his preferred ender for knockdowns and damage requires a standing opponent meaning his knockdowns are a bit harder to find. Otherwise, Ryu is a simple and solid character that rewards you for being a good player.

Groove Selection

While Ryu can be played in any Groove to some extent, he definitely has some he prefers over others. Likely his best is C-Groove, predictably. C-Groove is often seen as a fundamental Groove with simple Street Fighter style gameplay, and Ryu fits that perfectly. Simple level 2 combos, access to lots of meter for his supers, and a decent amount of defensive options make C-Ryu a standard and useful character. N-Ryu is a different take on the same Ryu formula. N-Groove is a versatile and simple Groove, and Ryu fits into it fairly well. While he does play a lot more mobile, he still ends a lot of combos in supers and has a nice mix of offensive and defensive options.

K-Ryu gets access to the useful mechanics of JD and Rage. While he struggles a bit without Rage, JD helps him build it very fast, and his level 3 Shinkuu is no joke. Having access to Shin Shoryuken more often is also a benefit, as his close range punishes become very high damage. A-Ryu isn't bad, as while he doesn't have the greatest Custom Combo ever CC is still a powerful mechanic regardless. A-Ryu is more useful on point, where his great meter build and sustainable gameplan lets him ensure that the second character already has a CC ready when they come out.

S-Ryu is a bit more of a gimmick. While Ryu can charge meter without sacrificing much to his patient gameplan, he still would rather use his great meterbuild tools or a few combos and cancels. Infinite level 1 supers is useful though, as Ryu can end every combo in Shinkuu, making all of his punishes and pokes much higher damage. P-Ryu is inconsistent at best. Parries are a useful tool, but Ryu can't always benefit from them unless he has a super, and P-Ryu won't have supers very often. However, when he does have a super, a parry from P-Ryu will do great damage with either a cancel into level 3 Shinkuu or a close parry into Shin Shoryuken.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Very versatile toolkit allows him to easily work in most situations Simple "footsies" based gameplan makes him easy and rewarding to learn Generally very easy, with very few truly difficult things to learn A useful and reliable super with Shinkuu Hadouken Useful to some extent in every Groove Solid damage output, simple zoning and neutral, and solid defense, Ryu has everything you would want on a basic level

While he does do well in most categories, he isn't Sagat. He doesn't entirely excel in any category besides neutral His mixup potential is lackluster, he does have access to a simple mixup with his standing overhead and his normal throw but they lead to very little reward His preferred meterless combo ender whiffs on crouchers, so he tends to want to end in a super which he doesn't always have

Normal Moves

5LP

Far Jab
Far Light Punch
5LP / Far LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	300	3	RF/SP/SU	Mid	High	2	4	6	12	+7	+7	None
A fast far jab. Like most 5LP's, it's very fast and very plus but can be crouched under. Generally you would always rather 2LP, but this is fine in anti-air situations.

5MP

Far Strong
Far Medium Punch
5MP / Far MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	1000	10	SU	Mid	High	5	6	17	28	-1	-1	None
Similar to jab but does higher damage. Only cancels into supers and is still crouchable, but not a horrible move as it can whiff punish things from a bit farther away. You still have better tools than this though.

5HP

Far Fierce
Far Heavy Punch
5HP / Far HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	1400	14	SU	Mid	High	7	10	20	37	0	0	None
A big, far reaching punch. Decent range and damage, so it isn't a bad punish. You would rather punish with 2MK into a special cancel, however if you have a super you can do this into it for big damage.

5LK

Far Short
Far Light Kick
5LK / Far LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	500	5	SP/SU	Mid	High	4	8	5	17	+3	+3	None
A quick upwards kick. One of many solid anti-airs, and it has another use for evading low hitting attacks, though you won't get to punish always.

5MK

Far Forward
Far Medium Kick
5MK / Far MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	900	9	None	Mid	High	8	8	12	28	+2	+2	None
Basically a beefier version of 5LK without the cancel window and with 4 frames slower startup. Same use cases, just a bit different really.

5HK

Far Roundhouse
Far Heavy Kick
5HK / Far HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Far	1200,1300	12,13	SP/SU	Mid	High	4	12	18	34	-6	-6	None
Another standing anti-air kick, and probably your best one. Reaches notably farther than his other normal anti-airs, and hits harder too. Unlike most anti-air normals with two damage values, this does the same damage on standing or jumping opponents. Instead, the first hitbox has the lower damage value and the cancel window. This is hard to hit though, as it's only barely past the range you'll get cl.HK.

Close Normals

clLP

Close Jab
Close Light Punch
cl.LP / cl5LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	400	4	RF/SP/SU	Mid	High	2	4	6	12	+7	+7	None
Essentially the same as the far version with 100 more damage. Since it does more damage, you would rather hit this, but obviously since it's a close normal you can't always do that. Same usage as 5LP otherwise, and you would still rather use 2LP most of the time.

clMP

Close Strong
Close Medium Punch
cl.MP / cl5MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	800	8	SP/SU	Mid	High	3	3	20	26	-3	-3	None
A quick hook at the same height as 5MP. Unlike 5MP this can't be crouched. Useful as a fast close range punish, sine it starts up in 3 frames, but sees little to no use elsewhere since the frame data otherwise is mediocre.

clHP

Close Fierce
Close Heavy Punch
cl.HP / cl5HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	1200/1000	12/10	SP/SU	Mid	High	3	8	24	35	-8	-8	None
Your highest damage cancel, making it your preferred punish starter and combo after a jump. Easily combos into every Ryu special and Shinkuu, and even has a slight delay cancel window to make cancels into Shinkuu easier. Also a nice anti-air, and if you hit them low in their jump you can cancel into a LP Hadouken to make them block as they land.

clLK

Close Short
Close Light Kick
cl.LK / cl5LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	300	3	SP/SU	Mid	Mid	4	8	7	19	+2	+2	None
A quick low kick that doesn't hit low. Useful for making hitconfirms off of lights a bit easier, and as a check in close range, but is usually outclassed by his other close normals.

clMK

Close Forward
Close Medium Kick
cl.MK / cl5MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	900	9	SP/SU	Mid	High	3	8	16	27	+1	+1	None
A quick knee to the chest. The close medium you want to use, as it does more damage and has better frame data than cl.MP for basically no downside. Useful meaty normal and punish normal.

clHK

Close Roundhouse
Close Heavy Kick
cl.HK / cl5HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	500+900	5+9	SU	Mid	High	7	9,4	18	38	+2	+2	None
A two hit axe kick. Not an overhead despite looks. Not entirely useful, as only the first hit super cancels and the first hit does very little damage. This isn't a bad anti-air but Ryu has better, and you would always rather use cl.HP into a special for damage.

Crouching Normals

2LP

Crouch Jab
Crouching Light Punch
2LP / cr.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	300	3	RF/SP/SU	Mid	Mid	3	4	6	13	+7	+7	None
A useful 2LP for mashing, confirming, and linking. Only sacrifice over the standing versions is that it's one frame slower, but this rarely comes into play. You'll use this a lot to pressure the opponent blocking, or to link into stronger moves like 2MK or cl.HP and cancel into super for big damage combos. Doesn't hit low but you have 2LK for that.

2MP

Crouch Strong
Crouching Medium Punch
2MP / cr.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	900	9	SP/SU	Mid	Mid	4	7	9	20	+6	+6	None
Another very useful normal. Very plus, can link into itself once. Pretty solid range and fast startup lets it stuff out other slower buttons quickly too. Useful as a meaty to fish for counterhits or generate plus frames if they block

2HP

Crouch Fierce
Crouching Heavy Punch
2HP / cr.HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1200/800	12/8	SP/SU	Mid	High	3	11	26	40	-13	-13	None
A high reaching uppercut punch. Very useful anti-air normal, as it reaches high and surprisingly far. Has very fast startup and high active frames as well. Just watch whiffing this, as it has a lot of endlag and you'll likely be punished. Similar to cl.HP, if you catch them low in their jump you can cancel into a fireball and make them block it.

2LK

Crouch Short
Crouching Light Kick
2LK / cr.LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	200	2	RF/SP/SU	Low	Low	3	4	8	15	+5	+5	None
A low hitting kick, and your main way to confirm from a low hit. Easily confirms into a tatsu on a standing opponent, or into Shinkuu anytime, even after doing 2 or 3 of them. Most useful when done meaty or in pressure, and especially when your opponent is scared of your 6MP overhead or a hop overhead in Grooves with hops.

2MK

Crouch Forward
Crouching Medium Kick
2MK / cr.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	800	8	SP/SU	Low	Low	4	6	17	27	-1	-1	None
Your new favorite normal. Reaches far and hits low, and cancels into fireball or tatsu or Shinkuu for a simple combo. Very fast startup lets you whiff punish easily with this, and playing around the range of 2MK is usually Ryu's preferred range over any of his other normals. Easily linked into as well off of 2LP, which gives you big damage increases off of his low confirms. All around very useful normal, use this a lot.

2HK

Crouch Roundhouse
Crouching Roundhouse
2HK / cr.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1300	13	SP/SU	Low	Low	6	6	35	47	-DWN	-15	None
Ryu's sweep. Very long range and immediate knockdown makes this attractive, but if you whiff this you'll almost definitely be punished. If this gets blocked, ALWAYS cancel into a fireball, as Ryu is left heavily unsafe if not. Useful as a whiff punish or after a long blockstring to add another low if they aren't expecting it.

Jumping Normals

jLP

Jump Jab
Jumping Light Punch
j.LP / 8LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
,,+	600	6	SP	High	High	3	22	0	25	Varies	Varies	None
A fast and very active j.LP. Useful as a way to interrupt an opponents jump, but not much use otherwise.

jMP

Jump Strong
Jumping Medium Punch
j.MP / 8MP

Neutral Jump

Diagonal Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1000	10	SP	High	High	4	10	0	14	Varies	Varies	None
Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
/+	600+300	6+3	None	High	High	5	3,8	0	16	Varies	Varies	None
A unique 2 hit jump-in. Only really works on tall characters, but on those characters it makes for a neat double overhead mixup as both hits have to be blocked high. Neutral jump version has little use outside for hitting some things directly above Ryu, but you have better options on the ground for that.

jHP

Jump Fierce
Jumping Heavy Punch
j.HP / 8HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
,,+	1300/1200	13/12	None	High	High	5	8	0	13	Varies	Varies	None
A big punch below Ryu. Nice as a jump-in but you'll usually use j.HK more, as this does less damage and has worse reach. Neutral jump version does 100 more damage, making it a useful starter for stun combos and for being flashy in training mode.

jLK

Jump Short
Jumping Light Kick
j.LK / 8LK

Neutral Jump

Diagonal Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	500	5	SP	High	High	4	22	0	26	Varies	Varies	None
Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
/+	500	5	SP	High	High	3	22	0	25	Varies	Varies	None
A knee below Ryu. Not much use for j.LK as it doesn't have much hitstun and the hitbox is a bit worse for air-to-air lights than j.LP. Can be used as an instant overhead on tall characters but this is very unsafe. The neutral jump version can be used to hit people above you from a neutral jump, but you have better grounded anti-airs.

jMK

Jump Forward
Jumping Medium Kick
j.MK / 8MK

Neutral Jump

Diagonal Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	900	9	None	High	High	5	10	0	15	Varies	Varies	None
Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
/+	800	8	None	High	High	5	12	0	17	Varies	Varies	None
Ryu's crossup jump-in. Very useful in his meaty mixups, as you can either crossup with j.MK or hit in front with j.HK. Other than crossups this has little use. The neutral jump version has the same uses as nj.LK but does a bit more damage in exchange for less active frames. Regardless you would still rather just 2HP or DP.

jHK

Jump Roundhouse
Jumping Heavy Kick
j.HK / 8HK

Neutral Jump

Diagonal Jump

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1300,1200	13,12	SP	High	High	3	8	0	11	Varies	Varies	None
Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
/+	1200	12	None	High	High	6	7	0	13	Varies	Varies	None
Your main jump normal for reach and damage. Goes very far and has high hitstun, allowing you to easily link into a grounded normal and a cancel. Very reliable jump normal. Neutral jump is a good air-to-air, and similar to 5HK and 2HP if you hit them very close you can cancel it into specials. Since it's an air normal however, your only cancel is air tatsu, which won't combo.

Command Normals

Sakatsu Wari

Sakatsu Wari
Overhead
6MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	300+600	3+6	None	-3	-3	26	5	20	51	-3	-3	None
Ryu's two hit overhead move. Reactable on paper, but it will definitely hit opponents here and there. Usually you'll do this meaty to avoid them mashing out, but be wary of opponents with good reactions and reversal timings. Fairly low reward, and in hop Grooves you would rather do a hop HK, but important to represent as it allows them to be opened up in other ways.

Kyuubu Kudaki

Kyuubu Kudaki
Rush Punch, Lunge Punch
6HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	500+900	5+9	None	Mid	High	15	4,12	16	47	-4	-4	None
Ryu slides forward with his fist out. In other SF games, you can link out of this for big damage. In this game, not so much. Outside of the obvious benefit of being a forward moving hitbox, this leaves Ryu -4 on hit and block, meaning it can be punished at some ranges. This heavily limits its use, meaning you should only use it rarely when the opponent won't be ready to punish. It's also very useful for A-Ryu as an easy CC, but even then he has better options.

Senpu Kyaku

Senpu Kyaku
Hop Kick
6MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	700	7	None	Mid	High	19	4	15	28	-4	+1	Lower Body/Throw (Airborne)
Ryu hops into the air and kicks out in front of him with a nj.HK. Similar usage to 6HP, but has a few benefits over it. The biggest one being that it's airborne. This allows it to jump over lows, evade throws, and even hop over some fireballs like Iori's. One of the few moves in CvS2 to have different frame data on hit and on block. On hit, this is -4, meaning you should always space it out so they can't punish with a throw. On block however it's +1, making it a useful way for Ryu to reset pressure against opponents who are blocking a lot.

Throws

Seoi Nage

Seoi Nage
Punch Throw
Near Opponent, 4/6HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close /+	1800	0	None	Grab	Grab	3	1	13	17	-DWN	Grab	None
Ryu has a fairly standard punch throw, predictably. For most CvS2 characters, punch throws are the faster and lower damage of your two throws. This makes them mostly used for punishes and tick throws.

Tomoe Nage

Tomoe Nage
Kick Throw
Near Opponent, 4/6HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close /+	2100	0	None	Grab	Grab	5	1	13	19	-DWN	Grab	None
The higher damage throw at the expense of 2 frames of startup. More useful for throw mixups, and it actually does 100 damage more than the average kick throw. Not as useful for punishes, and leaves a wider gap in tick throws.

Special Moves

Hadouken

Hadouken
Fireball
236P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	800	8	None	Mid	High	12	Traveling	42	54	-9	-9	None
+	900	9	None	Mid	High	12	Traveling	43	55	-10	-10	None
+	1000	10	None	Mid	High	12	Traveling	44	56	-11	-11	None
Ryu's classic fireball series. Useful zoning tools, especially the slower LP version. The HP version is great for cancels, as it travels fastest. Fireballs carry a lot of risk however, especially in CvS2. A well timed roll cancelled special move will often go right through your fireball, and some A-Groove characters can even punish with a CC activation. Rolls also exist, and while they can't be done on reaction, they don't need to react if you use this in the same spots all the time. Vary when you use these, how you use them, and which version you use to get the most out of your zoning, neutral, and pressure.

Shakunetsu Hadouken

Shakunetsu Hadouken
Red Fireball
41236P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	900/1000	9/10	None	Mid	High	14	Traveling	47	61	-DWN	-14	None
+	1000	10	None	Mid	High	14	Traveling	48	62	-DWN	-15	None
+	1100/1000	11/10	None	Mid	High	14	Traveling	49	63	-DWN	-16	None
A fireball very similar to his 236P Hadoukens, but they can knock down up close. Generally a bit worse for zoning, since they have some extra endlag. This also makes them worse for cancels on block. However, any combo where you can end in Hadouken, you can end in this instead for a knockdown and more damage. The 2nd damage value is after they travel out of range for the knockdown, meaning you always want the HP version in combos for max damage.

Shoryuken

Shoryuken
DP, Uppercut, Shoryu
623P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1600/800	16/8	None	Mid	High	4	14	29	47	-DWN	-19	4 (Full), 14 (Lower)
+	1700/800	17/8	None	Mid	High	4	16	39	59	-DWN	-30	8 (Full), 12 (Lower)
+	1900/800	19/8	None	Mid	High	4	19	47	70	-DWN	-41	8 (Full), 14 (Lower)
The classic Shoryuken DP series. LP is your favorite anti-air, MP is your preferred reversal, and HP is the combo ender and damage dealer, and also a reversal too. These carry massive risk, especially if blocked, so use them like you use fireballs: with caution. Careless wakeup DPs or poorly timed anti-air DPs will get you killed faster than any other mistake you can make. In combos, these can be used if the opponent is very close to you and are very high damage too. However you usually won't be close enough to cancel into these, and will whiff into eating a full combo.

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Tatsu
214K

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1200	12	None	Mid	High	13	2(4)2	17	38	-DWN	Varies	None
+	1300	13	None	Mid	High	13	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2	17	42	-DWN	Varies	None
+	1400	14	None	Mid	High	13	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2	17	44	-DWN	Varies	None
Ryu's tatsu specials. These are your preferred combo enders for knockdown, damage, and reliability. Sadly, they aren't entirely reliable, as they can be crouched under. This means that Ryu has to confirm an opponent standing or not before cancelling into this, since if you miss and the opponent crouches under it, you're open for a punish. It should be noted however that punishing tatsus that go over your head isn't the easiest, and does require a bit of practice. If you notice your opponent doesn't punish you if they crouch under these, there's no reason to not use them all the time. In neutral, these can be useful to approach with a hitbox out, though it's massively risky and you should almost always roll cancel them for this.

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Air Tatsu
j.214K

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
In Air, +	800	8	None	Mid	High	5	2(4)2(4)2(4)2	Till Landing +6	31+	-DWN	+18	None
A tatsu done midair. Useful for altering your air momentum, or cancelling certain jump normals to get frame advantage on a blocking opponent. Unlike Ken or Akuma, you can't combo from these, which limits their reward a lot, but these still make for good tools to evade anti-airs or crossup ambiguously.

Super Moves

Shinku Hadouken

Shinku Hadouken
Fireball Super
236236P

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	2000	0	None	Mid	High	4:5	Traveling	45	54	-DWN	-6	7 (Full)
+	3000	0	SP/SU	Mid	High	4:5	Traveling	45	54	-DWN	-3	12 (Full)
+	4500	0	None	Mid	High	4:5	Traveling	45	54	-DWN	0	19 (Full)
Ryu's main super. Just like Ryu himself, this is a versatile and simple super. In neutral, this will blow through other projectiles and punish the opponent for using them. As a reversal, it's fairly safe although only the MP and HP versions will be true reversals. It really shines as a combo ender, where it adds big damage easily. The level 2 version of Shinku is a big reason Ryu is best in C-Groove, as he can easily combo into it and then cancel into a 214HK or LP Shinku. The level 3 version is a massive damage combo ender as well.

Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Shinku Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Tatsu Super
214214K

Not this Shinku, the other one

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	2600	0	None	Mid	High	5:4	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(3)2	24	64	-DWN	-2	9 (Full)
+	3800	0	SP/SU	Mid	High	5:4	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(3)2	25	89	-DWN	-3	15 (Full)
+	5500	0	None	Mid	High	5:4	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(3)2	26	114	-DWN	-4	23 (Full)
A less useful but higher damage super. Harder to properly combo into than Shinku Hadouken, meaning you'll rarely combo into it. As a reversal it does more damage but it isn't safe. Generally you'll always either spend meter on Shinku Hadouken, or would prefer to save the meter for a cancel into Shinku Hadouken.

Shin Shoryuken

Shin Shoryuken
Shoryuken Super
23623K

You used to have a healthbar

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	6400	0	None	Mid	High	4:0	4,4~14	51	73	-DWN	-41	22 (Full)
A massive damage, massive risk uppercut. One of the most satisfying moves to land, both because of the huge damage and the beefy animation of Ryu uppercutting them three times. If this whiffs or gets blocked, you will not only lose 3 full bars, but will also get hit by the opponents favorite combo, making it a huge risk. However, if you have a punish or recognize a meaty while you have a level 3 ready, letting this rock will either kill or solidly get you the life lead. Combos into this are rare, for the same reason combos into Shinku Tatsu are rare, as the first hit has very short range.

The Basics

At mid-screen, Ryu can control space with st.MP, cr.MP, cr.MK, and st.HP. These moves have decent to long range, and are good for whiff punishing or poking.

st.MP and st.HP are super cancelable, while cr.MP and cr.MK are both special and super cancelable.

At close range, Ryu's best normals to use are cl.LP, cr.LP, cl.LK, cr.LK, and st.MK due to their fast startup speed and frame advantage. cr.LK makes for a useful tool for hit-confirming, and can be special canceled into Tatsu for a simple combo, or buffered into a Shinku Hadoken.

For building meter, Ryu can safely build meter from a long range via whiffing:

- cr.MP
- dp + LP
- j.qcb + HK
- qcb + LK

These are all ideally done from a full-screen distance away in order to minimize the risk of being punished.

Ryu's go-to anti-airs are:

- st.LK or st.MK
- cl.HP
- cr.HP
- st.HK
- dp + P

Combos

Note that all damage values were recorded on a Ratio 2 vs Ratio 2 matchup in C-Groove, and with no damage reduction from lower health. Damage may vary slightly depending on Groove selection and health left.

Most of these combos will work with a jumping normal (preferably j.HK) before the first hit. A crossup j.MK will work too.

Meterless Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
cr.LK x 1-3 xx qcb + HK	Any	1470 (cr.LK x1), 1890 (cr.LK x2), 2100 (cr.LK x3)	16 (cr.LK x1), 18 (cr.LK x2), 20 (cr.LK x3)	Very Easy	Basic confirm off of cr.LK. Allows for a bit of corner carry as well. Adjust the number of cr.LKs based on distance.
cr.LK xx cr.LP, cr.MK xx qcb + HK	Any	2835	27	Easy	Link from cr.LP into cr.MK. Do not delay the cancel from cr.LK into cr.LP, or else the qcb + HK will not connect in time after cr.MK.
cr.LP, cl.HP xx qcb + HK	Any	3045	29	Easy	Link from cr.LP into cl.HP. Can also be done from cr.LK.
cr.MK xx qcf + HP	Any	1890	18	Very Easy	The most famous combo in fighting games, probably. Useful for complimenting your cr.MK pokes, though the Hadoken will not combo afterward if done from longer ranges. If you can, try a Shakunetsu Hadoken (hcf + P) for a hard knockdown and more damage.
cr.MP, cr.MP xx qcb + HK	Any	3360	32	Easy	The link from cr.MP into another cr.MP is a bit tight, but can be made easy with practice, and is quite rewarding with decent damage.
j.HK xx cl. HP xx hcf + HP	Any	3675	35	Easy	If done in the corner, the Shakunetsu Hadoken will knock the opponent down while keeping Ryu at mid-range, meaning you can react to attempts to get out of the corner like rolls or jumping.

Unless otherwise specified, the following combos are done with level 1 supers due to differences in Grooves. Cost will be measured in "bars" if done in C-Groove or any groove, this can refer to stocks as well. Even though it says "1 Stock in Max Mode", keep in mind it costs 1 stock to enter Max Mode in the first place (N-Groove only).

Super Combos

Combo	Groove	Cost	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
cr.LK xx cr.LP xx cr.LK xx qcfqcf + P (level 1)	Any	1 Bar	Any	~2835	7	Intermediate	Crouching light confirm.
cr.LK xx cr.LP xx cr.LK xx qcfqcf + MP xx qcb + HK	C-Groove	2 Bars	Any	5171	21	Intermediate	Crouching light confirm, but with C-Groove's level 2 super canceling.
cr.LK xx cr.LP xx cr.LK xx qcfqcf + MP xx qcfqcf + LP	C-Groove	3 Bars	Any	5985	7	Intermediate	If you want to spend the additional bar.
cr.LK xx cr.LP, cr.MK xx qcfqcf + MP xx qcb + HK	C-Groove	2 Bars	Any	5801	27	Intermediate	Link from cr.LP into cr.MK, canceled into a level 2 super which is canceled into a Hard Tatsu.
cr.LK xx cr.LP, cr.MK xx qcfqcf + MP xx qcfqcf + LP	C-Groove	3 Bars	Corner	6615	13	Intermediate
cr.LP, cl.HP xx qcfqcf + P (level 1)	Any	1 Bar	Any	2675	15	Easy	The cancel window on cl.HP is fairly lenient for a CVS2 cancel window.
j.HK xx cl.HP xx qcfqcf + P (level 3)	C, P, S, N, K-Groove	3 Bars (C)/Full Bar (P)/Low Health MAX (S)/ 1 Stock MAX Mode (N)/Full Bar (K)	Any	~7245	24	Easy	T H A T ' S W H A T W E L I K E T O C A L L [ B I G D A M A G E ]

Advanced Strategy

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