SvC Chaos: SNK Vs Capcom/Ryo Sakazaki

Overview

Combos

Matchups

Strategy

Misc.

リョウ・サカザキ, Ryo Sakazaki
Category	Normal
Playstyle	Defensive shoto
Difficulty	Mostly Easy
Max Mode Needed?	Much better with it
Tier Placement	Maybe (C)
Standing Hitbox	?
Crouching Hitbox	Short
Defense Modifier	215
Wall Jump	No

Introduction

Ryo Sakazaki is the main character of the Art of Fighting series, along with Robert Garcia, and is further one of the staple KOF characters along with the likes of Terry and Kyo. His moves are Shoto-esque: he has a DP, a defensive fireball-like projectile, and a tatsu-like kick special. Being a copy-and-paste job of his KOF2002 iteration, he's just as easy to pick up and play in this game with little work needed to learn the basics, minus his near-impossible to do Max SDM ranbu. While he's decent in the KOF series, here he's unfortunately not as well suited to take on the madness that SVC has to offer.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Mostly easy to learn: Ryo is a glorified shoto in a sense, and a more defensive oriented one. Beyond knowing how to use his parries and learning to do his best combos, he's straightforward and takes only a small effort to learn. Good mix of pokes and overheads: Ryo's main source of damage comes from poking, for which he has a wide variety to work with, including a few overheads. Other special moves like his Hien Shippuu Kyaku or 236K give him ways to approach the opponent or punish attacks without having to get closer first. All of his specials lead to knockdowns as well. Simple combos: Ryo's combos are short and sweet, almost nothing complicated about them. Do a jump-in, maybe a normal or two, and then special or super. While that's the basis of everyone in the game, his combos spell themselves out for him and can be learned almost immediately. Auto-guard frames on many moves: Several of Ryo's moves have auto-guard frames that mitigate damage and resist interrupting him during the attack, giving him good ways to punish aggressive characters and help expand his mixup potential. The auto-guard frames usually last for a good while, thus also making them easier to time correctly. Auto-guard parries: They're not parries in the sense of deflecting an attack or countering an attack the opponent does, but Ryo has access to unique command normal parries. Giving him access to auto-guard frames when needed, he can position himself in neutral and use these command normals to completely block attacks, or cancel a normal into a parry to negate potential front step punishes. This, as well as his auto-guard frames, means Ryo can even potentially negate damage completely from attacks like Shin Akuma's raging demon. Max Mode greatly expands his offense: Ryo greatly benefits from max mode as it unlocks more confirms for him, gives him more consistent combos, and opens up more offense or extra damage off of punishes. And with meter dump, can counter zoners much more easily with Haoh Shou Kou Ken spam. Reliable Exceed for combos: Ryo's exceed is the classic stun punch. By itself, it's not a deadly super, but the utility it gives Ryo to further amplify his damage and make a comeback for him is bolstered by the fact it stuns the opponent, allowing a follow-up combo. He thankfully has decent confirms into exceed, too, including consistent light confirms. KOF2002 copy/paste job: Barring some minor differences, if you play Ryo in either release of KOF2002, you pretty much already know how to play him here, making it way easier to pick him up and play. Learning his differences takes little time as a result.

Parries are a commitment: Ryo isn't safe from throws, the opponent simply waiting, or some multi-hitting attacks when he uses his parries, which when combined with their somewhat long recovery, can make using them unsafe or not worth it to begin with. Unlike other games, he can't cancel his parries into other parries, either. Easily punishable on block: Ryo's lackluster frame data makes him easy to punish any special or super move he throws out on block, sometimes even without front step. His normals don't have impressive frame data, either. Some of them leave him minus on hit making him lose his turn, too, if not punishable on hit in some rare cases. Relies on meter and Max Mode: Without meter, he lacks consistent confirms for damage or pressure... but even with meter it's sometimes inconsistent. Ryo also benefits from max mode, mainly in the form of getting more damage off of punishes or pokes he normally would not be able to get thanks to a wider variety of confirms and being able to cancel f.A. It can also give him more confirms into super, too, and greatly boosts his pressure. He has to save meter for max mode, but in turn, can't burn it for better consistency, either. Pick your poison. Low Exceed damage: Ryo can't rely on exceed to secure a round by itself since the stun punch only does a small chunk of damage. In order to make the most of it, he has to follow it up with a combo to reap the full benefits of it, something that he also has to dash up in order to do afterwards. For a super that can only be used once in the entire match, there's little room for error. Pokes more than he does combos: Ryo's pokes by themselves work well enough in neutral, but despite not being rewarding on their own, he's forced to use them often. He lacks reliable confirms that he has in other KOFs. Due to engine, frame data and/or hitbox changes making even basic BnB's he should be able to do simply not work in this game or become very inconsistent. Or if they do work, they feel bad to use. His best confirm is locked behind a tight link that if dropped, forces him to risk facing front step. Relies heavily on mixups and punishing the opponent's mistakes: As mentioned, he has poor confirms and few consistent combos. What's worse is that Ryo's damage is unremarkable without meter, but even with meter, it's not particularly high damage. In other words, Ryo has to play neutral way more than other characters and front step to help him seal the deal. Or sometimes, do risky mixups to pinch more damage out of the opponent. The lack of KOF movement greatly hampers him, too. Requires matchup knowledge: For Ryo to perform at his best, he benefits immensely from matchup knowledge to know his most optimized combos available to him, when and what to parry, his best punishes, and so forth. With a lack of anything particularly amazing, few combos, and lackluster damage, Ryo has to put in a lot of work to do well. He does a lot better when the opponent is made to approach him, not the other way around.

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Frame Data Glossary
Damage	How much damage the attack does. This takes into account no defense modifiers, so the damage assumes a 0% damage modifier, or in other words the average defense modifier of 223 against characters like Kyo and Ryu. Note: Damage is a little inconsistent. Example: Geese cl.A deals 5 damage. Against Zero, sometimes it does 5 pixels of damage to his life bar, other times it does 4 pixels. Against Ryu, cl.A does 4 pixels of damage, other times it does 3 pixels of damage. This info comes from the Enterbrain Mook, but most likely this is the cause of damage modifiers skewing the damage slightly, thus making it a bit inconsistent. Damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma. It is listed because it's an official source for this info, just keep in mind damage is not 1-to-1 due to varying health values and screwy ways the game calculates damage anyways. There will be a question mark next to the four mentioned characters because it's only a guess as to what the actual damage values are (until health and damage are better understood), since they were never gathered in the Mook. Unfortunately, when doing attacks, the numbers dealt in damage do not match up with the mook. As an example, Geese's cl.C does 16 damage according to the mook, but against characters like Zero, it only does 14-15 damage, and very rarely it does 16 damage. Against Ryu, it does 12-13 damage at most. But against Orochi Iori, it also does 14-15 damage, and very rarely it does 16 damage. The mook does not explain how the numbers are obtained either, or against who they're tested against, if anyone. In other words, how these numbers were obtained if not through data mining is a mystery in itself, but it can be best assumed it was against 255 defense modifier characters, and at the max damage possible. Lastly, moves like Geese cl.D, though it says 10x2 for the damage, which is true, damage scaling reduces total damage on the second hit. Max Mode also reduces damage dealt by roughly half at most.
Counter Damage	How much damage the attack does on a counter hit, or when it connects with an opponent while they're performing an attack. Counter damage values listed are pulled from the SVC Chaos Enterbrain Mook, save Athena, Red Arremer, Serious Mr. Karate and Shin Akuma.
Guard	Where the attack hits, and thus where it must be blocked. Mids can be blocked standing and crouching Overheads must be blocked standing Lows must be blocked crouching Unblockable cannot be blocked Throws break through block up-close
Guard Crush	How much guard meter damage the attack does to the green Guard Gauge.
Stun	How many points of stun the attack adds to the opponent's invisible Stun Gauge.
Meter	How much meter is gained for performing/landing the attack. Special moves earn meter both when activated and when they connect with the opponent, whether it hits them or they block it.
Cancel	The type of cancel the attack can perform. Any - All cancel types work Ch - Chain cancel; it can chain into other attacks (mostly just lights) Self - Can chain only into itself Cmd - Command cancel; can cancel into command normals Sp - Special cancel; can cancel into special moves, and almost always this means super cancels are possible too Su - Super cancel; can cancel into super moves Free - Free cancel; can be cancelled in Max Mode by other special moves or super moves Written only for special moves as all normals can be Free Cancelled, so writing it in for every move would be redundant X - Cannot be cancelled, either outside of Max Mode or that it cannot be cancelled at all
Startup	How many frames it takes before the move becomes 'active' or has a hitbox. The SVC Chaos wiki uses classic startup notation, which does not include the first active frame. A move with 3 startup becomes active on frame 4. Super and Exceed startup will calculate both the frames before and after the super flash animation as such: X+Y, with X being the startup frames before the flash animation and Y being the startup frames after the flash animation. The startup will not take into account the frames of the flash animation itself where time freezes and the opponent player cannot act. Super flashes last 28 frames, whereas Exceed flashes last 27 frames. Because there is currently no way to view throw boxes, it is assumed that throws/command grabs are at most 0-1 frames of startup. Truthfully, we don't actually know though.
Active	How many frames a move remains active (can hurt opponents) for. Consecutive sets of active frames on a multi-hit move are separated by a comma. (Example: 3, 4 - The attack has its first hitbox for 3 frames, then the second hitbox for 4 frames) If there is a gap between sets of active frames, the gap is denoted by a number in parentheses. (Example: 3, (2), 4 - The attack is active for 3 frames, then is not active for the next two frames, followed by being active again for 4 frames.) Throw boxes are not visible either through dipswitches or the hitbox viewer so it's only a guess how active throws and command grabs are, but it's probably one active frame at most. This also applies to hitbox images - they will still show the push and hurtboxes of characters but outside of that, unfortunately there is no way to depict the throw boxes at the moment.
Recovery	How many frames it takes for a move to finish after it's been active.
Total	The total number of frames the attack lasts on screen for. This adds up the startup, active, and recovery frames into one number.
Hit/Block Adv	These are frame advantage values when the attack hits or is blocked. If the number is positive, then the move will end before the defender can act again. If the number is negative, the defender will be able to act before the attacker and maybe even punish. SKD refers to a soft knockdown, or a knockdown you can tech roll out of. HKD refers to a hard knockdown, one that you cannot tech roll out of. All frame advantages assume Ryu as the opponent. If there are variable wakeup times, it is currently unknown info. Also assume that on soft knockdowns, the frame advantage is when the opponent does not tech roll. If needed, a second frame advantage will be added next to it for when they do tech roll. Frame advantages of projectiles assumes the opponent is point blank range. Any farther and this obviously changes and/or doesn't matter. Block advantage assumes no use of Guard Cancel Front Step. For one, it obviously decreases the attacker's frame advantage significantly. When the defender uses GCFS is also a variable factor so you cannot provide a hard answer as to what the frame advantage is after GCFS, as well as how soon they cancel GCFS into an attack. Generally speaking, just assume the block advantage minus the active frames of GCFS (18 frames), and that's a rough estimate of the frame advantage when GCFS is performed. Do keep in mind that GCFS technically has a slight delay when the dash is performed even if you register the input as early as possible. This doesn't really matter in most cases, since the attacker will automatically be quite minus after most attacks. It would only matter in situations where the attacker can punish GCFS attempts like with throws or multi-hit attacks, but even then, that's because the attacker canceled the blocked attack into another attack that the frame advantage of the blocked attack after GCFS no longer matters in that situation. All that matters, then, is the attack is cancelable at all.
Invulnerability	Indicates whether there's any frames of invulnerability during the attack.

Move List

Normal Moves

Close Normals

cl.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	4	9	17	-1	-3	-
Attack with his elbow. Can be linked into any light normal, including itself, and can be normal cancelled. Whiffs against only the lowest crouching characters.

cl.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	7	14	25	-9	-11	-
Use in Light Attack chains, but as a finisher, because it can't chain into his Light normals. It can, however, be normal cancelled.

cl.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3	6	17	26	-3	-5	-
Main go-to button for heavy starter combos. Very fast punch attack. Can be normal cancelled. Can be linked after almost any cr.B hit, but it's an incredibly tight link that you should never rely on it anyways.

cl.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	5	9	16	30	-5	-7	-
Similar function to cl.C, but cannot be linked after cr.B.

Far Normals

st.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	3	8	15	+1	-1	-
A very fast punch that can chain only into itself and can be normal cancelled.

st.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	8	2	14	24	-4	-6	-
Can be used as a poke, but with mediocre startup for a Light Attack. Can't be normal cancelled.

st.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	8	4	19	31	-3	-5	-
A good poke. Can't be cancelled, but it's fast for a Heavy Attack.

st.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	13	4, 4	16	37	1st= -4 ; 2nd= +0	1st= -6 ; 2nd= -2	-
Move for anti-air purposes. Can't be normal cancelled.

Crouch Normals

cr.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	5	5	14	+2	+0	-
One of Ryo's best crouching moves for Light Attack chains. Can chain into itself, and other Light Attacks. Can be normal cancelled.

cr.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	4	3	5	12	+4	+2	-
Ryo's main Light Attack chain starter. Hits low, can't be normal cancelled, but can chain into any Light normal. It can link with a cr./cl.C after it, but the timing is so strict that you should never rely on it.

cr.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	3	2, 3	23	31	1st= -8	1st= -10	-
Another anti-air, but a cancellable one. Can be used in combos like cl.C. This can also link after a cr.B, but again, it's so strict that you should never rely on it.

cr.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	9	5	18	32	SKD	-5	-
A simple sweep that knocks down. Can be normal cancelled, but do it only if you need meter, or to recover faster, or simply for block pressure, and make it a safer move. You can also cancel into Ryo's parries to try and stop front step combo punishes.

Jumping Normals

nj.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	6	12	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack One of his better neutral jump-ins, though unlikely you'll have any situations you can use it in.

j.A

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	6	6	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Can be used as a jump-in attack, but Ryo has better options for that.

nj.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	3	14	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack Lacks reach, but can beat some other air moves. Use it defensively.

j.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	3	7	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Better than his j.A attacks due to better reach. Use it as a jump-in/air-to-air attack.

nj.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	7	4	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack Similar to j.C, but with a more horizonal angle. Punches straight forward in front of him. Very few active frames so it's not the most reliable as an air-to-air.

j.C

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	6	4	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack One of Ryo's best jump attacks. It has good priority, and can beat most of the other air attacks in the game. You can use it as a jump-in for combos, too.

nj.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	12	3, 3	-	-	-	-	-
Neutral Jumping Attack Kick aiming up. Not the most useful, but good if your opponent jumps higher that you.

j.D

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	5	7	-	-	-	-	-
Diagonal Jumping Attack Ryo's move for crossup combos or as a jump-in.

Command Normals

Hyouchuu Wari
f.A

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
Raw	-	-	Overhead	-	-	-	-	18	9	11	38	+0	-2	-
That's Ryo's ground overhead move. Can't be normal canceled, but can be used after a normal(And if you do that, it will lose the overhead properties).
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
Canceled	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Joudan Uke
f.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	6	15	14	35	X	X	-
One of Ryo's parry moves. It can stop some Supers, projectiles, or any other thing that hit mid, or high, and even some unblockables(You can practice it with projectiles, or with Dan's KTGZ, which needs timing). Master this if you want, because this thing is almost unique to him, just because Hugo can do it too). (Note: If the autoguard is triggered, you can normal cancel the animation into any Command/Special/Super Move, or even in the Exceed, to counter your opponent.)

Gedan Uke
df.B

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	9	9	11	29	X	X	-
Ryo's parry for ANY low-hitting move(Including Supers, and some sliding projectiles. You can practice it against Sagat's or Zero's low hitting supers). You can normal cancel the animation too, if you need to counter your opponent.

(Another note: If you want another practice for the timing of the parries on projectiles, you should search/make any macro/script which makes Sagat mix his High/Low projectiles, and their speeds too.)

Throws

Throw

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
24	24	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Throw

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
24	24	Throw	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Guard Cancel Blowback
on Block

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
0	0	Mid	0	0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Special Moves

Ko'ou Ken
qcf P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcf A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
A basic projectile-like move that knocks down. It can lack reach, but it's very nice to use on Ryo's basic combos. The C version has better range, but it's slower than the A version.
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcf C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Mouko Raijin Setsu
qcf K

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcf B	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcf D	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
A move that isn't that useful on combos, but it will act as an overhead, and will do a hard knockdown on the opponent(Meaning that he/she can't recovery roll from the move). The version used will determine how far Ryo will jump. Oh, and the guard damage of this move is incredible too, if you need to guard crush your opponent, use this move, and then followup with any combo.

Kohou Shippuu Ken
qcb P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcb A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
qcb C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Not that useful outside of Max Mode. Ryo turns around, and while he's in that stance, Ryo will have autoguard mid and high moves(And counter the opponent). A version has better startup, but won't knock your opponent down, and the C version has worse recovery, but will knock your opponent down(And you can juggle your opponent in Max Mode by canceling the second hit, but the first hit can be max canceled too). It's good to use as a surprise move on the wakeup(Take that, wakeup reversals!).

Hien Shippuu Kyaku
hcb K

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
hcb B	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
hcb D	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
This is his tatsu-like move. A little unsafe on block, but can be used in basic combos. B version can do up to 2 hits, and the D version can do up to 3.

Zanretsu Ken
fbf P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
fbf A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
fbf C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Another move with autoguard on the startup(All right, we know that wakeup reversals won't work on him). After the little startup, Ryo will begin punching, and when it connects on his opponent, he/she will get 13 hits on his/her face. The button pressed will determine how long Ryo will punch in the air, and the finishers(On KoF 2002, the finisher in the C version could be max canceled, but here, he can't).

Kohou
dp P

Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
dp A	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Version	Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
dp C	-	-	Mid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ryo's DP-like move, and his main anti-air. It's said that this move has autoguard startup, but I couldn't prove that. A version is faster, but does only one hit(The hit can be max canceled), and the C version does 2 hits(The first hit is the best to cancel on combos, because it won't send your opponent upwards). Learn how to use this move on combos.

Super Moves

Haou Shoukou Ken
f~hcf P

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
54	59	Mid	8	8	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ryo's classic super projectile that will destroy normal projectiles. The input is what makes it a hard move to use on combos, but you can use the speed of the projectile to make your opponent fall on it(It's very big too, some characters can't jump over it). C version is faster than the A version.

Ryuuko Ranbu
qcf~hcb P

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
0+(1x12)+(29x2)	0, 1, 29	Mid	8, 0, 0	8, 0, 0	0	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
The super used on combos. It does a little more damage than the move above, and it has an easier input. Can be used on some Max Mode combos too.

Exceed

Tenchi Haou Ken

Damage	Counter Dmg	Guard	G. Crush	Stun	Meter	Cancel	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Invulnerability
50	59	Mid	40	240	0	X	3+6	9	34	54	HKD	-25	1F~12F (Full invul during startup and first 3 frames of active)
Ryo will do a single fierce punch after stepping forwards. It has stubby range, too, but for Ryo's combos is long enough to still connect. The stun punch also negates most projectiles. If it hits the opponent, it won't do a ton of damage, but will instantly stun your opponent. Ryo has some easy combos with it, and because you stun the opponent, it's another free combo for Ryo to perform. This not only gives him room to come back from but if their health is low enough, to secure a round. It looks like you have leg room to build meter after Ryo stuns the opponent, and you sort of do, but the opponent can still mash out of stun so you're always better off just going straight into a combo. If you're far away from the opponent, then you especially don't have time to build meter. Not the greatest exceed but pretty essential for Ryo to make a comeback, and the short startup plus invulnerability makes it a good reversal or punish tool, especially in max mode. In other words, a utility exceed, but a very useful one with a good number of ways to confirm into it.

Strategy

Basic Strategy

Ryo's gameplan

Ryo's arsenal is very good for a ground game, so don't jump, unless if you need to add some more damage on combos. Does he has a defensive game? Yeah, he is kind of a turtler here(More like an advanced Ryu that can parry moves), but he can be used in the offensive too, it's just that... I don't like to be offensive with Ryo. You should master the parries too, they can help you against some characters(Or even some damaging Supers/Exceeds), you should practice against projectiles, jump attacks(In a real match, do the parry if yousure that your opponent will attack after a jump), or predictable supers(No worries with the low-hitting ones). Well, stay on the ground, punish your opponent if you need, and try to parry important moves(Like a low parry for Kim's cr.B, and the high one for the j.A). Good luck in your future matches.

Combos

SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom Quick Combo Notation Guide

cl. = close normal st. = standing/far normal cr. = crouching normal f.; etc. = forward direction (NOT far) X = any button CH = counter hit , = Used to separate attacks in the combo / = Separates different options for the combo (mainly different starters or enders that are possible) Unless otherwise stated (such as it's a link or you need to delay the attack), assume this is a chain/cancel. Example: cr.B, cr.A, dp A ; cr.B chains into cr.A, then cr.A cancels into dp A [b]~f = Indicates to charge back (or downback), then press forwards for the given special move ( ) = Parentheses used to indicate the attack(s) within the parentheses are optional to add to the combo (C) = Indicates a free cancel, aka a cancel only possible in Max Mode (SC) = Indicates a super cancel via free canceling in Max Mode (1) = Used to indicate how many hits of the attack should connect (or less than) before continuing with the combo Example: cl.C(1), hcb P means that only one hit of cl.C should be performed before moving on to do hcb P, not more than one hit [ ] = Used to distinguish combo loops or combo starters/etc. in case a certain attack is only possible after specific options xN = Repeat the given loop for as many times as either possible or as many times as you wish May change to numpad notation much later down the road.

Starters

BnB Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
cr.B, cr/cl.C	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Ryo's link, but a really tight one. You don't need it, use one of his other light starters instead. The risk of dropping it outweighs the reward. Easier to do with a crossup, but still not important.
cr.B x1-2, cr.A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Easy low hitting light starter for Ryo. cr.B doesn't chain so it takes minimal practice but is worth learning as it's the safest confirm and one that works regardless if the opponent is crouching or not.
cr.B, cl.A/B	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Easier low hitting light starter than the one above but also relies on the opponent to be standing (or tall enough of a crouching hitbox) in order to connect. Still useful, though.
(j.X) cl.C, (f.A)	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Combo starter for when you're in Max Mode since f.A is not cancellable outside of it. cl.C is your main go-to punish tool for heavy starter combos.

BnB Combos

BnB Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
(j.X) cr./cl.C, qcf P	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Basic fireball combo. Nothing noteworthy, and unlike KOF, Ryo unfortunately cannot combo light DP afterwards in the corner.
(j.X) Starter, hcb B	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Standard Ryo BnB, good to know for anywhere on the screen. Avoid dp C as a combo ender since the second hit will whiff and your opponent will remain standing.
(j.X) Starter, dp A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
(j.X) cr/cl.C, hcb D	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Better variant to use over hcb B if you have the hit confirm for a heavy starter, plus it carries the opponent further into the corner.
(While opponent is knocked down) Meaty f.A, st.A, hcb B	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Combo that links st.A after a meaty f.A. Timing the meaty takes practice as there's not many active frames, so try to perform f.A roughly around when the opponent is first waking up. st.A needs to be cancelled immediately in order for hcb+B to connect, so make sure to button hold for that. Overall not an important combo, though, plus hcb B can whiff if Ryo is too far away, anyways.
(j.X) cl./cr.C, qcf~hcb A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Easy combo into ranbu super. Ryo unfortunately cannot combo off of his lights into ranbu, but this is still a safe way to confirm into it or if you get a punish off front step.
(j.X) Starter, Exceed, follow-up with any combo afterwards	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Combo to confirm into his Exceed. Ryo cannot free cancel f.A in Max Mode into Exceed as he gets DP instead, so only use cr/cl.C after a Front Step to mitigate the risk of guessing and potentially throwing away the Exceed. Heavily recommended you learn to confirm into Exceed off of a light starter. If you're struggling, perform it like this: cr.B > qcf > cr/cl.B > qcf+AC. This buffer trick is useful not only for Ryo but for basically any character in the KOF series.

Max Mode Combos

Max Mode Combos

Combo	Position	Damage	Stun	Difficulty	Notes
qcb P, (C)hcb K	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb P, (C)qcf P	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb C, (C)qcf B	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb C(1), (C)dp C(1), (C)hcb K	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb C(1), (C)dp C(1), (C)qcf P	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb C(1), (C)dp C(1), (SC)qcf~hcb A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb A, (C)dp C(1), (SC)qcf~hcb A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	qcb C does not work unless you cancel the first hit, but this also leads to the chance of DP whiffing and you lose on damage by not getting the second hit, so only use qcb A to confirm. Landing the dp C can also be tricky so if you're not confident it'll land or don't have the execution, but are sure qcb P will land, then going straight into Exceed is fine. It's also fine to do if you're about to run out of max mode meter.
(j.X) Starter, dp C(1), (SC)qcf~hcb A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Variant of his ranbu super confirm combo. ONLY use the A version because the C version has more startup, thus it will not connect. The combo might whiff anyways against certain characters due to pushback so practice it against every character. Worst case scenario, just do the non-Max version.
f.A, (C)dp C(1), (SC)qcf~hcb A	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Overhead hitting combo to confirm into either super. The combo doesn't work on some characters, particularly standing characters like standing Dhalsim.
qcb A, (C)dp C(1), (SC)Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
qcb C(1), (C)dp C(1), (SC)Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
(j.X) Starter, dp C(1), (SC)Exceed, any follow-up combo	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	Another way to confirm into his Exceed, but with a DP thrown in. Not much harder to land, and adds extra damage for his light confirms.
f.A, (C)dp C(1), (SC)Exceed	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA