Ryu (SSB4)

Ryu in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Street Fighter
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Shin Shoryuken / Shinku Hadoken
Tier	A (4)

“	Here Comes A New Challenger! Ryu	”
—Introduction tagline

Ryu (リュウ, Ryū) is a playable character and newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4 as the fourth downloadable character. Ryu was revealed and released alongside Lucas and Roy on June 14th, 2015. Ryu is the fourth of six third-party characters announced for the game, alongside SEGA's Sonic and Bayonetta, Bandai Namco's Pac-Man, fellow Capcom character Mega Man, and Square Enix's Cloud. Likewise in Street Fighter IV and its updated versions along with other later titles, Ryu is voiced by Hiroki Takahashi in Japanese and Kyle Hebert in English.

Ryu currently ranks 4th on the SSB4 tier list, placing him at the very top of the A tier. This makes him not only the highest ranked high-tier character, but also the highest ranking downloadable fighter and third-party character in the current metagame. The control carryover from the Street Fighter series benefits Ryu immensely, with his tapped attacks being useful combo starters and his held attacks being great combo finishers or potent KO options. His recovery is also resilient, with his entire special moveset granting him unpredictable ways to return to the stage. Finally, due to most of his moves having a hitlag multiplier of at least 1.8x, Ryu is exceedingly difficult to punish out of shield. However, Ryu's approach is problematic due to Hadoken being very easily intercepted and his ground attacks having short range. His grab game is also lackluster, since none of his throws can combo (barring down throw until 30%) or KO reliably. Despite its aforementioned unpredictability, his recovery is also very easy to gimp if Shoryuken is the only option left available, due to its fixed movement and inability to edge sweetspot until its later half. Possessing one of the highest learning curves in the game, Ryu's representation is merely average, unlike other highly ranking characters. Despite this, he has been very successful, thanks to his extremely rewarding performance once mastered.

Attributes

Ryu is an average-sized, medium-heavyweight fighter with below-average mobility and recovery, but possesses a mix of combo-based moves and finishing moves with very high knockback. Apart from these, some of his traits are similar to Mario's, such as his dashing speed and the individual damage output of his attacks. This owes to the fact that Ryu, like Mario, is an "all-rounder" in his home series. Despite his balanced attributes, however, Ryu has low jumping force and the lowest air acceleration in the game. This makes his aerial approach somewhat difficult, while his walking speed (the third slowest in the game) can make his grounded approach difficult outside of dashing.

Ryu's controls are unique in the Super Smash Bros. series and attempt to emulate the control scheme of his home series; the strength of his attacks depend on how long the attack button is pressed (tap for a weak attack, and hold for a strong attack), and his neutral, side and up special moves can be inputted using half-circle and quarter-circle motions plus either attack button for stronger variations. Generally, his tapped tilts are good at chaining with one another due to their low knockback and high speed, which gives him a unique combo-based damage racking playstyle. This works by keeping opponents in hitstun before knocking opponents away by ending any combo chain with a finisher (typically a held tilt attack or inputted special move), similar to the combos in his home series. Additionally, almost all of Ryu's special attacks (sans Focus Attack) gain benefits from using his unique button inputs, as they do more damage and knockback or have additional effects when done with inputs compared to just with the special button, making mastery of his button inputs imperative if the player wishes to deal higher damage and knockback at all times, especially since they can also be used as a reliable finisher for his tilt combo chains. Effectively, this means Ryu is the only character to have true combos from almost any tilt, allowing him to immediately switch from damage racking to a finisher instantaneously.

However, Ryu has some weaknesses. One of his biggest weaknesses is his recovery; despite being very long-distanced overall, it is very short if many extendable elements (such as Focus Attack and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku) are not utilized, as Shoryuken's recovery is almost strictly vertical while also having high aerial lag, making it completely stop his momentum until he is helpless. This property is exacerbated by his very slow air acceleration. While his specials offer him a decent horizontal recovery, his vertical recovery is largely reliant on Shoryuken, leaving him vulnerable to gimping and meteor smashes.

Ryu's neutral game is also held back by several issues. He has a very slow walking speed, which hinders the otherwise great utility of his tilts. While his tapped tilts and neutral aerial are very quick and useful for pressuring shields, they have short range, especially for his tall stature. His only projectile, Hadoken, is slow, short-distanced, and laggy, making it telegraphed and punishable, and giving him a difficult time against opposing camping, and he has no real way of forcing approaches. Aside from the speed and combo ability of his neutral aerial and Focus Attack's mix-up potential, Ryu's aerial approach is comparatively poor. Despite having above average air speed, his aerial acceleration, which is the slowest in the game, prevents him from maneuvering effectively in midair. Furthermore, the advantages offered by Focus Attack are matchup-dependent; it is relatively ineffective against characters with several multi-hit moves, most notably Meta Knight and Fox. As Focus Attack is also Ryu's main method of escaping combos against such characters, Ryu's high weight and rather fast falling speed leave him susceptible to combos and juggles, and unlike most other fighters, his fast falling speed increases his normal falling speed by 40%, rather than 60%, giving him occasional difficulty landing.

Ryu's grab game is mediocre at best, aside from its high damage output and quick pummel. Due to its high knockback growth, down throw has poor combo potential past lower percents. His other throws have high base knockback, giving them little to no follow-up potential, while their weak knockback growth makes them unreliable for KOing. Another weakness Ryu has is the inability to "force" KOs. While Ryu does possess some powerful moves such as his sweetspotted forward smash and his input Shoryuken, those moves mostly require setups, and most of his other moves have low knockback growth, such as his forward aerial, which KOs well beyond 100% despite dealing as much as 15%. Without reads or proper setup, Ryu can have a difficult time taking stocks from opponents. Finally, his unique button inputs can be a double-edged sword as his normal specials have lower power without traditionally inputting them, and it is possible for a simple slip of the hand to cause Ryu to use the wrong move at an essential time. Ryu's combos can also be hard to start outside of reads, precise punishing, or Focus Attack.

Hence, Ryu's moveset rewards players who know how to reliably use his special inputs and chain them together, and he excels at grounded combos that overwhelm opponents with quick, low knockback attacks that can be mixed up with his multiple special moves. Overall, Ryu's strengths overpower his weaknesses, as his unique mechanics deliberately give him the true combos necessary for many characters' competitive success. True to his fighting game origins, Ryu is considered a very strong choice for competitive play, and has the highest tournament representation out of the seven downloadable characters so far. Despite this, Ryu's learning curve is very high; much practice is generally required for his command specials in order to use them reliably and consistently rather than accidentally inputting the wrong move, such as self-destructing with Tatsumaki Senpukyaku when Shakunetsu Hadoken was intended. Additionally, using the C-stick for tilts is arguably more essential to Ryu's optimal playstyle than to any other character, due to the dexterity required to pull off his command inputs during combos, making him more difficult to play using controllers that lack a second analog stick or on a first-generation Nintendo 3DS system for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

Update history

Ryu has hardly changed at all since his debut in update 1.0.8, but has indirectly benefited from the games' general changes overall. Update 1.1.0 only increased the length of his turn-around animation by three frames, allowing the player to more easily use his command inputs without accidentally turning him around. However, the same update's changes to shield mechanics, most notably the universal increase in shieldstun, greatly helped Ryu by enhancing his combo game as well as Collarbone Breaker and Focus Attack's shield breaking capabilities.

1.1.0

• Turn around animation length increased: 2 frames → 5.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%, 3%, 5% (tapped); 10% (held)	Tapped: A jab, a cross, and then a hook. Tapping the button without Ryu hitting anything makes him repeat the first hit as fast as the player can tap. His weak attack combo is based off of his standing light attack, close medium punch from Street Fighter II and standing hard punch in that order from Street Fighter III. Held: A reverse roundhouse kick. Despite being categorized as a neutral attack, it has surprisingly high knockback and can KO beginning at 125%. The held attack is based off of his standing heavy kick in Street Fighter II.
Forward tilt		Collarbone Breaker (held)	6.8% (tapped); 3%, 6% (held)	Tapped: A front kick, which sends the opponent up diagonally. Good for following with a dash attack or forward aerial at low percents. Based off Ryu's standing medium kick in Street Fighter III. Held: Winds up his right fist before punching downwards, hitting twice quickly. Deals high damage to shields and is designed to break them, but the attack's startup makes it difficult to use on quick fighters. A tapped up tilt can lead into this move.
Up tilt			2% (tapped); 8% (sourspot), 12% (sweetspot) (held)	Tapped: The sok ngat, an uppercut-styled elbow strike used in Muay Thai. It can be used repeatedly as fast as the player can press and as a result of its speed, it can also chain into itself and lead into many of Ryu's moves for a quick finisher. However, it has a small hitbox and short range. Based off of Ryu's close standing light punch in Street Fighter II. Held: Does an uppercut. Can be a finisher for his tapped up tilt. KOs at 152%. Based off of Ryu's close standing heavy punch in Street Fighter III.
Down tilt			1.6% (tapped); 7% (leg), 5.5% (foot) (held)	Tapped: Quickly performs a crouching, Hapkido-styled shin kick. It can be repeated as fast as the player can press, similar to his other tapped tilts. If used on a prone fighter, they will be popped back onto their feet, allowing Ryu to continue combos on them for extended periods of time. Based off of Ryu's crouching light kick in Street Fighter II. Held: Performs a crouching, Hapkido-styled shin kick based off of his crouching medium kick in the original Street Fighter II. Despite having low power (though stronger than his tapped down tilt), it can be immediately cancelled into a special move only if Ryu hits the opponent or their shield, allowing Ryu to pressure his opponent. Shoryuken combos well from this attack.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 8% (late)	A flying kick. Based off of his original jumping medium and heavy kicks in the Street Fighter Alpha/Zero games. Possesses high base knockback for a dash attack and it can reliably combo into many of his tapped attacks as a finisher. KOs at 150%.
Forward smash		Joudan Sokutogeri (上段足刀蹴り, "High-Level Leg Blade Kick")	16% (leg), 17.5% (foot)	The Joudan Sokutogeri from Street Fighter III. Ryu powerful side kick that moves him a step forward. It has the highest range of all his standard attacks, as it is able to hit opponents two character lengths away from him, but has noticeable endlag. Deals slightly more damage and knockback when hit with Ryu's heel; it is Ryu's strongest standard attack if the heel connects. KOs at 110% with the heel and 120% anywhere else.
Up smash			17% (clean), 13.5% (late)	A crouching uppercut, based off his crouching heavy punch in Street Fighter. Makes his profile smaller while attacking, making this a good anti-air attack. Slight ending lag and does not have much horizontal reach. A good finisher for his tap combos. KOs at 130%.
Down smash			16% (leg), 15% (foot)	A legsweep, which sends opponents at a diagonal angle. Unlike most down smashes, this only hits in front of Ryu. Has the fastest startup of all of his smash attacks, with more range than his up smash but less than his forward smash, making it also his safest smash attack at a distance. However, it deals extremely low knockback for a smash attack, which makes it unreliable as a KOing option, instead making it useful as a spacing option and as a way to force opponents off. A good finisher for his tap combos, like his other smashes. Based off of Ryu's crouching heavy kick in Street Fighter II.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean), 4.5% (late)	A short-ranged punch performed while in a crouching position. Its limited range is benefited by the move's function as a sex kick as well as its very low ending lag and, when used after a short hop, it can be a useful way to lead into his up tilt- or down tilt-initiated combos until the mid-50% range. It can also be used twice in a short hop. Based off of Ryu's directional jumping light kick in Street Fighter II. Has the lowest landing lag of any aerial move in the game, with a total of 6 frames.
Forward aerial			15% (clean sweetspot), 13% (late sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 8% (late sourspot)	A flying kick. Ryu's foot has high launching power, while his upper leg is the sourspot and deals less damage. Despite this, the sourspot deals high shield damage. A good combo move and a somewhat powerful off-stage KOing option. Based off of Ryu's directional jumping heavy kick in Street Fighter II.
Back aerial			16% (leg), 13% (foot)	An outside crescent kick. Though it has a small hitbox, its strength and low startup make it Ryu's most powerful aerial and a viable KOing option. KOs at 115%. Based off of Ryu's neutral jumping heavy kick from Street Fighter II.
Up aerial			5% (hit 1), 6% (hit 2)	An uppercut that hits twice. Despite its appearance, it has good vertical range and is reliable at catching opponents above Ryu. KOs at 155%. Based off of Ryu's jumping medium punch in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
Down aerial			12% (grounded opponent), 15% (aerial opponent sweetspot), 11% (aerial opponent sourspot)	Quickly punches downwards similarly to his neutral aerial, except he uses his left fist and it has more range. Hitting an airborne opponent with the attack's sweetspot (his fist as it comes down) makes the move one of the few meteor smashes that powerfully sends opponents diagonally downwards while hitting an airborne opponent with the sourspot sends the opponent diagonally upwards with high knockback. Hitting a grounded opponent, however, results in extremely low knockback that won't KO even at 300%, but nonetheless makes it a good combo starter. One of the fastest meteor smashes in the game (along with Wii Fit Trainer's forward aerial and Little Mac's down aerial). Its angle of knockback can send opponents flying downwards off the stage if they are standing near the edge. However, it is hampered by its short range and sweetspot, which requires opponents to be right near Ryu's fist when it comes down. Hitting opponents with the sourspot can also give them an easier time recovering, as it launches them upwards. Based off of Ryu's jumping heavy punch from Street Fighter II.
Grab			—	Holds his stance and reaches out with his right hand. Has a short range. The animation itself is directly inspired from his grab animation in Street Fighter IV.
Pummel			2%	Knees the grabbed opponent while holding them with both hands. Fairly fast. Based off of Ken's Tsukami Nage kick throw in the Street Fighter Alpha/Zero games.
Forward throw			9%	The seoi nage, a Judo throw. If the opponent does not react, this throw can lead into a down aerial meteor smash at medium percentages. Based on his punch throw from Street Fighter II.
Back throw			12%	The tomoe nage, a Judo throw. Heavy opponents can be knocked back onto their feet with a tapped down tilt, then thrown again. Based on his kick throw from Street Fighter II.
Up throw			8% (throw), 15% (kick)	Launches the opponent directly upward with a stretch kick. It can combo into an aerial attack at low percents. It can also act as an axe kick against another opponent that comes too close to Ryu after the stretch kick. Unlike the stretch kick, the axe kick deals much more knockback and can KO at 115% at the middle of the stage. Based off of Ryu's close heavy kick from Street Fighter II.
Down throw			5% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Throws the opponent to the ground and karate chops them. Its angle allows it to combo well into aerial attacks and Shoryuken until 30%, where thrown opponents are launched too high to get hit. Based on the brick-breaking bonus game from the original Street Fighter. However, it also resembles Akuma's Syuretto throw from Street Fighter IV.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Kicks behind himself and then in front of himself. Loosely based off of Ryu's crouching heavy kick from Street Fighter III.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Kicks around himself.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Similar to other floor attacks.
Edge attack			7%	Crawls up onto the stage, then kicks forward.
Neutral special	Default	Hadoken	5, 5.5%, or 6% (standard), 1.25x damage with directional input, 1% (Shakunetsu's hits 1-4), 4% (Shakunetsu's last hit)	Ryu's signature ki attack. Upon usage, he quickly cups his hands to his side and then thrusts his hands forward to release a blue energy-based projectile from his cupped hands that deals low damage and knockback. Only one Hadoken can be in play, as attempting to shoot another results in a puff of smoke emitting from his hands. Holding down the special button slightly increases the blast's speed and damage output. Three versions of the move can be performed, two of which have directional inputs: a small blue Hadoken (special button only), a minutely stronger and larger inputted Hadoken (↓ ↘ → + attack/special), and the red flaming Shakunetsu Hadoken that hits multiple times (← ↙ ↓ ↘ → + attack/special). Combos well out of his tapped tilt attacks, and is mainly used to rack up damage due to its low damage outputs and knockback along with its slow speed. Shakunetsu Hadoken deals some shield damage, though not to the extent of his Collarbone Breaker. However, the Shakunetsu Hadoken should be used wisely due to its abysmal priority.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	Tatsumaki Senpukyaku	8% (close), 9%, 10% or 12% (grounded), 8%, 9%, or 11% (aerial), 1.16x damage with directional input	Ryu's signature spinning kick. Upon usage, Ryu moves in the given direction he is facing and performs an outside crescent kick while spinning repeatedly and hovering very slightly above the ground. The attack functions like a moving sex kick and deals more damage and knockback after the first few frames. Holding down the special button increases damage dealt, distance traveled, and the move's duration, also giving the attack additional knockback. Using an inputted Tatsumaki Senpukyaku (↓ ↙ ← + attack/special) sees Ryu announce the move by name and results in it dealing even more damage, covering more distance, and granting it better KOing potential. The move can be used as a good horizontal recovery while not causing helplessness, but it can only be used once in the air without touching the ground. Essentially, a high-risk, high-reward approach option.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	Shoryuken	13%-15% (grounded), 12%-14% (aerial), 12% (grounded slightly late), 10% (aerial slightly late), 7% (latest hitbox), 1.2x damage with directional input	Ryu's signature jumping uppercut. Upon usage, Ryu announces the move's name while leaping upward and spinning to perform a powerful uppercut. Holding the special button increases damage and height traveled. However, it has heavy aerial lag once the hitbox ceases. An inputted Shoryuken (→ ↓ ↘ + attack/special) deals even more knockback and damage and grants Ryu both invincibility and no landing lag penalty. Aside from being his main vertical recovery move, Shoryuken is also a viable KOing option, especially when used in sync with Focus Attack. In comparison, an inputted Shoryuken is Ryu's most powerful vertical KOing option overall and has the highest knockback growth in his entire arsenal. Ryu becomes helpless after he descends.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	Focus Attack	12%-17% (fully charged)	Ryu holds a focused stance while emitting a black ink-like aura and then unleashes a concentrated punch that crumples opponents where they stand with a lengthy stun animation if charged for more than half a second. Ryu can follow up with any attack while the opponent is stuck in the animation. Ryu gains super armor that can withstand only a single hit while charging; a second hit will interrupt the move. When fully charged, the attack becomes unblockable. He can also cancel the move by tapping left or right twice to dash a set distance either forward or backward while charging to shrug off strong attacks before retaliating, or if the attack successfully connects, which is called a Focus Attack Dash Cancel; if the punch misses, Ryu will be unable to cancel the move. If the move connects on an airborne opponent they will instead by knocked away with heavy hitlag. The move's charge is indicated by Ryu flashing during the startup. With no charge, the attack will knock away opponents. At half a second, the attack will crumple an opponent, while a fully charged Focus Attack will deal more damage and crumple the opponent for much longer. A fully charged Focus Attack also has the unorthodox property of having priority over counterattacks, as it can hit an opponent in their countering stance. While the Focus Attack cannot block grabs and is countered by multiple hit attacks, it is a useful tool for baiting opponents and punishing, while the Dash Cancel can be beneficial to Ryu's horizontal recovery while off of the stage.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		Shin Shoryuken / Shinku Hadoken	1% (Shin Shoryuken's electricity), 10% (Shin Shoryuken's hits 1-2), 20% (Shin Shoryuken's last hit), 29%-30% (Shinku Hadoken)	A Final Smash that varies depending on range. At point-blank range, Ryu traps the opponent in a Shin Shoryuken, a three-hit combo that sends the opponent flying with an extra-powerful Shoryuken. At any other range, Ryu unleashes the Shinku Hadoken, a larger Hadoken that sucks nearby opponents into it before dragging them a distance across the screen and exploding. The Shinku Hadoken is also capable of bypassing walls. Shin Shoryuken has much higher KO potential against a single target, while Shinku Hadoken has more range and reliably affects more targets.

On-screen appearance

• Calmly walks onto the stage from some mist in the background.

File:Battle Entrance (Ryu).jpg

Taunts

• Up taunt: Turns away from the screen and tightens his headband, while stating "Come on!" (かかってこい!, Come at me!) This is one of his taunts from Street Fighter IV.
• Side taunt: Holds his fist forwards, and declares "Talk is cheap!" (拳で語り合おう!, Let your fists talk!) This is also one of his taunts from Street Fighter IV.
• Down taunt: Stomps on the ground and grunts. This is his single taunt from Street Fighter III.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Oddly, Ryu's up and side taunts have their voice clips swapped from Street Fighter IV. In said game, Ryu also does not turn around while adjusting his headband.

Idle poses

• Adjusts his gloves.
• Wriggles the fingers on both hands, then crosses his arms and pumps them.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Ryu! Ryu! Ryu!	Ryu! Ryu! Ryu!
Pitch	Male	Male

Victory poses

A techno remix of the Street Fighter II Victory Theme.

• Winds back and does a pose with his right fist while facing the screen, saying "Give it your all!" (必殺のタイミングを計れ!, Gauge the timing of your special moves!). This victory animation is directly taken from his victory pose in Street Fighter IV, with the same quote being one of several optional victory quotes that Ryu is able to speak.
• Slings his duffel bag over his shoulder while declaring "The journey... has just begun." (旅はまだ…始まったばかりだ, Yet the journey... has just begun.).
• Punches two times before doing a victorious uppercut, while saying "Your range is one fist short." (その間合いじゃ、拳半分届かない!, That range doesn't reach half a fist!). The uppercut pose is a reference to one of his more recurring victory poses, where he lifts a fist in the air triumphantly.

In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  9B
• BAM
•  DJ Jack
•  False
•  Khal
•  Mr. R
•  Trela
•  Venom
•  Patrino

Inactive

•  6WX

Reveal trailer

<youtube>1kalsCPXfaQ</youtube>

Trophies

Ryu

Ryu visits from the Street Fighter series! Ryu’s fighting style is based on karate, but he’s mixed in some other martial arts to make his own unique style. In Smash, he will perform either weak or strong attacks depending on if you press or hold down the buttons. His special attacks also have three power levels!

Ryu makes his Super Smash Bros. debut! His fighting style is based on a form of karate, but he's mixed in some other martial arts to make his own unique style. Here his attacks can be weak or strong depending on whether you press or hold the buttons. Each of his specials have 3 levels of power using the same method.

Ryu (Alt.)

Ryu’s Focus Attack move lets him withstand a blow and then counterattack.The longer you hold it, the longer your enemies will be stunned if you hit them. If it hits a standing enemy, the enemy will become defenseless. When that happens, cancel your Focus Attack and unleash a sick combo!

Ryu's down special, Focus Attack, allows him to withstand a single attack and then unleash a counter. The longer you hold the button, the longer a standing enemy will be stunned if you hit them. An enemy in the air will fall slowly, defenceless. When that happens, cancel the Focus Attack and go for the knock-out!

Shin Shoryuken / Shinku Hadoken

Use this attack when Ryu is far away from an enemy to unleash a Shinku Hadoken that penetrates through the stage. But if you use it when Ryu is close to an enemy, he’ll unleash a Shin Shoryuken uppercut attack. When it hits, Ryu will follow up with his other fist and launch the opponent up, up, and away!

Ryu's Final Smash takes on two different forms depending on how close Ryu is to the enemy. If he's farther away, he'll use Shinku Hadoken, a move that pulls in any enemies nearby. If closer, he'll instead use Shin Shoryuken. He'll hit the enemy once with a powerful uppercut, then follow it up with the other fist to finish the job!

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  Classic (3DS)

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  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Shin Shoryuken

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Splash art

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  Ryu's amiibo.

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  Artwork of Ryu from the official site.

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  Shin Shoryuken used on Captain Falcon on Suzaku Castle.

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  Ryu on Orbital Gate Assault.

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  Preparing to hit Focus Attack on Link.

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  Shinku Hadoken.

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  Attacking Mario with the Shoryuken.

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  Attacking Samus.

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  Attacking Mario with Collarbone Breaker.

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  Hitting the Shin Shoryuken on Sheik.

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  Alternate Costumes.

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  Shakunetsu Hadoken.

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  Attacking Pit with the Joudan Sokutogeri.

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  Ryu's Screen KO

Trivia

• Ryu's attributes generally follow the mechanics of his franchise:
  • He can perform special moves without requiring using the special button; he can perform them using a specific directional input and the standard attack button. This replicates the process of performing special moves in Street Fighter and most traditional fighting games.
    • This also makes him the only character in the series who is able to perform his neutral special after obtaining a Smash Ball.
  • All of Ryu's attacks generate sound effects directly taken from Street Fighter II if landed. His shield also makes a unique sound if hit, and a perfect shield uses the parry sound effect from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.
    • This makes Ryu the second character to use unique sound effects when fighting, the first being Snake, and the third being Cloud, all coincidentally being third-party characters.
  • Ryu's low air acceleration is possibly a nod to jumps in the Street Fighter franchise, which follow an arc and cannot be made to change direction once done.
  • Ryu's tapped and held inputs are a reference to the original Street Fighter, where the player had to tap the button for lighter attacks, or hold for stronger ones. They also, to some extent, incorporate the light, medium, and heavy classifications of attacks that became series standards.
  • The beginning of his dash causes him to do a quick shuffle forward, replicating his dash from Street Fighter III onward. This shuffle is entirely aesthetic and has no unique function.
• Ryu is the first and only character in the Super Smash Bros. series to possess two Final Smashes in the same game.
  • The ability for Ryu to perform one of two Final Smashes could possibly be a reference to the Ultra Combo Double mechanic introduced in Ultra Street Fighter IV, in which fighters can perform one of their two Ultra Combos at the cost of less attack power than only using a single pre-set Ultra Combo.
• Ryu is the first DLC character to represent a newly-added series to SSB4, with the second being Cloud and the third being Bayonetta.
• Ryu sometimes says "What?" when he gets KO'd.
• Ryu, Roy, Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta are the only five characters (who are all coincidentally DLC) to use different sound clips when using battering items.
• Ryu is the only DLC newcomer whose alternate costumes are simple clothing recolorings.
• Ryu is the only third-party character in SSB4 who cannot wall jump.