User blog:Plasmaster/Smash Study Hall: Ryu

Hey there Smashers! Welcome to the next installment of the Super Smash Bros. guide series, Smash Study Hall! Plasmaster here.

Today we will take a look at the king of combos, Ryu from Street Fighter!

Many of Ryu's combos lie in his standard attacks, so we will go through those first, though I want to cover something else about them before we do.

Ryu, as you all know, has light and heavy variations of all of his tilts and his jab. The light versions of these attacks are good for combos but don't deal much damage, while the heavy variations have good launch and damage to them but are not as good for combos. Now, let's get started.

Ryu's light jab is a good combo finisher, comes out fast, and deal some great damage when all three hits connect. His heavy jab is a clunky move that can be useful for spacing because of its range and launch power but is otherwise not very useful.

Ryu's light forward tilt comes out relatively fast and can be good for combos in some situations. The heavy forward tilt on the other hand is a powerful move known as the Collarbone Breaker. This move has good range to it as well as good knockback; it hits twice and as we all know, is capable of breaking shields; the move does, however, have some start-up lag to it.

The light up tilt is a very fast attack that can block projectiles and trap opponents in at low to mid-percentages. The heavy up tilt combos out of light up tilt and is good for dealing with opponents approaching from above.

The light down tilt is a great combo starter; it combos into itself, heavy down tilt, and True Hadoken. The heavy down tilt is good for spacing on the ground and combos out of light down tilt; it can also combo into True Hadoken, but has a bit more launch to it, so combos at higher percentages can be harder to accomplish.

Ryu's dash attack is a great approach option and can set up some aerial combos.

Ryu's forward smash, the Joudan Sokutogeri, covers a great range, making it a good edge-guarding move and spacing tool. It is also a good kill move and combo finisher. The up smash is a good kill move and combo finisher but has little horizontal range. Ryu's down smash only hits in front of him and has horizontal knockback on it. Nonetheless it is a good combo finisher and possible edge-guarding method. The move can also get opponents into the air for some aerial combos. Speaking of which, let's get into those aerial attacks.

Ryu's neutral air has very little range but can start and continue combos; short-hopping a throwing out a neutral air can combo into a heavy jab. Ryu's forward air is great for edge-guarding, spacing, combos, and racking on damage. Ryu's back air is good for edge-guarding because of its high launch, which makes it a good killing move as well. Ryu's up air hits twice; it is good for putting on damage, juggling, and can kill at later percentages. Ryu's down air is useful for edge-guarding and can continue combos in the air, though its high launch will prevent combos to continue with this move at higher percentages.

Ryu's throws are not the best, but do have some uses. His down throw is a good combo starter. His up throw can get opponents into the air for some follow-up attacks. His forward and back throw are good for getting opponents off-stage.

Now for Ryu's special moves. The neutral, side, and up special have variations, so I will break them up into different sections. A useful tip is to use the A button when trying to do the Street Fighter inputs so that the ending lag will be a lot less for the attacks if you accidentally misinput (for example, accidentally using a side special will result in more ending lag on the attack than say, a dash attack.)

Hadoken is a pretty slow projectile but increases in speed and distance the longer you hold down the button; Ryu can only have one Hadoken out on the stage at a time, so the move cannot be spammed and has some lag on it. It is a great projectile though, keeping opponents at bay and dealing some good damage; the hitstun on it can set up some combos at closer range.

The True Hadoken is probably the easiest of the Street Fighter combo inputs to perform. Just input straight down and then roll your control stick to be horizontal in the direction Ryu is facing. The True Hadoken deals more damage and moves faster and is just as good for combo setups as the regular Hadoken.

The Shakunetsu Hadoken is a bit tricky to perform. If you're like me, you have trouble performing it. The move multi-hits and carries opponents away, and can be good for shield pressure, so of course you'll want to use it if the opportunity arises. Here is a tip for the input. Jump straight up, then roll the control stick counter clockwise (or clockwise if you're facing left) until the control stick is horizontal and in the direction Ryu is facing. Then, just as you align the control stick in the correct position, press the standard attack button.

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has a multitude of different uses. It provides Ryu with a horizontal recovery, can kill around 140%, hits on both sides of Ryu, and can rack on good damage. However, the ending lag on the move can Ryu open for punishes if it doesn't connect.

The True Tatsumaki has greater kill power than the regular version; to input this move, just roll the control stick in the opposite direction that Ryu is facing in after inputting it downwards. This version of the move should not be used for recovery because a misinput could spell death for Ryu; you don't have time to fumble for a complicated input when your main concern is getting back to the stage.

The Shoryuken is good for vertical recovery but otherwise is not very useful.

The True Shoryuken on the other hand is a great kill move, certain to kill lighter characters just above 90%. Just like the True Tatsumaki, this one should not be used for recovery. Leave the True Shoryuken to the killing and save the normal Shoryuken for recovery.

Now for the Focus Attack. This is potentially one of Ryu's best special moves if you know how to use it. At low charge the move won't stun for long and will only cause some minor knockback. At high charge it can stun opponents long enough for a follow-up attack. Some attacks that combo out of Focus Attack are down smash, forward smash, heavy forward tilt, light and heavy down tilt, and at high percentages, the True Shoryuken paired with this move is a certain kill move. Inputting the True Shoryuken input immediately after the Focus Attack connects will result in the move being used, even though you didn't dash out of the attack animation. Focus Attack will also allow Ryu to take one attack, so if an opponent is charging up a smash attack or going for a dash attack, this move can be your best friend. It also opens up movement options and mindgames because you can dash out of the attack animation to cancel it. If you start up the attack but the opponent is not in range, dash out of the animation to avoid getting punished.

Ryu is the King of Combos; there is no doubt about it. Every one of his moves will either set up combos, continue combos, or finish combos, quite possibly with a kill as well.

I hope you enjoyed this guide on Ryu! I also hope it helped you to improve your Ryu game! The research for this guide was actually done by my friend NyanMeowstic, so a huge shout out and thanks to him for his help with this guide. I am not all that great with Ryu so his help was a godsend.

If you have any questions please let me know down in the comments. While you're at it, let me know what other characters you'd like to see.

The Shulk guide will be out this Friday, though I am planning another guide that following Monday. That guide will be on every thing defensive you need to know about Smash. That's shields, spot dodges, air dodges, rolls, you name it!

Until next time, keep on smashing and leave it to Heropon!