Street Fighter IV/Ryu

Introduction

Forum Links

General Discussion (Combos/Strats etc)
Matchup specific discussion

Notation

• F - Forward - Tilt stick forward/towards the opponent. (X-axis)
• B - Backward/Back - Tilt stick backward/away from the opponent. (X-axis)
• U - Up - Tilt stick upwards. (Y-axis)
• D - Down - Tilt stick downwards. (Y-axis)
• QCF - Quarter circle forward/Hadouken/Fireball - Tilt stick downwards, then to downwards and forward, then forward.
• QCB - Quarter circle backward - Tilt stick downwards, then to downwards and backward, then backward.
• HCF - Half circle forward - Tilt stick backwards, then to downwards and backward, then to downward, then to downwards and forward, then forward.
• HCB - Half circle backward - Tilt stick forwards, then to downwards and forward, then to downward, then to downwards and backward, then backward.
• DP - Dragon punch - Tilt stick forwards, then to downward, then to downward and forward.
• 360/FC - Full circle - Complete a full rotation of the stick.
• 720 - N/A - Complete a 720 degree rotation of the stick.
• Charge - Hold a tilt - Hold the stick in either B or D (Depending) then move to F or U respectively.

X-axis functions can be used interchangeably with Y-axis functions and vice versa. X-axis functions cannot be used in conjunction with another X-axis function and vice versa.

Six Button Notation

• Jab - weak punch (also called LP)
• Strong - medium punch (also called MP)
• Fierce - fierce punch (also called HP)
• P - any punch
• PPP or 3P - all three punches simultaneously

• Short - weak kick (also called LK)
• Forward - medium kick (also called MK)
• Roundhouse (RH) - fierce kick (also called HK)
• K = any kick
• KKK or 3K - all three kicks simultaneously

--NKI 14:42, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Connectors

• ~ = Immediately after, e.g "Strong~Fierce" means press Fierce IMMEDIATELY after Strong, f~f means to double tap forward (dash).

State Modifiers

• st. - The following move should be performed in the standing position (neutral in the Y-axis). i.e. st.Fierce, perform a Fierce whilst standing.
• cr. - The following move should be performed in the crouched position (held down in the Y-axis). i.e. cr.Fierce, perform a Fierce whilst crouching.
• j. - The following move should be performed in the "in the air" position (After having held up in the Y-axis). i.e. j.Fierce, perform a Fierce whilst in the air.

Miscellaneous Notation

• Claw = American Vega = Japanese Balrog
• Boxer = American Balrog = Japanese Bison
• Dictator (Dic) = American Bison = Japanese Vega

Not everyone plays on the American version, and some character names are different in the Japanese version, so to avoid confusion, we should not use the names Vega, Bison, or Balrog.

--NKI 14:44, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Move Analysis

Notable Normal Moves

close st.HP: Forces opponent to stand on hit. Numbers in [ ] are for active frames 3-7
close st.RH: 2nd hit on inflicts 22F of hitstun on standing opponents.
far st.RH: 21F of hitstun on crouching hit.
cr.HP: Forces opponent to stand on hit. Can cancel into special moves on active frames 1-2, all active frames can be EX Focus attack [what everyone calls FADC] and super canceled.
cr.RH: Knockdown on hit
Jumping attacks: 1-x legs invincible to fireballs. (most all jumping moves get your legs up and out of the way)
j.MP: 1st hit floats on air hit. 2nd hit on air hit puts them in special juggle state. 2nd hit can juggle.
f + MP (overhead): 1st hit inflicts 20F of hitstun on standing opponents, 18F of hitstun on crouching opponents, 2nd hit inflicts 16F of hitstun on crouching opponents.
f + HP (rush punch): Recovery frames 16-17 have a character specific cancel. [Ed note: think hop kick xx shoryuken in A3, or see below, Fireball xx shinkuu hadou before fireball hits] 1st hit inflicts 25F of hitstun on standing opponent.

-WraithCo

Normal Throws

Shoulder Throw

LP + LK or f + LP + LK

Somersault Throw

b + LP + LK

Command Normals

Collarbone Breaker

Overhead attack

f + mp

Solar Plexus Strike

f + HP

Special Moves

Hadoken

Fireball

qcf + P

EX version available

Shoryuken

Dragon Punch

dp + P

EX version available

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Hurricane Kick

qcb + K

EX version available

Armour breaking move

Airborne Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Hurricane Kick

(In air) qcb + K

EX version available

Super Move

Shinku Hadoken

qcf x 2 + P

Ultra Move

Metsu Hadoken

qcf x 2 + 3P

....Dragon punch, FADC, Ultra: This is the combo everyone is trying to do. The "..." signifies anything that links into the dragon punch afterwards. Some things to know before trying this out...dont bother doing the anti air DP, FA cancel unless you have an Ultra stored. There's nothing special to it just relax and do it...practice makes perfect, etc.

The Input: Shoryuken, hold MP+MK, f~f, release MP+MK, Ultra

The best way to practice this is to get used to doing a dash afterwards you're FA on hit AND canceling it to parry. A more detailed explanation and inputs for both are:

- To parry: MP+MK (hold), f~f. - When hitting: MP+MK (hold if you want to increase the level), release (hits opponent), f~f,

As you can see, the dash cancel is a compilation of both to some extent. You can also do a slight variation of the inputs to cut time down by inputing: shoryuken, f+MP+MK, f, release MP+MK, Ultra

Combo'ing into Ultra: By adding in normals, you scale the damage of the Ultra. By going into a huge strings into the Ultra, the damage gets scaled heavily. A way to combo into it without huge scaling is c.mp, shoryuken, FADC, Ultra. The c.mp into shoryuken is actually a link (think 3s Ken c.MP, FA3), so therefore this combo's pretty hit comfirmable. All in all, the way you're most likely going to hit this combo is through a shoryuken anti air

-time_attack

Ultra can also be combo'd after:

1. EX hurricane kick in the corner
2. EX hadoken in the corner
3. Anti-air lp dragon punch
4. any anti-air dragon punch that trades

The Basics

Anti-air: Fierce dp is strong enough to be used on all jump ins and it's good enough so that it shouldn't trade. The best thing about this dragon punch is that it can be FADC'd into Ultra (more on that later). When someone DOES trade with you're Shoryuken anti air, Ryu can EX hadoken, Ultra or Super once he recovers.

Zoning: Ryu's hadokens are going to be you're best zoning tool. The recovery from these things is almost instant. With that, compile well thrown hadoken's with c.MK's, s.mp's, and well timed anti airs and SA's.

Combos

Combo'ing Ryu's Normals: Ryu can link a lot of his normals with a lot of ease, such as c.lp, c.mp/c.hp. His c.mp can be followed up with a c.mk or a c.hp. His F+hp also links into c.lp. It's also said that f+mp (overhead) can be followed up with a c.lp link, I'd like confirmation please. In other words, Ryu can link a fierce off of everything except his kicks. Just know that he can combo well with his normals. It's up to you to choose what fits for you.

Combos: Since there are so many ways to link things, I'm not gonna list every one of the possibilities. This library can get pretty extensive. All in all, here are the strings you should know. NOTE: If no other ender is listed, all combos end with you're choice of hurricane kick or dragon punch (ex versions or not). If you end it with a dragon punch, you can always SADC into Ultra.

- c.lpx3, c.MK xx Hadoken/HK hurricane kick
- c.lp, c.hp xx ______
- f+hp, c.lp, c.hp xx ______
- lp shoryuken, land, Shinku hadoken (super)
- jump in hp/hk, c.lp, c.mk, hadoken, SADC, s.hp xx ______
- In corner, SA lvl 2, dash forward, f+hp, c.lp, c.hp, EX hurricane kick, EX fireball, EX hirricane kick.
- *SA lvl 1, dash forward, c.lp, c.hp, ______
- *SA lvl 1, dash forward, SA lvl 2, dash forward...***
- *SA lvl 1, dash forward, SA lvl 1, dash forward, Ex hurricane kick
- SA lvl 2/3, dash forward, SA lvl 2, dash forward...***

Ending a combo with an EX fireball can lead into an Ultra (you have to be pretty quick). its very risky mid screen, especially against heavier characters who fall quicker. In corner is best.

SA Combo Notes: There are a few things you need to know first. First regarding the "***". This indicates that after you're lvl 2 SA hits, you're opponent is put in the air. Therefore, followups to this are limited. A special and quick normal is probably the only route to go. I'll experiment more on this later.

Regarding the "*" combo's, keep in mind that these will only work when you're SA hits as a counter (IE, you charge you're SA, you get hit, you release). When a lvl 1 SA hits after you take a hit, you're lvl 1 SA crumples you're opponent.

When doing combo's that involve 2 SA's, you have to wait for you're opponent to fall to their knees, after the first SA, then do the 2nd SA. Example: SA lvl 1, dash forward (wait until opponent is on knees), SA lvl 2. If you end your combo with a 2nd SA at lvl 2, you can follow up with a normal or special. If you end the combo with a 2nd SA at lvl 1, only an ex special or a Super will connect.

-time_attack

Strategy

1UP's Strategy

From 1UP's Street Fighter 4 Superguide

Controlling the Ground

When zoning on the ground with Ryu, you cannot be afraid to throw fireball after fireball to pressure your opponent into jumping into your Dragon Punch or push them into the corner and limit their options. This basic strategy dates back to Street Fighter II and is still quite relevant in Street Fighter 4 due to the fact that he has so many options to dish out damage when the opponent makes a mistake by trying to avoid fireballs. If you can master this and force your opponent to play this game, you will go very far playing Ryu.

Once you push the opponent into the corner, be sure to continue to pressure not only with regular fireballs, but EX Fireballs as well once you get the meter. The EX Fireball comes out extremely fast so it can catch the opponent trying to jump out of the corner or while they try to counter attack. Once the EX Fireball hits in the corner, you can also connect with an Ultra for added damage. Keep in mind that while zoning with fireballs is one of the main aspects of controlling space with Ryu, be sure to mix in standing Light Punches and other assorted normal moves to bait your opponent. This will allow you to get a reaction out of your opponent without having to commit to a fireball which can open up a lot of opportunities to do damage.

Inevitably the distance between you and your opponent will turn into more close quarters combat, and Ryu has a wide array of normal moves to help push the opponent back out or start some basic but damaging combos when this time comes. Crouching Light Punch and Medium Punch are usually your best bet once you are fighting from this close range in that they combo into a lot of his other moves such as crouching Hard Punch and crouching Medium Kick. If these attacks are blocked be sure to mix in a throw for a knock down and a bit of extra damage.

Crouching Medium Kick on its own is a good mid range normal move in which you can cancel into fireball to push the opponent back. You can also cancel crouching Medium Kick into EX Fireball or Super to score a knock down and more damage in the process. If the opponent is out of range of your crouching Medium Kick, you can also use his crouching Hard Kick which will sweep them.

So as you can tell, getting a knock down with Ryu is a big part of his game in regards to mounting an offense and he has many moves to get to that point in the match. Once the opponent is knocked down, in most cases it is best to move in and apply pressure (unless you are playing against certain characters such as Zangief who can Spinning Pile Driver you or Rufus who has enough EX meter to perform an EX Messiah Kick). To close the distance once you get a knockdown, you can obviously jump or use his different strength Hurricane Kicks to close in on your opponent quickly.

Once he is near a downed challenger, one of his best options is his jumping Medium Kick because when spaced correctly it can cross up and hit the opponent from either side depending on the angle of your jump. Once you hit with the jumping Medium Kick, he can continue into one of the many of combos that he has at his disposal to once again gain another knock down.

You can also apply pressure with one of his many block string such as multiple crouching Light Punches in that this will allow you to hit confirm and combo if they end up hitting. Be sure to mix in throws and his Focus Attack with these block strings to keep the opponent guessing.

Also, useful on downed opponents is his towards Medium Punch which is an overhead that will hit crouching opponents. Many opponents will wake up and block low so this is a good move to keep them on their toes and tack on a bit more damage in the process.

If you find yourself on the defensive, blocking an attack string from your opponent, be sure to try to Dragon Punch between their attacks. You can score a reversal Dragon Punch when timed correctly, and if you have the meter, Focus Attack Dash Cancel and follow up with EX Fireball or Ultra. As a side note, executing the Focus Attack Dash Cancel after the Dragon Punch in close range situations is usually a safe option because if it hits of course you can follow up with an attack (EX Fireball or Ultra), but even if its blocked you can simply dash in for a throw.

Ryu's Super can also be a great tool to end the match (it's usually better to save the EX meter unless it will take out the other player for sure) and he has a couple ways to connect the Super combo from both his normal and special moves. From a crouching Medium Kick the Hard Punch Super will combo and you can also cancel the super off of a Fireball that was canceled from the crouching Medium Kick. You can also connect a Hard Punch Super from a Light Kick Hurricane Kick or Light Punch Dragon Punch.

Controlling the Air

Jumping directly at Ryu is really the last thing your opponent should do if they know this match up, but this is your primary goal as you zone them on the ground with fireballs. If they do indeed decide to make a leap of faith and jump directly at you, you have many many options to knock them out of the air and even deal some more damage with either his Ultra or EX Fireball when you have the meter.

First and foremost is his Dragon Punch which in its most basic form will knock them out of the air and score you a knockdown. The thing is, in Street Fighter IV Ryu has a couple ways to connect his Ultra off of a Dragon Punch as well so this should be your first option. If a Light Punch Dragon Punch connects at the apex of their jump, you will land before your opponent and still be able to throw out his Ultra, the Metsu Hadouken. If any strength Dragon Punch hits deep, you can Focus Attack Dash Cancel into his Ultra to also put the hurt on your opponent. Finally, if your Dragon Punch trades, you can do the same set up because he will land before the opponent and have enough time to hit them with his Ultra. Also know that in all of these situations, if you do not have an Ultra but you do have EX meter, go ahead and throw out an EX Fireball to juggle the opponent instead.

As far as normal moves go, his jumping Medium Punch can be a good option because when it hits, you can perform an Ultra because you will land before the opponent. Standing Hard Kick and crouching Hard Punch are also a good moves to knock them out of their jump in attempts.

Matchups

Abel

Use c.mk hadou/ EX hadou and lure him to jump and punish with SRK linking ultra/super. DOn't let him near you if he does get near you SRK and punish his his pokes. If he does teh combo string rekka block teh first one and punish with SRK. dont stay too close to him because his throw hurst, His combo with ultra could take somewhere 60% of your hp or more... when he has ultra, don't let him link it. Break his defence with crossups and throw.

you can jump in more ofter as his anti is not great but do watch for his jump mid kick, its got high priority.

-zosla

Akuma (Gouki)

Akuma can be tough if you're facing a good player. Be careful with his 3 hitter fireball, jump over it but dont let him catch you with his SRK. You also don't want to be too close to Akuma especially if you're not going to attack. If you can get the knock down chances are he's going to try to come back with a wakeup SRK, look for it if not throw him. Stick with the basic combos. Regarding Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu, if Akuma has ultra or super either keep your distance or try not to let him catch you as you're landing from a jump. Wait for the two jabs to come out and the start up. As soon as you see this jump either straight up, forward, or backwards. If you have ultra, jump straight up and as you land go straight for the ultra.

-terracotta

Dealing with his fireballs and air fireballs is not too hard with Ryu. If you're not at the edge of the map, you can move back to avoid his air fireballs (or trade with your own fireballs), and jumping his red fireball on reaction is not hard. You can play very patiently and use your EX during the fireball war - it's very important you come out ahead, or else you are giving him the ability to play runaway the whole match. Once you get up close, you're basically the same character, except he takes a lot more damage from pokes than you. If he tries to engage you, embrace it. I believe this is a very difficult match for Akuma.

-SiYkO

Balrog (M. Bison/Mike Bison)

Be careful with your fireballs as his spin will go right through it and hit you. Wait for it, block and punish with SRK or go for a cr. mk + fireball/exfireball

Boxer vs Ryu[/b]: again, hard match-up because Boxer's cr.jabs have insane priority and his pokes are longer than Ryu's just enough to punish if you whiff. Boxer's j.hk have a weird hit box to it too and sometimes trades/stuffs everything you throw out unless you throw out early cr.hp or shoryu. Ryu's cr.mp can beat most of Boxer's pokes.

-Aznmnky

Blanka

I've only fought 1 blanka so far worth mentioning and he beat me but it was really close (I didn't think his ex roll goes through ex fireballs). It's a complete scissors paper rock game. His slide and electricity are actually pretty easy to deal with using basic moves and blocking (if he is close then use low shorts for 4 free hits followed by a sweep which he'll need to block giving you distance or get tripped up on).

If he has no meter feel free to use slow hadoukens to keep him on guard and for a bit of free damage and to build your own meter. Once he has EX that is when things get interesting. Blanka will generally try and keep long distance to bait you into throwing a hadouken so he can EX through it. I suggest that you do so only very occasionally opting instead to stand still. Since Blank is weak in covering horizontal distance be patient. If he does a forward roll, just hit standing jab as fast as you can. You will hit him out of it then feel free to focus attack, sweep, hurricane kick or fireball for tick damage. If he tries to bait you using the flip back roll throw a fireball for tick damage. If he jumps in then DP him. If you need breathing space try to hurricane kick (use whip type which means doing it at start of jump motion which usually means you are doing a forward up, forward, down forward, down, down back, back + kick motion, the timing is very tough on this move especially if you have any lag, in fact 360 deg. piledrivers are easier to do than a proper whip hurricane kick). I'm still trying to master this move as each of the 3 kicks give a different arc and distance if done correctly and completely changes the air game for Ryu and Ken.

In any case I suggest that all Ryu and Ken players practice the timing for whip hurricane kick as it allows for air superiority against a lot of airborne opponents and gives you an escape in long and mid range game (the only sure fire way to beat this move is a mid powered airborne attack from up close otherwise you will win 60% of the time, trade 25% of the time and be beaten 15% of the time). As an aside, this move in C Vs. SNK 1 and 2 coupled with a super jump using Ryu gave him absolute airborne superiority in that game.

-rpgr

This match-up is all about patience, but could probably go for rush down at the beginning. When blanka has ex meter, it's almost impossible to cross him up or throw fireballs. Just have to wait for blanka to make a mistake. Cr.mp will beat a lot of his pokes.

-Aznmnky

Chun Li

From full screen: Ryu can always win fireball battles with Chun, but do not throw fireballs at her if she has ultra, as it can travel though fireballs to hit you from almost full screen. Make her have to work and combo into her ultra.

Chun's jump is quite floaty and therefore easy to anti-air with dragon punch or cr.HK if she does try to jump in on you from a distance.

From mid screen: This is a tricky distance for both of you. Chun's overhead flip kick (and ultra) can go through your fireballs, so they should be used conservatively. You should also be very sparing in your use of FAs to counter her attacks as many of her attacks hit multiple times and her BnB involves chained shorts and EX legs. Never FA a jump in from Chun as her target combo (done in the air) will beat it. Her overhead flip kick and cr.HK have great range, but both can be absorbed and punished with FA. If you see the overhead flip coming you can beat it with dp (xx FADC, Ultra).

Chun has quite weak anti-air options, but very good air-to-air priority. In response to a jump in attempt Chun will often jump to meet you in the air to do her air-throw, target combo or neutral j.HK - all of which have a very good chance of beating you unless you anticipate and throw out your attack early. Also be wary of her EX SBK, which is her best wake-up reversal. EX SBK can be beaten with a lucky cross-up as long as it's very deep.

Up Close: Chun is very vulnerable to cross-ups if she no EX meter, so if you find youself in the position to cross her up then you should press your advantage. When she does have EX meter be aware that she's probably going to try to use her EX SBK, which has very high priority but can be baited with safe jumps and wakeup mind games. Face to face she is very effective at applying pressure with a relentless string of quick attacks that will stuff many of Ryu's normals, so your best option is to block and wait until she does something that can be punished.

Contributors: parabellum,INFORCER

Guile

When you trade projectiles, you can SRK FADC his poke and fuck him up. If you miss oh well, he can't do shit.

Just whore out your risk/reward factors but be smart about it. He can't guess correctly for long.

edit: Focus absorb a sonic boom and dash up and mix him up with grab or shoryu FADC ultra.

- MagnetoManiac

Quick note on guile - if you block the first hit of his c.hk, and are at anywhere but his max range, you can sweep him before the second hit. It's not hard to do this on reaction, and you can completely discourage guile from sweeping. The timing is pretty tight though, so it's worth getting a feel for.

-SiYkO

Hurricane kick is a pretty bad answer vs. Guile. His recovery is so fast on his booms that you have to be SUPER psychic for it to actually connect. More often than not you are going to be punished.

Unfortunately if you're playing a good Guile it's going to be VERY hard to get in on him. You can throw hadou's faster than he can throw booms. Do that. Patience is very important.

-Jack/Steve

Huricane kick is good only if you see your opponment throwin FP sonic. You can t punish the LP sonic with huricane kick. strong guile player know this so ....

just as every one say. it s a patience game just hado to try to make cheap damage. you can punish his sweep on guard between the first and second hit with shoryu ( fadc ultra....)

you can also try to pressur him till geting him to the corner and then ex hado to counter his sonic boum( then ultra)

it s an hard fight but ryu have some tools. guile game will be to avoid cheap damage, ex sonic boum to make you cheap damage and punsh you when you are impatient. he can sonic boum at mid distance and punish you with a FP if you hado at the same moment due o recorvery. so be smart at mid distance( ex hado, or fa dash bach.)

-ranix

I would not rely on a hurricane kick for guile. Be patient and poke the heck out of him. Use the tried and true low medium kick firefall cancel. He will block but, you will be serving chip damage. Ive always done better with this while keeping guile out of the corner. If he stays there you cannot cross him up and you can really only attack in one direction, you can't jump because you will get punished.

The player will get frustrated and if the pressure is good and heavy will wiff a flip kick. Then you can punish. Always use safe jumps!!!!!!

-Jud0ka

If you cross him up pretty deep he can't Flash Kick on wakeup. Well, he can but he gets stuffed clean, that's one of Guile's big weaknesses in this game.

Old School SFII logic says anybody sweeping with Guile enough for you to notice isn't playing him right. He should be using more low forward as the sweep is SO PUNISHABLE and always has been. In the old games you can block and sweep him back, you might also be able to backdash and do something if you anticipate it.

As far as the matchup in general, try to get a lead and make him come to you. Any random SRK you can hit is free damage into Ultra or Super. Also remember that Guile charges in down back a lot so you can overhead him more than most characters. (If he's not expecting it/not charged for Flash Kick after a boom etc)

It depends on your style. I play turtle style so I would just match and hop his booms, get super and try to bait him.

-Grits'N'Gravy

Ken

If he's spamming DPs like crazy then the match-up should be extremely easy . You probably need to improve your reaction time. If he's spamming reversal DPs, there are three main things you can do:

1. On knockdown, bait DPs by standing next to him (but outside of his throw range).

2. Time your cross-ups so Ken's DP's whiff if he attempts a reversal. It results in a free grab or combo every time.

3. Hold d/b or back, and time your attacks so if he does decide to reversal, you'll be blocking, and if he doesn't your attack will come out.

-_Snake_

ken is a really easy match all that you should be worried about is his kara throw mixups but outside of his jab range your winning this match

-Gasp

Yeah the best option is to just zone with hadouken and force him to jump into a Shoryuken. Poke him with the Cr.Mid kick into Ex hadouken.. Then when you have him set to jump Lp.Shoryuken him in the air and break into a Ultra.

-Death N0te

M. Bison (Vega/Dictator)

With M. Bison it is possible to FADC his head press and catch him with a SRK + EX Fireball or Ultra. If you get hit with the Splash more than likely he's going to follow up with a crouching kick. You can also catch his Psycho crusher with a shoryuken. Once you get the knock down it's a good idea to cross him up and go for the combo. Rose

Sagat

This is kind of interesting, I see that a lot of people are having trouble with Sagat matchups, however I don't feel as if I have had trouble with this match since the beginning of the game. All in all, I could go into detail with things, but I'll just write my main ideas concerning this matchup.

From full screen, terracotta nailed it on the head. It's a fireball war until someone gets impatient and tries to advance. Don't let this be you. Neutral jump over low tigers, and crouch under high tigers. The occasional SA to eat a shot is pretty good too. Make sure you don't eat 2 in a row, mainly because you don't want to even risk losing 3 shots worth of life when you didn't have to. The reason why SA'ing 1 shot is good is because it kinda fucks with the opponent's mind. It gives him the impression that YOU are capitalizing from something that HE is doing. Other than that, wait it out, and let Sagat come to you. He moves like a sack of bricks and has to do some pretty unsafe things to close distance to you (jump is slow, whiff tiger knee can be punished with a c.hk, dash is to slow, etc.). Point of the matter is, do NOT get into a fireball war with Sagat. Build meter by jumping back and whiffing hurricane kick, and avoid his tiger shots, get the opponent in the mindset that what he is doing is NOT working.

From mid screen, it can get kind of messy, whoever can conquer the mid screen battle, gets the knockdown. At this point Sagat is just WAITING to try and tiger knee you at a safe distance so that he can get in on you and pressure you. Personally, I keep my guard up from this range mainly because I don't want to give him any chance to get in my face. Sending out a poke with Ryu is risking a situation where Sagat can knockdown, so I would suggest poking VERY rarely and conservatively. If I were to send any poke, it would be an EX fireball...this is a good move mainly because if Sagat blocks it, it pushes him away from you, so you get more breathing room. If it hits, well you get the knockdown. Lastly, a very nicely timed jump at this range can mean great things right here. Sagat is not a patient character, especially at this range, he's either looking to poke into a string, or he's looking to close the distance on you. When he's in this mindset, its your turn to jump...do it when you are at c.mk range so that Sagat doesn't have much time to think about anti airing you.

Close up...if Sagat does get in on you, the best suggestion that I could give is to just block. Block everything that Sagat has to give. I would MUCH rather take an overhead or throw then to be comboed for a lot of damage. You are going to want to make the Sagat player think that you are VERY firm on blocking his strings...at this point, he knows that his only option is to throw...so just keep an eye out for it and be ready to tech. Try not to get crossed up from close ranges too (example: c.lk, c.lk, jump over with lk, land repeat). Learn how to look for it, and when it happens, jump back hk him in his face. The point of the matter is that you KNOW that Sagat is going for mad pressure at this range...he's going to be trying to lock you down no matter what. So take that option away from him, and remain blocking...watch for throw attempts and tech. Once Sagat locks you down for a while, I'm sure that there will be patterns or even mistakes in between the strings, learn to look for these and choose a safe way to stop the string...the safest being SRK, SADC.

-Mickey D'

I disagree in spamming fireballs vs Sagat.

You can always advance on a Sagat player.

A high fire baller you will need to just duck and advance, a low fire baller use the hurricane kick to advance.

On the ground and at mid distance, Ryu has the advantage. In fact, Ryu's sweep is longer range than Sagat's just by a bit. At mid distance if your timing and luck are just about right it's a 50/50 against his fireball as you decide to duck low to avoid then retaliate with your own fast hadoken or if it is low and you retaliate with a mid hurricane kick.

Play defensive cause most will try to follow up with a tiger knee if you decide to advance more.

Knowing your sweep distance vs. Sagats is important. You should try to avoid jumping in against Sagat as he has the advantage there.

It's all about zoning so just remember that while Sagat looks bigger and logically should have better reach with his limbs, it's just not true on low ground and this is your biggest advantage.

-rpgr

Sagat vs Ryu: Hard match-up for Ryu or anyone for that matter. Just have to get in on him and don't get caught in the fire ball war because Sagat WILL win that.

-Aznmnky

Vega (Balrog/Claw)

no srks

focus the slash dash in and sweep c.hp when he's near it'll beat out the slash and stop a grab (best option) nj.hk block

you basically have to pressure vega this whole match, fireball from full screen to make him wall dive. if he tries to dive at you instead of faking, you have a bunch of options. if you knock him down cross him up all day. if he tries to flip away tatsu or ex ball to punish watch out for his kara throw

-Gasp

Zangief

Quick Notes: Do NOT hadoken much from up close or half screen, this is just asking for Gief to jump over you and Ultra. The goal is to play Gief from half screen distance. Ryu needs to zone well by using c.mk. If Gief advances a little to much push him back by c.mk hadoken/ex hadoken. At this distance, Ryu's best tool is to jump straight up and j.hk. It will make Gief whiff green hand and lariat, letting you push him back or possibly combo him. Lastly, ANTI AIR him EVERY chance you get. To do this, you need to be LOOKING for the anti air, I don't think that having good reactions is just good enough, start LOOKING for those jumps to avoid Ultra's.

From afar: Ryu's only real option is to throw hadokens. Hadoken's are NOT hard to get around with Gief. Gief can easily close the distances via SA'ing the hadoken and dashing in, Lariat'ing (not the best option), or green handing his way in. Jumping isn't very good for Gief to cover ground because at this range, Ryu should be in position to Anti air with s.hk from afar. Because it's so easy to anticipate Ryu's hadoken's from full screen, Gief is most likely going to be green handing your fire balls.

Up Close: This is a dangerous territory for both characters. It really depends who's rushing who. If you're rushing Gief down, you need to be very careful not to fall into an SPD during your strings. It's real risky for Ryu to be doing the rushing because of this. However you CAN stand just out of SPD range and attack. If Zangief gets a knockdown, you're in big trouble. Gief can easily do 20% worth of damage if you don't make the right decision. Your options are very limited if you don't have meter. You can either jump straight up in anticipation of a wake up SPD/tick into SPD, or you can block in anticipation of a combo. The best way to get rid of this gimmick, is to save your meter during the match. This way, once you're knocked down, you can: hp srk, SADC back dash. This gets you completely out of trouble, and gives you another chance to play the match up from half screen distance.

Half Screen: This is where Ryu succeeds in the match. Ryu needs to make it a goal to be just shy of Green hand range for the majority of the match. Green hand is Gief's ONLY good tool to get in on Ryu. By staying out of green hand range, you are able to punish on reaction, poke out at Gief with c.mk (to stop him from advancing into close up range), bait it by whiffing a couple c.lp's, OR most preferably jump straight up and land with hk. One thing to know is it's important not to throw to many hadokens as a good Gief will try to anticipate this and EX green hand you. Use hadokens from this range VERY conservatively.

Conclusion: This match is tough for Ryu because he's limited to how much he can rush (the main way Ryu does damage). Stay about half screen distance of Gief in anticipation of green hand. Keep him in this distance by poking him and pushing him back.

Videos demonstrating the above

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLpmQ5KoS_0 --> this video show the whats and what nots to do against 'Gief. Mix of good zoning tactics and some scrubby play. It seems pretty straight forward so I wont go into detail about it. Unless people what a time breakdown then i can do so. More to come later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QmCxkF6LyY --> this video has a lot of what not to dos against Zangief. Also note that patience is key to winning with Ryu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGbzjd9O_oE --> i question the level of skill of the Zangief player, nonetheless, notice the sense of urgency by the Ryu player to get out of Zangief's range, his use of low mk, fb, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofe4p7hVQy0 --> not much can be said here that has not be discussed.

- Mickey D

Matchup Videos

Find a great collection of matchup specific videos from top players at streetfighterdojo.com
Contributor: zaspacer

Frame Data

							Frames	Frames	Frames of	Frames of	Super Meter	Block	Cancel	Ability
Move Name	Damage	Stun	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Block	On Hit	Block Stun	Hit Stun	Gain	HL	Chain	Special	Super	Notes
Close LP	30	50	3	3	6	11	+2	+5	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
Close MP	70	100	3	3	21	26	-3	+3	20	26	40	HL	X	O	O	-
Close HP	100[80]	200[150]	5	7	26	37	-15	-10	17	22	60	HL	X	O	O	Forces stand
Close LK	30	50	5	5	7	16	-1	+2	10	13	20	HL	X	X	X	-
Close MK	70	100	3	3	16	23	-7	-2	13	18	40	HL	X	O	O	-
Close HK	40*70	125*75	8	8(2)4	17	38	-3	+2	17	21	60*20	HL	X	X	O	1st hit cancellable
Far LP	30	50	4	3	6	12	+2	+5	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
Far MP	80	100	5	4	14	22	-4	-1	13	16	40	HL	X	X	O	-
Far HP	120	200	8	3	15	25	0	+4	17	21	60	HL	X	X	X	-
Far LK	40	50	5	6	6	16	-1	+2	10	13	20	HL	X	X	X	-
Far MK	70	100	8	2	17	26	-5	-2	13	16	40	HL	X	X	X	-
Far HK	110	200	9	4	20	32	-6	-2	18	22	60	HL	X	X	X	-
crouch LP	30	50	3	2	7	11	+2	+5	10	13	20	HL	O	O	O	-
crouchMP	70	100	4	4	8	15	+2	+5	13	16	40	HL	X	O	O	-
crouch HP	100	200	4	8	28	39	-18	-13	17	22	60	HL	X	O	O	Forces stand
crouch LK	20	50	4	3	9	15	-1	+2	10	13	20	L	O	O	O	Low attack
crouch MK	70	100	5	5	12	21	-3	0	13	16	40	L	X	O	O	Low attack
crouch HK	90	100	5	4	28	36	-14	D	17	-	60	L	X	X	X	Low attack, cannot fast recover
Jump up LP	50	50	10	7	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up MP	80	100	5	5	-	-	-	-	10	13	40	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up HP	100	200	6	5	-	-	-	-	17	20	60	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up LK	40	50	5	9	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up MK	80	100	6	10	-	-	-	-	11	15	40	H	-	-	-	-
Jump up HK	100	200	4	4	-	-	-	-	15	18	60	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward LP	50	50	4	7	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward MP	50*30	50*50	7	3*4	-	-	-	-	11	15	40*20	H	-	-	-	(translate)/(translate)
Jump forward HP	100	200	6	5	-	-	-	-	15	18	60	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward LK	40	50	4	8	-	-	-	-	8	11	20	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward MK	70	100	6	6	-	-	-	-	11	15	40	H	-	-	-	-
Jump forward HK	100	200	7	7	-		-	-	15	18	60	H	-	-	-	-
Overhead f+MP	30*50	50*50	17	1(1)2	14	34	-2	+3	13	18	40*20	H	X	X	X	Mid attack
f+HP	40*80	50*50	17	2*2	18	38	0	+4	19	23	60*20	HL	X	O	O	2nd hit cencellable
Focus Attack LVL 1	60	100	21	2	35	57	-21	-21	15	15	20	HL	-	-	-	-
Focus attack LVL 2	80	150	18+11	2	35	65	-15	D	21	-	40	HL	-	-	-	-
Focus attack LVL 3	140	200	65	2	35	101	D	D	-	-	60	-	-	-	-	-
Forward Throw	130	140	3	2	20	24	-	D	-	-	40	0.9	-	-	-	Throw range 0.9
Back throw	130	120	3	2	20	24	-	D	-	-	40	0.9	-	-	-	Throw range 0.9
Hadoken	70	100	13	-	45	45	-6	-2	18	22	10/20	HL	X	X	O	-
Hadoken EX	50*50	50*50	12	-	40	40	+1	D	13	-	0/0	HL	X	X	O	Pursuit property
Shoryuken LP	130[70]	200[100]	3	14	14+10	40	-17	D	20	-	30/40	HL	X	X	O	1~2f invincible, 3~4f cannot be thrown, 3~16f lower body invincibility
Shoryuken MP	140[70]	200[100]	3	14	25+18	59	-36	D	20	-	30/40	HL	X	X	O	1~4f invincible, 5~16f lower body invincibility
Shoryuken HP	160[70]	200[100]	3	14	28+18	62	-39	D	20	-	30/40	HL	X	X	O	1~4f invincible, 5~16f lower body invincibility
Shoryuken EX	80*60	100*100	3	2*12	30+18	64	-39	D	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	O	1~16f invincible, 2nd hit (translate), 1st hit cancellable
Hurricane Kick LK	100	200	11	2(6)2	12+5	37	-6	D	20	-	30/30	HL	X	X	X	7~20f (translate), Armor break
Hurricane Kick MK/HK	110	200	12	2(6)2(6)2(6)2(6)2	18+3	66	-2	D	20	-	30/30	HL	X	X	X	7~45f (translate), Armor break
Hurricane Kick EX	40x5	50x5	11	1(3)1(3)1(3)1(3)1	18+3	-	-1	D	20	-	0/0	HL	X	X	X	6~27f (translate), Forces stand, Pursuit property, Armor break
Hurricane Kick LK (air)	70	100	9	2x3	10	-	-	D	20		10/40	HL	-	-	-	-
Hurricane Kick MK (air)	80	100	9	2x3	10	-	-	D	20		10/40	HL	-	-	-	-
Hurricane Kick HK (air)	90	100	9	2x3	10	-	-	D	20		10/40	HL	-	-	-	-
Hurricane Kick EX (air)	40x5	50x5	7	1x5	4	-	-	D	20		0	HL	-	-	-	Pursuit property
Super Combo	50x4*100	0	1+2	-	51	52	+11	D	20		0	HL	-	-	-	1f invincible, Pursuit property
Ultra Combo	45x7*83	0	1+10	-	119	120	-25	D	20		0	HL	-	-	-	1~9f (translate) invincible, Pursuit property
							Frames	Frames	Frames of	Frames of	Super Meter	Block	Cancel	Ability
Move Name	Damage	Stun	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	On Block	On Hit	Block Stun	Hit Stun	Gain	HL	Chain	Special	Super	Notes

Street Fighter IV