Street Fighter IV/Ryu

Introduction

Forum Links

General Discussion (Combos/Strats etc)
Matchup specific discussion

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
5. 2 hit jumping mp against airborne opponent

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. From f.MP (overhead) can be followed up with a c.lp link as long as the opponent is not crouching. 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: (Not a complete list - damage listed in brackets)

BnB
cLK, cLP, cHP, LK Tatsu (200)
cLK, cLP, cHP, HP Hadoken (179)
cLK, cLP, LP SRK (150)
cLK, cLP, cMP, Hadoken (155)
cLK, cLP, cLP, cMK, Hadoken (165)
cLP, cLP, Shinku Hadoken (300)
cLP, cLP, SRK, FADC, Metsu Hadoken (448)

Poke Strings
f+HP, cHP, EX Tatsu (380)
f+HP, LP SRK (250)
f+HP, LP SRK, Shinku Hadoken (440)
cMK, HP Hadoken (140)
cMK, HP Hadoken, Shinku Hadoken (330)
cMK, Shinku Hadoken (315)
(opponent in corner) cMK, EX Hadoken, Metsu Hadoken (420)
f+MP,LP SRK, Shinku Hadoken (438)

Jump Ins
jHK, cHP, HP Hadoken (256)
jHK, cHP, LK Tatsu (280)
jHK, sHP, HP SRK (328)
jHK, cLK, cLP, cMP, Hadoken (235)
jHK, cLK, cLP, cMP, Tatsu (246)
jHK, cLK, cLP, cLP, cMK, Hadoken (219)
jHK, cMK, Shinku Hadoken (410)
jHK, cMK, LP SRK, Shinku Hadoken (484)
jHK, cHP, LK Tatsu, Shinku Hadoken (490)
jHK, sMK, LP SRK, FADC, Metsu Hadoken (513)
jHK, Metsu Hadoken (418)
(opponent in corner) jHK, cHP, EX Tatsu, Metsu Hadoken (596)

Tick Throws
-cLK, cLP, throw
-cLP, cLP, throw
-sLP, cLP, throw
-FA lvl 1, dash, throw
-jHK, throw
-jMK/jLK (cross up), throw

Cross Ups
jMK, cHP, HP Hadoken (226)
jMK, cHP, LK Tatsu (250)
(on opponent just about to get up after knockdown) Tatsu (120)

Focus Attack
FA lvl 2/3, f+HP, LP SRK (330)
FA lvl 2/3, f+HP, LP SRK, Shinku Hadoken (500)
FA lvl 2/3, f+HP, cHP, EX Tatsu (426)
FA lvl 2/3, cHP, LK Tatsu (290)
FA lvl 2/3, Throw

Ultra Combo
SRK, FADC, Metsu Hadoken (440)
LP SRK (anti-air), Metsu Hadoken (328)
jMP (air to air), Shinku Hadoken
jMP (air to air), Metsu Hadoken

Contributor: Kuma Oni

- 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, FADC, s.hp xx ______
- In corner, SA lvl 2, dash forward, f+hp, c.lp, c.hp, EX hurricane kick, EX fireball, EX hirricane kick.
- *FA lvl 1, dash forward, c.lp, c.hp, ______
- *FA lvl 1, dash forward, SA lvl 2, dash forward...***
- *FA lvl 1, dash forward, SA lvl 1, dash forward, Ex hurricane kick
- FA lvl 2/3, dash forward, SA lvl 2, dash forward...***

NOTE: If no other ender is listed, all combos end with your choice of hurricane kick or dragon punch (EX versions or not). If you end it with a dragon punch, you can always FADC into Ultra. Regarding the "*" combos, keep in mind that these will only work when you're FA hits as a counterhit.

FA Combo Notes: When a lvl 1 FA hits as a counterhit, it crumples your opponent.

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

Contributor: 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

From full screen: You can zone Abel with fireballs in the hopes that he will make a mistake, but Abel has a lot of tools to get past your fireballs so you probably won't stay at this range for long. Be aware that Abel's ultra can reach almost full screen and goes through fireballs.

From mid screen: Do not throw fireballs once you are within rolling distance from Abel unless you are sure that it will be safe. At mid screen range Abel will be trying to get in close so it is important that you watch what he does so that you can react and try to take back the initiative. If he jumps in then dragon punch. If he rolls then throw or jump away.

Up close: You can throw Abel out of his rolls. Abel also has quite weak anti-air options so if you get in close use cross-ups and neutral jumps to keep the pressure on and avoid his command throw. Be ready to tech thow attempts. The first hit of his rekkas can be punished with dragon punch on block.

Contributors: 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/Boxer)

From full screen: From full screen your fireballs are safe so you should use them to zone Boxer as long as possible to get as much damage as you can before he gets into his effective range.

From mid screen: From mid range you should no longer throw fireballs as Boxer can TAP/EX rush punch/super/ultra through them. The player with the best pokes will win at this range. Do not jump in on Boxer from this range as his anti-air options are numerous and strong.

If Boxer gets impatient trying to get past your pokes and does a rush punch then it can be stuffed with a well timed cr.LP or cr.MK or dragon punch. It can also be absorbed and punished with a FA. Do not try to stuff or FA a TAP or an EX rush punch as they will beat you.

Close up: Boxer's jabs are very quick and effective. It's best to block and wait for an opportunity to punish. Be ready to tech any throw attempts such as tick throws or whiffed rush upper, throw. Many of his other normals are punishable by FA. If he gets you into the corner it is usually wise to use an instant-air tatsu to get away.

Always be on the lookout for Boxer's rush overhead as it can lead into very damaging combos, so be ready to block high.

Once you are able to score a knock down against boxer he is vulnerable to meaty jump-in cross ups. His only real options to avoid cross ups are his headbutt and TAP, both of which will get him out of danger back to mid range, but will leave you safe.

Contributors: parabellum

Blanka

From full screen: It is unwise to throw any fireballs against Blanka unless he either has no EX bars or unless you have combo'ed into it. Be aware that Blanka's EX balls can go through your fireballs and hit you even from full screen.

Blanka balls can be stuffed with cr.LP, cr.MP, f.MP or dragon punch.

From mid screen: If blanka uses either his slide or cr.HP as a poke then it can easily be punished with FA. cr.MK is your best poke to use against Blanka.

Up close: This is the distance where you can deal the most damage to Blanka. Your mixups are what will win this match for you. Keep Blanka guessing by alternating between combos, tick throws and perhaps some psychic dragon punch (FADC into ultra) shenanigans.

Dealing with Blanka's ultra: Blanka's ultra has two parts: the first starts LOW and must be blocked LOW, then he hops up which is an OVERHEAD and must be blocked high. Then the blanka player can hold PPP to control when the final horizontal attack portion of the ball starts.

The first part of the ball cannot be delayed and most blanka players try to do this right in your face. You can counter immediately with EX dragon punch, or either completely evade his ultra, or block the entire thing and IMMEDIATELY counter with your ultra/super/combo.

Blanka's Ultra does a lot of chip damage and many blanka players will save it, until they know it will chip you to death. If you are low on health and if Blanka has his ultra BE VERY CAREFUL and do not let him get in your face. Once in that situation, evade and counter is the name of the game.

Contributors: parabellum

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

Crimson Viper

From full screen: You have to be very careful entering a fireball war with C Viper as her seismic hammer comes up from the ground.

"From mid screen: Viper has quite strong anti-air, so don't be baited into jumping straight in on her. Keep in mind that she can feint with seismic hammer. Her best tool is her mixup/crossup game, so she's going to want to put pressure on to keep you guessing. You can either play keep away by zoning and baiting jump-ins or you can rush her down and not let her have the initiative.

Up close: Whilst Viper's anti-air is quite strong she is still vulnerable to cross-ups, so use them for pressure. FA can be used to absorb and punish flame kicks.

Dhalsim

From full screen: Sim will try to keep you at full screen at much as possible and it can be very difficult to get in close, but that is what you must do to win this match. It is unwise to try to absorb any of his fireballs with FA as he will often time a punch to hit at the same time as the fireball. His long range normals can be punished with FA, but the timing is very tight and the recovery of a whiffed FA is very long. Psychic LP dragon punches can be used to stuff Sim's long range normals, but obviously leave you vulnerable if you guessed wrong. If you do get a knock down then rush in quick.

From mid screen: From mid screen Sim will usually either try to run away or rush/teleport in close to do a quick combo before running away. Because of his tendency to suddenly appear behind you it is wise to be cautious about using any moves that leave you too vulnerable. Having said that the risk/reward payoff for anticipating his actions can be quite high particularly if it gets you a knock down.

Sim recovers almost instantly from doing his ultra, and usually it is thrown as a setup for a combo that he will time to land at the same time as the ultra. You must use your judgement whether the best option is to avoid it with an instant-air tatsu (which will put you back to full screen distance), block and wait it out, or try to time a jump to catch Sim as he makes his move.

Up close: This is where you can inflict serious damage on Sim. He has very low stamina to balance the fact that he has such a great keep-away game so if you get in close you must press the advantage by mixing up cross-ups, tick throws and combos.

Fei Long

From full screen: From this distance you should zone Fei as hard as possible for as long as possible using your fireballs.

From mid screen: From this distance Fei's chickenwing becomes a threat, but since it has such slow startup Fei has to anticipate your fireballs to use it effectively. With this knowledge you can bait him to use it and then punish him. Learn the difference between which CW strength is used. If he uses HK CW, expect a follow up link attack to come in. (e.g. standing fierce punch or crouching lk pokestring).

Fei has strong anti-air - do not jump in on him unless it is a deep crossup.

Once Fei gets in to the edge of poke range he has the advantage because of his superior speed. You can anticipate his attacks with cr.MK xx fireball or run away to a safer distance.

Up close: The safest option up close is to play defensively, wait for an opening and then punish. Be wary of frame traps in his strings intended to bait a counter attack and catch it. Once you have a knock down you can run away, bait a reversal flame kick, or do a meaty cross-up (must be deep to beat his flame kick). Remember that his EX flame kick will beat a crossup.

Note: You can also bait him out at max range to use up his EX stock. Force him into jumping over your hadokens to meet your dp.

Contributors: DarthPaul1982, Nemesys_Syndrome

Gouken

From full screen: In a fireball war Gouken will win, but you can hold him off indefinitely through a combination of your own fireballs, FA absorbing some, and jumping over some. From full screen you have enough time to wait to see if Gouken's fireball is going to be a high one so you don't jump into it. Take your time and work your way forward.

From mid screen: If Gouken is still trying to zone with fireballs at this range you can use EX fireballs and Ryu's super to go through all Gouken's fireballs, only use them if Gouken is becoming predictable. Learn the distance at which fireballs can be punished by Gouken's palm strike as it can go through them.

Up close: Gouken hits very hard, but most of his moves are easily punishable on block. Bait his specials and then punish. Be very wary of throw attempts as Gouken's back-throw leads into a guaranteed ultra or hurricane kick.

Guile

If you block the first hit of his c.hk, and are at anywhere but his max range, you can sweep/dragon punch/FA him before the second hit. It's not hard to do this on reaction, and you can completely discourage guile from sweeping.

-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 fireballs 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.

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

-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)

-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

Rufus

From afar you should zone, build meter, and occasionally land chip dmg with fireballs. Rufus will either jump over them (neutral or forward into dive, baiting DP) or do a MP Snake Strike over them to get some meter. From around midscreen you should be careful with fireballs, cause Galactic Tornado will punish you (if he does it on reaction to your FB and from around its max range, you will often be recovered to meet it with a DP). Also, be aware that his J.HP has quite good reach. I like to play this from midscreen: poking, while watching and baiting for dives and Messiah's.

Shutting down the dive kick practically cancels Rufus' game. He has 2 main ways to get in: the dive and the roll (this can't go under fireballs, btw). The roll is safe on block, but can be DP'ed on reaction. You can usually also DP after blocking it, because Rufus will go for a throw, triangle-jump dive or a blockstring in 99% of the situations after a roll. Unless you condition him to block after it with a few DPs. The dive kick is his main weapon. Watch for it, anticipate it. Good Rufus players WILL bait DP's a lot with neutral jumps, late dives on the way down or close to the ground triangle dives. Varying the height of the dive in order to bait is one of his main mind game tricks. So in certain distances you will want to buffer the DP but only commit (press the punch button) if you see him diving from the high spot towards you. You should also understand his options after a blocked dive. He will either through, do another dive (usually very fast triangle dive), especially if you are conditioned into teching, or go for a block string. So you might want to through the occasional DP after blocking a dive kick in order to shatter his confidence. The high dive kick can also cross (but will not combo afterwards, except in certain situations when you are crouching).

Rufus is especially dangerous in the corner, where his dive mix-up game is at his best. The best you can do is to get out of there at the first possibility. He can also connect ultra in the corner from anything - Tornado, Snake Strike, Messiah, f+HP.

If you score a knockdown, you can pretty much cross-up at will if he does not have meter. Rufus has a great reversal - the EX Messiah Kick, but it is hard to land more than one hit of it (20 dmg, so it is a good trade - you are hit for 20, but they lose 1 EX) when being crossed. So considering this risk/reward factor I often cross even if he has EX. Generally, try to bait the EX Messiah on their wake up, to waste their meter. That will not be hard, cause it is his main wake-up / panic move.

From around midscreen you can also occasionally jump with HK at him (don't overuse it), aiming for a hit with the tip of the leg. Don't do this if he has EX. EX Snake Strike is a GREAT anti-air, good traectory, invincibility and does 270 dmg. His other main anti-airs: S. HP and Cr.MP are situational, and not quite fast.

Once Rufus gains ultra you should be even more careful. He can land it from a ton of setups (even more than Ryu's) and he WILL be looking to land it as it is quite a lot of dmg (515 when full). These include: - EX (or LK) Messiah, LK follow-up, FADC, Ultra (so watch out when mixing him up after a KD or when poking, moreso if he has 3 EX) - air to air J.HK, land, ultra (you will notice Rufus players jumping in a lot with HK, looking to meet you in the air, once they have ultra) - target combo (LK-HK, 4 frames startup), Ultra (most often as a punish or after a dive hits you) - S.HK, Ultra (kinda hard to land on aware opponents, but still watch out for it) - the setups in the corner mentioned above (you should not be there, anyway) So it is up to you to be aware of these.

Some other notes: - if you block a Messiah Kick (including EX), you can DP before the followup (or simply punish if there is no followup). The only followup that combos from a hitting Messiah is the LK, the others can be DPed. - his main dmg (and punish) combo is s.HP-HP Tornado (260 dmg). You will often encounter it in the form Dive, LK, HP xx HP Tornado if they don't have ultra (otherwise it is Dive, LK-HK, ultra; btw, the HK won't connect if you are crouching). Note that LK, HP is one frame link, so you can attempt a DP after the LK - if you are being hit, you will reversal out of it if they screw it up. Also, if you block the HP, you will usually be out of block stun and you can DP before the HP Tornado (unless it is a perfect cancel, and considering you are not pushed too far away from blocking the start of the combo). Even if it is a perfect cancel, you can still try to reversal, you will not be hit by the Tornado as you will still be in blockstun.

Contributor: Scourge

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.

- Mickey D

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.

- time_attack

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	X	X
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

The 1 frame discrepancy you see between Startup+Active+Recovery and Total is because when it says a move has 4 frames startup, it really has 3 frames startup and hits on frame 4. It was written this way so you don't have to do any math to figure out what frame a move first hits on.

Street Fighter IV