Overview

Ryu is a quite unconventional Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brawler. As a fighter comprehensively drawn from a completely different fighting game, his move set is vast, with an extraordinary range of strengths and uses, along with exclusive mechanics like special moves performed with specific control stick inputs.

While he’s one of the most difficult fighters to master, he can be highly rewarding to train with since his wide-ranging arsenal makes him incredibly versatile. Like Ken, Ryu is a fighter with a high skill ceiling—you can almost always improve upon his game, so the more your execution and timing improve, the more effective you can be. His dash speed, jump speed, and aerial Focus Attack and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku allow him to close distance and get within range to threaten with powerful Street Fighter combos, or to break shields with Collarbone Breaker (side tilt hold).

As a Street Fighter character, Ryu can rack up damage by hit-confirming his attacks into combos. For instance, you can poke with close light punch (up tilt tap) twice, verify your opponent has been hit, then cancel into heavy Shoryuken for a high-damage finisher, potentially KO’ing foes into the upper blast zone. The following are potential SF-style special-cancel combos and their practical uses:

Ryu Vitals

Movement Options

Movement Ranks