Ryu (SSBU)

Ryu (, Ryū) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is the second fighter from Capcom after . He was officially confirmed alongside and the rest of the returning roster on June 12th, 2018 during E3 2018. Ryu is classified as Fighter #60.
Ryu is once again voiced by in English and in Japanese, with their portrayals from Super Smash Bros. 4 being repurposed for the English and Japanese releases of Ultimate, respectively. In the Chinese and Korean versions, Ryu uses his English voice clips.
Ryu is ranked 29th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him at the top of the A- tier. This is a noticeable drop from his 11th/12th out of 54 placement in SSB4 where he was tied with . Ryu has a strong combo game due to his auto turn around mechanic and ability to special cancel out of several of his moves. His multitude of combos gives him a strong advantage state and high damage output. His Hadouken (the Shakunetsu, in particular) is well-known for playing his neutral and suits his defensive playstyle. The rest of his specials all serve use as they are single hit moves that are good for KOs and combo finishers.
Despite these strengths, Ryu has some weaknesses. His mobility is subpar so his approach options are limited and it forces him to play more defensively. His recovery is also exploitable and linear with Tatsumaki Senpukyaku and Shoryuken traveling predictable distances for the opponent to edgeguard. Despite having a combo breaker in the form of Focus Attack, it can be broken through multi-hit moves making his disadvantage state below average. Ryu is also a difficult character to master due to his different playstyle with the special cancel and auto turnaround mechanic.
Ryu has seen some representation and strong results from players, such as and , doing well with him at majors and supermajors.
==How to unlock==
Complete one of the following:
*Play VS. matches, with Ryu being the 13th character to be unlocked.
*Clear with or any character in his unlock tree, being the 3rd character unlocked after .
*Have Ryu join the player's party in World of Light.
With the exception of the third method, Ryu must then be defeated on . In World of Light, he is fought on the Ω form of Suzaku Castle.
==Attributes==
As the "all-rounder" of his home series, Ryu's overall attributes are mostly average. As a heavyweight with average mobility, Ryu has decent frame data and damage output, as well as a dependable ground game due to his decent traction and average dashing speed. However, his other attributes are polarized in an attempt to replicate the physics of Street Fighter. Ryu's walking speed is extremely slow, and while his air speed is slightly above-average, this is counteracted by his moderately high falling speed and extremely short jumps. Additionally, he has the 2nd-slowest air acceleration and his air friction is uniquely locked at 0 while jumping or double jumping, causing his jumps to follow a fixed "arc" unless the player steers them manually. Finally, Ryu's fast fall increases his falling speed by 40% instead of the usual 60%. Overall, this grants Ryu effective burst movement through dashing and jumping, but forces him to commit when approaching through the air and makes it difficult to land or move short distances.
Despite his average attributes, Ryu is one of the most unique fighters in Ultimate, as he has access to many variations of both his standard and special attacks. His jab and tilts can either be held or tapped; tapped attacks are faster and usually combo well into themselves, while held attacks have greater KO potential and can serve as combo finishers. This also applies to his special moves (other than Focus Attack), which gain different effects like increased power or altered hitboxes when the button is held; they also see an increase in power when used with the original Street Fighter inputs. This effectively gives Ryu two movesets, one for starting combos and racking up damage, and the other for scoring KOs. This versatility gives him access to potent true combos and mix-ups, leading to a strong punish game overall. His Collarbone Breaker (held forward tilt) deals immense shield damage, further complementing his ability to pressure and deplete shields.
Ryu's grounded moveset boasts considerable utility. His tapped jab and down tilt both hit on frame 3, making the former useful for relieving pressure, and the latter excellent for extending combos due to its launch trajectory being useful for followups, such as grabs. Tapped up tilt's low knockback, high speed and active frames make it effective for combos, either into itself, Shoryuken, or even down aerial at high percents near the ledge. Held down tilt can be canceled on a hit into a special move, making it effective for shield pressure and damage-racking even at high percents. Down smash is quite powerful for its speed, and up smash lowers Ryu's hurtbox while charging. Both tapped forward tilt and held jab are altered at close range, both becoming very potent at starting combos into his special moves. Additionally, Ryu will automatically face his opponent in 1-on-1 matches while standing on the ground, making it considerably easier to land his effective ground attacks.
Ryu's aerial moveset is effective as well. Neutral aerial is a sex kick with low knockback and has only five frames of landing lag, making it useful for combos and kill confirms even at high percents. Forward aerial is quick, highly damaging and has good range; it can be chained into itself through repeated jumps, and its sour spot deals high shield damage. Up aerial has fast startup and decently high reach, making it useful for juggling, and both it and down aerial can auto-cancel from a full hop.
Complementing Ryu's moveset and combo potential is his wide array of powerful finishers; some of his held tilts, smash attacks, and aerials are very capable KO moves due to their high speed. Held up tilt grants upper body intangibility on frames 4-10 while hitting on frame 7, making it deceptively safe for KOs when combined with its speed and tapped up tilt setups. Up smash makes an effective substitute for held up tilt as a finisher, and its wide hitbox can catch aerial approaches. While slow, Ryu's forward smash has long range and is his strongest standard ground attack, making it useful for hard punishes. Back aerial is Ryu's strongest aerial, and is fast and with good range. Forward and up aerial also serve as decent KO moves, enhancing their already impressive utility. Finally, down aerial is a powerful meteor smash with a fast start-up and long duration, making it a deadly edgeguarding tool. Combined with his excellent combo ability, Ryu's punish game is incredibly effective and versatile, being able to rack up damage or KO very easily after connecting with almost any attack.
Ryu's signature special moves are also effective in their own ways. Hadoken is a large ki projectile, with three distinct variations, each with a different travel speed, based on input method; the standard version is capable of locking, while the input and Shakunetsu Hadoken deal more damage (with the latter being a multi-hit flame projectile). Tatsumaki Senpukyaku propels Ryu forward and deals more damage after an initial travel distance, while the 7.0.0 update allows the move to have Ryu travel through certain projectiles and low hits. Ryu's signature Shoryuken serves as his main vertical recovery move, it is most well-known for its offensive utility, due to its sweet spot's high knockback and brief intangibility (frame 5). The input version of Shoryuken has increased KO power, even longer intangibility (frames 4-6, with arm intangibility, frames 1-14), and lower landing lag, and can easily be chained into from Ryu's other moves. Finally, Focus Attack grants Ryu heavy armor against a single hit, and incapacitates opponents when at least half-charged, allowing for followups. It can also be canceled on hit, after tanking a blow, or even while charging, allowing Ryu to fake out with a shuffle that also provides horizontal recovery distance. His close held neutral attack, first two hits of tapped neutral attack, close tapped forward tilt, held down tilt, and all aerials can be canceled into special moves, allowing Ryu to combo into Shoryuken or Tatsumaki for KOs, Hadoken for safety and damage racking, and Focus Attack for mixups and safety.
Lastly, Ryu has a long-distanced recovery and is surprisingly difficult to combo, traits not shared with most heavyweights. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has large hitboxes and doesn't cause helplessness; this combined with canceled Focus Attack's armor and momentum boost grants surprisingly effective horizontal distance and protection. Shoryuken travels a good vertical distance, reaches above edges, and can stage spike reckless edge guarders. Focus Attack also serves as an effective combo breaker, and neutral aerial and input Shoryuken both grant high speed and intangibility and can even lead into combo or KO opportunities respectively. These traits allow Ryu to survive to very high percents when used effectively, which also allows him to take full advantage of rage.
Despite his abundance of strengths, Ryu has his weaknesses, some of which are exploitable. Despite his aforementioned recovery being very long-distanced overall, it is very short if many extendable elements, such as Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, are not utilized. Focus Attack still requires a brief charge before it can be canceled. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku's long duration makes it susceptible to being interrupted by long-ranged attacks during use, and he can only use it once if airborne without landing back on stage or taking hitstun. Ryu's falling speed, low jumps and very poor air acceleration causes his vertical recovery to suffer if he is constantly forced offstage at lower trajectories, which is exacerbated by Shoryuken's recovery being almost strictly vertical while also having very high aerial lag. As such, while Ryu has a manageable horizontal recovery, his vertical recovery is easy to predict and interrupt. Additionally, while Ryu excels at shield pressure, his grab game is otherwise poor. Although his throws have decent damage output, none of them have effective follow-up or KO potential due to them having too much knockback to combo, and too little to secure stocks. Down throw is his only combo throw, but only at very low percents, while the unique mechanics of his other throws only work in doubles and free-for-alls (down throw instantly breaking shields, and up throw being capable of KOing bystanders).
Ryu's strong combo potential is also held back by his neutral game, with several factors making it difficult for him to find openings. His very slow walking speed hinders the otherwise great utility of his tilt attacks, and his overall range is very short despite his good frame data (especially in regard to his tapped tilts and neutral aerial), giving him trouble with characters who possess disjointed hitboxes, especially when including his tall stature. His only projectile, Hadoken, is very easily telegraphed and punishable due to its sluggishness and lag. Overall, these two issues force him to play patiently and take advantage of any openings, due to his difficulty with contending against opposing camping and inability to force approaches. Despite the advantages granted by Focus Attack, Ryu's aerial approach is comparatively poor due to his fixed arc jumps and poor air acceleration, which forces him to commit with air attacks. Furthermore, the advantages offered by Focus Attack are match-up dependent; it is relatively ineffective against characters with several multiple hitting moves, with some characters being able to exploit it for a free hit. As Focus Attack is also one of Ryu's main methods of escaping combos against such characters, Ryu's high weight and rather quick falling speed leave him susceptible to some combos and juggles, and his slow fast-falling speed gives him occasional difficulty landing.
Notably, Ryu suffers from the inability to "force" KOs, as his KO potential relies heavily on stringing his aforementioned combo moves. While Ryu does possess some powerful moves, such as his sweetspotted forward smash and back aerial, those moves mostly require hard reads to land, while most of his other moves have low knockback scaling due to being tailored for combo use. Ryu's great combo ability compensates for this and often makes it less of a necessity for him to KO early; regardless, without the proper use of reads, setups, a heavy knowledge of Ryu's moveset, or a lack of compensating for an opponent's smash directional influence, Ryu can have a difficult time taking stocks from opponents due to his significant lack of moves that can KO without prior combos. Finally, the emphasis of using Ryu's unique button inputs cause his normal specials to have lower power without traditionally inputting them, and it is possible for a simple slip of the hand to use the wrong move at an essential time, most notoriously with him accidentally self-destructing while recovering.
Overall, Ryu is a combo-oriented fighter with a fearsome offensive ability, due to his unique mechanics deliberately giving him the true combos necessary for many characters' competitive success; his ability to overwhelm opponents by trapping them in hitstun/shield pressure, multiple options to negate and escape combos, along with his dependable recovery all tie in to him being very rewarding and unpredictable, with his strengths somewhat outweighing his weaknesses. However, unlike his Echo Fighter, Ken, Ryu is also capable of playing a more zoning-based playstyle, thanks in part to his more damaging Hadoken projectile and his command-input Shakunetsu Hadoken, which is in line with his playstyle in his home series. However, his polarized movement, mediocre vertical recovery, and lack of approach make him difficult to use optimally without mastering his options. Possibly his biggest issue is his notably high learning curve; much practice is generally required for his command specials in order to use them reliably and consistently rather than accidentally inputting the wrong move.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4==
Ryu was previously considered a powerful character in SSB4, even consistently ranking in top tier in competitive play (being ranked 11th/12th out of 54 ranked characters near the end of the game's lifespan), thanks to a combination of an extremely powerful combo game and consistent KO potential, made better by his great endurance and the existence of rage. Likely due to some of these factors, Ryu was initially significantly nerfed in the transition to Ultimate, losing many of his options and being harmed by gameplay changes, though he has also received plenty of equally significant buffs from game updates that have alleviated his direct nerfs. Nonetheless, despite now being objectively buffed as a character, the changes to the engine's gameplay means Ryu is still considered to be slightly nerfed overall.
Ryu has received various nerfs to his most powerful options. Light up tilt and both versions of down tilt have smaller hitboxes, and the former sends aerial targets at a less favorable angle, making it less feasible to chain multiple tilt attacks in a row. Up aerial also possesses similarly shorter range. Neutral aerial possesses far more ending lag, and the changes to the Sakurai angle make it far harder to chain into itself or combo into down aerial. Shoryuken has more landing lag and less intangibility. Focus Attack also has a lower armor threshold, boasts less range and doesn't hit behind Ryu, making it less safe of a move to use.
Most of the changes to gameplay mechanics have been detrimental to Ryu. Most notably, the universal increase in mobility hurts him more than any other character; he has the dubious distinction of being the only character whose walking, dashing and air speeds were all completely unchanged, thus providing absolutely no benefit to him and placing him at a greater disadvantage relative to the cast's faster mobility, and it exacerbates Ryu's already commital approach. While the reductions to landing lag benefit his own aerials, they already had among the lowest landing lag in SSB4, which benefits him less than most other returning veterans as it grants them combo potentials that are just as superior as Ryu's own. The toning down of rage is also harmful to Ryu, giving him more issues at KOing the opponent, most notably causing his Shoryuken to be much less threatening (though it still remains a highly powerful KO move if inputted). The changes to air dodges make Ryu far easier to edgeguard due to the limit to one air dodge per air time, while he also gains little benefit from the mechanic due to his lackluster edgeguarding potential. The changes to knockback and the universal nerfs to grabs hinder Ryu's already poor grab game even more, as it is riskier to grab an opponent and his down throw possesses lower combo potential. Finally, the changes to jostling make Tatsumaki Senpukyaku perfectly punishable on shield, removing a mix-up.
However, Ryu has also received predominantly more useful buffs to both his unique mechanics and individual moves. His Special move canceling has been significantly expanded upon, as many of Ryu's moves can now cancel into his special moves, such as his light neutral attack, down smash, and all of his aerials; down smash, in particular, can now special cancel during its first frames (even while charging). All of his attacks (except throws and getup/edge attacks) can also cancel into his Final Smash. This has opened several now routes in Ryu's already impressive combo game, and drastically buffs his shield pressuring ability to the point it is one of the most fearsome.
Ryu now possesses a new heavy neutral attack and light forward tilt, both of which are executed when close to an opponent and can still be special-canceled, further upping Ryu's repertoire of grounded moves and making his hit confirms easier. Hadoken has been strengthened to be notably stronger, having variable speeds and overall higher damage, which helps its utility as both a zoning option and an approaching tool. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has seen a drastic increase in versatility through his pivoting leg gaining intengibility and the move itself dealing more knockback, making the move a much more useful burst and KO option, especially out of a hit confirm.
Ryu has received a new, unique trait that makes him always face his opponent in a 1v1. This brings both good and bad points; on one hand, this hinders his air game, as he is unable to perform a back aerial freely; he has to perform the move in a reverse aerial rush in order to do so. On the other hand, this change, combined with the changes to dash-dancing grants Ryu a very useful retreat option in the form of a "shimmy", allows him to create ledge-traps, and makes it easier to perform command inputs for his special attacks.
Overall, Ryu's most powerful options from the previous game have all been toned down, but he has seen a general compensation through his expanded combo game and own improved mechanics, as well as a more useful move for zoning, now granting Ryu a less polarized kit. However, his playstyle fares slightly worse despite the vast amount of buffs he has received, due to the noticeable universal gameplay changes working against him. Many of Ryu's buffs were received from game updates, which have helped him boost his reward and relieve his most troublesome points, though neither them nor his changes during the advent of the game have addressed his issues from SSB4, namely his prone recovery, linear approach, vulnerability to combos and necessity to force KOs. In bulk, Ryu performs worse than his previous iteration, but the vast amount of improvements he has received has allowed him to continue being an effective character.
==Update history==
Ryu has been significantly buffed overall through game updates, albeit not to the exact same extent as . Patch 2.0.0 improved his neutral attack and allowed his forward air to autocancel from a full hop, but at the cost of down tilt no longer allowing Ryu to jump as fast after using it. Patch 3.1.0 gave the most changes, altering many of his core moves: jab 1, jab 2 and light (close) forward tilt have a wider window to followup with a special move, while heavy (close) neutral attack has been completely changed into a low-knockback combo tool, significantly improving its utility as it was previously a heavy up tilt with no followups. Light (far) forward tilt has more range, up aerial and early Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has a larger hitbox, light down tilt has more hitstun, and heavy down tilt has decreased knockback, allowing the latter two to combo more effectively. Finally, all versions of Hadoken travel slower if tapped and faster if held, allowing the player to control the projectile's use.
Patch 4.0.0 gave Ryu the ability to turn to opponents after parrying an attack, allowing for stronger punishes. Patch 7.0.0 further enhanced Ryu's combo game by allowing his down smash to cancel into special moves (though at the expense of lowered shield damage), and significantly improved held down tilt's combo strings into Hadoken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku by altering its launch angle (allowing the former to lock even at very high percents, and the latter to KO at a higher percent range). Hadoken's variants were all improved: Hadoken's spacing ability was buffed by increasing its shieldstun multiplier, while Shakunetsu Hadoken's looping hits now uses the autolink angle, allowing its hits to connect more reliably. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku also deals more damage, and gained more safety due to both of Ryu's legs now being intangible during use.
Another buff to his down smash (that went undocumented) is that Ryu can now Kara Cancel during the move's charging animation. Ryu could already Kara Cancel his down smash, but it was only during the first four frames of the move. Thanks to this change, Kara Cancel is now much easier to pull off and greatly improves Ryu's combo game. 
Patch 13.0.1 made his heavy forward tilt faster, gave all versions of Hadoken even more damage, and made all versions of Tatsumaki Senpukyaku safer to use on the ground. These changes significantly improve Ryu's shield pressure, as all attacks mentioned are typical frame trap combo enders that more often then not lead to either significant damage or a broken shield.
Overall, Ryu's renowned combo strings and patient playstyle have been significantly improved through game updates and he is now considered by most players to be more on par with his Echo Fighter, Ken.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
*Ryu always faces his opponent when one is left standing, counting teammates as opponents if Team Attack is on.
*A small flash will appear whenever Ryu does the input command version of one of his Special Moves instead of the standard B input.
*Sound effects from the Street Fighter II series, albeit heavily modified, are used when Ryu hits an opponent instead of the standard knockback sound effects. The intensity of the sound depends on the power of the move. Ryu also uses a unique sound effect when he performs a parry, which is based on the parry sound effect from the Street Fighter III series. Ryu shares these traits with .
For a gallery of Ryu's hitboxes, see here.
===Canceling===
Ryu can perform a special move out of certain normal attacks, a mechanic known in his home series as special-cancelling. By pressing the special button or doing the command input after connecting with a normal attack on hit or on shield, Ryu will cancel the endlag of the normal attack and perform the move. The normal attacks that can be canceled include the first two hits of neutral attack, tapped and held down-tilt, tapped up-tilt, held up tilt, proximity forward-tilt, proximity held neutral attack and down smash. He is also capable of doing so with his aerials. Special-cancelling allows Ryu to perform blockstrings and hit confirms into Shoryuken for a kill, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku for a combo, or Hadoken or Shakunetsu Hadoken for safety and pressure. He can also bait the opponent out with a special cancel into a Focus Attack, further increasing mixup potential.
===Stats===
===Announcer call===
Ryu English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
===On-screen appearance===
*Walks onto the stage from some mist in the background, then gets into a fighting stance.
RyuOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Ryu's on-screen appearance
===Taunts===
*Up Taunt: Pulls his headband ends taut while stating "Come on!" (, Come on!) Unlike in Smash 4, Ryu does not turn around during the taunt. This is one of his taunts from .
*Side Taunt: Holds his fist forwards and declares "Talk is cheap!" (, Let your fists talk!) This is one of his taunts from Street Fighter IV. Nearly identical to 's side taunt.
*Down Taunt: Stomps on the ground and grunts, causing the screen to briefly shake. This is his taunt from the Street Fighter III series.
*Interestingly, the two taunts from Street Fighter IV have their quotes reversed in Ultimate.
SSBURyuTaunt1.gif|Ryu's up taunt.
SSBURyuTaunt2.gif|Ryu's side taunt.
SSBURyuTaunt3.gif|Ryu's down taunt.
===Idle poses===
*Adjusts his gloves. Resembles his character select pose from Street Fighter Alpha 2.
*Wriggles the fingers on both hands, then crosses his arms and pumps them.
SSBURyuIdle1.gif|Ryu's first idle pose.
SSBURyuIdle2.gif|Ryu's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian) 	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	 	 	
Description	Ryu Ryu Ryu! 	Ryu! Ryu! Ryu! 	Forza Ryu! *claps 5 times*	Ry - u! 	Ry - u!
 	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian) 	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Ry - u! 	Ryu! Ryu! Ryu! 	Ryu! *claps 3 times*	Ryu! Ryu! Ryu!
===Victory poses===
*Left: Crosses his arms, then winds back and performs a right hook with his fist facing the camera; his victory pose from , saying "Give it your all!" ("", Gauge the timing of your special moves!), one of his victory quotes from .
*Up: Slings his bag over his shoulder while saying "The journey has just begun." ("", Yet the journey... has just begun.). This is one of his victory quotes from .
*Right: Punches once before raising his fist in the air, referencing one of his more recurring win poses while saying "Your range is one fist short." ("", That range doesn't reach half a fist!). This is another one of his victory quotes from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.
RyuVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
RyuVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
RyuVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
See also: :Category:Ryu players (SSBU)
* - The greatest Ryu player of all time whose performances were largely responsible for Ryu's rise in the metagame. He is the only Ryu player ever ranked in the top 50 on a full-year ranking, peaking at 9th on the LumiRank 2024.2, and is also the only Ryu player to win a major/supermajor, doing so at . In addition, he has came close to winning many other majors, having placed 2nd at , , and . 
* - The best Ryu player in North America. He was first known for his performances in the first half of 2022, especially his run to 9th at with a long Losers run that eliminated players such as and . In addition, he briefly studied in France in 2023 and was the best Ryu player in Europe during his tenure there. He was especially known for his run to 2nd at , where he defeated , , and . For the latter performances, he was ranked 105th on the LumiRank 2023.
* - Co-mains Ryu with and was the best Ryu player in the world in the game's first few years, peaking at 94th on the OrionRank 2022. His performances in the early metagame, including placing 2nd at and 9th at , were the first notable Ryu performances in competitive play. Although he has since been greatly overshadowed by Asimo, he remains the second-best Ryu player in Japan, most notably placing 9th at .
===Tier placement and history===
Upon the game's release, players immediately noticed the severe amount of nerfs from Smash 4, and as such, regarded Ryu as a "high risk, low reward" fighter. He was also significantly overshadowed by his own Echo Fighter , who was faster on the ground and has a more extensive combo game with two exclusive command moves, though Ken himself was also poorly regarded at launch. Although updates 3.1.0 and 7.0.0 significantly buffed both characters, Ryu remained inferior to Ken in the eyes of many players, and was therefore rarely seen in tournaments, with only successful results from co-mains such as and .
Ryu's representation began to improve gradually as players took notice of his unique perks over Ken; most notably, his Shakunetsu Hadoken granting him a more reliable neutral game. In update 13.0.1, Ryu got some buffs exclusive to him, including to the aforementioned Shakunetsu Hadoken, leading many Ken players such as and to also have a secondary Ryu. In addition, dedicated solo-Ryu players began appearing in the scene as the metagame progressed, especially in 2022, which saw 's run to 9th at and 's meteoric rise to the top-level after becoming the runner-up at . With Ryu's representation on an upswing during this time, many players considered him to be around the same rank as Ken, with both characters being considered high-tiers. This is reflected in Ryu's placement on the first tier list, placing 36th on the first tier list, two places behind Ken and ranking as a high-tier.
Following the first tier list, Ryu's results only served to improve, with Asimo establishing himself as a top 30 player since 2022 and Ikan seeing further success during his tenure in Europe. In addition, Ken's representation began to dwindle as his best players, while still seeing strong performances, were also notoriously inconsistent. As such, Ryu rose to 32nd on the second tier list, ranking in the B+ tier and thirteen places higher than Ken.
==: Seeking a Challenge==
Ryu's opponents are all references to characters that appear in Street Fighter II and are stamina battles with all of the stages being in Ω form. The Bonus Stage also comes earlier, similar to the car mini-game from said title. Items are disabled throughout the route. The final boss fight also includes Ken as a teammate. Both Ryu and his opponent always start with 150 HP, as well as his ally, Ken, in the final round.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	Notes
1 	 	Suzaku Castle (Ω form)	 	
2 	 	Onett (Ω form) 	 	Zero Suit Samus represents Chun-Li.
3 	 	Boxing Ring (Ω form) 	 	Incineroar represents Zangief.
4 	 	Kongo Falls (Ω form) 	 	Donkey Kong represents Blanka.
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage
5 	Giant 	Boxing Ring (Ω form) 	 	Little Mac represents Balrog.
6 	 	Arena Ferox (Ω form) 	 	Meta Knight represents Vega.
Final 	and 	 	 	References M. Bison in the artwork of Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, while Ken appears as a CPU ally, which represents the final battle against M. Bison in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.
Note: All of the matches play music from Street Fighter II regardless of the stage.
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Ryu has accompany the credits.
==Role in World of Light==
Although Ryu does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (except for ) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.
Ryu only appears after the player clears the World Tour sub-area reminiscent of Street Fighter II by beating every spirit.
===Fighter Battle===
No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage 	Music
60 	 	Ryu 	 	9,000	Suzaku Castle (Ω form)	
==Spirits==
Ryu's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing as Ryu. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Ryu has been unlocked. Unlocking Ryu in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Evil Ryu was added as a primary spirit via the spirit board event, "Street Fighter 35th Anniversary".
SSBU spirit Ryu.png|977. Ryu
SSBU spirit Evil Ryu.png|1,513. Evil Ryu
==In Spirit Battles==
===As the main opponent===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music
170 	 	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat 	• (160 HP)	 	9,500 	Kongo Falls (Ω form) 	•Hard to Launch•Hazard: High Gravity 	•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power•Timed stamina battle (1:30)•All fighters have reduced jump ability 	 	
379 	 	Kirby Series 	• 	 	9,100 	Find Mii (Ω form) 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Knuckle Joe) 	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power	 	
574 	 	EarthBound Series 	• 	 	9,400 	Skyworld (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power•The enemy has increased move speed 	 	
954 	 	Xenoblade Chronicles Series 	• (150 HP)	 	4,300 	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•The enemy has super armor but moves slower•Timed stamina battle (2:00)•The enemy loves to taunt 	 	
988 	 	Street Fighter Series 	• (160 HP)	 	9,300 	Coliseum (Ω form) 	•Jump Power ↓ 	•The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power•Stamina battle 	 	
994 	 	Street Fighter Series 	• (180 HP)	 	13,700 	Suzaku Castle (Ω form) 	•Defense ↓•Jump Power ↓ 	•The enemy's special moves have increased power•Stamina battle•All fighters have reduced jump power 	 	
997 	 	Street Fighter Series 	• (160 HP)	 	9,300 	Suzaku Castle (Ω form) 	•Jump Power ↓ 	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power•Stamina battle•The enemy favors neutral specials 	 	
1,192 	 	Rhythm Heaven Series Rhythm Paradise Series	• 	 	9,200 	Suzaku Castle (Ω form) 	•Item Tidal Wave 	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power•The enemy favors smash attacks 	 	
1,217 	 	Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan Series 	• ×3 	 	3,700 	Tomodachi Life 	•Attack Power ↑ 	•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while•The enemy favors down specials 	 	
1,294 	 	Virtua Fighter Series 	• (180 HP)	 	13,800 	Coliseum (Ω form) 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Akira)•Hazard: High Gravity	•The enemy's smash attacks have increased power•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power•Stamina battle 	 	
1,397 	 	River City Series 	• ×2 	 	9,300 	Wrecking Crew (Battlefield form)	•Item: Killing Edge 	•The enemy's side special has increased power•The enemy favors side specials 	 	
1,513 	 	Street Fighter Series 	• (150 HP)	 	13,700 	Suzaku Castle (Ω form) 	•Attack Power ↑•Sudden Final Smash 	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash•The enemy's special moves have increased power•Stamina battle 	 	
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Gallery==
SSBU Ryu Number.png|Ryu's fighter card.
Ryu unlock notice SSBU.jpg|Ryu's unlock notice.
SSBUWebsiteRyu1.jpg|Taunting on Kongo Falls.
SSBUWebsiteRyu2.jpg|Charging his Focus Attack on Wily Castle.
SSBUWebsiteRyu3.jpg|Ryu using his forward aerial on a bike-riding on Suzaku Castle.
SSBUWebsiteRyu4.jpg|With Knuckle Joe on Princess Peach's Castle.
SSBUWebsiteRyu5.jpg|Ryu charging his Shinku Hadoken.
SSBUWebsiteRyu6.jpg|Failing to perform a Hadoken on Tortimer Island, with taunting.
SSBUWebsiteGreninja2.jpg|Fighting on Suzaku Castle.
SSBUWebsiteIke4.jpg|Ryu getting attacked by on Boxing Ring.
SSBUWebsiteMrGame&Watch3.jpg|Ryu using his forward aerial on on Suzaku Castle.
SSBUWebsiteVillager3.jpg|Ryu getting launched by 's neutral finisher on Coliseum.
SSBUWebsiteSukapon2.jpg|Performing a Hadoken near Sukapon on Wrecking Crew.
SSBUWebsiteKazuya4.jpg|Ryu fighting against and alongside on Mishima Dojo.
KazuyaTW3.jpg|Ryu fighting Terry and Kazuya on Boxing Ring.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*Ryu and are the only two characters whose full renders are not on the official Super Smash Bros. Ultimate website. In this case, the picture stops around his ankles.
*Ryu's artwork pose resembles a pose from his official artwork for Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, as well as the for the original arcade release of Street Fighter IV.
*Ryu is the only fighter who was introduced in Super Smash Bros. 4 to have an Echo Fighter, that being .
**This also makes him the only character introduced as a newcomer through downloadable content to have an Echo Fighter.
*Ryu is one of the five veterans from Smash 4 to have their Boxing Ring alias changed in Ultimate, the others being , , , and .
*Ryu, , , , and are the only base game characters to never appear as minions in any Spirit battles.
*Ryu's Classic Mode has numerous references to Street Fighter II:
**Each stage represents an opponent from the franchise: Ken (Ken), Zero Suit Samus (Chun-Li), Incineroar (Zangief), Donkey Kong (Blanka), Giant Little Mac (Boxer/Balrog), and Meta Knight (Vega/Claw). Each character's theme plays during these fights on stages that resemble their Street Fighter II home stages.
***These fights are near identical to their Spirit Battles with only Blanka and Balrog being fought on different stages.
**Ryu's bonus stage is in the middle, referencing Street Fighter's tendency to have bonus stages as midway points.
**The final two opponents before the final boss are a reference to the "Four Heavenly Kings" who must be fought as the last fighters before M. Bison, in this case, Balrog and Vega (minus Sagat) with Bison being the fourth king.
**Ryu's final stage in Classic Mode is a reference to the artwork used for Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, which features a giant M. Bison towering over Ryu (represented in the game as both Master Hand and Crazy Hand) and the finale of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, where Ryu and Ken double team against M. Bison. Additionally, M. Bison's theme plays in the background during the final battle.
**As a reference to the health bars of not just Street Fighter II but the whole Street Fighter series, Ryu uses stamina battles in his Classic Mode route.
**Ryu's route has no items, similar to how the Street Fighter series also features no items.
*Ryu's held forward tilt (Collarbone Breaker) and the sourspot of his forward air (Tobigeri) dealing high shield damage is a reference to how overhead attacks and cross-ups are a common way to open an opponent's defense in traditional fighting games.
*If Ryu is set as a CPU opponent in Training Mode, all three CPUs will always face the player, much like on 1-on-1 matches. He shares this distinction with , , and .
**This also happens if Ryu faces a single opponent in a team consisting of two or more characters in Team Battles with Team Attack off, and in All-Star Mode when he appears.
==Notes==
:1.translates to "Roundhouse Kick"
:2.translates to "Toe Kick"
:3.translates to "Uppercut Elbow"
:4.translates to "Flying Front Foot Edge''
:5.translates to "High-Level Foot Edge Kick"
:6.translates to "Rotating Leg Sweep"
:7.translates to "Front Kick"
:8.translates to "Scooping Punch"
:9.translates to "Knee Kick"
:10.translates to "Shoulder Throw"
:11.translates to "Circle Throw"
 
Category:Third-party characters
Category:Capcom
Category:Spirits
es:Ryu (SSBU)