Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Tatsumaki Senpukyaku in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
User	Ryu
Universe	Street Fighter

“	Ryu will float up slightly when using this move after a jump, making this spinning side kick great for recovering.	”
—In-Game Tip

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku (竜巻旋風脚, Tornado Whirlwind Leg) (or simply Tatsumaki) is Ryu's side special move. The move involves Ryu spinning forwards like a top with one leg outstretched. When used on the ground, it will not go over ledges, despite Ryu appearing to be airborne.

This move can be used as a decent horizontal recovery due to it slowing Ryu's fall while moving and not causing helplessness (which gives him quite a good recovery if combined with Shoryuken), although the move can only be used once in midair. Additionally, it can be used to nullify projectiles.

The move's distance and power goes up if the special button is held rather than just tapped; unheld, Ryu spins once and deals 8-9% damage, while he spins thrice and deals 12% if the button is held, with enough diagonal knockback to KO at 165%.

If a player happens to use the Heavy Down Tilt and then input this move (by either Side B or Input), the ending lag cancels out and immediately makes Ryu use this move. The length concept is still used. A similar combo using the Light Down Tilt can be used for the Hadoken as well, although the Inputted one is usually the best to use.

Input Tatsumaki Senpukyaku

“	Enter down, down-back, back for 1.16x power. Increasing the strength also increases the move’s speed and travel distance.	”
—In-Game Tip

As with all of Ryu's special moves except for Focus Attack, performing the move's original arcade input (down, down back, back, either attack button) will result in the attack gaining more power. When successfully performed, Ryu announces "Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!" if done on the ground, or "Tatsumaki!" if done in the air. Additionally, the wind effect around Ryu becomes more opaque while he spins, and a small spark flashes during the attack's first frame.

A tapped Input Tatsumaki Senpukyaku deals 10% damage and KO's at around 220%, though it does less damage at point blank range (only 9% before Ryu starts spinning). If held, the move deals 13% damage with KO potential at 140%. It is a decent finisher for Ryu's standard attack combos, although there are better options (since the move is less powerful up close).

Customization

Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:

1. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
"A powerful spinning kick that drives you forward. Hold down the button to spin farther. (Pad/Stick icon: Down and back) "

1. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku: Default

Like the other DLC characters, Ryu has no custom move variations.

Origin

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku (nicknamed by fans as the "Hurricane Kick") is one of the original special moves Ryu had in his arsenal ever since the first Street Fighter, where Ryu and his rival, Ken, could perform it by moving the joystick down and in a quarter circle away from the opponent and then pressing any kick button. In-universe, the practitioner forms an invisible ki-tornado below their non-kicking leg just after jumping in order to suspend them and make them spin.

There was also a variation just known as the Senpuukyaku (Whirlwind Leg) used by both Ryu and his supposed evil counterpart, Akuma (Gouki in Japan), which was a command normal/unique art version that involved simply leaping with the back-spin kicking motion to kick once without any extra flight; however, that version was not used in all of both Ryu or Akuma's appearances.

In Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, both Ryu and Ken's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku dealt a single hard-hitting hit, with the distance depending on the kick button pressed. The attack has the ability to phase through opposing projectiles and is one of the few special moves in the Street Fighter series that can be performed both on the ground and mid-jump, traits that are both carried over into Smash (the midair version in particular in later games is a staple cross-up attack for Tatsumaki users due to the back-reaching hitboxes).

Ken's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku diversified in Street Figher II: Champion Edition, dealing multiple weak hits as opposed to one strong hit, while more fighters showed the ability to use variations of the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku technique, including Akuma and Gouken. In many of those cases, the hitbox for the move often varies, as in older games it was possible to duck underneath the Tatsumaki due to the height of the said hitbox(es); later games often make it impossible to do so.

In some games, however, especially recent ones without Ken in them, Ryu's Tatsumaki would act akin to the aforementioned Akuma's variation, the Tatsumaki Zankuukyaku (竜巻斬空脚, Tornado Slashing Air Leg), where it would deal both multiple hits and knock down (a combo of both Ryu and Ken's) and in some crossovers can even emit trailing lightning on his leg; while common in recent Vs. Capcom crossovers, this isn't the case in Smash Bros. as Ryu's version returns to its original roots. Ryu himself also has a later variation of his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku known as the Shinkuu Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku (真空竜巻旋風脚, Vacuum Tornado Whirlwind Leg), a stronger Super Combo/Move version of the base technique akin to his Shinku Hadoken, only via the literal translation of the kanji, the ki-tornado expands with enough force to even literally suck in foes and deal multiple hits; it later becomes one of Ryu's EX Moves instead, much like the Shakunetsu Hadoken's case.

This is the codifying example of an "expansion-type special move" (as named by the assist system in Marvel vs. Capcom 2), thus other fighters have a similar move, such as Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick. These types of attacks as named are generally physical attacks that cover a form of horizontal distance. Sakura's variation, however, the Shunpuukyaku (春風脚, Spring Breeze Kick) is one such "Tatsumaki-styled expansion" that does not make use of the aforementioned ki-tornado, causing her flight during the move to behave more like a normal jump arc (especially true since it is her personal take on the technique rather than an existing variation in-universe).

The only time the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku used by Ryu was not done in the usual form was mainly in the Street Fighter EX series, where it becomes a multi-input special with swinging spin kicks in midair ending with a turning heel drop.

Ryu's special moves

Neutral special	Hadoken
Side special	Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Up special	Shoryuken
Down special	Focus Attack
Final Smash	Shin Shoryuken / Shinku Hadoken