Hadoken

Hadoken
Hadouken Hadouken's preview icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
User	Ryu
Universe	Street Fighter

Hadoken (波動拳, Surge Fist) (also spelled Hadouken) is Ryu's neutral special in Super Smash Bros. 4. It involve Ryu charging up and releasing a large energy projectile of the same name. As with most of Ryu's moves, performing specific direction inputs changes the properties of the Hadoken. Each version has low speed and variable damage, and travels half of Final Destination's length; because of these properties, all variations of the Hadoken are ineffective at KOing, but good for racking up damage at range, useful in Ryu's tapped tilt combos, and can be used as a option to wall off opponent's approaches, albeit being less effective than other projectiles like Megavitamins as only one Hadoken per player can be in play at any given time. Additionally, all versions of the projectile have extremely low priority and can be interrupted during their flight with almost any attack, including extremely weak projectiles, which makes Hadokens easy to counter at a distance. Shooting the projectile midair gives Ryu a tiny amount of lift, like Mario's Cape.

Variations

Standard Hadoken

“	A projectile from a world-class fighting game. Hold down the button to vary how fast it travels. It’ll disappear after a set distance.	”
—In-Game Tip

Kirby performing the standard Hadoken.

Pressing only the special button performs the standard Hadoken, a small blue energy projectile, while Ryu voices out "Hadoken!" in a slightly stern voice. Ryu can only have one projectile in play; attempting to fire another while one still exists makes him do the move's pose with only a puff of smoke appearing from his hands. The damage and speed at which the projectile moves can be altered based on how long the button is held. Deals 5-6%.

Input Hadoken

“	Quickly input down, down-forward, forward for 1.25x power. You might have to practice a bit to really figure out howtodo a Hadoken.	”
—In-Game Tip

File:Large Hadoken.png

Input Hadoken. Note the slightly larger size compared to the standard attack's projectile.

Inputting the original arcade input for the move (down, down forward, forward, attack/special) makes Ryu perform a stronger Input Hadoken, with him voicing out the attack with a fiercer voice. The projectile becomes slightly larger and minutely stronger in the process, doing 6-7% damage, but still travels slowly with similar range as the original. The attack emits a tiny spark if the player successfully inputs it correctly, similar to the spark seen by fast falling fighters.

Shakunetsu Hadoken

“	Input back, down-back, down, down-forward, forward to unleash a fiery Shakunetsu Hadoken that can deal multiple hits.	”
—In-Game Tip

File:Shakuna.png

Shakunetsu Hadoken, performed on Mewtwo.

Performing the move while moving the control stick in a semicircle towards the direction Ryu is facing (back, down back, down, down forward, forward, attack/special) will unleash a Shakunetsu Hadoken (灼熱波動拳, Red-Hot Surge Fist). This Hadoken is coloured a blazing red, does flame damage, and deals multiple hits before exploding upon hitting an opponent. The projectile deals a total of 7-8%; like other versions of the move, however, knockback is weak and distance is unchanged. Ryu voices "Shakunetsu!" when using the move.

Copy Ability (Kirby)

Kirby performing the standard Hadoken.

Kirby can also perform all versions of the Hadoken once he inhales Ryu, by inputting the same motion on the control stick. He voices out all attacks like Ryu as well, albeit in his more lighthearted voice; attempting to shoot a Hadoken while one is still in play makes Kirby voice out a short "Hah!", unlike Ryu, who simply scoffs.

Origin

Ryu uses a Hadouken in the Super Nintendo version of Street Fighter II

Hadoken is one of the special moves for several characters such as Ryu and Ken in the Street Fighter series. It involves the user thrusting their palms forward to fire a blue fireball projectile, or a surge of spirit energy, or Ki. It is normally performed by the player moving the joystick or D-pad a quarter circle forward towards the opponent from the down position, then pressing a punch button. The creator of Street Fighter, Takashi Nishiyama, credits the 1970s anime Space Battleship Yamato as the inspiration of Hadoken, based off of a missile called Hadouho.

The Shakunetsu Hadoken was originally introduced in Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers as a new move for Ryu, which is a special red fireball that could burn the opponent. The move was included due to an easter egg in the original game (originally thought to be a glitch) that would occasionally turn the regular Hadoken red, leading to rumors that this "red Hadoken" was stronger. Capcom thus decided to include an official "red Hadoken" that actually did have different properties than the regular blue Hadoken. During the Street Fighter Alpha series, excluding Street Fighter Alpha 3, the Hadoken could briefly take on the appearance of the Shakunetsu Hadoken when the Heavy Punch button was pressed whenever Ryu used this move and could only burn the opponent at point-blank range. For the later games, Shakunetsu Hadoken would serve as the EX version of the Hadoken (where it used a small amount from the Super Combo meter). Aside from Ryu, his counterpart Evil Ryu and Akuma can also use this move. Unlike Ryu, Akuma's version of the move has it done half-circle back instead of forward for the control pad command.

In the Street Fighter series, Ryu's Hadoken cannot be performed in the air. However, in crossover games, such as Marvel Vs. Capcom, Ryu has been able to use it in midair.

Trivia

• Like Input Shoryuken's in-game tip having three words that sound similar to the move (the tip uses the words "SURE YOU CAN"), Input Hadoken's tip does some wordplay: the three connected words in the tip, howtodo, sounds minutely like hadoken.
• As Ryu can perform the Hadoken with directional inputs followed by the standard/special attack button, he is the only fighter who is able to use his neutral special while glowing under the influence of the Smash Ball.

Ryu's special moves

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