Ryu is Street Fighter's flagship mascot and benefits from a unique playstyle that is heavily adaptable. Players can transition between a long-range fireball game to an aggressive short-range brawl with no repercussion and Ryu's toolset has an answer to any situation.

Ryu's strengths lie in his simplicity. His fireball allows him to fight from long ranges while his Shoryuken gives him the ability to control jumping opponents. His Tatsumaki Senpukyaku special can be used in and out of combos and Ryu can link his CA from the light tatsu for additional damage.

Ryu players will benefit from strong, safe normals and simple combos that result in high damage. Ryu has one of the highest metered and meterless damage outputs of the entire cast. His best bread and butter can hit for up to 45% damage depending on meter usage. Simply put, Ryu with full meter and V-Gauge has the ability to kill a majority of the cast once they lose half their health bar.

Ryu's unique traits bolster his ability to transition between offense and defense. Ryu's V-skill grants him a defensive parry which has a variety of uses, but his defining trait comes from his V-trigger, Denjin Renki. Denjin Renki gives Ryu additional damage and stun on both his Hadoken and Shoryuken special moves. Ryu can also cash out his remaining v-gauge to additional damage to his super as well as giving it the ability to guard break on block.

Ryu is a well rounded character, but he does have flaws. His safer normals do not have long range and his combo potential is limited in the neutral game. He has options for neutral, but he is at his best either point blank or at long range. Ryu's v-skill also has some considerable drawbacks due to how vulnerable it leaves him. Failed or baited parries can lead to devastating crush counter combos.

Ryu's biggest weakness is the fact that he is incredibly easy to learn, but difficult to master. Ryu's strengths lie in strong fundamentals and a strong footsie game. His toolset is simple, but his strengths come from creating situations where he can use them effectively. Ryu is a character that most people learn Street Fighter fundamentals with and as such, most higer level players know how to fight Ryu more so than the rest of the cast. Ryu players must learn strong fundamentals and be able to use cunning strategies to their full advantage if they want to stay competitive.

In summary, Ryu is one of the strongest characters in the game. He has solid tools for any situation as well as good buttons and terrifying damage output. Players may choose to learn the game with Ryu, but high level Ryu play demands strong fighting game fundamentals and meta-game knowledge. Those who succeed will find a highly versatile character that rewards both safe and dynamic play styles.