Alex the Angry Ryu Player

Update: This article is no longer applicable as SF4 is now Steamworks-enabled as of the release of Ultra Street Fighter 4. Update : Confirmed working under Windows 8.1. Windows 8 is a worthy upgrade ($39.99 if you upgrade on the Microsoft website) - but does SSF4 AE play nicely with it? By default, AE will not start under Windows 8, due to the outdated GFWL client Steam installs when you first run it. Follow these steps to correct the error: 1. Install Steam, download SSF4 AE as per normal. 2. When you first launch SSF4, it will install the Direct X framework 3.5 as well as an old version of the GFWL client. Win 8 may ask to download .net Framework 3.5 - hit yes/OK. 3. Once the preliminary installation steps are completed and you run the game for the first time, the game will crash to a black screen with "An unhandled error occurred (-1)". You will need to alt-tab back to desktop and quit the game from task manager. 4. Navigate to programs and features by r

Ryu (4.5) Ken (5.5) Ken is the aggressor in this matchup. Essentially, Ryu's job is to let Ken kill himself as he tries to break through Ryu's rock-solid defence and zoning game. Ken players tend to be quite impatient by nature and will often resort to taking bigger risks when frustrated by an effective fireball/dp defense. Zoning is Ryu's most effective tool here; his mission is to keep Ken  out . Ken's over-arching goal is to get inside Ryu's safe fireball distance and begin his step kick/kara throw mixup game. Once in, he has a serious advantage in the ensuing footsie battle and can often fluster players with kara throw mixups. Hence, Ryu needs to concentrate on mounting an effective zoning defence early in the round. Start off with a basic zoning game, throwing fireballs and remembering to dragon punch (dp) all of Ken's attempted jump-ins. If Ken gets close, cr.mk > hadouken is a very effective tool to keep him at bay. Applying these three

The presence of Ken on the character roster poses an interesting proposition to existing Ryu players. What if you could take Ryu and enhance his offensive capabilities in exchange for a slight nerf to his zoning game? Ken is a nasty little bastard at the best of times. He has formidable footsie options, an infuriating mixup game and huge combo potential while still retaining much of Ryu's zoning game. Yet the oft-heralded tier lists frequently place Ryu ahead of Ken. This is understandable; on paper, Ryu is superior to Ken. Conventional wisdom dictates that v2012 Ryu is superior due to the many buffs he received to restore his appeal as a character following AE (Ken, in comparison, was tuned with a number of nerfs). If we break down both characters across a number of categories (assuming each category is assigned equal weighting), we can start to paint a picture of the competitiveness of each character: Ryu vs. Ken Comparison Table (a green highlight denotes a win

This article will take a markedly less formal approach and instead focus on raw gameplay tips. Given that the v2012 update is now applied across all platforms, a list of baseline Ryu tips and tricks could potentially be a useful discussion. The following is a list of principles the writer considers 'best practice' during Ryu play. By themselves, they do not win games, however as part of an overall strategy and solid technique such methods have the potential to turn a bad round into a win. Ryu Best Practice Ryu's best counter-hit setup is close st.hk. Higher-level players are particularly adept at the OS tech game and will easily block your pressure strings and tech all your throws. Break through this barrier with st.hk. Not only will it land you a counter-hit, it will also yield additional frame advantage to follow up with whatever you like (usually cr.hk if the opponent is crouching). This setup is best used after the first hit of your blockstring i.e. j.mk, cr.l