Using Ryu represents a purist (and arguably sadomasochist) approach to Street Fighter 4. Whilst he was acceptable in Vanilla, his competitiveness as a character peaked in Super then rapidly diminished with the release of Arcade Edition (AE). This is not to say he is not a viable character option; rather, he represents a style of play that is heavily reliant on a competent understanding of core gameplay fundamentals in order to evade some of the more tricky situations players might find themselves in (Dan is somewhat of a more extreme example of this). Fists of Fundamentals Capcom seem determined to paint Ryu in AE as a "bridge" character for new players to use solely as a platform to become confident in the use of core gameplay mechanics and execution. By giving the player only a basic set of tools that don't excel in any particular area, the player is forced to fall back on their understanding of gameplay mechanics in order to remain competitive against much of the c...