Here Comes An Old Challenger: Ryu in Smash Bros.

Anne Lee of Chic-Pixel chose her own month to celebrate fighting games (June), which happens to be several months earlier than the one I'd chosen (October). But what the hell, I never pass up an excuse to gab about one of my favorite video game genres!

It turns out that June was a smart choice, since it's also the month the Electronic Entertainment Expo is held in Los Angeles, and also the time Nintendo introduced Street Fighter II lead Ryu Hoshino to the cast of Super Smash Bros. He's in both the 3DS and Wii U versions, by the way, if you're willing to shell out seven bucks for some cross-platform combat. As a fan of Street Fighter for over twenty years, I went for the deluxe package, and I do not regret my decision. Seven bucks is costly for a downloadable character, but when it's this one, who could resist?

A little information about the character before I hit you with some pictures. This Ryu is based on the Street Fighter IV model, bearing a close resemblance to his appearance in the 3DS game that was launched with the system in 2011. He plays much like the other members of the Smash cast, with one button assigned to punches and kicks and another used to trigger special moves. However, entering the classic half-circle, quarter-circle, and dragon punch motions will unleash more potent versions of Ryu's fireball, leaping uppercut, and hurricane kick. (Watch that last one... it has a nasty habit of sending you off cliffs, because Ryu no longer faces his enemies automatically.) Ryu also has two final smashes according to Destructoid, although I've performed just one, the vacuum fireball.

What else? Ryu comes with a free trophy, his friend Ken Masters, and a more panoramic version of the Suzaku Castle stage from the original Street Fighter II. By the way, those signs on the edges of the playfield? Breakable, just like they used to be back in 1990. Thanks for remembering that, Nintendo... I could have sworn everyone else had forgotten, including Capcom.

All right, here now are those pictures I promised. These came from the 3DS version; obviously the Wii U game looks a lot better.

You've gotta love how you can adjust the
camera view when you pause the game,
resulting in dynamic snapshots like this.

Betcha never expected to see this before!

Or, uh, this. Mario is filing a copyright
infringement suit even as we speak.

Here's the wind-up...

And here's the pitch!

He should probably let Dhalsim keep this move.

Special thanks to Destructoid for explaining how Ryu's moves work in Smash Bros., and to Nintendo for giving me a reason to take the 3DS version of this game out of mothballs.