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Street Fighter 6’s Ryu has been accused of being simple and basic in the past. While many of his most effective combos aren’t particularly complex, that’s not a bad thing. He’s a solid character with reach, punishing combos, and plenty of damage, and someone that players can pick up and play with minimal difficulty. But don’t let that dissuade you from using the original World Warrior. He’s powerful and can quite easily dominate a match with his moveset.
This guide will feature a wide variety of combos for Street Fighter 6’s Ryu. They will range from easy BnB (Bread and Butter) combos, combos that require some of his Drive Meter, Punishes, and some more complicated, flashy combos.
Ryu combos to try out in Street Fighter 6
1) Basic/BnB Combos to use in SF6
j.HK >c.MP > (QCB.MK/QCF.MK/QCB.MP)
One of Ryu’s most basic combos in Street Fighter 6 is Jumping Heavy Kick into Crouching Medium Punch, and then a follow-up. In this case, it’s going to be Medium Tatsumaki, Medium Donkey Kick, or Medium Hadouken. These aren’t super impactful, but they can set up further command of the screen. They’re easy to pull off and worth practicing at any skill level.
j.HP > s.MP > QCB.LK+MK > DP HP
Another important combo to know for Ryu is to link his EX Tatsumaki into a Dragon Punch. Ideally, this is done towards the corner so your opponent doesn’t go flying into the distance. That’s why the Dragon Punch links into this Street Fighter 6 combo so neatly. It might be simple, but it hits for roughly a quarter of some characters’ health bar.
c.LK > c.LP > c.LP, QCB.LK+MK > DP HP
Conversely, you can also do this same setup from a crouching position by hitting Light Kick, Light Punch, Light Punch, and then the Tatsu+DP. Ryu has a wide variety of ways to set up his combos in Street Fighter 6.
2) Simple combos for Ryu in Modern Control scheme
Courtesy of 2D Fighter, there are some very simple combos that you can do using Modern Controls in Street Fighter 6. These work quite well with Ryu, as he has a particularly simple series of special attacks.
Down Medium, Down Assist + Special, Right Special (Timestamp 0:09)
This combo does a sizable chunk of damage. It’s a Crouching Kick, an EX Wall Bounce, and as they come flying back, you use the Right Special to hit a Shoryuken. It’s a short, but effective combo for the World Warrior.
Down Down Medium, then Jump + Medium, Hold Assist + Medium x3 (Timestamp 0:16)
The Down Down Medium attack sets up Ryu’s Denjin Charge. Before it wears off, jump in with the Medium Kick, and using Hold Assist alongside three Medium inputs will perform a series of kicks, ending with a Shinku Hadouken.
Down Down Medium, then Jump + Medium, Hold Assist + Medium x2, Heavy, Forward Forward + Medium x3 (Timestamp 0:22)
Another Denjin Charge combo for Ryu, it also follows the Jump Medium pattern. However, you only hit two Medium Strikes, before a Heavy. This does a few strikes, an EX Hashogeki, and Drive Links to the medium hits.
3) Drive Meter/Drive Impact combos
dd.MP > DI > c.MP > QCB.LK+MK > Super Art 2
A simple Drive Impact combo for Ryu, this one starts with Denjin Charge, which enhances the Street Fighter 6 character’s attributes. Off of the crumple from the Drive Impact, you hit the EX Tatsumaki, and as your opponent drops, you hit them with Super Art 2, taking roughly half of their health.
dd.MP > j.HP > s.MP > DRC > s.MP > c.MP > QCB.LP+MP > QCF.LK+MK > Super Art 3
You might want to just dump all of your Drive Meter into a combo that’s going to get the job done and finish a match. This combo should do about half of an opponent’s health bar, so if you have the drive and super meter to pull it off, it’s a terrific way to go out with a bang.
The EX Hashogeki into EX Donkey Kick and Shin Shoryuken? It will take practice, but it’s incredible.
dd.MP > j.HK > s.MP > DRC > s.MP > c.MP > DRC > DRC > s.MP > c.MP > QCB.MP > Super Art 1
(Clip begins at 1:17)
The above combo is a Double Drive Rush, so it will burn all of your Drive Meter to set up damage, but you won't be required to do any EX canceling. This allows you to use a Super Art that isn't the Shin Shoryuken - in this case, it's the Super Art 1 (Shinku Hadouken). You Hasogeki directly into Shinku Hadouken instead of burning the EX Donkey Kick into Super Art 3.
PH DI > Forward.HP > c.MP > QCF.LK+MK > Back.HK > DP MP
PH DI w/DC > Foward.HP > c.MP > QCB P DR c.MP > DP HP
Ryu has some fun Drive Impact interactions in Street Fighter 6. It reminded me a lot of the FADC combos in Ultra Street Fighter 4. You can easily use that brief hit stun to Donkey Kick someone across the screen, axe kick them down, and follow up with a medium Dragon punch.
This combo might not hit as hard as others, but it’s a flashier, full-drive combo, and while it will burn out your meter, it also does significant damage. This is for when you’re confident doing a pair of Drive Rush cancels in your Street Fighter 6 Ryu combos.
4) Whiff Punish, Punish Counter, and Counter-Hit combos
PC s.LK > DR > s.MP > c.HP > DP HP
Ryu’s Light Kick is a great poke tool, and it can also be used to whiff punish into a Drive Rush combo in Street Fighter 6. While this isn’t a huge damage combo, it’s a solid way to push your opponent back, get the knockdown, and perhaps set up other combos to further batter the other player.
CH s.MK > s.LK > QCB LK
His Standing Medium Kick is also a great counter-hit move, which lets you punish your opponents with decent damage. This particular combo is a solid way to poke with two kicks and follow up with Ryu’s Tatsumaki. It puts you in range for other more flashy combos and punishes your opponent in Street Fighter 6.
PC c.MK > QCF.LK+MK > DP MP
Another way to lead into punish combos in Street Fighter 6 is Ryu’s incredible Crouching Medium Kick. It has just enough range to poke someone and set up a combo. Here, we link the crouch to Donkey Kick, Axe Kick, and a Medium Dragon Punch.
5) Classic Control Corner Combos for Ryu
dd.MP > j.HK > s.HK > c.MK > QCB.LP+MP
A solid corner combo from SwitchPlayed, this one relies on having Denjin Charge first. Provided the jump Heavy Kick lands, you immediately follow with a Standing Heavy, Crouching Medium Kick, and finally, the EX Hashogeki. This crumples your opponent, and could set up some fun options on wake-up.
s.MP > c.MP XX [Immediate cancel] QCF.LP+MP, QCF.LP+MP, DP HP
A more advanced combo from VesperArcade, this is a powerful option for the corner. It does rely on you having solid cancels for this Street Fighter 6 Ryu combo. Once the Standing Medium Punch connects, you hit a Crouching one, and immediately cancel into a pair of EX Hadoukens, and a Heavy Punch Shoryuken. It’s solid, reliable, and satisfying to use.
As we uncover more fantastic combos for Street Fighter 6’s original World Warrior, we’ll add them to the guide. These combos came courtesy of ShinLad FGC and The Chevalier, who have produced several useful combo guides on YouTube.
The Street Fighter 6 demo is still available for players who want to practice with Ryu. The game will launch on June 2, 2023, so it won't be long before it hits store shelves worldwide.
Do you have a combo you'd like to share? Reach out to me on Twitter and DM me a link to the clip and the notation, and we'll see about including it in our combo guide.
