10 Most Iconic Street Fighter Special/Super Moves

By Darren Brierley / October 21, 2020

The colourful cast of characters in the Street Fighter universe have a whole host of attacks at their disposal, from over the top wrestling moves like Zangief’s Spinning Piledriver to bursts of flaming Ki energy like Sagat’s Tiger Shot. In fact, learning, mastering and using these moves could be considered the bread and butter of the Street Fighter experience.

Each character is given a variety of unique attacks suitable to their specific playstyle, often fitting in with their personality and design. For example, Zoner characters have projectile attacks while Grappler characters have a number of different grabs. These different moves have become as iconic as the characters they represent.

But which of these special techniques really stand out above the rest? What moves are you most likely to shout out triumphantly as your chosen character throws them out? What moves haves your eyes rolling every time you are on the receiving end of them? That’s where this list comes in, ranking the 10 most iconic Special or Super in the history of Street Fighter.

10. Healing

Used By: Elena

First Appearance: Street Fighter III

Input: Quarter-Circle Forward x 2 + Punch (Street Fighter III), Quarter-Circle Forward x 2 + All 3 Punch Buttons (Ultra Street Fighter IV)

One of the signature techniques of Kenyan Capoeira fighter, Elena, and used by her in the Street Fighter III series and in Ultra Street Fighter IV. Healing, as the name implies, allows Elena to recover some of her health bar for the remainder of the current round. In the Street Fighter III series, this move takes the spot of Elena’s ‘Super Art III’, while in Ultra Street Fighter IV it took the place of her ‘Ultra Combo II’.

Ultra Street Fighter IV is where the move really grew into infamy. In this game, Healing was Elena’s ‘Ultra Combo II’, meaning players had to fill their ‘Revenge Gauge’, which is achieved by being hit or taking chip damage, to at least half way to execute the Ultra Combo. The damage of an Ultra Combo is determined by how much past the halfway mark the gauge is filled and this translates in reverse to Elena’s Healing, allowing her to gain more health back based on how full the Revenge Gauge is.

This unique interaction with the Revenge Gauge made Elena an incredibly cheap character to play as, due to the majority of damage dealt to her being nullified. The ease of recovering health led to the infamy of the Healing move and the collective groans of Ultra Street Fighter IV players who encounter Elena online.