10 Most Iconic Street Fighter Special/Super Moves

Used By: Ryu, Ken, Evil Ryu, Kage (Shoryuken), Akuma, Oni (Goshoryuken), Sakura (Shouoken), Dan (Koryuken)

First Appearance: Street Fighter

Input: Forward, Down, Down-Forward + Punch

“You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance”.

However, Ryu is not talking about his secret master; he is in fact referring to his legendary Dragon Punch uppercut, the ‘Shoryuken’. Ryu solidified the iconic status of his move in his confrontation with Sagat in the original Street Fighter, where he gave Sagat his chest scar and started their endless rivalry. This move has been a staple in the arsenal of both Ryu and Ken. However, much like how Ryu and Ken’s ‘Tatsumaki Senpukyaku’ (or ‘Hurricane Kick’) differed with each release, their Dragon Punches grew more unique overtime.

Starting in Street Fighter III, Ryu develops the variant ‘Shin Shoryuken’ which is also used by Gouken in Street Fighter IV. This variation sees Ryu turn the single hit uppercut into a powerful three hit attack, ending in a much more power variant of the signature uppercut. Ken however begins to utilise the ‘Shoryureppa’ as early as Super Street Fighter II Turbo, usually visualized as a series of three consecutive uppercuts, the final uppercut causing a fire effect.

A variety of other characters use similar moves to the Shoryuken, all of which are executed with the same Dragon Punch (or DP) input. Notable examples from Street Fighter include Akuma and Oni’s ‘Goshoryuken’ (‘Great Rising Dragon Fist’), Sakura’s ‘Shouoken’ (‘Blooming Cherry Fist’), and Dan’s ‘Koryuken’ (‘Clear Dragon Fist’). This input has been translated into a variety of other fighting games and, even when the move being performed is totally different, is still generally referred to as the DP motion.