Hadoken

The Hadoken (波動拳, hadouken, "Surge Fist" or "Wave Motion Fist") is a special attack that originated in the classic Capcom fighting video game series, Street Fighter. It is often referred to as a "fireball", despite few instances of the move actually producing flames.

Description
The Hadoken is executed by performing a quarter-circle forward ? motion (assuming a right-facing character) and pressing a punch button.

The basic type of Hadoken is a surging punchm in which a fighter's willpower is utilized to focus energy into and through the palms. As the palms are thrust outwards towards the target, a surging energy wave is expelled that results in a punching force traveling through the air in the opponent's direction. The user will usually be immobilized for a short time after performing this move, leaving them vulnerable to counterattack.

Certain crossovers allow the basic Hadoken to be used in midair.

Tactics
The primary use of the Hadoken is to control the horizontal playfield: If thrown at the opponent, they will have to block, jump or use a special attack to counter. In any case, they will have to act, allowing the player throwing the Hadoken to potentially counter.

Alternatively, the opponent can perform a projectile attack of their own, negating the Hadoken.

Popularity and Influence
The Hadoken, known colloquially as a 'Fireball' is considered The Street Fighter series' most famous attack alongside The Shoryuken. This move has been the reciepient of several parodies and references in media (listed Below) The Hadoken itself is often featured in the intros of various Street Fighter games, usually at the end of the attract sequence. This trend started from Super Street Fighter II, and has carried on to the recent Super Street Fighter IV.

Takashi Nishiyama, the creator of Street Fighter, credits the 1970's era anime Space Battleship Yamato and a missile called the Hadouho as the origin of the Hadouken.

Different Variants of Hadoken

 * Gou Hadoken (豪波動拳, Gou Hadoken, "Strong Surge Fist") – A much more powerful and potentially deadly variant used by those who have fully tapped into the Hadou (either the Satsui no Hado or its toned down counterpart).
 * Bolt Hadoken - An even more powerful variant of the Gou Hadoken, used only by Cyber Akuma.
 * Zanku Hadoken (斬空波動拳, Zankuu Hadoken, "Slashing Air Surge Fist") – This is an aerial Hadoken which travels diagonally down and towards the opponent, first used by Akuma.
 * Zanku Bolt Hadoken - Cyber Akuma's take on the Zanku Hadoken.
 * Shakunetsu Hadoken (灼熱波動拳, Shakunetsu Hadoken, "Scorching Heat Surge Fist") – A Hadoken which is imbued with the power of fire. The user can launch from one to three depending on the strength of the punch button. It is also known as the Red Hadoken. Akuma´s version is also called Hell Hadouken in Brazil.
 * Gorai Hadoken (轟雷波動拳, Gourai Hadouken, Roaring Thunder Surge Fist) – An electric Hadoken used by Oni.
 * Shinku Hadoken (真空波動拳, Shinkuu Hadoken, "Vacuum Surge Fist") – A super-charged Hadoken that, when executed, can hit the opponent multiple times and destroy other projectiles launched by the opponent. It is much more powerful than a normal Hadoken.
 * Metsu Hadoken (滅波動拳, Metsu Hadouken, "Destroying Surge Fist") – Using the energy of the Satsui no Hadou, Ryu charges a Hadoken that is likely one of the most powerful variants of the move.
 * Messatsu Gou Hado (滅殺豪波動, Messatsu Gou Hadou, "Annihilating Strong Surge")  – A more powerful version of the Gou Hadoken, similar to the Shinku Hadoken, that uses massive amounts of the Satsui no Hadou. In Street Fighter III, it is depicted as being a few times larger than a regular Hadouken.
 * High Mega Gou Beam - Cyber Akuma's variant of the Messatsu Gou Hado.
 * Tenma Go Zanku (天魔豪斬空, Tenma Gou Zankuu, "Evil Spirit Strong Slashing Air") – A more powerful version of the Zanku Hadoken.
 * Thunder Gou Shower - Cyber Akuma's version of the Tenma Go Zanku.
 * Meido Gohado (冥恫豪波動, Meidou Gouhadou, Dark Fearful Strong Surge) - A more powerful variant of the Gou Hadoken, used by Oni as his first Ultra Combo.
 * Messatsu Go Tenha - The Meido Gohado fired ground-to-air.
 * Messatsu Go Zanku - The Meido Gohado fired air-to-ground.
 * Denjin Hadoken (電刃波動拳, Denjin Hadouken, "Electric Blade Surge Fist") – A chargeable Hadoken that electrifies the defender, stunning them momentarily.
 * Ren Hadoken (連波動拳, Ren Hadouken, Chain Surge Fist) - A new variation of the Hadouken developed by Ryu in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Here, he can fire off five Hadokens in quick succession instead of one.
 * Baku Hadoken (爆波動拳, Baku Hadouken, Bursting Surge Fist) - Another new move developed by Ryu in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. He is able to charge the Hadoken and once he releases it, it vanishes from sight, reappearing a split second in front of the opponent and promptly detonates with explosive force.
 * Gadouken (我道拳, Self-Taught Fist) - A move used by Dan. It has the same input as the Hadoken, but it is significantly weaker, and has a shorter range. This is the result of Dan's short training under Gouken.

Ryu
Ryu focuses more on the Hado principle of the fighting style, which makes him very skilled with his usage of ki. Some of Ryu's more powerful attacks are variations of the Hadoken technique. As time progressed, Ryu's version became the most outstanding of its practitioners, with superior speed and recovery time compared to his rivals.

In some games, he has an exclusive "fake-out" Hadoken, executed by doing a quarter circle forward and pressing the taunt button. By doing so, Ryu will simply do the hand thrusting motion for a Hadoken, not firing it.
 * Hadoken
 * Shakunetsu Hadoken
 * Denjin Hadoken
 * Shinku Hadoken
 * Metsu Hadoken
 * Hado no Kamae (Stance of the Surge, a Fake-out Hadoken)
 * Ren Hadoken
 * Baku Hadoken
 * Shin Hadoken

Ken
Ken Masters is also a student of Gouken alongside his partner and best friend Ryu. However, although he possesses the ability to manipulate ki, he has chosen to focus on developing moves & techniques more in line with his speed-oriented fighting style.

In the crossover games, he gains various types of Hadoken, such as the Shinku Hadoken.
 * Hadoken
 * Zanku Hadoken (crossovers)
 * Shinku Hadoken (crossovers)

Evil Ryu/Violent Ken
Both Ryu's and Ken's darker selves have access to many versions of the Hadoken that their normal counterparts have.
 * Hadoken
 * Shakunetsu Hadoken
 * Shinku Hadoken
 * Metsu Hadoken

Akuma
Akuma infuses his Hadokens with the Satsui No Hadou, giving his Hadokens the potential to truly kill an opponent. Akuma is the first to demonstrate the ability to use the Zanku Hadoken. Given the amount of Hadoken variations Akuma can conduct, he appears to be far more proficient in this move than Ryu.
 * Hadoken
 * Shakunetsu Hadoken
 * Messatsu Gou Hado
 * Messatsu Gou Hadou Agyo
 * Messatsu Gou Hadou Ungyo
 * Zanku Hadoken
 * Gou Hadoken
 * Tenma Gou Zankuu
 * Tenma Gou Zankuu Agyo
 * Tenma Gou Zamkuu Ungyo

Cyber Akuma
Cyber Akuma, due to his cybernetic enhancements, soundly surpasses Akuma. His Hadokens, dubbed Bolt Hadoken and Zanku Bolt Hadoken are much larger visually, more damaging, and have lesser startup and recovery. Like Shin Akuma, he can launch two Zanku (Bolt) Hadokens at once. His variation of the Tenma Gou Zanku, the Thunder Gou Shower, has him send down a barrage of 32 Bolt Hadokens at once. His counterpart to the Messatsu Gou Hado is the High Mega Gou Beam, which is more damaging than the original with almost no startup.
 * Bolt Hadoken
 * Zanku Bolt Hadoken
 * Thunder Gou Shower
 * High Mega Gou Beam

Oni
Akuma's Hadoken variants change after his transformation to Oni; he now fires a one-handed Hadoken similar to Gouken, which can also be charged. Oni also possesses the Gorai Hadoken, which replaces the Shakunetsu Hadoken, and is filled with electricity instead of flames.

He also possesses a stronger version of the Messatsu Gou Hadou, called the Meido Gohado. This massive Hadoken can be fired in 3 ways: on the ground, horizontally and vertically, or in the air, at an downward angle. Each variation bears a different name: Meido Gohado (shot straight), Messatsu Gou Tenha (shot upwards), and Messatsu Gou Zankuu (shot down from air at angle).
 * Gou Hadoken
 * Gorai Hadoken
 * Zanku Hadosho
 * Meido Gohado
 * Messatsu Go Tenha
 * Messatsu Go Zankuu

Sakura
Sakura Kasugano has an imperfect Hadoken, since she is not trained in the Hado-style and instead learned by imitating Ryu. She can charge her Hadoken, though the longer she charges, the shorter it reaches. Even with no charge, the projectile does not go too far. However, the damage they inflict is great. She also has the Nekketsu Hadouken, where she immediately charges the Hadouken with a pink color and fires it with great force and speed.
 * Hadoken
 * Shinku Hadoken
 * Nekketsu Hadouken

Sean
Sean Matsuda appears to have a powerful Hadoken, but it is not fully mastered yet, and he has yet to fully understand how to manipulate ki. Unlike the other fighters, who have the original technique and some variations available for use, Sean has the Hado-Burst Super Art as his only projectile.
 * Hado-Burst

Allen
Allen Snider has a self-developed Hadoken based on Ken's.
 * Soul/Fire Force

Dan
Dan Hibiki uses the Gadouken, which is a move likely based of what little of the move he learned while training under Gouken. He gains the Shinkuu Gadoken with the similarity of a Shinkuu Hadoken except it is a short distance fireball to close range combat. He also gains the Haoh Gadouken in Super Street Fighter IV, which is similar to Ryu's Super Fireball, and also parodies the Haoh Shokoken used by Ryo in Art of Fighting/The King of Fighters. The distance of a regular Gadouken depends on how strong the punch button was pressed. Also, Dan can use the EX Gadouken, which boosts the range of the blast.
 * Gadouken
 * Shinku Gadouken
 * Haoh Gadoken

Gouken
Gouken deploys Hadokens based on his belief that martial arts were meant for self-defense. He uses only one-handed for his regular Hadoken in Street Fighter IV (a reference to the "Sheng Long" rumors), and can also fire them straight as well as upwards (depending on the strength of the punch button pressed). His Hadokens can also be charged by holding down a punch button after executing them. The EX version involves him firing two Hadokens at the same time, with one going straight and the other in the air. He does, however use 2 hands for the Denjin Hadoken, in order to control the Hadoken while he charges it before releasing.
 * Gou Hadoken
 * Denjin Hadoken

Sprites

 * For more sprites, see: Hadoken/Sprites

Ryu




Akuma




Trivia

 * The Hadoken appears very similar to the Kamehameha (Turtle Devastation Wave) from the Dragon Ball series, which was created in 1985. Both have identical hand movements (the way the hands are placed is slightly different between them), and are fired the same way. They are also similar in apperance (the Kamehameha is a laser-like beam, much like the crossover versions of the Hadoken).
 * In Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter IV, strategy guide writers consider Ryu's Shinku Hadoken and Metsu Hadoken as the best Super Combo and Ultra Combo, respectively.
 * Sakura is the only female character that is shown to be able to use the Hadoken. (albiet an incomplete one, but still able to use it).
 * The Hadoken may have been inspired by the Hadouha (Wave Motion Cannon) from Uchuu Senkan Yamato.

References in Pop Culture

 * See: Hadoken/Pop Culture