Hadoken





The Hadoken (波動拳, hadouken, "surge fist", a Japanese neologism, literally "wave motion fist"), also sometimes spelled as "Hadouken" is a special attack that originated in the classic Capcom fighting video game series Street Fighter. The practitioner thrusts his or her palms forward, sending a surge of spirit energy (or ki) flying towards the opponent.

It is normally performed by moving the joystick or D-pad a quarter circle forward towards the opponent from the down position, then pressing a punch button; which is usually written in manuals and guides as "↓↘→P" (assuming a right-facing character). It is referred to colloquially as the "Fireball", even though most versions of the Hadoken do not involve the use of fire. Most versions can be dodged by jumping over them.

The Hadoken is often featured in the intros of various Street Fighter games, usually at the end, the trend starting from as early as Super Street Fighter II to the recent Super Street Fighter IV.

Different Types of Hadoken
Hadoken (波動拳, hadoken, "Surge Fist") – The basic type of Hadoken. A surge fist in which a character's willpower is utilized to focus ki into and through the palms. As the palms are thrust outwards towards the target, a surging shock-wave is expelled that results in a punching force traveling through the air. The user will usually be immobilized for a short time after performing this move, leaving them vulnerable to counterattack.

Shakunetsu Hadoken (灼熱波動拳, shakunetsu hadoken, "Scorching Surge Fist") – A Hadoken which is imbued with the power of fire, anyone touching this Hadoken risks immolation and will be knocked down. Also known as the Red Hadoken.

Gou Hadoken (豪波動拳, go hadoken, "Strong Surge Fist") – It is more powerful than a normal Hadouken.

Zanku Hadoken (斬空波動拳, zankuu hadoken, "Air Slashing Surge Fist") – This is an aerial Hadoken used by Akuma, Evil Ryu and Ken (in the Crossover Games), which travels diagonally down and towards the opponent. In some games, Akuma can launch two Zanku Hadoken at the same time, with both traveling at different angles towards the ground.

Tenma Go Zanku (天魔豪斬空, tenma gou zankuu, "Demon's Great Air Slash") – A more powerful version of the Zanku Hadoken. Akuma uses this Super Combo to throw a barrage of mid-air projectiles or one giant projectile at his opponent, crushing them.

Messatsu Gou Hado (滅殺豪波動, messatsu go hadou, "Murderous Strong Surge" - A more powerful version of the Shinkuu Hadoken using massive amounts of Satsui no Hadou.

Denjin Hadoken (電刃波動拳, denjin hadoken, "Lightning Blade Surge Fist") – A chargeable Hadoken that electrifies the defender, stunning them momentarily.

Metsu Hadoken (滅波動拳, metsu hadoken, "Destruction Surge Fist") - Using the energy of the Satsui no Hadou, Ryu charges a hadoken with the intention to kill.

Shinku Hadoken (真空波動拳, shinkū hadoken, "Vacuum Surge Fist") – A Super charge of the Hadoken; when executed, the Shinku Hadoken can hit the opponent multiple times and destroy other projectiles launched by the opponent. It is much more powerful than a normal Hadoken. It's appearance in the Vs. series comes in the form of a large beam that highly resembles the Kamehameha from the Dragon Ball series.

Ryu
Ryu focuses more on the Hado principle of the fighting style, which makes him very skilled with his usage of ki. Most of Ryu's finishing attacks are variations of the Hadoken technique, which make him generally a better user than Ken. As time progressed, Ryu's version was the most outstanding of its practitioners, with superior speed and recovery time compared to his rivals. Ryu, in some games, 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
 * Shinkuu Hadoken
 * Metsu Hadoken
 * Hado no Kamae (Fake-out 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
 * Zankuu Hadoken
 * Shakunetsu Hadoken
 * Shinkuu Hadoken



Akuma
Akuma has Hadoken that are "evil", and his ki are usually purple in color. He has the ability to launch a "Shakunetsu Hadoken" by doing a half circle backwards and punch, which is a Hadoken with fire effects and more power, and more hits depending on the strength of the punch button used. He can also launch a downwards angled Hadoken, called the Zanku Hadoken. Seeing how he has so many versions, he may, at times, seems better at Hadoken than Ryu himself.
 * Hadoken
 * Shakunetsu Hadoken
 * Messatsu Gou Hado
 * Zanku Hadoken
 * Gou Hadoken
 * Tenma Gou Zankuu

Sakura
Sakura Kasugano has an imperfect Hadoken since she is not trained in the Hado-style. She learned by imitating Ryu. She can charge her Hadoken, though the more she charges the shorter it goes. Even with no charge the projectile does not go too far.
 * Hadoken
 * Shinkuu Hadoken

Sean
Sean Matsuda has not trained enough, so his Hadoken is weak and is slow to charge up.
 * Hado Burst/Blast

Dan
Dan Hibiki "invented" the Gadouken (Self-Taught Fist), which barely has any attack power and also has a short range. It is done with the same input as the Hadouken, though he appears to launch it with one hand. 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 gained a new Haoh Gadouken in Super Street Fighter IV which is similar to Ryu's Super Fireball. The distance of a regular Gadouken depends on how strong the punch button was pressed.
 * Gadouken
 * Shinku Gadouken
 * Haoh Gadouken



Gouken
Gouken has a Hadoken which are "pure good". He uses only one-handed in Street Fighter IV, a reference to the "Sheng Long" rumors.
 * Gou Hadoken
 * Denjin Hadoken

Dan


Other Appearances

 * The Hadouken appears as a taunt in Valve's First-Person Shooter, Team Fortress 2. It's used by the Pyro. If the fireball connects, it instantly kills the opponent.
 * In episode 33 of the anime Keroro Gunso, the character Tamama uses a parody version of Shinku Hadoken called Shinku Tamamaken, the attack looks exactly the same.
 * In the game Megaman X, if the player collects all items and dies 5 times in Armored Armadilo's stage, at the end of the level above the boss door the player will find a secret capsule in which Dr. Light dressed as Ryu will teach X the Hadoken. The way it is performed is the same as in the games. It can kill all bosses in one hit, although X will need to be at full health in order to use it.
 * In the Nexon imported game "Dungeon Fighter" the Fighter's Hadoken-like move, Nen Blast, uses the same command as Hadoken. This could be seen as a nod to the legacy of the attack.
 * In the Super Smash Bros. series, both Mewtwo and Lucario's Standard Special Moves (Shadow Ball and Aura Sphere, respectively) seem to resemble the Denjin Hadouken both in pose and projectile.
 * In a comic series inspired by Smash Bros., Kirby can use Hadouken after "copying" Snake, and shaving his beard, leaving his headband. His headband resembles Ryu/Ken's.
 * In the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, the Troll spell-casting animation mirrors the Hadouken.
 * In the Worms game series, there is an attack called the "Fireball" (later renamed as "Dragonball") which is a clear parody of the Hadouken.
 * In Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, Dr. Nefarious played a game where he used a attack which parodies of Hadoken.
 * In Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2, the character Jago, uses an attack that is respectively similar to the Hadoken, called Endokuken.