Koryuken

The Koryuken (晃龍拳, Kouryuuken^?, "Brilliant Dragon Fist") is one of Dan's special attacks, introduced in the Street Fighter Alpha series.

Input

All appearances	+

Description

Another shot of the Koryuken in the same game.

Executed the same as the Shoryuken, the Koryuken is also visually similar to the original move - a jumping uppercut with the punching arm half-extended, and the knee corresponding to the punching hand raised.

In the Street Fighter IV series, the move appears similar to a Tiger Uppercut, with Dan raising the knee opposite the punching hand. Unlike most Shoryuken-type attacks, Dan instead strikes with his leading hand in the said game, identical to how Ryo Sakazaki's Kohou uppercut appears in The King of Fighters series. Street Fighter V reverts the Koryuken to face the background similar to the Shoryuken, but retains the alternate knee positions, making it resemble Ryo's alternate Kohou in certain appearances and after his Ryuko Ranbu.

The punch button used determines the damage, distance, and height; light punch has the least height, damage, and distance, while hard punch has the most, and medium is a balance of the two.

Tactics

As with the Shoryuken, this move functions primarily as an anti-air attack. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, there is a 12.5% chance (one in eight) that Dan may flash before executing the move, gaining invincibility during the attack. Though the flash appears random (and thus lacking in tactical value), it actually appears to be determined by a set pattern. If the move is performed as the 23rd action since the start of a round, it will be a flashing Koryuken, as will every Koryuken performed as his 15th action from that point. While this technically gives the flash some tactical use, it is heavily limited.

In the Street Fighter IV series, the invincibility of the move is instead determined by the button(s) used, with light giving none and the new EX Special version, called the Saikyo-Koryuken, giving the most of the other three. The EX Special also hits twice, but deals less damage than the heavy punch version.

In Street Fighter V, the strength of the punch button pressed determines the moves startup, damage, range, and invincibility properties. The Light version has the shortest range and inflicts the lowest damage, but it has a 4-frame startup and is invincible to throws. The Medium version has better range and damage output than the Light version. While it may be one frame slower than the aforementioned version, the Medium Koryuken is invincible to mid-air attacks; making it the primary anti-air move. The Heavy version has the furthest range and inflicts slightly more damage. It is also invincible to attacks and projectiles during the move's active frames, making it useful for interrupting pressure.

EX Koryuken has the same startup as the Light version, but inflicts more damage than the Heavy version. It makes Dan fully invincible during the startup frames. Each version can be cancelled into Dan's first V-Skill for extra damage and to build V-Meter. If Dan has his second V-Trigger, the move is enhanced to the Goh Koryuken, a multi-hitting uppercut that acts similarly to Shoryureppa or Midare Zakura. For optimal damage, Dan can also cancel Koryuken into his Critical Art. However, Koryuken is very unsafe on block. It also leaves Dan in a Counter Hit state during the recovery frames.

Sprite

Screenshots

Koryuken in Street Fighter IV.

Koryuken in Gem Fighter.

Dan's Light, Medium, Heavy, and EX Koryuken in Street Fighter V.