- "You've just experienced the Shin Shoryuken!! Tell me if you've seen any greater force!"
- —Ryu in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact
The Shin Shoryuken (真・昇龍拳 Shin Shōryūken?, "True Rising Dragon Fist") is a special attack that made its debut in the Street Fighter III series as one of Ryu's Super Arts. The move was taught to him by Gouken, who uses it as an Ultra Combo in the Street Fighter IV series, though it was previously implied in the Street Fighter Alpha series to have been discovered by Ryu on his own.
| Appearance | User(s) | Function | Input |
|---|---|---|---|
| Street Fighter III series | Ryu | Super Art II |  + 
|
| Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter Marvel vs. Capcom |
Ryu | Hyper Combo |  + 
|
| Street Fighter Alpha 3 SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium |
Ryu | Super Combo |  +  (far distance)
|
| Street Fighter EX2 | Ryu | Super Combo | + 
|
| Street Fighter EX2 Plus Street Fighter EX3 |
Ryu | Meteor Combo | +
|
| Marvel vs. Capcom 2 | Ryu | Hyper Combo | +
|
| Capcom vs. SNK Capcom vs. SNK 2 Capcom Fighting Evolution |
Ryu | Super Combo | +
|
| SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos | Ryu | Exceed | + 
|
| Street Fighter IV series | Gouken | Ultra Combo I | + 
|
| Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Marvel vs. Capcom 3 |
Ryu | Hyper Combo | + 
|
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Ryu | Final Smash | B Button (close) |
| No. of Stocks | 1 |
|---|---|
| No. of EX Specials | 3.2 |
| Gouken | 503 |
|---|---|
| Gouken (as a boss) | 653 |
Description
The Shin Shoryuken in Street Fighter Alpha 3
The attack itself is the manifestation of its namesake, the "true" technique of the Shoryuken. The user strikes the opponent very hard in the midsection (via elbow or punch), and then performs a high-damage Shoryuken. This requires the utmost focus and temperament to perform correctly. If the user misses the initial midsection attack, however, they will perform a Shoryuken which has multiple hits and acts as a failsafe; it is capable of hitting the opponent should they jump away to avoid the attack.
Main series appearances
Street Fighter III series
Ryu punches the foe in the midsection with a Shoryuken, and if it connects without Ryu leaving the ground, he then uses his other hand to perform a 2-hit finishing Shoryuken. If it is done with Ryu facing any side of the wall up close, Ryu will fall back a bit to allow room for his opponent to fall down from the attack.
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Ryu strikes the foe's midsection with his closer elbow, uppercuts the foe with his other hand, and then perform a powerful Shoryuken with the closer hand.
The move has the same command as the Metsu Shoryuken; the difference between the two is the distance from the opponent and/or the later frames of the attack, with the Shin Shoryuken requiring Ryu to hit the opponent at the last frame of the elbow lunge. The move does great damage, but is practically impossible to use in battle, though it can be visually disguised by if Ryu is facing toward or away from the screen during the final hit.
Street Fighter IV series
Gouken's Shin Shoryuken in Street Fighter IV
Gouken's version is the same as Ryu's from Street Fighter III, indicating that he taught Ryu the move. When performing the move, Gouken performs a powerful uppercut; upon landing the initial attack, he delivers a powerful alternate-handed uppercut to the opponent's jaw as he performs the final Shoryuken, sending them skyward.
While Gouken's Shin Shoryuken already does considerable damage, it should be noted that it deals significantly more damage when used by Gouken as a boss in the Arcade Mode; it is enough to deal roughly two thirds of the average fighter's health bar, requiring the player to respect the threat of the move which can completely swing a seemingly advantageous fight.
Crossover Appearances
Marvel vs. Capcom series
The move is performed similarly to its Street Fighter III incarnation with a small cosmetic difference. In every game of the series prior Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the move electrocutes the opponent upon connecting successfully. In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, it has the benefit of being able to go into its full animation as it connects if it doesn't go over half the screen.
Capcom vs. SNK series and Capcom Fighting Evolution
The move remains mostly the same, although Ryu rears back further during the startup in both Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2, and the move finishes with the same "spiral" as a regular Shoryuken.
In The Match of the Millennium, it appears as Ryu's unlockable Super Combo and it is visually identical to the Street Fighter Alpha 3 version, except that he always performs the full move regardless of his distance from his opponent.
Street Fighter X Tekken
The move appears in the game as Ryu's EX Shoryuken, and is visually similar to its Street Fighter III incarnation.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
Ryu will use the Shin Shoryuken as his Final Smash if he is close to any of his opponents; otherwise, Ryu will use the Shinku Hadoken instead.
For the Shin Shoryuken, it is important to combo into the move (usually with Up Tilt) in order for the move to be guaranteed due to its poor horizontal range; however, as a tradeoff, it deals much more damage than the Shinku Hadoken, as well as KO'ing more reliably; Ryu has combos into Shin Shoryuken (usually started by his Down Aerial or Focus Attack) that can KO any character in the game from 0% damage.
Also worth noting is that the Shin Shoryuken can miss; in this case, Ryu performs a 6-hit Shoryuken that deals much less damage and will have a very hard time finishing off opponents (in essence, a weak Forbidden Shoryuken). As with most Final Smashes, the move ignores all shields, counters and Armor, and Ryu is completely invincible (including to grabs) for the entire duration of the move. If the move has enough power to K.O an opponent, it shall light up the background in the same way that it does when defeating an opponent with a Super Combo in the Street Fighter series. Otherwise, there shall be no background change.
Tactics
A most powerful attack to those of the Shoto school, it is utterly tide turning and potentially match ending at an instant, but only at the right conditions and is often gauge heavy in consumption, therefore it is best if reserved as an ace and trump attack.
Generally, if timed incorrectly and/or the opponent blocks/avoids the attack completely, the opponent can easily punish the user; the after-lag for the resulting "Forbidden Shoryuken" is higher than that of the HP Shoryuken used by Ryu, Ken, and Akuma.
In the Street Fighter III games, Shin Shoryuken only has a single stock, however the Super Combo Gauge is extremely large, with slightly more than enough to allow 3 EX Specials from a full gauge. However, this means that the Super meter needs to be conserved for a long time before the Shin Shoryuken is ready to unleash.
In the Street Fighter IV games, Gouken is able to fully use this Ultra Combo flexibly, as it has Armor Breaking properties and a very good horizontal range. It is easily utilized in juggles and - with a full Revenge Gauge - does around half a health bar's worth of damage. As a boss, Gouken's Shin Shoryuken has a quicker startup and much greater priority, in addition to doing much more damage.
An easy method of pulling off a combo with the Shin Shoryuken is to use a standing heavy kick up close, which will propel Ryu back enough to combo into the move using the full animation; the timing, however, is crucial.
In most crossover games, such as Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, it is possible to create an opportunity to juggle the falling opponent, based on the varying height levels the opponent was launched at and the varying times for when the user recovers.
Trivia
- Asura from Asura's Wrath uses this move in his fight against Augus.
- Yuri Sakazaki from the Art of Fighting and King of Fighters series parodies this technique in the form of her Shin! Chou Uppaa! (True! Super Upper!) move.
- Oni uses the same motions for his Goshoryuken if it connects up close.
Sprites
Screenshots
Video
Super Street Fighter 4 - Gouken Ultra 1
Gouken's Shin Shoryuken in SSFIV (Japanese voices).
Gouken Ultra I - Shin Shoryuken HD
Gouken's Shin Shoryuken in SSFIV (English voices).
Ryu Shin Shoruken SFXT
Ryu's Shin Shoryuken in Street Fighter X Tekken.