THE SLUGFEST

HIGH BLADE KICK - RYU, STREET FIGHTER 6

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 also colloquially and deservedly known as the "donkey kick," this move has ryu sending every ounce of his bodyweight into a high kick, with the edge of his foot slicing clean into the opponent's neck. a quick wind-up begins the move before he springs forward into motion, forcing enough velocity through their noggin to send them flying back a few yards. (and of course, the distance and damage increases with the low, medium, and high kick variants.)

this one has become a bit of a legacy move for ryu at this point! first introduced in street fighter 3, this showstopper has always been a favorite of mine in his movelist. it's so cool!!

 small aside, his old pose is... actually depicting an entirely different move than intended, funnily enough! in japanese versions of street fighter, this move is called "jodan sokuto geri," which reflects a real life move in kyokushin karate called "sokuto-geri" that uses the blade of the foot to deliver the force of the kick. the old animation above depicts him using the "ushiro-geri" from the same school of karate, which is a back kick that delivers force through the heel!

i think it's interesting that capcom chose to change the animation as-of street fighter 5 to reflect the actual move it's based on, rather than just changing the name to reflect what they had already animated. i'm sure they talk about it in an interview somewhere! although... that point of discussion probably got buried under lots of posts about sf5's more pressing problems at launch...

anyhow!

 super simple, super satisfying move to land. kinesthetically, it's my favorite move in street fighter 6 by a mile. pure force with a matching SNAP sound effect gives the player such an endorphin rush as reward for well-placed spacing or a nice effective read. sets you up perfectly for sending out a hadouken and advancing your pressure right after, too! this is where we get to the good part, though. its overdrive variant!

 donkey kick's high kick version gives it a limited juggle state, where you can follow up with a super or an uppercut... while the overdrive variant gives you a blank check, a pen, kicks its feet up on the table, and says "Go on, write as many zeroes as you want." the attached gif shows one of the most common follow-up combos, but really, you can ad lib a whole lot here. throw in a fireball and press your opponent into the corner with more offense! cash out on your super meter with a level 2, or level 3! even the most common follow-ups are cool enough to be remarkable on their own. dope chance for some fun, flashy player expression in exchange for a pinch of your drive gauge.

the rhythm of this move is so addicting too. boom BOOM boom BOOM as they bounce from screen to screen. the wall-bounce has been a staple of this move's EX version since its debut, and is 100% why its made such a strong, lasting impression. forcing the opponent into a helpless freefall while you make the call on how to turn their lights out... agh!! too fucking wicked. i love this move.

 im starting on my second inning with street fighter 6 this year, and i think ryu's going to be the ticket to my satisfaction with this game at long last. there's so much room for experimentation and expression in his moveset, and the donkey kick is such a strong example of what he has waiting in his moveset to be discovered... i cant wait to get back in the lab!!