It was quite the surprise when Kusanagi took first place with Ryu at Ultimate Fighting Arena 2024, securing his way into Capcom Cup 2024. Up until this point, it was difficult to argue that Ryu was a viable character in Street Fighter 6 Season 2.
Did Ryu suddenly shoot up to top tier status with Kusanagi’s big win? MDZ Jimmy, a dedicated Ryu expert, recently released a video that discusses the possibility.
Like everyone else, MDZ Jimmy was impressed by the way Kusanagi piloted Ryu. He notes that Kusanagi was constantly changing up his offense. Of course, throw loops also played a huge role.
MDZ Jimmy also mentions that, while Kusanagi’s neutral play was outstanding, his combo routes with Ryu weren’t optimized. Needless to say, this means that Kusanagi could see dramatic improvements by the time Capcom Cup 2024 rolls around.
However, MDZ Jimmy would then go on to mention that Street Fighter 6 is the type of game where almost every character is capable of winning due to the number of crazy options available in the game such as Drive Rush and Drive Impact.
Ultimately, MDZ Jimmy does not think that Ryu is a particularly great character in Street Fighter 6 Season 2, but the balance is so compact that it’s still possible for a character like Ryu to win. For Ryu in particular, the player effectively has to play well all the time in order to make the character work at this level.
Check it all out in the video below: