Hadouken

 

Hadouken (波動拳, hadōken^?, "surge fist", a Japanese neologism, literally "wave motion fist") is a fictional special attack that originated in the classic Capcom fighting video game series Street Fighter. 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).

Many fighting video game characters have similar fireball attacks both within Street Fighter games and other games. These are sometimes informally referred to as a Hadouken, especially if the equivalent directions and buttons are used to perform it.

Most Street Fighter games feature three different strength punches and kicks: light, medium and heavy. So like many other attacks in these games, the Hadouken can usually be performed in three different degrees depending on which type punch is used; these will affect its speed, damage caused on impact, and sometimes its range.

Variations of Hadouken

• Hadouken (波動拳, hadōken^?, "Surge Fist") – A staple surge fist in which one's willpower is utilized to focus ki upon 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.
• Shakunetsu Hadouken (灼熱波動拳, shakunetsu hadōken^?, "Blazing Surge Fist") – One of the original techniques of Goutetsu, this life-threatening Hadouken requires even more concentration of ki onto the palms to produce a surge wave with enough force to burn cloth or flesh. Executed by Akuma, anyone touching this Hadouken risks immolation; for Ryu, however, the flames are painful, but will not kill.
• Shinkuu Hadouken (真空波動拳, shinkū hadōken^?, "Vacuum Surge Fist") – The user utilizes all of their will and gives even greater attention to the amount of ki they place on their palms. With enough will to contain the surge of power within their palms, a user can launch a more concentrated surge shock with larger gauge than a regular Hadouken.
• Gou Hadouken (豪波動拳, gō hadōken^?, "Great Surge Fist") – One of the inaugural moves from Ansatsuken's beginnings. This Hadouken has the user placing a great amount of ki onto their palms and with a strong thrust, a life-threatening surge shock travels through the air. This Hadouken is a life-threatening technique (though not as potent as the Gō Shōryūken or some of the more powerful moves in Ansatsuken), but the lethality of the Gou Hadouken is increased exponentially whenever the Satsui No Hadou is being embraced. The gauge of the Gou Hadouken depends on how attuned the user is to the Hadou No Chikara (the Power of Hadou), but the gauge increase is dependent on how long the user embraced the Satsui No Hadou.
• Zankuu Hadouken (斬空波動拳, zankū hadōken^?, "Air-cutting Surge Fist") – One of the inaugural moves from Ansatsuken's beginnings. The user has to be very quick to focus ki into their hands while they are jumping and act quickly to thrust the surge contained within outward to produce an air-to-ground attack.
• Messatsu Gou Hadou (滅殺豪波動, messatsu gō hadō^?, "Magnificent Surge Destructor") – A more life-threatening version of the Shinkuu Hadouken. The user widens both of their hands and attempts to focus all of their ki into each of their arms. Once all of the ki they can muster has been charged up, a palm thrust tosses out a very high-gauge surge shock. Concentrated in power, a well-placed Messatsu Gou Hadou can mean instant death, but not as potent as either the Messatsu Gō Rasen or the Messatsu Gō Shōryūken. The lethality and the overall gauge of this move can be increased whenever the Satsui No Hadou is being embraced.
• Tenma Gou Zankuu (天魔豪斬空, tenma gō zankū^?, "Heavenly Demon Surge Air Destroyer") – An amalgamation of the Messatsu Gou Hadou and the Zankuu Hadouken. The user does the same routine as with the Messatsu Gou Hadou, but this time, does everything in the air. While it is a more difficult technique to master, the results are devastating.
• Denjin Hadouken (電刃波動拳, denjin hadōken^?, "Electromagnetic Surge Fist") – A Hadouken backed by the power of a Japanese thunder god. The user utilizes all of their will and calls for the god's backing. The practitioner then charges ki onto their palms and when fully charged, the user thrusts foward both palms to generate a thunder-powered surge shock that will dizzy an opponent if well-placed. This is the most deceptive Hadouken of all the "good-natured" ones. Ryu, the originator of this Hadouken, took extra care to ensure that this technique would not result in death regardless of the situation.
• Metsu Hadouken (滅波動拳, metsu hadōken^?, "Destructive Surge Fist") – The evil version of the Denjin Hadouken used by Evil Ryu in Capcom vs. SNK 2. The user utilizes the Satsui No Hadou within and generates a Hadouken of ultimate evil. This Hadouken electrocutes the victim. Evil Ryu, the progenitor of this Hadouken, created it to kill victims with all of his might.

Users (canon)

• Ryu
  • Hadouken - As time progressed, Ryu's version was the most outstanding of its practitioners, with superior speed and recovery time than his rivals.
  • Shakunetsu Hadouken - Initially, Ryu's version of this move required more preparation time and had slower recovery time, but by the time of Street Fighter III he can release this nearly instantaneously, although it requires some super meter to do so. It is orange in color and has the power to set his opponent aflame upon contact.
  • Shinkuu Hadouken - Strong, potent and simple, this move has seen little variation over the time Ryu has fought. The primary exception is in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, where instead of a single concentrated ball of energy, it became a large blue beam of energy as wide as Ryu is tall.
  • Denjin Hadouken - A Hadouken imbued with electrical energy that stuns the opponent and is inherently unblockable. The longer the button is held down, the more energy is charged up; this increases the number of hits and the likelihood that it will completely stun the opponent (the rate of charging can be sped up by swirling the control stick).

• Ken Masters
  • Hadouken - Ken's fireball is noticeably weaker than his rivals, having not changed in power at all through the story. It should be noted that in some appearances, his Hadouken dissipates. Also, when he is partnered with Ryu in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, the duo can perform the Double Shinkuu Hadouken.

• Akuma/Gouki
  • Gou Hadouken - Akuma's fireball is stronger than his rivals, but he has not focused on increasing the power of this move very much like Ryu has.
  • Shakunetsu Hadouken - Akuma charges the full extent of his ki into this version of the move, and it has more potential power than Ryu's. It also never requires super meter to throw.
  • Zankuu Hadouken - Depending on how much of himself he is fighting with, he can throw two air fireballs without much effort.
  • Messatsu Gou Hadou - Similar to Ryu's Shinkuu Hadouken, Akuma channels the considerable power of Satsui no Hadou he has into this move.
  • Tenma Gou Zankuu - An aerial version that propels Akuma backward with its force. The Marvel vs. Capcom series saw this move revised into a rapid fire aerial assault of multiple Zankuu Hadouken (at least 15 at a time), slowing his descent instead of propelling him upwards.

• Sakura Kasugano
  • Hadouken - Sakura, not having trained with a Hadou-style master, has nevertheless been able to imitate this move. Her version of the move is imperfect, however, with a capacity to only travel a certain distance before dissipating. The longer she charges it, the larger and more powerful it becomes but the less distance it travels. In the Marvel vs. Capcom series, Sakura uses the Hadouken as an anti-air special move, firing it up at an angle.
  • Shinkuu Hadouken - Like Ryu's version, Sakura's Shinkuu Hadouken is quick, straightforward and powerful, albeit considerably less than Ryu's. It slowly dissipates as it progresses. In the Marvel vs. Capcom series, it appears as a barrage of projectiles used at the same angle as her normal Hadouken; however, her "suntanned" incarnation utilizes the same concentrated beam of energy as Ryu.

Other users

• The Hadouken has been seen several times in the Mega Man X series. It was a hidden Easter egg ability in the first game (Mega Man X) and its remake (Mega Man Maverick Hunter X). In Mega Man X4, Magma Dragoon uses the move (the copy of Magma Dragoon also uses the move in Mega Man X5). It was also available to the player in the Mega Man Xtreme games. The Tail Clan, a group of secret bosses in MegaMan X Command Mission, use a move called "Annihilator Hadouken".
• Dan Hibiki, another Street Fighter character, uses a variation of the Hadouken called the Gadouken. However, unlike the regular Hadouken, Dan's version is fired from a standing position using only one hand and has pathetically short range, often travelling only one or two virtual feet before completely dissipating. Dan has also developed a more powerful version of the move called the Shinkuu Gadouken. It is more powerful and has better range than the regular Gadouken, but pales in comparison to other moves of its type such as the Shinkuu Hadouken. The Gadouken's impact is said to feel like a normal slap to the face.
• Black Mage of the webcomic 8-Bit Theater also uses the move, although it looks more like the Shinkuu Hadouken as seen in the Marvel vs. Capcom games, is powered up very differently, and is spelled Hadoken (no "u", no macron over the "o"). Black Mage charges and fires it more like a Kamehameha wave from Dragon Ball Z. According to Black Mage, his Hadoken attack is powered by love. That is to say, it warps some of the love in the universe into a destructive beam when it is invoked (apparently, the divorce rate rises with each shot).^[1] Also, he can also only use it once every day. There are several parody Hadoken moves in the comic, one of them being "Fighterdoken" (throwing his ally Fighter into a pack of monsters; Fighter later performs what he terms "me-doken" by throwing himself at an enemy), and "boatdoken", which Black Mage uses to rocket-propel the ship the party is traveling on.
• In the Worms series, the "Dragon Ball" is an attack available to the worms, which is basically a Hadouken attack. The worms can also perform a "Fire Punch", their variant of the Shoryuken. When preparing to perform either attack, a worm will put on a red headband like Ryu's.
• Cyber Hero, from Capcom's Gotcha Force, is able to perform a Hadouken as well, though it is referred to as "Hero Shot". He is also able to perform the Marvel vs. variation, though it is called the Hero Beam. He is also able to perform a forward-bearing variation of the Shinkuu Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku, though it is called the "Hero Spin".
• Sean, the new Ansatsuken practitioner in Street Fighter III, also had a variation of Hadouken-type concentrated projectile called "Hadou Burst". However, its usage is only possible by selecting it as his Super Art.
• One of the special PoW's in the Metal Slug series called Ichimonji Hyakutarō, once rescued, will follow the player character and will use a hadoken-like homing fireball attack to assist. According to his Metal Slug 2 concept art, he gained his ability while experimenting with electromagnetic currents in the tank weaponry.
• In SNK's Art of Fighting trilogy (and in the later King of Fighters series), characters such as Ryo, Yuri, and Takuma of the Sakazaki family, as well as Robert Garcia (friend of Takuma), and Marco Rodriguez (who was tutored by Ryo), are able to perform Hadoken-like moves called "Kououken" (虎煌拳, kōōken^?, "Tiger Flame Punch", variably romanized "Ko-ohken", "Kou'oken", etc.) which are obtained by mastering the art of Kyokugenryu Karate. It is thrown one-handed.
• In the Killer Instinct series, Jago peforms his own Hadoken-style projectile attack, the "Endokuken", but like Dan Hibiki, he throws it with one hand. His Red Endokuken is analogous to Ryu's Shakunetsu Hadouken, as well as his Super Endokuken which is analogous to Ryu's Shinkuu Hadouken.
• Rogue can absorb the skill from Ryu and Akuma in crossover games such as X-Men vs. Street Fighter.
• Regal Bryant of Tales of Symphonia uses the Hadouken to free himself and the other party members from a jail cell.
• Axel Manning of the animated series A.T.O.M. perfoms a move called Jo-Lan Choubatsu which has the same stances as a Hadouken. A small sphere is sometimes seen when he performs it.
• In the upcoming game: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the characters will be able to throw a "Force Hadouken".
• Some Pokémon, most notably Lucario, can use the move Aura Sphere, which in japanese, is Hadouken (はどうけン, ^?).
• One of the Pyro class's taunts in Team Fortress 2 is to fire a Hadoken.
• Sabin Rene Figaro of Final Fantasy VI has a blitz called Aura Bolt that has the same controls and effects as a Hadouken.

Street Fighter II V (anime)

The Hadouken is described as being released from the energy of one's surroundings (specifically of other living things nearby), and flows from the sixth Chaktra called "Swadithtanaa" (or "Tanda of the Abdomen").

Spelling

Spelling differs in game instruction manuals from "Hadouken", "Hado ken", and "Hado-ken". For example, the PAL version of Street Fighter EX Plus α manual uses the spelling "Hado-ken". "Hadouken" is the most widely used on the Internet (due to the general inconvenience of using special characters, as in "Hadōken", "Hadôken", etc.). Refer to "Romanization of Japanese".

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• In most Street Fighter games, if one looks closely at the Hadouken sprite animation, a pair of disembodied hands in the Hadouken firing position can be clearly seen within the projectile.
• In a recent episode of Robot Chicken, Ryu is featured using the Hadouken Fireball on a business man who had failed to deliver a marketing proposal on time.

References

1. ^ 8-bit Chronicles 3 of 3. 8-bit Theatre (November 27th, 2004).

See also

• Combo (fighting)
• Turtle (game term)
• Street Fighter
• Shoryuken
• Signature move
• Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku

Street Fighter and related characters
Characters sorted by game they first appeared in
Street Fighter	Adon – Birdie - Geki - Mike - Joe - Lee - Eagle – Gen – Ken – Retsu - Ryu – Sagat
Street Fighter II series	Akuma – Balrog – Cammy – Blanka – Chun-Li – Dee Jay – Dhalsim – E. Honda – Fei Long – Guile – M. Bison – T. Hawk – Vega – Zangief
Street Fighter Alpha series	Charlie – Dan – Juni and Juli – Karin – Ingrid – R. Mika – Rose – Sakura
Street Fighter III series	Alex – Dudley – Elena – Gill – Ibuki – Makoto – Necro – Oro – Q – Remy – Sean – Twelve – Urien – Yang – Yun
No game appearances	Gouken – Goutetsu
Final Fight series characters	Belger – Carlos – Cody – Dean – Guy – Hugo – Kyle – Lucia – Maki – Mike Haggar – Poison – Rolento – Sodom
Others	Captain Commando – Saturday Night Slam Masters characters
Non-canon Street Fighter characters	Blade – Kevin Striker – Sawada – Sheng Long – List of Street Fighter EX characters

Street Fighter series

Street Fighter · Street Fighter II · Super Street Fighter II · Street Fighter Alpha · Street Fighter EX · Street Fighter III · Street Fighter IV SNK vs. Capcom series · Marvel vs. Capcom series

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