Matchup Summary (Win Condition and Game Plan)
Palutena uses fair, bair, nair, Explosive Flame, and Autoreticle to break up Ryu’s approach angles, and if Ryu only jumps high or dashes forward, she can extend that straight into juggle pressure. The longer the fight stays at that outer range, the worse the movement gap feels for Ryu.
But Palutena is much less comfortable taking repeated close-range guesses. Use Hadoken to pin down her positioning, walk-shield to make fair, bair, and projectiles come out first, then enter with down tilt, nair, or grab and immediately drive her toward the corner after the first touch.
The frame table shows that jab 1, rapid jab finisher, forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, every smash attack, nair, up air, down air, and neutral B are all punishable with Up B (6f), OOS Nair (7f), Up Smash (9f), and Grab (10f). Simply denying dash attack, nair, and neutral B on block already slows down a large part of Palutena’s entry and juggling flow.
By contrast, fair, bair, and side B are mostly safe in place. Instead of swinging and letting her reset, track the landing or warp destination, keep squeezing stage, and finish stocks through Shoryuken range, ledge back air, and anti-air up tilt.
Full Move Frame Quick Reference
| Opponent Move | Startup | On Shield | Ryu OOS Candidate Moves | Barely Missed Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jab 1 | 8 | -12 |
| |
| Rapid Jab | 4/7/10… | — | ||
| Rapid Jab Finisher | 3 | -32 |
| |
| Forward Tilt | 14/24 | -28 |
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| Up Tilt | 8… | -27 |
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| Down Tilt | 14 | -17 |
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| Dash Attack | 6 | -23/-21 |
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| Forward Smash | 18 | -34/-36 |
| |
| Up Smash | 18 | -34/-37 |
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| Down Smash | 17 | -41/-42 |
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| Neutral Air | 5… | -10/-9 |
|
|
| Forward Air | 9 | -5 |
|
|
| Back Air | 8 | -5 |
|
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| Up Air | 10… | -12/-11 |
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| Down Air | 10 | -7 |
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| Neutral B | 24/30/36 | -24 |
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| Side B | 28/33/38/43/48/53/57 | -2 |
| |
| Up B | ** | — | ||
| Down B | 7 (Start of Counter/Reflect) | — | ||
| Grab | 7 | — | ||
| Dash Grab | 10 | — | ||
| Pivot Grab | 11 | — |
Win Condition Checklist
- Use Hadoken and walk-shield to stabilize your approach angle, make fair, bair, Explosive Flame, and Autoreticle appear first, then enter with down tilt, nair, or grab.
- After blocking jab 1, rapid jab finisher, forward tilt, up tilt, down tilt, dash attack, any smash attack, nair, up air, down air, or neutral B, punish immediately with Up B (6f), OOS Nair (7f), Up Smash (9f), or Grab (10f).
- After blocking fair, bair, or side B, do not force an instant answer. Cover the landing, pullback step, or warp landing with walk-forward pressure and anti-airs so the second touch takes stage.
- Once you get in, do not let Palutena drift back to center for free. Use down tilt starters and forward movement to push her to ledge, then challenge jump, normal getup, and hold-shield with back air, up tilt, and Up B.
- Prioritize kills through punish into Shoryuken range, ledge pressure, and anti-air up tilt instead of gambling on raw center-stage swings.
Actions to Avoid
- Repeatedly approaching only with high jumps or forward dashes and getting checked by fair, bair, nair, up air, or Explosive Flame.
- Trying to shield punish even fair, bair, and side B every time, whiffing an option that cannot reach, and letting Palutena reset to long range again.
- Blocking dash attack, nair, neutral B, or grounded pokes but hesitating on the punish and giving Palutena time to rebuild spacing and juggling.
- Overchasing offstage, losing stage control to warp landing mix, and throwing away your cleaner win conditions at ledge and in Shoryuken range.