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. The practitioner thrusts his or her palms forward, sending a surge of spirit energy (or ki) flying towards the opponent. 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). It is referred to colloquially as the "Fireball", even though most versions of the Hadouken do not involve the use of fire.
The Hadouken is the archetypal projectile attack in 2D fighting games. Almost all fighting games of the sprite-based era used projectile special moves, and while the actual type of projectile launched varies from game to game and character to character, the execution and behavior of these attacks are almost always identical to the Hadouken. These moves are sometimes informally referred to as a Hadouken or fireball, especially if the equivalent directions and buttons are used to perform it. The move is used to control the horizontal playing area, and often used to force an opposing character to jump towards the player, since most characters using the Hadouken can also use the Shoryuken as a follow up.
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. As a general rule in Street Fighter and similar games, if two standard Hadouken (or any other type of fired projectile) meet, they will cancel each other out.
Hadouken (波動拳, hadōken, "Surge Fist") – The staple surge fist in which a character's willpower is utilized to focus ki into and through 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. The character will usually be immobilised for a short time after performing this move, leaving them vulnerable to counterattack.
Shakunetsu Hadouken (灼熱波動拳, shakunetsu hadōken, "Scorching Surge Fist") – A Hadouken which is imbued with the power of fire. Executed by Akuma, anyone touching this Hadouken risks immolation and will be knocked down; when performed by Ryu however, the flames will stun the victim, but not knock them down.
Shinkuu Hadouken (真空波動拳, shinkū hadōken, "Vacuum Surge Fist") – A Super Combo version of the Hadouken. When executed, the Shin Hadouken can hit the opponent multiple times and destroy other projectiles launched by the opponent. In the Marvel vs Capcom series, the Shin Hadouken takes the form of a huge energy beam launched from the character's hands.
Gou Hadouken (豪波動拳, gō hadōken, "Great Surge Fist") – A slightly more powerful Hadouken used by Akuma. Some versions can hit multiple times.
Zankuu Hadouken (斬空波動拳, zankū hadōken, "Air-cutting Surge Fist") – This is an air fireball used by Akuma, which travels diagonally down and towards the opponent. Some versions of the Akuma character can launch two Zankuu Hadouken at the same time, with both travelling at different angles towards the arena floor.
Messatsu Gou Hadou (滅殺豪波動, messatsu gō hadō, "Annihilating Hard Surge") – This is a version of Gou Hadouken used as a Super Combo by Akuma, and is somewhat similar to the Shin Hadouken.
Tenma Gou Zankuu (天魔豪斬空, tenma gō zankū, "Demonic Hard Air-cutter") – Akuma uses this Super Combo to throw a barrage of mid air projectiles at his opponent, crushing them.
Denjin Hadouken (電刃波動拳, denjin hadōken, "Thunder Blade Surge Fist") – A Hadouken backed by the power of a Japanese thunder god. In practice, the move begins in a similar way to the Shin Hadouken. The player can then hold down the punch button and rotate the joystick to charge the move to its full strength (leaving them vulnerable). The move cannot be blocked and at full strength, will instantly dizzy the opponent while dealing heavy damage.
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. This Hadouken electrocutes the victim. It behaves as a more powerful Shin Hadouken.
Hadouken - As the Street Fighter series progressed, Ryu's Hadouken was given more focus than other characters, traveling faster and inflicting more damage.
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).
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 at long range. Also, when he is partnered with Ryu in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, the duo can perform the Double Shinkuu Hadouken.
Gou Hadouken - Akuma's fireball is stronger than his rival's, 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, but suffers a little lag as Akuma enters his heavy stance to gather energy for the move.
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.
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.
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 traveling 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 (with neither a "u", nor a macron over the "o"). Black Mage charges and fires it more like a Kamehameha wave from Dragon Ball Z, or a Shinkuu Hadouken. According to Black Mage, his Hadoken attack is powered by siphoning love out of the universe. 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. At one point, Red Mage suggests that Black Mage perform a "Hado-Jump" to get the Light Warriors back to their own continent. He says that to preform a Hado-Jump, one simply casts a Hadoken on the ground at a certain angle, and then use the resulting explosion to propel them in the direction of a desired destination. Red Mage's term for the technique, Unda Pugneus, is roughly Latin for "Surge Fist".
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. When speaking in English in most games the worms also yell "Hadouken" or "Shoryuken" as they are attacking.
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".
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.
Some Pokémon, most notably Lucario, can use the move Aura Sphere, which in Japanese, is Hadouken (はどうけん).
Guy, a Street Fighter Alpha crossover character from Capcom's Final Fight series, projects a fireball like a Hadouken in Final Fight 3, even using the same button combination as Ryu's.
In the computer game Team Fortress 2 the Pyro class can perform a Hadouken as a taunt whilst his shotgun or flare gun is selected. The taunt is an instant kill and the range is limited to just beyond the Pyro's reach.
In Limited Edition PC fighting game Lucky Star Chronicle from PS2 Lucky Star, Konata able transforms into Super Saiyan and is able to use the Kamehameha Wave. She is also able to use the Hadouken in normal form.
In Looking For Group, Richard uses Hadouken to attempt to escape the Plane of Suck.
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".
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 an 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.
In the earlier releases of Street Fighter II, sometimes a red Hadouken could randomly be thrown as a pallette glitch. In later games the red Hadouken became an actual technique, now called Shakunetsu Hadouken.
In Looking for Group, Richard performs a Hadouken in an attempt to break free from his other-dimensional prison, The Plains of Suck
