How Can I Fight a Ryu?

[Ninbat]

So I haven't bought the Ryu DLC yet, but he looks like a fun character. Not somebody I would be good at, but fun to play as. I've run across a total of two players using Ryu while fighting in For Glory matches. The first time I was playing as Peach, and at first I played very defensively, as it seemed Ryu was a combo character. However, after getting my butt handed to me and getting one stock behind, I switched to the offense and snagged the victory. The same happened while playing Lucina, where I tried to play offensively. I feel like these were do to how new Ryu was, so few people know how to properly play him. Can anyone here with more knowledge of Ryu give me advice, ways to play defensively, and more information on how to play against Ryu? I'm sure anyone passing by this forum would also love to hear some strats.

 

[ArccJPO]

He is so new. Pretty hard to call a strat against it. The best advice I can give is Range and Multi-hit skills. As a fighter, Ryu needs to get really close to actually do something. Keeping him at bay decreases drastically what Ryu can do. A multi-hit skill (like Ness's PK Fire, Fox/Falco/Falcon/Little Mac/etc jab combo) will decrease the oportunity to use focus attack, leaving Ryu with basically 3 skills, instead of 4, as the retaliation may come at a very high price for him to simply make regular use of FA.

 

[AGreatProcrastinator]

I've got a few of really broad nuggets from my experience fighting and playing Ryu. Maybe they can be of some use:

-On average Ryu's reach makes WFT look like Dhalsim. Keep him at a distance so he can't hit you with his optimal combo starters. You'll have to watch out for Hadokens of course, and his spinny kick could also catch you, so play somewhat safe.
-He recovers pretty predictably, so try getting him off stage and gimping him.
-If the Ryu you're fighting is focus attack happy, either spam projectiles, rush him down as fast as possible, attack him from above or grab him. He can only eat one hit, so don't spam too many single hit smash attacks. Characters who can attack in quick succession are optimal (In your case Lucina's forward special and Peach's down air are examples).
-His second forward tilt wrecks shields, so don't rely too much on shielding if you want to be defensive.

If you want to get more specific advice, try telling us what exactly about Ryu is giving you trouble (if you don't want to buy him try recording your Ryu fights). I'd imagine Peach and Lucina could be a real pain if you keep your distance and are persistent. I personally got absolutely wrecked by Ness, Lucas and Rosalina worst than any other character; range seems to be Ryu's biggest weakness.