Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki
Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters character
Ryo Sakazaki artwork by Tomohiro Nakata
First game	Art of Fighting (1992)
Created by	Hiroshi Matsumoto, Takashi Nishiyama
Designed by	Hiroaki Hashimoto ("Mr. Karate")
Voiced by	English Alden Crews (AOF anime) Japanese Masaki Usui (AOF – Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, KOF XIII) Tetsuya Bessho (AOF anime) Akira Kamiya (Dengeki Bunko drama CD) Masayoshi Kozaki (KOF XII) Daiki Takakura (KOF XIV onwards) Subaru Kimura (KOF for Girls)
In-universe information
Fighting style	Kyokugenryu Karate
Family	Takuma Sakazaki (father) Yuri Sakazaki (sister)
Origin	Japan
Nationality	Japanese-American

Ryo Sakazaki (Japanese: リョウ・サカザキ, Hepburn: Ryō Sakazaki, sometimes written as 坂崎 亮, Sakazaki Ryō) is a video game character developed for the 1992 fighting game Art of Fighting from SNK. His name is most often written in kana, although in some games, kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a skilled martial artist who practices his family's fighting style, Kyokugenryu Karate (極限流空手, lit. "Utmost' Limit Style Empty Hand"), taught by his father Takuma before going missing. After his younger sister Yuri goes missing, Ryo and his best friend Robert Garcia go to Southtown to find Yuri facing several enemies across the game. While Art of Fighting follows Ryo's journey as a warrior to protect those he loves, he is also a regular character in the crossover series The King of Fighters, in which he participates in fighting tournaments to promote the Kyokugenryu Karate. He also appears in other SNK games such as Buriki One, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and KOF: Maximum Impact 2 under the alias of "Mr. Karate" (Mr.カラテ, Misutā Karate) inspired by his father Takuma. Additionally, he stars in manhua adaptations of several series and appears in the anime original video animation version of Art of Fighting.

SNK developers Hiroshi Matsumoto and Takashi Nishiyama created Ryo as an homage to the Street Fighter characters as the staff who produced the first game in the franchise left Capcom to join SNK to produce other games. Ryo's inclusion in The King of Fighters series was decided immediately by the staff as SNK wanted to employ characters from other series they created so they could fight in crossover games. SNK artist Hiroaki Hashimoto was responsible for his alter-ego Mr. Karate's design as he wanted to create a new design distinctly different from the original. Multiple voice actors have provided their talent during Ryo's different appearances.

Ryo has been well-received by gamers; his character has been highly ranked in several popularity polls conducted by journals. Video game publications have praised and criticized Ryo's character. Although Ryo has been criticized for his similarities to the Street Fighter video games' characters, several reviewers have praised his development in several games from SNK such as his introduction in Fatal Fury Special and The King of Fighters as one of the first crossover characters. His older Mr. Karate alter-ego was also praised for his resdesign. Ryo served as a model for the development of Dan Hibiki, a joke character in the Street Fighter series though scholars noted similarities are intentional as a result of being inspired by the same real karate martial artists.

Creation

Patrick Swayze served as the model for Ryo.

Ryo Sakazaki was created by Hiroshi Matsumoto and Takashi Nishiyama as an homage to the Capcom character Ryu because during the release of the game, some members from the original Street Fighter video game from Capcom moved to SNK. His character inspired game designer Nobuyuki Kuroki to join SNK and oversee his animations in the third game of the series. He was modeled after American actor Patrick Swayze. Artist Shinkiro has said he had no problems with designing Ryo because he himself had not been rich. Designing Robert Garcia, who was rich, caused him "trouble". SNK staff member Youichiro Soeda said that Ryo and Robert's debut was unique to other games based on the company because the story did not focus on fighting tournaments but instead on the duo's quest to save Yuri Sakazaki. Matsumoto has stated that he felt he was appealing to people who did not usually play games by showing the story in the game instead of just media such as magazines and comics. Ryo's rivalry with Kasumi Todoh in Art of Fighting 3 was created as a parallel to Art of Fighting where as both fighters are looking for their relatives.

In the planning stage of Fatal Fury Special, another SNK fighting game, Hattori Hanzo of World Heroes was being considered as a hidden boss. However, Hanzo was a character developed by another company. Even though ADK was a subsidiary, the staff decided instead to place Ryo as a hidden character; they found him more interesting as a guest character. Ryo's addition to Fatal Fury: Special was done with the approval of Hiroshi Matsumoto. In some games, Ryo goes by the nickname of "Mr. Karate". Falcoon says this was a reference to how Ryo managed to defeat his father Takuma Sakazaki and thus became worthy of that title.

Writer Akihiko Ureshino originally aimed to give Ryo a bigger role in the Fatal Fury series where he would fight a revived Geese Howard but was rejected by Shinseisha. The concept would have been Geese reviving. Ryo has aged normally in line with the flow of time from the Art of Fighting to the Fatal Fury era, meaning he has become an old man in his late 30s. Now that Ryo knows his time is up, he comes down from the mountain to settle things once and for all with Geese, whom he has only fought once before. As Terry is about to head to Geese Tower, Ryo appears, defeats him, and heads off to Geese himself. Ureshino wrote Ryo's conflict here in the character story for the second Mr. Karate in Maximum Impact, so he had a punchline in his mind, but even so, he cannot imagine Ryo getting married like everyone else and starting a peaceful family. Ureshino wants Ryo to live a brutal life filled with fighting.

Portrayal

According to Falcoon, Ryo is an embodiment of fortitude and vigor that shines even when he is compared to other fighters. In several games, the Kyokugen style is depicted as a struggling family business, funded almost entirely by prize money earned from KOF and Robert's vast wealth. Though Falcoon said that Ryo's characterization between Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters is different, he was unable to explain it. By the time of Garou: Mark of the Wolves about a quarter century after the era of Art of Fighting Ryo is still in his position as the head of Kyokugen-ryu karate, and he still retreats to the mountains to train. For this, SNK drew an homage to the 1973 martial arts film Enter the Dragon starring the Kyokygen-ryu fighters with Ryo being depicted with silver hair. However, even if Ryo is the strongest karateka in Kyokugen-ryu, Ureshino does not think Ryo himself is the type to be obsessed with being the strongest. His goal is not to reach the goal of being the strongest, but rather he is the type who wants to keep getting stronger, even if it is just a little at a time. As a result, Ureshino describes Ryo as a man who will find it difficult in modern society and never marry his love interest King.

The developers added that The King of Fighters '94 was created with the idea of having Ryo fighting against Terry Bogard, the lead character of the Fatal Fury series. By 1997, when KOF was at its peak with the Orochi story arc, new works in the Art of Fighting series had already stopped being released. As a result, he recalls fans believing Ryo and Yuri were original KOF characters. They tend to be unable to get involved in the main story and end up in comical roles, but Ryo and the others are more serious characters. For this reason, Ureshino thinks many fans do not want to accept Ryo and the others in KOF. In regards to the masked Mr. Karate from the spin-off Maximum Impact 2, Ureshino decided to give him the age of 49, making him the oldest character of the spin-off. Ureshino was trying to imagine Ryo Sakazaki, the head of Kyokugenryu Karate, who appears only by name in the story by Marco Rodriguez in Garou when writing Maximum Impact 2. So, just as Terry grew older and became "Wild Wolf", Ryo also grew older and became "Karate". He made him 49 years old because there is a gap of about 14 years between the original Ryo and Terry—in other words, between the world of Fatal Fury and the world of Art of Fighting. He is 14 years older than Wild Wolf, who is equivalent to 35 years old, so he is 49 years old. Takuma was around this age when he called himself Mr. Karate, so in that sense, he gave him his father's age. He wrote carefully the game to explore the Southtown lore and the legacy of Geese Howard. For the Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, Ryo was featured in his older persona "Mr. Karate" but with the title "2nd" as SNK said they wanted to distinguish him in a comical way from Takuma.

Ryo was first voiced by Masaki Usui. Starting in 2016 with The King of Fighters XIV, Usui was replaced by Daiki Takakura who wanted to promote his character's appearances. Takakura believes his role as Ryo is important because the character appeared on multiple generations of consoles and he wanted to keep its traditional style despite having a different voice. For the otome game, The King of Fighters: For Girls, Subaru Kimura voices the character. Alden Crews voiced Ryo in the English dub of the anime special.

Designs

SNK artist Hiroaki Hashimoto redesigned Ryo as an older fighter in several spin-off games often called Mr. Karate.

Ryo's appearance changes among games. He is normally blonde, inherited from his mother. In the anime version of Art of Fighting, his hair is changed from blonde to black. He wears a vermilion or orange gi. The color is chosen because it is the color his mother first tailored for him. The orange gi is a keepsake from his mother to motivate himself. Beneath the orange gi, he has worn a black shirt but this was omitted for the two Art of Fighting sequels. He keeps wearing his original Art of Fighting design in both Fatal Fury Special and all The King of Fighters games.

Ryo's redesign in his older persona was created by SNK artist Hiroaki Hashimoto who oversaw the character designs in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and Buriki One as he disliked the original orange gi and wanted to mix it more with black colors. Hiroaki did this with his superiors' approval. The biggest change was Ryo's clothes, which now featured more black and giving him more facial hair symbolizing his older age. When it was decided that Ryo would be in charge of karate at Tinplate during Buriki One, Hiroaki saw himself as a rubbish rookie who had only been with the SNK, kept coming up with ideas to change the design, like him look cooler with a beard and give him a black uniform. He was worried that the Kokouken would not fly, so Hiroaki wanted to change the color of the uniform, but In retrospect, Hiroaki believes he made the right choice with black as it makes Ryo's face stand out. Changing the design of a popular character that represents SNK came across as risky change but Hiroaki's seniors gave him freedom with the exception that the design should look cool. He is specifically written to be in his 32 in Buriki One. It was pointed out that there was a discrepancy between his age calculated backwards from his date of birth published in Art of Fighting, but the answer was that he was deliberately set at 32 years old because "he is physically and mentally accomplished as a fighter".

His normal costume for the Maximum Impact series is the same as the martial arts uniform he has always worn in Art of Fighting, The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury Special. The design is the same, but there is a change of mood concerning his Color F. It is reminiscent of Haohmaru in Samurai Shodown. Regarding his Color G~H, his refined sense is shown through his braided hat, ruler, and mountain ascetic style. For the "Mr. Karate" incarnation of Ryo, his Normal has been given a tengu mask, which is reminiscent of his father Takuma. With his "Another" incarnation there is a stylish change of clothing based on his Wild Ambition look. The color combination of his shirt is standard, but there is also a version just like his "Color E" with a design on his back. Color G appears as a style that brings to mind the clothing of the strong tiger Robert. In the 2016 game The King of Fighters XIV a costume depicting Ryo's appearance in Wild Ambition was originally supposed to appear as one of the DLC alternate costumes but was debunked.

Fighting style

Ryo's fighting style is known as the Kyokugenryu Karate which he practises with Robert and his family. He earned the nickname, "The Invincible Dragon" (無敵の龍, Muteki no Ryu) because of his remarkable use of his fighting style. Ryo's basic move is the projectile Ko-Ou Ken (虎こ煌拳おうけん, lit. "Tiger Spark/Gleam Fist"). In the Art of Fighting series, only the first one was blue, and after that it was orange. On the other hand, in the KOF series, it was orange up until KOF'95, but from KOF'96 it changed to blue, and the "Ko-Ko-Ken" technique no longer flew, and "Ryo" itself changed drastically. For now, the most impressive one for Professor Neo Geo was probably the "Ko-Ko-Ken" from "Fatal Fury Special". SNK writer Akihiko Ureshino notes Ryo is not depicted as having had any outstanding talent since childhood, and the techniques he uses are orthodox, with few flashy special moves aside from the multiple combo Ryuko Ranbu (龍虎乱舞, lit. "Dragon & Tiger Wild Dance") and Desperation move, Haoh Shoko Ken (覇王はおう翔吼しょうこう拳けん, lit. "Supreme King Soaring Howl Fist"), which is a big projectile. Haoh Shoko Ken was originally supposed to be called "Haoh-Ken Death Blow" overseas but it was changed due to its length. For The King of Fighters '94, along with Robert, developers of the game had problems balancing Ryo with the other characters from the series without removing any of his special moves. However, Ryo was said to be one of the game's strongest characters. Ryo's movements were changed across the Art of Fighting series. In the third game, SNK wanted to make his actions look more realistic when performing a technique.

Ever since The King of Fighters '96, Ryo was given a new stance which the staff referred to as neutral since they did not find it superior or inferior to the original one. The shape and colors of his projectile technique, "Torakuken", were altered across The King of Fighters. The shock wave of the tongue is the Ko-Ou Ken of Ryukou. In Buriki One, Ryo's gameplay was developed to give a sense of realism alongside the rest of the cast to the point he cannot perform projectiles. Ryo from Buriki One has the still the kicking move Hien Shippukyaku (飛燕疾風脚, lit. "Flying Swallow Hurricane Leg"), the punch Kokouken, and Ryuuko Ranbu, but he uses them in his own unique way, such as derivatively performing the move after getting into a stance in order to fit the realistic setting. In his other appearances as Mr. Karate, Ryo uses both his original moves as well as Takuma's. There are two versionn of Ryuko Ranbu, which are either innovative or dertivative from The King of Fighters. For The King of Fighters XIII, the team wanted to distance Ryo's style from those of Robert Garcia and Takuma Sakazaki since both employ the same techniques such as the Haohshokohken, a projectile move. Ryo's moves were designed to show his strength. His moves leave him open, but the EX version of Tiger Fist does not leave him as open and it allows for easier combos. His "Neo Max" move, the strongest type of move in the game, has the image of being One Blow Guaranteed Kill (一撃必殺, Ichigeki Hissatsu), so his moves were finalized without difficulty. Director Kei Yamamoto mentions in a blog about how he favors it.

Appearances

In video games

In the first Art of Fighting, Ryo's sister, Yuri, is kidnapped by Mr. Big, a local criminal mastermind. With the help of his best friend, Robert Garcia, Ryo manages to confront Mr. Big, leading him to a karate dojo where a man challenges the two to a fight. When Ryo prevails, Yuri appears, telling Ryo to stop, for Mr. Karate is their father. In the second game, Art of Fighting 2, Takuma reveals that the mafia overlord Geese Howard turned him into the assassin Mr. Karate. With the Sakazaki family reunited, they, along with Robert, are focused on exacting their revenge on Geese and providing justice to all the others who were wronged by him. While entering into Geese's tournament, The King of Fighters, Ryo defeats Geese and becomes the first champion of the KOF tournament. However, Geese manages to escape with help from his assistants before Ryo can finish him. In Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior, Ryo acts as a supporting character to Robert, where the game is more focused as he and Yuri travel around the world to find their missing friend and ultimately approve of their apparent relationship in his ending. Ryo reprises his role from Art of Fighting in a slot machine game.

Ryo also appears as a guest character in Fatal Fury Special, an updated version of Fatal Fury 2. He appears as a hidden opponent at the end of the single-player mode and is playable in the home versions. In the PlayStation version of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, Ryo uses the title of "Mr. Karate", as an aged and more powerful Ryo. As a playable character, his ending involves him facing protagonist Terry Bogard after defeating Geese. Although he has appeared in no other unrelated games, he is often referenced indirectly in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, he has his own student, Khushnood Butt.

Ryo is a member of the Art of Fighting Team in The King of Fighters series in his young form from Art of Fighting. Despite multiple changes in the team, Ryo remains a core member of the team including in games without storylines like The King of Fighters 2002 and The King of Fighters Neowave, and The King of Fighters '98. Across the series, Ryo develops a close friendship with former foe, Muay Thai fighter King which his family supports. The spin-offs King of Fighters R-1 and King of Fighters R-2 feature Ryo as part of the South Town Team alongside Terry Bogard and Kim Kaphwan. In the two games for the Game Boy Advance titled EX: Neo Blood and EX2, King takes Robert's place on the Art of Fighting Team in the former, and Yuri in the latter. He also appears in the spin-off The King of Fighters Kyo, in which he helps the main character Kyo Kusanagi find his girlfriend Yuki. The spin-off games KOF: Maximum Impact and Maximum Impact 2 also feature Ryo as a playable character searching to promote his dojo, with the latter also featuring his "Mr. Karate" version as a hidden character who was given a side-story where he trains with Terry Bogard due to both having confronted Geese Howard in the past. He is present in the mobile-phone game The King of Fighters All Star and Kimi wa Hero with the latter as his older "Mr. Karate" persona. and in his regular persona in the otome game King of Fighters for Girls. The KOF Chronicles mobile game features Ryo in a new outfit taken from a KOF XIII cinematic sequence.

Ryo is also a central character in the 1999 Buriki One, a game for the Hyper Neo Geo 64. In this game, he appears in his older persona and fights in a grappling tournament, employing regular karate as his fighting style. He appears as the sub-boss in the single-player mode. Fighters from across the world gather at the Tokyo Dome to compete in the World Grapple Tournament. Each contender has their own fighting discipline to prove which martial art conquers all, the older Ryo uses to prove the worth of his Karate techniques. In his ending, Ryo is asked by the media about his personal life which he answers happily. In NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, Ryo goes by the name "2nd Mr. Karate" (二代目Mr.カラテ, Nidaime Misutā Karate), while his look is the one used for Buriki One but disappears from society to continue training when ending the story rather than staying in the city. He is also playable in The Rhythm Of Fighters, and The King of Fighters Online. He once again wears this outfit in The King of Fighters '98 Unlimited Match Online. He also stars in the crossover video games SNK vs. Capcom in his classic look. Despite not being playable in SNK Gals' Fighters, he appears in the ending Yuri, as well as SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. His appearance serves as a Mii costume for Nintendo's fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and he also appears in the King Of Fighters Stadium stage as a cameo as well as a Spirit.

In other media

Ryo appears in the anime OVA version of Art of Fighting from 1993. While looking for a cat, Ryo and Robert witness a murder related to a stolen diamond. After fighting the murdering mobsters, they discover that the top mobster, Mr. Big, has kidnapped Ryo's sister to exchange her for the diamond which he believes to be in the possession of the protagonists. He is voiced by Tetsuya Besho in the Japanese version, and by Alden Crews in the English adaptation. Two mangas based on the Art of Fighting games also follow Ryo and Robert's journey. Ryo also appears in the manhua adaptations from The King of Fighters series, which tells how Ryo participates in the fighting tournaments. Manga and novels based on KOF also feature Ryo but in a smaller role. In the CGI animated series, The King of Fighters: Destiny, Ryo reprises his role from The King of Fighters '94 where they meet and befriend the Esaka Team. During the tournament, Ryo and Robert are possessed by the power of the creature Orochi but are saved by the Esaka members. There is also an episode that shows Ryo saving Yuri from the King's forces based on the first Art of Fighting game. He also appears in the manga The King of Fighters: A New Beginning where he faces and defeats newcomer Shun'ei.

Reception and cultural impact

This Art of Fighting scene involving Ryo became an internet meme that influenced marketing and gaming in general.

As part of an official partnership between SNK and Akiba, Ryo has appeared on an Akiba beer bottle label for one of their craft beers alongside other characters from Art of Fighting 3 and Fatal Fury 3. In a cutscene from the first Art of Fighting game, Ryo says "I have no choice but to use the Haoh Shokoken" (覇王翔吼拳を使わざるを得ない, Haōshōken o tsukawazaruoenai) while he is driving a bike in his fighting clothes. According to PR Times, this became an internet meme based on how hilarious it is that a man is driving while wearing a karate gi. This became popular in some Internet communities, regardless of the excitement it generated among individuals. It then spread to the Westerns and has become one of the classic internet memes in the fighting game world, such as marketing for the visual novel The King of Fighters For Girls. Ryo's birthday was parodied by SNK using marketing that also includes his bike meme. ItMedia regarded it as one of Ryo's most iconic lines in all of his appearances. In a retrospective article, Dengeki Online looked forward to getting to this cutscene of Ryo, finding the concept artwork hilarious and making the playing original game worth playing. Merchandise such as clothing based on it was developed. SNK artist Falcoon was caught by surprise when a friend showed him wearing a shirt featuring such a meme.

SNK artist Nobuyuki Kuroki regarded Ryo as his favorite Art of Fighting character as he always used to play as him in the first game as a child. He considered his first story unique at that time. Meanwhile, Wesley Yin-Poole of Videogamer.com commented that Ryo and Robert are "two double-hard bastards": The two were compared by VentureBeat to the Street Fighter protagonists Ryu and Ken Masters due to physical similarities and moves; However, their morals and bonds were praised. IGN also compared him with Dragon Ball characters based on the type of fighting techniques as well as designs. The "Haohshokohken" was better received due to the impact it had on gaming Marvel vs. Capcom series and the strategy needed. Meristation noted that Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting are also deeply connected as Ryo faces Fatal Fury villain Geese before the events of the latter's original franchise. The release of the Art of Fighting pachinko release got called out by Outcaset for its divisive artstyle which made several writers compare Ryo with Kenshiro, the protagonist from the Fist of the North Star manga, as both had a similar notable built and exaggerated hairstyle. Meanwhile, AnimeOnDVD.com enjoyed the contrast between Ryo and Robert in the Art of Fighting original video animation, whereas Hard Core Gaming felt Ryo was unfaithful to the original game and "awful".

Critics enjoyed Ryo's inclusion in other fighting games produced by SNK. Bringing Ryo to Fatal Fury was considered a good idea by planner Yasuyuki Oda believing he fits the cast due to how the franchise borrowed Desperation Moves from Art of Fighting and how it revolutionized the idea of the crossover concept that would conceptualize The King of Fighters. However, as Ryo was announced at the Tokyo Game Show, Oda found such unforecasted reveal awkward; Fatal Fury Special had several issues at launch in every single console and unlocking Ryo as a hidden boss was too challenging. Within Japan, there was an urban legend to instead include SNK founder Eikichi Kawasaki as he was a skilled boxer during his youth and even had him defeat Geese Howard in Art of Fighting 2 in Ryo's place. This joke was one of the biggest myths in the Neo Geo era from the 1990s. Den of Geek regarded his debut in Fatal Fury Special as the "first real fighting game crossover" as people who also disliked the character were given the first chance to properly beat him up. However, Meristation said that while Ryo's debut in Fatal Fury Special was important, it made no sense in the canon story of the series. Nevertheless, it was a unique fact in fighting game history that led to the idea of crossovers and inspired the King of Fighters franchise. Although Ryo is not playable in the Fatal Fury sequel Garou: Mark of the Wolves, him being the teacher of the younger student, Khushnood Butt, was the subject of fame. His Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition design received a favorable response from Falcoon who wanted SNK to use Ryo more in their video games, most notably in crossover games. Gabriel Keene Von Koenig Soares notes that Ryo's inclusion in the Fatal Fury Special was iconic due to the iconic music SNK put in the game when Ryo appeared as a hidden boss.

The site Hobby Consolas noted that Ryo debuted in The King of Fighters '94 and surprised fans due to the crossover appeal. Den of Geek criticized Ryo's KOF characterization as one of the worst developed characters due to how he plays the role of the "straight man". Mersitation noted the character's age made no sense as he was canonically due to Terry's inclusion in his original persona while Ryo was still 24 in KOF. His victory quote from The King of Fighters '98 "Absolute karate. That's Kyokugen. And don't forget it, dweebenheimer" has become known as one of SNK's weirdest localization as dweebenheimer has no meaning. For Netmarble's The King of Fighters All Star mobile game, the original Art of Fighting meme involving Ryo was used. Developers behind All Star wondered if it was okay to use such a meme but and ended up okay to go along with celebrating the first anniversary of the game. As a result, they decided to go with "a bang". Den of Geek noted that Ryo's team in general has been characterized as more comical characters in The King of Fighters than in Art of Fighting though in XI they accidentally created their own rival. The Gamer noted that while Ryo and Robert kept standing out as Ryu and Ken, his appearance in The King of Fighters XV was further criticized for looking far bigger than usual. For The King of Fighters XIV, GNN Gamer praised the long-standing rivalry between Ryo and Geese Howard as they keep having special interactions like in Art of Fighting 2. In general, Ryo becoming a middle-aged man with this Mr. Karate alter-ego was noted by GameSky to be famous enough so that gamers know all of his few appearances. Excite celebrated the addition of Mr. Karate II to the KOF '98 mobile game by holding a Twitter campaign where gamers can obtain the character. Furthermore, Hardcore Gaming and GameRant regarded Ryo's older persona as one of the main reasons why SNK's game Buriki One is remembered by fans several years after its release as he highly stands out to fans of SNK's following cross-over NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. His Buriki One older persona also received this response, especially with older gamers based on Falcoon's illustration of him of his black gi with the artist aiming to model after the black gi from the Netflix TV series Cobra Kai.

Parallels with Capcom's characters

Besides similarities with Street Fighter characters, both Ryo and Ryu reference famous martial artists Mas Oyama (left) and Gichin Funakoshi (right) who inspired both of their fighting styles.

The character of Dan Hibiki from the Street Fighter series is deemed to be a parody of Ryo's similarities with Ryu and Ken, but his design is more like Robert's while he is showing mannerisms like those of Yuri Sakazaki. In humorous retaliation, Street Fighter II co-designer Akiman drew an artwork of Street Fighter Sagat holding a defeated opponent by the head during the release of Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. The defeated opponent wore an attire similar to Ryo's: an orange karate gi with a torn black shirt underneath and geta sandals like Ryo; but had long dark hair tied to a ponytail like Robert. Polygon recalls that during the release of Street Fighter Alpha, both Capcom and SNK started a rivalry with North American joke from a Capcom magazine standing out as Ryu confuses Ryo with Ken and defeats him with all of his strength while claiming his enemy lacked originality. James Chen from Capcom among other staff members said that Dan was meant to be a joke about both Ryo and Robert as SNK stole the talent from their own company when they started making their own Street Fighter sequels. According to GameRant, in order to poke fun at Ryo, Capcom introduced the overly weak character of Dan, a character whose attacks did very little damage but resembled those of Ryo, and even had similar ineffective projectiles. GameKult considered Ryo and Robert strange for being used in KOF despite the infamous popularity they have for inspiring the comical Dan.

These similarities are addressed in the crossover game SVC Chaos: SNK VS. Capcom with GameSpot's Greg Kasavin stating that fans would appreciate the appearances and the interactions between Ryo, Dan and Takuma. Furthermore, a special demo is provided when fighting Ryu as in the Capcom vs SNK series, each player jumps back from the center of the screen to create distance as a tribute to the first Art of Fighting. The fact that KOF keeps Ryo in Ryu's shadow according to The Gamer noting that that Capcom kept further parodying Ryo by expanding Dan Hibiki's lore. Millenium felt that SNK kept responding to the parody, by giving Yuri techniques from the Street Fighter series including Ryu or Ken Masters' variations of the Shoryuken punch among others which ended up fitting as Street Fighter Alpha 2 newcomer Sakura Kasugano could also recreate Ryu's techniques by seeing them and practicing on her own. Geek.com considered this a "game wars" as the two companies kept referencing each other since the creation of Street Fighter and Art of Fighting and the latter characters felt like jokes in general from each side. TheGamer believes Ryo and Robert's dual presentation in KOF XV as a dual trailer was a nod to Capcom's usage of Dan Hibiki due to their similarities.

In retrospect, Tiago Oviedo Frosi wrote that Gichin Funakoshi's "Shōtōkan" is the most practiced style of Karate in the world, this was the style chosen to characterize most of the Street Fighter characters. The Kyokugenryu Ryo uses in Art of Fighting instead comes across as a fantasy version of the "knockout" Kyokushinkaikan created by Mas Oyama who serves as an influence for both Ryu's and Takuma's characters. The writer noted that the character Ryo was a creation of SNK to openly oppose the Street Fighter series and its hero, Ryu. The handling of Mr. Karate's ego by Ryo and Takuma is noted to be influenced by Shintoism, the "indigenous religion" of Japan. Among the various creatures or entities of Sgubti, one of the most important is the Tengu, a flying humanoid with two facial representations, each with its own meaning. One of these figures is known as the Tengu mountain monk, with a reddish face and a long nose. Both Ryo and Takuma wear a tengu mask when taking the name of Mr. Karate. Mr. Karate is always presented as one of the "villains" of the fighting games studied. Ryo's style is noted to be influenced by Gōgen Yamaguchi which contrasts Ryu's Mas Oyama when they are put in crossover games. However, from The King of Fighters '96 onwards, Ryo imitates Oyama's fighting pose while also borrowing elements from the Wadō-ryū karate created by Hironori Ōtsuka who was inspired by the Shotokan as well as the Jujutsu.

External links

Quotations related to Ryo Sakazaki at Wikiquote