Ryo Sakazaki
Encyclopedia
is a video game character
developed for the fighting game
Art of Fighting
from SNK Playmore
(formerly SNK). His name is most often written in kana
, however, in some games kanji
is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a martial artist that practices his family's fighting style, the Kyokugenryu Karate. He and his best friend Robert Garcia enter the Southtown city to rescue Ryo's sister, Yuri Sakazaki
. In their fights, Ryo and Robert learn that the Sakazaki became the target from the criminal Geese Howard
, and decide to face him. Ryo is also a regular character in the crossover series The King of Fighters, in which he participates in fighting tournament in a team composed of his friends and family. He would also make appearance in other SNK games under the name of . Additionally, he stars in manhua
adaptations of the several series, and appeared in the anime
film from Art of Fighting.
Ryo has been well-received by gamers; his character has ranked high in several popularity polls from journals. Video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Ryo's character. While Ryo has been criticized for its similarities with the Street Fighter
video games' characters, several reviewers have praised his development in several games from SNK such as his introduction in The King of Fighters.
and Art of Fighting 2. However, he will be red-haired once again in The King of Fighters XII
. In most games, Ryo appears wearing an orange gi
without sleeves and a black t-shirt under the gi. However, in Art of Fighting 2 he has no black clothes in the chest of the gi. In Buriki One
, his look is similar to Takuma's in the KOF series, only with his traditional spiked hair dyed blonde and a dark grey gi instead of white or orange. In Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
, other than looking somewhat older but still with blonde hair, he's unshaved and is not wearing the top of his orange gi, showing instead the black t-shirt underneath. In KOF: Maximum Impact
, Ryo's alternate costume is similar to that of his Buriki One costume. If the player completes the game with him, he/she are able to use his "Rigging Model", a few additions to his costume include a Tengu Mask similar to Takuma's. In KOF: Maximum Impact 2
, Ryo has two versions: his traditional KOF one and his Mr. Karate version, the primary costume of which comprises a Tengu mask slightly different from his father's, that Ryo is seen using for the first time. His "Another" costume is a very slightly modified version of his Fatal Fury Wild Ambition costume. Although his character does not appear in Garou: Mark of the Wolves
, illustrations from the game feature Ryo in his Buriki One outfit, but with gray hair.
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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 named "Mr. Karate" challenges the two to a fight. When Ryo prevailes, Yuri appears, telling Ryo to stop, for Mr. Karate was their father. In the second game, Takuma reveals that the crime lord Geese Howard
turned him into the assasain Mr. Karate. With the Sakazaki family reunited, they, along with Robert, are focused on exacting their revenge on Geese and providing justice to all others who were wronged by him. While entering into Geese's tournament, The King of Fighters, Ryo is able defeat Geese. However, Geese manages to escape with help from his assistants before Ryo could finish him. In Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3, Ryo acts as a supporting character to Robert, who the game is more focused.
Ryo is a member of the Art of Fighting Team in The King of Fighters '94
, along with Robert, and Takuma. Developers from the game had problems with balancing Ryo with the other characters from the series without removing none of his special moves. However, Ryo was commented to be one of the strongest characters of the game. They also add that this game was created with the idea of having Ryo fighting against Terry Bogard
, the lead character from the Fatal Fury series. Despite multiple changes in the team, Ryo remains as a member from the team including games without storylines like The King of Fighters 2002
and The King of Fighters Neowave
, and The King of Fighters '98
. In the two games for the Game Boy Advance
titled EX: Neo Blood and EX2, King takes Robert's place in 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
into finding his girlfriend Yuki. The spin-off games KOF: Maximum Impact
and Maximum Impact 2
also feature a Ryo as a playable character, with the latter also featuring his "Mr. Karate" version as hidden character.
Ryo is also a central character in Buriki One
, a game for the Hyper Neo Geo 64
. In this game, he appears in his older persona, and fighting in a grappling tournament. He appears as the sub-boss in the single-player mode. More recently, in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, Ryo goes by the name "2nd Mr. Karate", while his look is the one used for Buriki One. He also stars in the crossover video games SNK vs. Capcom series, without the Mr. Karate persona. Ryo also appears 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. 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.
film from Art of Fighting from 1993. While looking for a cat, Ryo and Robert witnessed a murder related to a stolen diamond. After fighting the murdering mobsters, they discovered that the top mobster, Mr. Big, had kidnapped Ryo's sister to exchange her against 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. Ryo also appears in the manhua
adaptations from The King of Fighters series, which tell how Ryo participates in the fighting tournaments.
Ryo will be played by Sam Hargrave in the upcoming The King of Fighters
movie.
. In the January 30, 1995 issue, Ryo ranked at no. 24 in Top 50 Characters of 1994. In a 2005 poll made by SNK-Playmore USA, he was voted as the fifth fan favorite character with a total of 193 votes.
Reviewers from video games and other media have provided praise and criticism on Ryo's character. Wesley Yin-Poole from Videogamer.com commented that Ryo and Robert are "two double-hard bastards" and complained about the "wicked" designs from Ryo. Eurogamer
reviewer Spanner Spencer mentioned that Ryo "seems to model himself after Ken from SFII
" due to the similarities within their designs. David Simpson from AceGamez also noted the similarities between Ryo and Ken, and jokingly commented it could not be avoided to note them. However, William Usher from Cinemablend noted Ryo and Robert's relationship to be very unique as they never attempt to kill each other. He also noted Ryo to be one of the main responsibles for the creation of The King of Fighters series, praising his development in the series. Despite noting his similarities from Street Fighter characters to the point they considered him a "clone", ScrewAttack
still praised Ryo's character in Art of Fighting. Simon Wigham from consoleob.com agreed on this commenting he "planted the seeds for the future KOF series". He additionally noted that his introduction in Fatal Fury Special
was "token hard old guy". Greg Kasavin from GameSpot
listed his "Haohshokohken" move from Art of Fighting as one of the most influential fireball moves in fighting games' history.
The character of Dan Hibiki
from the Street Fighter series is deemed as a parody of Ryo's similarities with Ryu and Ken. However, his design is more similar to Robert's while showing mannerism from Yuri Sakazaki.
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
developed for the fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
Art of Fighting
Art of Fighting
is a trilogy of competitive fighting game titles that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the Fatal Fury series and is set in the same fictional universe...
from SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
(formerly SNK). His name is most often written in kana
Kana
Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji...
, however, in some games kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a martial artist that practices his family's fighting style, the Kyokugenryu Karate. He and his best friend Robert Garcia enter the Southtown city to rescue Ryo's sister, Yuri Sakazaki
Yuri Sakazaki
is a video game character from SNK Playmore's Art of Fighting series. She first appears in the original Art of Fighting being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the fictional city of Southtown. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his friend Robert Garcia spend the game searching for her...
. In their fights, Ryo and Robert learn that the Sakazaki became the target from the criminal Geese Howard
Geese Howard
is a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...
, and decide to face him. Ryo is also a regular character in the crossover series The King of Fighters, in which he participates in fighting tournament in a team composed of his friends and family. He would also make appearance in other SNK games under the name of . Additionally, he stars in manhua
Manhua
Manhua are Chinese comics originally produced in China. Possibly due to their greater degree of artistic freedom of expression and closer international ties with Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been the places of publication of most manhua thus far, often including Chinese translations of...
adaptations of the several series, and appeared in the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film from Art of Fighting.
Ryo has been well-received by gamers; his character has ranked high in several popularity polls from journals. Video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Ryo's character. While Ryo has been criticized for its similarities with the Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
video games' characters, several reviewers have praised his development in several games from SNK such as his introduction in The King of Fighters.
Character design
In the first Art of Fighting, Ryo appears to have orange hair, but in his character artwork he is blond. His sprite appears for the first time with blond hair in The King of Fighters '94The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the inaugural game in The King of Fighters series by the same company. The game was originally ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD following its original arcade release...
and Art of Fighting 2. However, he will be red-haired once again in The King of Fighters XII
The King of Fighters XII
is the twelfth installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore announced that it is abandoning the Atomiswave system and is moving its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on 2D backgrounds...
. In most games, Ryo appears wearing an orange gi
Keikogi
or dōgi is a uniform for training, used in martial arts derived from Japan, or budō. . The prototype for the modern keikogi emerged in the late 19th century. The keikogi was developed by judo founder Kano Jigoro...
without sleeves and a black t-shirt under the gi. However, in Art of Fighting 2 he has no black clothes in the chest of the gi. In Buriki One
Buriki One
Buriki One: World Grapple Tournament '99 in Tokyo, otherwise known simply as Buriki One, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK and released as a coin-operated arcade game in...
, his look is similar to Takuma's in the KOF series, only with his traditional spiked hair dyed blonde and a dark grey gi instead of white or orange. In Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
is a 3D fighting video game produced by SNK. The game was released in Japanese arcades on January 28, 1999, though the title screen shows the year 1998. It is part of the Fatal Fury series of fighting games. It was one of the last games released for the Hyper Neo Geo 64 system board. It was ported...
, other than looking somewhat older but still with blonde hair, he's unshaved and is not wearing the top of his orange gi, showing instead the black t-shirt underneath. In KOF: Maximum Impact
KOF: Maximum Impact
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory published by SNK Playmore in 2004-2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax...
, Ryo's alternate costume is similar to that of his Buriki One costume. If the player completes the game with him, he/she are able to use his "Rigging Model", a few additions to his costume include a Tengu Mask similar to Takuma's. In KOF: Maximum Impact 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...
, Ryo has two versions: his traditional KOF one and his Mr. Karate version, the primary costume of which comprises a Tengu mask slightly different from his father's, that Ryo is seen using for the first time. His "Another" costume is a very slightly modified version of his Fatal Fury Wild Ambition costume. Although his character does not appear in Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
, known as Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves on Dreamcast, is a 1999 fighting game produced by SNK, originally for the Neo Geo system. It is the ninth and final game in the Fatal Fury series, set ten years after the death of Geese Howard in Real Bout Fatal Fury...
, illustrations from the game feature Ryo in his Buriki One outfit, but with gray hair.
Attributes
Ryo is very serious about fighting and loyal to his friends and family. He has been given discipline through his Karate training by his father, Takuma. He earned the nickname, due to his remarkable use of his fighting style. He uses the Kyokugen-ryu style to fight, but unlike Robert he is more focused in punching attacks. While fighting in some games under the name of Mr. Karate or Mr. Karate II, Ryo does not use many of the flashier moves he is known for. Instead, he fights using moves similar to the ones of his father, Takuma Sakazaki. He treats Robert as his rival, but they are best friends. 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. As such, Ryo and Robert sometimes start fighting since Ryo thinks that Robert is insulting him when he shows something expensive. Compared to Yuri and Robert's ideology on training, Ryo believes he can attain greatness in his art through hard work and experience. It has been implied several that there is some romantic tension between him and King during The King of Fighters series. Upon discovering that, Takuma seeks to intensify that relationship so that he can have a new heir for the Kyokugen-ryu.In video games
Yuri Sakazaki
is a video game character from SNK Playmore's Art of Fighting series. She first appears in the original Art of Fighting being kidnapped by Mr. Big, a criminal from the fictional city of Southtown. The players, Yuri's brother Ryo and his friend Robert Garcia spend the game searching for her...
, is kidnapped by Mr. Big, a local criminal mastermind. With the help of his best friend, Robert Garcia
Robert Garcia
is a video game character created by SNK Playmore, formerly known as SNK. Robert stars in the fighting video game Art of Fighting as the lead character along his best friend Ryo Sakazaki. The game features both of them as practitioners of the Kyokugenryu Karate fighting who search for Ryo's younger...
, Ryo manages to confront Mr. Big, leading him to a karate dojo where a man named "Mr. Karate" challenges the two to a fight. When Ryo prevailes, Yuri appears, telling Ryo to stop, for Mr. Karate was their father. In the second game, Takuma reveals that the crime lord Geese Howard
Geese Howard
is a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...
turned him into the assasain Mr. Karate. With the Sakazaki family reunited, they, along with Robert, are focused on exacting their revenge on Geese and providing justice to all others who were wronged by him. While entering into Geese's tournament, The King of Fighters, Ryo is able defeat Geese. However, Geese manages to escape with help from his assistants before Ryo could finish him. In Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3, Ryo acts as a supporting character to Robert, who the game is more focused.
Ryo is a member of the Art of Fighting Team in The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters '94 is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the inaugural game in The King of Fighters series by the same company. The game was originally ported to the Neo Geo AES and Neo-Geo CD following its original arcade release...
, along with Robert, and Takuma. Developers from the game had problems with balancing Ryo with the other characters from the series without removing none of his special moves. However, Ryo was commented to be one of the strongest characters of the game. They also add that this game was created with the idea of having Ryo fighting against Terry Bogard
Terry Bogard
is a video game character created by SNK Playmore , and is the main character of the Fatal Fury series. In the series, he is an American fighter who enters the worldwide tournaments called The King of Fighters to kill Geese Howard, a criminal who killed Terry's father. Terry becomes a formidable...
, the lead character from the Fatal Fury series. Despite multiple changes in the team, Ryo remains as a member from the team including games without storylines like The King of Fighters 2002
The King of Fighters 2002
The King of Fighters 2002 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one produced by Eolith and developed by SNK Neo Geo . The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox...
and The King of Fighters Neowave
The King of Fighters Neowave
The King of Fighters Neowave is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and originally released as a coin operated arcade game for Sammys Atomiswave hardware. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave...
, and The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...
. In the two games for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
titled EX: Neo Blood and EX2, King takes Robert's place in 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
Kyo Kusanagi
is one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...
into finding his girlfriend Yuki. The spin-off games KOF: Maximum Impact
KOF: Maximum Impact
The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory published by SNK Playmore in 2004-2005. An enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact — Maniax...
and Maximum Impact 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2
KOF: Maximum Impact 2, released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and released for the PlayStation 2 in...
also feature a Ryo as a playable character, with the latter also featuring his "Mr. Karate" version as hidden character.
Ryo is also a central character in Buriki One
Buriki One
Buriki One: World Grapple Tournament '99 in Tokyo, otherwise known simply as Buriki One, is a 3D competitive fighting game produced by SNK and released as a coin-operated arcade game in...
, a game for the Hyper Neo Geo 64
Hyper Neo Geo 64
The Hyper Neo Geo 64 was an arcade system created by SNK, and released in September 1997, being the first and only "Neo Geo" branded arcade system of the Neo Geo family....
. In this game, he appears in his older persona, and fighting in a grappling tournament. He appears as the sub-boss in the single-player mode. More recently, in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, Ryo goes by the name "2nd Mr. Karate", while his look is the one used for Buriki One. He also stars in the crossover video games SNK vs. Capcom series, without the Mr. Karate persona. Ryo also appears in Fatal Fury Special
Fatal Fury Special
is a 1993 head-to-head fighting game produced by SNK originally released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of Fatal Fury 2, introducing several changes to the gameplay system while expanding the available character roster....
, an updated version of Fatal Fury 2
Fatal Fury 2
is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the sequel to Fatal Fury: King of Fighters and the second game in the Fatal Fury franchise.-Gameplay:...
. 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
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
is a 3D fighting video game produced by SNK. The game was released in Japanese arcades on January 28, 1999, though the title screen shows the year 1998. It is part of the Fatal Fury series of fighting games. It was one of the last games released for the Hyper Neo Geo 64 system board. It was ported...
, Ryo uses the title of Mr. Karate, as an aged and more powerful Ryo. Although he has appeared in no other unrelated games, he is often referenced indirectly in Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
, known as Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves on Dreamcast, is a 1999 fighting game produced by SNK, originally for the Neo Geo system. It is the ninth and final game in the Fatal Fury series, set ten years after the death of Geese Howard in Real Bout Fatal Fury...
, he has his own student, Khushnood Butt.
In other media
Ryo appears in the animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film from Art of Fighting from 1993. While looking for a cat, Ryo and Robert witnessed a murder related to a stolen diamond. After fighting the murdering mobsters, they discovered that the top mobster, Mr. Big, had kidnapped Ryo's sister to exchange her against 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. Ryo also appears in the manhua
Manhua
Manhua are Chinese comics originally produced in China. Possibly due to their greater degree of artistic freedom of expression and closer international ties with Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been the places of publication of most manhua thus far, often including Chinese translations of...
adaptations from The King of Fighters series, which tell how Ryo participates in the fighting tournaments.
Ryo will be played by Sam Hargrave in the upcoming The King of Fighters
The King of Fighters (film)
The King of Fighters is a film loosely based on SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters series of fighting games. It stars Sean Faris as Kyo Kusanagi, Maggie Q as Mai Shiranui, Will Yun Lee as Iori Yagami, and Ray Park as Rugal Bernstein.-Plot:...
movie.
Reception
Ryo has been well received by gamers, ranking high in several popularity polls. In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Ryo was voted as the staff's twenty-fourth favorite character. He shared the spot with Sie Kensou and Toru Kurosawa, a character from the game series Last BronxLast Bronx
is a 3D fighting game developed by Sega-AM3 on the Sega Model 2 mainboard. This is one of the first motion captured 3D weapon fighting games released in Japanese game centers in 1996, the other was Soul Edge. Home versions, shortened to Last Bronx, were produced for contemporary Sega game console...
. In the January 30, 1995 issue, Ryo ranked at no. 24 in Top 50 Characters of 1994. In a 2005 poll made by SNK-Playmore USA, he was voted as the fifth fan favorite character with a total of 193 votes.
Reviewers from video games and other media have provided praise and criticism on Ryo's character. Wesley Yin-Poole from Videogamer.com commented that Ryo and Robert are "two double-hard bastards" and complained about the "wicked" designs from Ryo. Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
reviewer Spanner Spencer mentioned that Ryo "seems to model himself after Ken from SFII
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
" due to the similarities within their designs. David Simpson from AceGamez also noted the similarities between Ryo and Ken, and jokingly commented it could not be avoided to note them. However, William Usher from Cinemablend noted Ryo and Robert's relationship to be very unique as they never attempt to kill each other. He also noted Ryo to be one of the main responsibles for the creation of The King of Fighters series, praising his development in the series. Despite noting his similarities from Street Fighter characters to the point they considered him a "clone", ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
still praised Ryo's character in Art of Fighting. Simon Wigham from consoleob.com agreed on this commenting he "planted the seeds for the future KOF series". He additionally noted that his introduction in Fatal Fury Special
Fatal Fury Special
is a 1993 head-to-head fighting game produced by SNK originally released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of Fatal Fury 2, introducing several changes to the gameplay system while expanding the available character roster....
was "token hard old guy". Greg Kasavin from GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
listed his "Haohshokohken" move from Art of Fighting as one of the most influential fireball moves in fighting games' history.
The character of Dan Hibiki
Dan Hibiki
is a video game character from Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games. Introduced in Street Fighter Alpha, Dan is consistently portrayed as an arrogant, overconfident, yet utterly feeble character.-Concept and creation:...
from the Street Fighter series is deemed as a parody of Ryo's similarities with Ryu and Ken. However, his design is more similar to Robert's while showing mannerism from Yuri Sakazaki.