The Street Fighter franchise has come a long way from being one of the arcade ancestors to modern fighting games of beat-'em-ups. Over the years, the series has built up an excellent roster of representatives for many fighting styles and nations. From the original SF2 World Warriors to the small but potent stable of boss characters, Street Fighter's cast does as much to sell the games as their thrilling competitive gameplay. Much has been said about Capcom's enormous stable of characters and how great they are for crossover games, and Street Fighter even takes advantage of this by sharing a universe with Final Fight, Rival Schools, and sometimes even competing fighting game franchises.
All great things need a baseline, and Street Fighter provides one for the entire fighting game genre. Ryu from Street Fighter is the iconic fighting game main character. All leads since have been compared to him, and his iconic headband, gloves, and white gi serve as visual shorthand for other media referencing fighting games. With his iconic Shoto gameplay style consisting of a fireball, an uppercut, and a forward-moving spinning kick, Ryu has remained mostly unchanged over the years. Even as Street Fighter 6 looks to update his design to the popular "Hot Ryu" look, it's clear that Ryu is the same world-traveling martial artist that he's ever been.
Ryu's Early Life and First Tournaments
Ryu began life as an orphan and was adopted by Gouken. As Ryu grew up, he entered training under Gouken beside Ken Masters, the young heir to the Masters family. The two of them quickly became friends and trained together in the art of Ansatsuken. Upon reaching 23, Gouken believed that Ryu had matured enough to travel the world and train on his own. The timeframe isn't clear, but sometime around this point Gouken and the now-corrupt Akuma fought to the death, and the students believed their old master was dead. Ryu travels to Thailand for the events of Street Fighter 1, during which he defeats twenty Muay Thai fighters to attract Sagat's attention. Ryu barely wins their fight with a Satsui no Hado-infused Shoryuken, scarring Sagat and giving him a grudge against Ryu.
After this comes the Street Fighter Alpha series of games where Ryu is embroiled in the battle against M. Bison’s Shadaloo, as well as his struggle against Akuma and the Dark Hado within him. This is also around the time when Ryu starts seriously pursuing answers to philosophical questions in the heart of battle. Eventually, Akuma finds Ryu and introduces the concept of the Satsui no Hado to him. It's a dark force that takes over when certain fighters become willing to kill their opponents to win. Ryu is deeply troubled by this, but Ken, who gives Ryu his red headband, and Ryu's new fan Sakura, help him move on for the time being. Bison is interested in the Dark Hado and wants Ryu as a potential new body, leading him to brainwash the martial artist. After Sagat jolts Ryu back to his senses, he manages to temporarily destroy Bison.
Ryu's Struggles With the Satsui no Hado
Ryu’s story in Street Fighter 2 is the most unclear of all of them, as there is no canon statement regarding how far Ryu got in the World Warrior Tournament and who won. The only thing known for sure is that around this time, Ryu began his yearly visits to Gouken’s grave near Suzaku Castle. Still, it can be reasonably assumed that Akuma kills Bison in the final round to fight Ryu once again. Next comes Street Fighter 4, and it is here that Ryu struggles the most with the Satsui no Hado. In an initial fight against the S.I.N. Corporation, Ryu gives in to the Dark Hado and becomes Evil Ryu, needing to be calmed down by his fellow World Warriors. Ryu and the corporation’s CEO Seth clash a couple of times, and after Ryu destroys one of Seth's clones, he unleashes the Satsui no Hado on the corporation's BLECE superweapon.
While he is saved by Sakura, Ryu has become dangerously close to becoming Evil Ryu for good. Fortunately, he is reunited with his master Gouken, who places a seal on Ryu’s Dark Hado. He does this with the Power of Nothingness, which appears to be the good, or at least neutral, form of mastery over the Ansatsuken martial art. Gouken departs once again, leaving Ryu to say his goodbyes to his friends and return to his journey. While Ryu taps into the Satsui no Hado a couple of times in Street Fighter canon, the Street Fighter 4 titles are the first ones where Evil Ryu appears in the story. The Dark Hado is sealed for now, but it's up to Ryu to truly purge himself of its influence and start down a new path.
Ryu's Growth as a Fighter and a Person
It takes a few years, but Street Fighter 5 shows that it's finally happening. Ryu asks Dhalsim for help with the Satsui no Hado, which has been bothering him again. However, the two are interrupted by Necalli, and then M. Bison's Black Moon filling the sky. The pair go to join up with the other World Warriors as they prepare for the final assault on Shadaloo. During the final battle between Ryu and Bison, Ryu masters the Power of Nothingness and destroys M. Bison once more. After another sparring match with Ken, Ryu is once again on his way. At this point, the Satsui no Hado is physically ejected from Ryu’s body in the form of Kage, who is quickly destroyed by Ryu’s new strength.
At the moment, there are no further developments in Ryu’s story. He has largely completed his character arc, and as of Street Fighter 3, is simply continuing to train at the age of 33. Using the Power of Nothingness, Ryu has mastered some new techniques like the Shin Shoryuken and the Denjin Hadouken. He also meets some new friends and rivals in Sean, Oro, and Alex. There is little canon information to suggest that Ryu is aware of Gil and the Illuminati, even if his arcade modes see him fighting them. That leaves Ryu’s future rather uncertain, but there is a chance that this older and wiser Ryu could be Luke's new master after he leaves the military. If it takes place after 3, Street Fighter 6 has the opportunity to move the Street Fighter’s timeline forward for the first time in many years. Regardless of what happens, Ryu is guaranteed to be part of it.
Street Fighter 6 is in development.