If ya like Ryo, you like
Yoshi! It's funny when Ryo does that winning pose. Maybe because he is so serious (to the point that he has little fans because of boredom) that it's extra funny to see him do occasionally something zany.
All Ryo fans know how it started. Anyone ever hear of the southtown incident? The one where all the cops decided to mercilessly beat people with deads squirrels and barley leaves? OK, that didn't happen, but in Southtown , things like that do happen. To Ryo, Robert, and Yuri, the Southtown incident, though kinda crazy, was a very trying time. The dissapearence of Yuri one day has Ryo and Robert worried. but Yuri is just a school girl, so she could have just done something stupid (like Yuri does). Well, Takuma, Ryo and Yuri's crazy dad, went crazy and dissapeared beforehand, and Ryo wasn't havin' it again.
He and Robert set out to find poor Yuri, running across some of Southtowns more dangerous thugs, and also a bartender dude (the bartender took a special liking to Ryo later on (?)), some weird aikido guy, an old chinese acrobat thing etc. Did I mention that the bartender was exposed as a woman? I believe it was during a fight with Robert, but we all know it was King, so now we know who's after Ryo.
Well, it turns out that Mr. Big was behing the lot of it, causing a lot of mess, so Ryo was inclined to help the city out as well. It turns out that yuri was kidnapped by Takuma Sakazaki, her own dad! Well, Ryo whooped him up because Yuri was, at the time, worthless (Otosan Gomen!) and Yuri was recovered. Takuma also came together about the head, undarning the stupid mask that he still has to this day.
Hey you trash of Southtown. How are you going to compensate them for that lack of good usage of their time?! Well, it was this grueling set of "training" that led Ryo and Robert to learn the fabled Haoh So Ko Ken (that's fun to say). Ryo became even more dedicated and now strives even harder. He battles Terry for the spot of third strongest fighter aside from Kyo and Iori! (this is only according to story line, and i'm not even sure of that). So naturally, when Ryo recieves an invitation to KOF '94, he, his dad, and Robert accept and form the Kyokugenryu team, who strangely fight in Mexico that year.
Well, why is Ryo still in the King Of Fighters? Well, as you might know, according to storyline, Ryo's team didn't win. So they enter in '95 to show that Kyokugen is the best. Again, they lost. Takuma replaces himself with Yuri, which Ryo doesn't like (despite '95' misleading ending quotes, "hey, let's team up with Yuri," "good idea."). Instead of embarking on a big training journey in '96, Ryo enters again, he suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of Sie Kensou (Okay, so it was Iori Yagami who beat him) I think in the last round after Iori had fought someone else! Ryo isn't out for revenge, just trying to redeem Kyokugen, and he's been doing so through '98, entering every tournament.
If you haven't guessed, his best friend is Robert Garcia, who actually almost had to raise Ryo and Yuri. Even so, Ryo still consideres him more of a chum to go out and hop fences with late at night and then get brought home by the police and beaten up and down the halway by your father rather than an elder or something. I don't think he's very fond of the idea of Robert with Yuri (that's very brittle anyway) but he takes things in stride.
According to Anime: The Art Of Fighting Japanimation movie is more like a two-day TV series than an actuall movie. Most of it is really way off the storyline (Lee Pai Long wasn't in it either. Curses!) It was kind of crazy (to the point that Ryo could run 15 feet up to someone with a gun while they stand there stunned, not shooting) and the voice acting (in english at least) is weird. Robert got the best of everything from voice to action. The movie is so off the wall that it's funny and can be thought of as a really neat joke! I watched it yesterday morning and was highly thrilled and entertained picking it apart! (Take note of Ryo's gestures). Todo was all screwed up, Ryo's voice is very funny (for Ryo) and Ryo has dark brown hair!!! You must rent it though!! E-Mail me and tell me what you think if you see it.
Ryo is old fashioned. That's why he doesn't like Yuri fighting. He's very overprotective of her which is why the Southtown incident bothered him more than it should have. When Yuri wanted to take Kyokugen arts and stuff to get buff since she sucked, Ryo wasn't happy. He also didn't think she was capable since she acts kind of...stupid sometimes.
How about playing Ryo? Well, his team works well together, but if you are a special move kinda guy, split up Ryo and Robert. Though different in apearence and range, you can adjust to both fighting styles at once. ALWAYS combo the Ko Oh Ken of you can because it doesn't leave you that open and it knocks off a little bit o' health. Just don't use the same combo over and over. His little ground rushing upper can be comboed into a Ko Ho, but the Ko Ho only knocks down in certain circumstances that are up to you to reveal. The Hien Shippukyaku is a good picker when used with light kick. Use after the Kyokugen punch dance throw, which you should learn how to run in and use. The Kyokugen Ryo Ougi should be used as a counter attack only. Now that the haoh Dho Ko Ken costs power bar, use it only toward the end of a match. The Ichigeki hissatsu big ol' punch has no use that I can find unless it is powered up. Then it dizzies in one hit. I've got it to dizzy again after another sometimes, but why when you can use a Kyokugen Ryo Ougi. AOF Ryo in '98 should be used very cheaply. Constant Ko Oh Kens, since they are long range. Try performing the Haoh Sho Ko Ken (now free from using a stock or bar) from mid-range, where I think it's most deadly. Beware a 3-level Ryo in '97. in '98, I believe a powered up DM will take all of the stocks, no matter how many, so I don't see the use of the very weak Ickigeki Hissatsu, now with the update I do. If you use it as the third hit in a combo consisting of two hard punches/kicks, then the Ichigeki Hissatsu, it WILL dizzy. In '97, a powered up Ryo is REALLY buff. All his moves get all real zanily buff. The main threat is the Haoh Sho Ko ken. Since it is a super, the start-up animation stops you, and then it travels so fast (Ryo has the fastest Haoh Sho Ko ken by the way- it is quick enough for some cross screen counters), that you Will be blasted, even if you're doing something as quick as a regular standing attack! Power Up! Yoshi! (Even though it sounds like Ryo's saying Yaaaahhhhhhhsh!).
-Sho Reppadan-
Ryo: "Oh, but i'm not boring when you're showing your opponents how good I can fight! I mean fighting IS the only way to get tough!!!"
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The Yuri Sakazaki Kidnapping Incident
