Ryo Sakazaki
| Ryo Sakazaki | |
|---|---|
  Official artwork of Ryo Sakazaki fromThe King of Fighters XIII. | |
| Universe | Art of Fighting |
| Debut | Art of Fighting (1992) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | Ultimate |
| Most recent non-Smash appearance | Picross S SNK Classics & NeoGeo Edition (2025) |
| Console/platform of origin | Neo Geo MVS |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Created by | Hiroshi Matsumoto |
| Article on Wikipedia | Ryo Sakazaki |
Ryo Sakazaki (リョウ・サカザキ,Ryo Sakazaki) is the main character from the fighting game seriesArt of Fighting. He regularly appears inThe King of Fighters series.
Origin[edit]
Ryo first appears inArt of Fighting, where he sets off to fight Mr. Big to save his sister Yuri. However, as he does so, he is led to a mysterious man known as Mr. Karate. After beating him, it is revealed that Mr. Karate was his and Yuri's father, Takuma Sakazaki and that he was being coerced by Geese Howard into being his muscle in Southtown, having arranged Yuri's kidnapping to force his cooperation. Ryo, his family, and his best friend Robert Garcia then proceed to search for and fight Geese. After failing to kill Geese inArt of Fighting 2 (which leads up to the events of the originalFatal Fury), Ryo's role is reduced to a supporting role to Robert inArt of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior, as the latter leaves for the fictional Mexican town of Glasshill without warning, in order to help his childhood friend Freia Lawrence. Ryo's playable appearances after this are mostly inThe King of Fighters series, often teaming up with Robert, Yuri, and/or Takuma, as part of the Art of Fighting Team. InThe King of Fighters series, he mostly joins the tournaments to get funds for his family's dojo, whose business expands to include a restaurant as ofThe King of Fighters XIV.
Though not originally from theFatal Fury series, Ryo made secret playable appearances in two of its games,Fatal Fury Special andFatal Fury: Wild Ambition, the latter of which sees him succeeding his father as Mr. Karate.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
As a costume[edit]
Ryo appears as one ofRound 4's DLCMii costumes. He is a costume forMii Brawler. When Ryo's Mii Costume is being demonstrated, he is shown jumping offWario's bike on OmegaFigure-8 Circuit, referencing cutscenes from the originalArt of Fighting (which, incidentally, are a popular meme in Japan). He is also shown performingFlashing Mach Punch andOnslaught, which resemble his Zanretsuken and Ryuko Ranbu moves. The appearance ofKing K. Rool using his forward aerial attack in Mii Fighter Costumes #4 trailer is a reference to Jack Turner's Super Drop Kick from theArt of Fighting series.
As abackground character[edit]
Ryo makes a cameo on theKing of Fighters Stadium. He can appear at random, but will always appear if the music for the match is eitherART of FIGHT - Art of Fighting orArt of Fighting Ver.230000000.0 - FATAL FURY SPECIAL.
Spirit[edit]
Ryo appears as an Ace classspirit. In his spirit battle, he is represented by aMii Brawler. Prior to the version 8.0.0 update, this Mii Brawler approximated Ryo's design using the Fighter Uniform and theIsaac Wig; however, from version 8.0.0 onward, the Mii Brawler will use the Ryo DLC costume itself if it has been purchased.
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Class | Slots | Base | Max | Base | Max | Base | Max | Ability | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,361 |  | Ryo Sakazaki |  | ★★★ | 3 | 2881 | 8647 | 1593 | 4781 | 1178 | 3534 | Fist Attack ↑ | Art of Fighting Series |
Other[edit]
Ryo was one of the characters who tried to take theSmash invitation in Terry'sreveal trailer. During his scene, he rushes forward and tries to grab the letter by using the animation of his Super Desperation Move, Ryuko Ranbu, but misses as it flies away. He also cameos in Terry'spromotional artwork.
Gallery[edit]
Ryo's appearance in Terry's reveal trailer (spritework fromThe King of Fighters '96).
Ryo's cameo in Terry's illustration.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese | リョウ・サカザキ,Ryo Sakazaki |
 English | Ryo Sakazaki |
 French | Ryo Sakazaki |
 German | Ryo Sakazaki |
 Spanish | Ryo Sakazaki |
 Italian | Ryo Sakazaki |
 Chinese (Simplified) | 坂崎亮 |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 坂崎獠 |
 Korean | 료 사카자키,Ryo Sakazaki |
 Dutch | Ryo Sakazaki |
 Russian | Рё Саказаки |
Trivia[edit]
- Interestingly, Ryo's spirit artwork and appearance on the King of Fighters Stadium depicts his original appearance in theArt of Fighting series with a mullet, but the Mii wig based off him is based on his later appearances inThe King of Fighters with shorter hair.
- In ascreenshot posted byMasahiro Sakurai on Twitter celebrating the anniversary of the originalArt of Fighting, an earlier version of the Ryo outfit can be seen sporting a completely different design. Instead of being based on Ryo's design fromArt of Fighting 3 toThe King of Fighters XIII, Ryo's design fromThe King of Fighters XIV and onward is used instead.
External links[edit]
 Fatal Fury universe | |
|---|---|
| Fighter | Terry (SSBU) |
| Stage | King of Fighters Stadium |
| Related | Iori Yagami ·Nakoruru ·Ryo Sakazaki |
| Spirits | Spirits |
| Music | Ultimate |
