10 Most Iconic Hats In Gaming History
2. Ryu's Headband (Street Fighter Series)
Is a headband a hat? Well, both are often lumped together under 'hats' in character customisation screens so for the sake of argument let's go 'yes'.
Ryu’s headband is not only a defining look for the character but went on to define fighting game heroes in general. For every ninja or Bruce Lee clone, It’s a safe bet your fighting game will feature a hero in a headband.
Akira from Virtua Fighter, Black Orchid from Killer Instinct, even Mortal Kombat’s Liu Kang got in on the act from the second game onwards.
In the first-ever Street Fighter Ryu has light brown/ red hair and a white headband, but in the sequel, he must have used some Just For Men to dye it darker, as the original lighter locks are cannon seeing as how in the prequel Street Fighter Alpha, Ryu is rocking the look of the first game.
Of course, the most famous version of the character is the Street Fighter 2 incarnation. According to multiple origins, Ryu’s red band is a gift from his best mate and sometimes arch-rival Ken Masters.
Whether it was Ken’s old hair tie, or a piece of his ripped gi to help close a head wound, the fact the part of Ryu is part of Ken empathises the brotherhood between the two heroes.