Ken's slightly more popular rival is Ryu, the more placid and retiring of the two, in stark contrast to Ken's egotism. Physically, he also contrasts Ken, having short, brown hair instead of long, blonde hair, and his karate uniform is a simple white instead of the loud, flashy red of Ken's. Probably Ryu's only problem as far as popularity goes is that he pretty much lacks a sense of humour, as is often made fun of in the series. He's solemn to the end, and takes his fighting craft dead seriously. Ryu's most iconic move, and arguably the best known special attack in fighting game history, is the Hadoken, a projectile fireball accompanied by a shout of the word "Hadoken!", and stronger than Ken's equivalent. He is able to execute Ken's special Shoryuken move, though in most versions of the game it is not as varied as Ken's multi-hit ability. Simply, due to his brilliant look, kick-ass fighting style and iconic status as the poster boy for fighting games, how could he not rank so highly?
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
