RYO SAKAZAKI
Power Level 8
Team: England, Art of Fighting
Style: Kyokugenryu Karate
Blood Type: O
Strength 1
Speed 0
Stamina 1
Life Bar 100
Fighting Spirit 143
Accuracy +1, Control +2, Damage +3, Defense +1
Qualities: Attractive, Driven
Weaknesses: Dull Personality
Quirks: Dead Serious
Combat Skills: Defense/Evasion/Tactics 5, Ki 10, Combo 8
Narrative Skills: Agility 3, Animal Handling 3, Athletics 6, Call Forth Wisdom 3, Climactic Super Move 4, Draw Ki 8, Endure Great Hardship 8, Grim Determination 7, Occupation: Dojo Owner 5, Property Damage 4, Reaffirm Purpose 7, Realize Potential 6, Sense Ki 7, The Fighting World 6, Thug Thrashing 8
Comma Design Throw: L2
Hurl, Throw (2)
Acc +2, Dam 1d8+3
Ice Pillar Split: L2
Hard to Evade, Inc Dam (2)
Acc +1, Dam 1d10+3
Valley Drop: L2
Throw (2), Inc Dam
Acc +2, Dam 1d8+4
Flying Swallow Gale Leg: L3
Charge Back, Knocks Down (2), Mobile
Acc +1, Dam 1d8+3
Tiger Gleam Fist: L3
Ranged (2), Inc Dam (2)
Acc +1, Dam 1d12+3
Wild Tiger Thunder God’s Strength: L3
Inc Acc (3), Inc Dam, Must Advance 1 Range (-1)
Acc +2, Dam 1d8+4
Wild Tiger Thunder God’s Temple: L3
Aerial, Knocks Down (2), Mobile, Inc Dam, Only Hits at Range 1 (-1)
Acc +1, Dam 1d8+1
Tiger Cannon: L4
Aerial, Knocks Down (2), Inc Dam (2)
Acc +1, Dam 1d12+3
Sky Tiger Gleam Fist: L4
Aerial, Hard to Evade, Ranged (2), Inc Dam
Acc +1, Dam 1d10+4
Kyokugen-Style Rapid Fist Dance: L5
Knocks Down (2), Inc Dam (5), Range 0 (-1)
Acc +1, Dam 1d12+4
Momentary Violent Fist: L5
Knocks Down (2), Multi-Hit (2), Inc Dam (2)
Acc+1, Dam 1d12+3
Supreme King Flying Roaring Fist: L6
Hard to Evade, Knocks Down (2), Ranged (2), Inc Dam (2)
Acc +1, Dam 1d12+3
Heaven and Earth Supreme Gleaming Fist: L5 Super
Increased Knockback, Invincibility (2), Unique, Inc Dam (6)
Acc +1, Dam 1d12+5
Dragon/Tiger Boisterous Dance: L7 Super
Aerial, Breakthrough (4), Multi-Hit (3), Invincibility (2), Inc Dam (4)
Acc +1, Dam 1d12+4
Ryo Sakazaki is one of the two heroes of Art of Fighting, an early SNK game that had a fairly interesting super move mechanic and was ridiculously difficult. I know I’ve never beaten it, and I’m not even sure if I ever made it to Mr. Big. Ryo is also an infamous copy of Capcom’s Ryu, along with Ryo’s partner Robert as a copy of Ken. The two famously were mocked by Capcom in the character of Dan Hibiki, before becoming a distinctive character in his own right.
Ryo’s appearance in King of Fighters required establishing as canon that KOF occurred in a different timeline than other SNK games, because AOF was supposed to occur 10 years earlier than Fatal Fury, but now Ryo and Terry were fighting one another as friendly rivals. Otherwise, Ryo has little part to play in the Orochi saga. He enters the tournaments to raise money for his dojos, and that’s about it.
I’m not a big fan of Ryo, as I find him even more boring than Ryu. His impressively named moves don’t display a great variety. If there are special tricks to playing him as an especially effective fighter, I don’t know them.