In the Street Fighter Alpha series, there is a selectable version of Ryu called Evil Ryu (殺意の波動に目覚めたリュウ, Satsui no Hadou ni Mezameta Ryū literally "The surge of murderous intent awakened in Ryu").

He was originally introduced in the Street Fighter Zero manga series authored by Masahiko Nakahira, and later adapted in the Street Fighter canon by Capcom. He is the version of Ryu should he succumb to Satsui no Hadou to his fullest extent and uses the Ansatsuken art as it was originally used for, and depicts Ryu's struggle to resist the urge. Gameplay-wise, Evil Ryu has more powerful attacks than the original, strikes faster and possesses some of the attacks of Akuma (such as the Shun Goku Satsu).

The only time Evil Ryu actually appears in Street Fighter canon is at the end of the first World Warrior tournament. According to the Street Fighter Alpha series, Sagat, the defending champion, crushed Ryu, and then extended his hand to help Ryu up after thinking that he had won. Ryu was so consumed with the desire to win that he gave into the Satsui no Hadou ("Evil Intent" in the American version) and executed a Metsu Shoryuken, scarring Sagat's chest and his pride with rage.

Appearances Edit

Evil Ryu has occasionally appeared in various Capcom games featuring Ryu, besides Alpha. Nevertheless, Evil Ryu does not exist as a separate character and is an alternate, "what if" version of Ryu in Alpha. (This form of Ryu has its own page only for cross-reference purposes.) Despite the brief brush and/or temptation from the Satsui no Hadou, canonically, Ryu rejected the Satsui no Hadou from taking away his humanity like Akuma, and has made mass innovations to Gouken's style which helped him bring his personal style up to par with Evil Ryu from the Street Fighter Alpha series by Street Fighter III.

He has been confirmed to appear in the arcade version of Super Street Fighter IV. Alongside gaining new attacks, his design has been updated, now sporting a red aura, a torn black gi, red eyes similar to Akuma and is far more powerful then the one in Alpha, flared up hair and a gaping hole in his chest that bursts with flares. This hole seems to be a reference to the grievous wound Ryu receives in the Street Fighter III manga by Masahiko Nakahira (which ironically was a result of a battle in which he defeated Akuma without resorting to the Satsui no Hadou). In his alternate costume, he is given much longer hair, giving him a more savage appearance.

NotesEdit

Like Akuma, Evil Ryu has a signature symbol that appears when he performs the Shun Goku Satsu and is just as strong as Shin Akuma as seen in Street Fighter Alpha 3. Evil Ryu has a different symbol than Akuma: In Street Fighter Alpha 3 and in Capcom vs. SNK 2, the symbol was Metsu (滅) for "Destruction."His beliefs are just like Akuma who wants nothing more but to die in a fight against a worthy opponent, his personality is very violent, Justice and vengeance or meaningless to him, likes fighting strong opponents, like Akuma, he doesn't like weakness or positive emotions from anyone.

Evil Ryu in Super Street Fighter 4 AE on the otherhand does not use the Shun Goku Satsu as his ultra but as a super. His signiture move is a triple shoryuken that, if not blocked, on the third hit Evil Ryu will go up in the sky, raises his hand and absorb as much dark ki that he can, then smashes it into his opponents skull with his fist as he goes down to earth. He is much more powerful then he was in the Alpha series and has become much smarter, his new look might have something to do with the Onigami within Akuma. His voice is also very similar to the english voice of Vegeta from Dragonball Z.

Gallery Edit