Evil Ryu

In the Street Fighter Alpha series, there is a selectable version of Ryu called Evil Ryu known in Japan as Satsui no Hadou ni Mezameta Ryū. He was originally introduced in a 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, 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.

Since then, Evil Ryu has occasionally appeared in various Capcom games featuring Ryu. Nevertheless, Evil Ryu does not exist as a separate character and is only an alternate, "what if" version of Ryu. Despite the brief brush and/or temptation from the Satsui no Hadou, canonically, Ryu rejected the Satsui no Hadou, and has made mass innovations to Gouken's style which helped him bring the fighting style up to par with Evil Ryu by Street Fighter III. However, there is evidence suggesting otherwise in the home versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3; if the player matches normal Ryu against Evil Ryu, they have a special pre-match introduction that involves normal Ryu attacking first with a rushing elbow, and then Evil Ryu counterattacking, suggesting a fierce rivarly between the normal Ryu and what supposedly appears to be an "evil clone" of him.

Like Akuma, Evil Ryu has a signature symbol that appears when he performs the Shun Goku Satsu. Evil Ryu has a different symbols: In Alpha 3, his symbol was Metsu, for "Destruction" (滅), though it only appears in his ending, not during gameplay, and in Capcom vs. SNK 2.