Evil Ryu

Evil Ryu, 殺意の波動に目覚めたリュウ, Satsui no Hadō ni Mezameta Ryū, "Ryu who has Awakened to the Surge of Killing Intent", Satsui Ryu in short), or Dark Ryu in the UDON comics, is a playable character in various Street Fighter games beginning with Street Fighter Alpha 2. 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.

Evil Ryu is not an entirely "independent" character; he represents Ryu, should he succumb to Satsui no Hado's fullest extent and use Ansatsuken as it originally used for, and depicts Ryu's struggle to resist the urge. Like Akuma, Evil Ryu has a signature symbol that appears when he performs the Shun Goku Satsu; in Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Capcom vs. SNK 2, the symbol was Metsu, for "Destruction" (滅), though it only appears in his ending, not during gameplay.

Appearance
Evil Ryu often appears as a palette swap of Ryu wearing a black gi, though the Alpha series also gives him a black head band. His skin also becomes a slightly darker shade along with his hair. From CvS onward, he has been depicted with red pupils, although some games leave his eyes entirely red.

In Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, his design was given an update, taking on a much more feral appearance with traits taken from Akuma. He appears far more menacing and powerful than his Alpha version; his eyes now glow, and his hair spikes up with red tint. Most notable of all is a gaping hole burned into his chest, with a similar scar on his back that bears a glowing ten kanji. The scar resembles the effects of being hit up close with the Meido Gohado that is used by Oni.

Interestingly, in Ryu's non-canon cameo appearance in Asura's Wrath, it is Asura who gives him the scar after launching him into the moon from Earth and attempts to drive him through with his fist. The scar disappears after he returns to normal.

Personality
As Evil Ryu, he becomes demonic and uncompassionate, casting aside his respectful ways. He now enjoys power quite a lot, and hates weakness from all of humanity such as love, family, justice and vengeance. He also becomes very brutal towards fighters in general, even young children, especially those that oppose him. He is also harsher than Oni, to the point of being cold-blooded. He is shown to be very smart as well.

History
The only time Evil Ryu "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, beating 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 Hado ("Evil Surge" or "Dark Hadou" in the American version), and executed a Metsu Shoryuken, scarring Sagat's chest with rage and hate and also attacking his pride. Since then, Evil Ryu has occasionally appeared in various Capcom games featuring Ryu.

It must be noted that Evil Ryu does not truly exist as a separate character. While it is possible in some games (such as the home versions of Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001) for the player to include both normal Ryu and Evil Ryu on the same team, Ryu canonically rejected the Satsui no Hado - despite the brief brush and/or temptation - from fear of losing his humanity like Akuma, and has made mass innovations to Gouken's peaceful and spiritual aspect of the fighting style, which helped him bring the fighting style up to par with Evil Ryu from the Alpha series by Street Fighter III.

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 that the battle is taking place inside Ryu's mind, representing his struggle with the Satsui no Hadou.

Evil Ryu is also a playable character in Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. He is a secret boss in Arcade Mode, as well as being a playable character.

Evil Ryu also appears as Asura's Wrath DLC, seemingly, as a boss character alongside Ryu and Akuma.

Story
While defeating a few fighters who are in his way, he encountered Sagat once again. Evil Ryu told Sagat to fight him. Sagat said his name and told him to look at himself as he lost control of his power, and that he is not the same man he wanted to challenge. Evil Ryu, annoyed, told him to shut up and fight. After defeating Sagat, he told him why he didn't fight with all of his strength, to which Sagat responded with "Why should I? You are not the Ryu who left a scar on my chest!" and said a warrior wouldn't allow himself to be tempted by a "cheap trick". After this, he told Ryu that he will wait for his true rival to return and challenge him.

After fighting and defeating more of his opponents, Evil Ryu faced M. Bison at his true potential. Bison told Evil Ryu that he came a long way, and arrogantly called him a kid. He then told Evil Ryu that he is only human and that he cannot resist the evil energy within, the formidable ki of the Satsui no Hadou, and that he will plunge deeper into the darkness as his power grows. He even said that his darkness will be powerful enough to be his source of energy. Evil Ryu responded with a defiant "Never!", and told M. Bison that he would not succeed.

Upon defeating M. Bison, he came to Shin Akuma's location. Both of the powerful fighters used Shun Goku Satsu on each other, and the attacks canceled out, saving both of their souls. Evil Ryu asked Shin Akuma that if he knows what lies ahead and what this evil energy will bring. Annoyed, Shin Akuma said, "Words do not have any meaning to us..." and told him to satisfy his rage and anger and attack him, claiming that only the winner will know the truth.

Upon finally defeating Shin Akuma, Evil Ryu is temporarily dizzied, now proud of his greatest victory against his greatest opponent. As he hunched over and clutched his chest, saying that only a true martial artist could have this invincible evil power, Ryu screamed in excitement and experienced a flashback of him using the fated Shoryuken against Sagat in black and white. Claiming his fist is stained with "the blood of death", his eyes became red and his chest expanded as he screamed again.

The last scene in his Story Mode shows Evil Ryu with his back turned, while looking at his fallen opponents, as he screams in excitement one last time. As he approaches Akuma's stage, deeming himself "the supreme master of the fist", the Metsu kanji appears on the back of his gi. His final words of the storyline are "Where...? Where can I find the one who can defeat me?!"

Gameplay/Fighting Style
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). He is also a hidden boss, known among fans as Shin Evil Ryu. He can cancel any attack with his Raging Demon attack, making it possible for him to corner any players before finishing them off with his Raging Demon.

In Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Evil Ryu has an updated moveset, with 1 brand new Ultra Combo and a new Special Move, the Ryusokyaku. His Super Combo is the Shun Goku Satsu, which is naturally identical to Akuma's Super.

His first Ultra Combo, the Metsu Hadoken, is functionally the same as Ryu's, with some differences. His second Ultra Combo is the Messatsu Gou-Shouryuu, which works similarly to Ken's Shoryureppa.

In Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, players can fight against Shin Evil Ryu. He has the ability to cancel into his Ashura Senku from any of his normal or special attacks, as well as being able to cancel most of his moves with the Raging Demon. This makes it very dangerous to attack him up close.

Satsui no Hado

 * Main Article: Satsui no Hado

To tap into the Satsui no Hado, a fighter must be so consumed with the desire to win that they are willing to kill. As a result, only people who push themselves to be the best at all costs can take advantage of it. However, the untrained mind can be driven to a temporary insanity if they have not prepared for it. For those who do succeed in controlling it, they develop an almost cold, cynical detachment from themselves.

Originally, Ryu scarred Sagat with a single Shoryuken. It was later retconned that Ryu lost control of himself by rising up fist first, scarring Sagat with the Metsu Shoryuken. His attack took on the properties of Goutetsu's original art, despite having never been taught it by his master, Gouken. Although Sagat wanted revenge for his scarred chest, he never knew that the scar came from the Satsui no Hado, a dark power that consumed Ryu. During Street Fighter Alpha 2, Ryu finally realized that the Satsui no Hado was the culprit behind his cheap victory over Sagat. Knowing about this dark intent, Ryu has vowed to reject the Satsui no Hado, but it wasn't enough to completely eliminate the Satsui no Hadou, as it still resided within him. It was not until the end of Street Fighter IV that Gouken was able to seal it away using the "Power of Nothingness".

Thus, Evil Ryu acts as a representation of what Ryu is capable of with the power of the Killing Intent, and serves to remind him what he could become.

Capcom Vs SNK SD Card Fighters
Evil Ryu appears as a collectable character card.

Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
Evil Ryu appears as Ryu's 6th color scheme, more akin to his Capcom Vs SNK appearance featuring pale skin instead of the usual beet red.

Asura's Wrath
Evil Ryu appears as the second and final opponent of the Asura's Wrath extra DLC episode "Lost Episode 1: Finally Someone Angrier Than Me", and is referred to as "Hatred Incarnate". After the titular character uppercuts him into the moon and attempts to drive him through the chest with his fist, the Satsui no Hadou awakens, causing Ryu to transform into a demonic being. The previous SSFIV combat style used in the first part of the episode switches to the traditional one used for the game. Evil Ryu retains all of his moves from SSFIV, but they have been significantly enhanced for the style of this game (i.e. larger Gohadoukens) and his Metsu Shoryuken is much stronger than most boss attacks in the game. The battle ends when both Asura and Evil Ryu attempt the Raging Demon on one another and it ends up in a draw, exhausting Ryu's darkness and returning him to normal.

Trivia

 * The hole in Evil Ryu's chest and kanji 天 carved into his back in Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition could be a reference to a scene in the Ryu Final manga, in which Akuma punches through Ryu’s chest in their final battle and almost defeats him.
 * Ryu Final is the work of Masahiko Nakahira, who also made mangas for Street Fighter Alpha.
 * Ryu's tenth color in the Street Fighter IV series and the default X-ISM colour in Street Fighter Alpha 3 resembles a lighter coloured version of Evil Ryu.
 * Evil Ryu's win quote in Arcade Mode against C. Viper in Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition references the animated movie Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind, when C. Viper willingly awakens Evil Ryu by torturing Cammy to gather information on his power.

Stage Theme
Street Fighter EX



Street Fighter Alpha 3



Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition