Evil Ryu

Evil Ryu, (殺意の波動に目覚めたリュウ, Satsui no Hadō ni Mezameta Ryū, "Ryu with the Surge of Murderous Intent awakened", abbreviated Satsui Ryu in Street Fighter Zero 3), 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 the 1996 Street Fighter Zero manga series authored by Masaomi Nakahira, and later adapted into the Street Fighter games by Capcom.

Appearance
Evil Ryu first appeared 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 the SNK vs. Capcom series onward, he has been depicted with red pupils, although some games leave his eyes entirely red.

Like Akuma, Evil Ryu has a signature kanji that appears when he performs the Shun Goku Satsu; in Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Capcom vs. SNK 2, the kanji is "destruction" (滅, metsu), though it only appears in his endings.

In Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, his design was given an update; he takes on a much more feral appearance, with traits taken from Akuma. He appears far more menacing and powerful; his eyes now glow, his costume and headband are torn, and his hair has Akuma's spikiness and reddish tint. Most notable of all is a gaping hole burned into his chest, with a similar scar on his back that bears a glowing "heaven" (天, ten) kanji. The scar resembles the effects of being hit up close with Oni's Meido Gohado.

The hole in Evil Ryu's chest and kanji of "heaven" (天, ten) 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.

In Ryu's 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
Evil Ryu is a demonic and rage-driven being; while his anger is not mindless, he has cast aside his respectful ways as an individual, as well as most traces of a somber side, he enjoys power, and seeks strong warriors to battle to the death with. He truly hates what he perceives as weakness from all of humanity, such as love, family, justice and vengeance. He is also extremely brutal towards fighters in general, even much more towards female fighters, and those that try to oppose him.

Also like Akuma, Evil Ryu is also dark, close-minded, and completely cold-blooded, and refers to himself as a demon. As a boss character, Evil Ryu alludes to his heartlessness often, as seen in many of his prefight and win quotes.

Background

 * See also: Satsui no Hado

In the storyline of the original Street Fighter game, Ryu scarred and defeated Sagat with a single Shoryuken. The Street Fighter Alpha series later retconned this to Ryu losing control of himself by rising up fist first, striking Sagat with the Metsu Shoryuken. During Street Fighter Alpha 2, Ryu finally realized that the Satsui no Hado was the culprit behind his cheap victory over Sagat. Ryu vowed to reject the Satsui no Hado, but it wasn't enough to completely eliminate the Satsui no Hado, 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, it must be noted that Evil Ryu does not truly exist as a separate character, though it is naturally 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 in a battle, sometimes on the same team.

In the home versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3, if the player matches Ryu against Evil Ryu, they have a special pre-match introduction that involves 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 Hado.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
Evil Ryu encounters Sagat during his quest to become the ultimate fighter, and challenges him once again. Sagat 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. Annoyed, Evil Ryu tells him to shut up and fight; after defeating Sagat, he asks why Sagat held back, to which Sagat responds: "Why should I? You are not the Ryu who left a scar on my chest!" He tells Evil Ryu that a warrior wouldn't allow himself to be tempted by a "cheap trick", and that he will wait for his true rival to return and challenge him.

After fighting and defeating several more opponents, Evil Ryu faces M. Bison at his true potential. Bison told Evil Ryu that he came a long way, but he is only human and cannot resist the evil energy within, and will plunge deeper into the darkness as his power grows. Bison considers Evil Ryu powerful enough to be his source of energy; Evil replies that Bison will not succeed, and fights and defeats him.

Evil Ryu then travels to Shin Akuma's location. Both fighters used the Shun Goku Satsu on each other, and the attacks canceled out, saving both of their souls. Evil Ryu asks Shin Akuma that if he knows what lies ahead and what this evil energy will bring; Akuma simply replies that "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 dazed, believing that he had become a true martial artist to experience this incredible power. As he hunched over and clutched his chest, Ryu screamed in excitement and experienced a flashback of him using the fated Metsu 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 "destruction" (滅, 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?!"

Capcom vs. SNK 2
Evil Ryu's ending text in Capcom vs. SNK 2 seems to suggest that his usage and ability to maintain the Satsui no Hado is fading away and is wearing itself out, which in turn worries Evil Ryu in what he should do now, either he seeks another battle or attempt to get help from whoever is willing to help him out, and what would become of him once the Satsui no Hado finally wears out. This is only known instance of the Satsui no Hado being able to be worn away by usage over a given amount of time.

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

Marvel vs. Capcom series
In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Evil Ryu appears as Ryu's 6th color scheme, and is 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 changes into his six arms form, uppercuts Ryu into the moon and attempts to drive him through the chest with his fist, the Satsui no Hado 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 are significantly modified for the style of this game, allowing a seemingly more accurate portrayal of his powers (i.e. larger Hadokens); his Metsu Hadoken, now an energy beam, is much stronger than most boss attacks in the game, and he uses it if he receives too many mantra shots from Asura. His Messatsu Goshoryu lifts Asura way higher if the first two punches land, and the final punch strikes Asura so hard it unlevels the part of the moon Augus previously leveled in the story of the game.

During the battle, he also receives an uppercut from the demigod's six arms, struggles in a headbutt contest and receives a very painful Atomic Drop on his tail bone. The battle ends when both Asura and Evil Ryu attempt the Raging Demon on one another, and it ends in a draw, exhausting Ryu's darkness and returning both fighters to normal.

Gameplay and fighting style
Evil Ryu's move has more powerful attacks than the original, strikes faster and possesses some of the attacks of Akuma (such as the Shun Goku Satsu).

In Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Evil Ryu has an updated moveset, with and a new special attack called the Ryusokyaku. His Super Combo is the Raging Demon, 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-Goshoryu, which works similarly to Akuma's version, and adds an additional attack if the combo connects properly.

As a boss character in Arcade Edition, Evil Ryu 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 into the Raging Demon. This makes it very dangerous to attack him up close.

Quotes

 * See Evil Ryu/Quotes.

Stage Theme
  

Trivia

 * Evil Ryu's final boss in Street Fighter Alpha 3 marks the only instance in the game where Bison does not serve as the final boss.
 * Ryu's tenth color in the Street Fighter IV series and the default X-ISM colour in Street Fighter Alpha 3 resembles a lighter-colored 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.
 * Evil Ryu bears a striking resemblance to Dan Inosanto as his role as Pasqual in Robert Clouse's Game of Death.
 * Evil Ryu's voice strongly resembles that of Majin Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. Coincidentally, Kyle Herbert voiced Gohan on the same show alongside Chris Sabat, Vegeta's voice actor.
 * In the Sega Mega Drive pirate games King of Fighters '98 and King of Fighters '99 (as well as the also pirated King of Fighters 2000 for the SNES) a similar "Orochi" evil version of Ryu is playable. Though he is unrelated to the actual Evil Ryu, he looks similar. Ryu99.jpg
 * Haken, Juri, and Dan are the only fighters to notice how enraged Evil Ryu is, and even try to relax him.