Street Fighter has been one of best fighting game franchises since its creation in the late 80s. It has developed a cult following in the arcade scene, similar to Mortal Kombat, and became a measurement of skill among arcade players. Street Fighter was also one of the first games to introduce a fighting system based on a six button layout. Fighting games were never the same after Street Fighter was released because its sequel added head to head multiplayer. The addition of multiplayer and the ability to do combos (which was a glitch) on opponents created a new genre that is still enjoyed by thousands. Several fighting games were made in order to succeed in the arcade scene, with a home console port if there was demand for it.

Ryu is the main protagonist of the series and a recognizable figure in video game history. His attire is a traditional white gi; a martial art attire that is used in Karate or Jiu Jitsu. He wears boxing gloves and is known for his signature Hadoken; a fireball from his hands! With some of the obvious details out of the way, here are the top 15 things that you probably didn't know about Ryu!

15 Ryu Is Afraid Of Spiders

Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders or other types of arachnids like scorpions, ticks, and mites. Western culture has always had a fear of spiders and, in fact, 55% of women and 18% of men are scared of spiders to varying degrees. You will often see spiders in many fantasy and horror movies because they are presented as deadly venomous critters.

Well, Ryu happens to be a Street Fighter who has shown a fear of spiders. One morning Ryu woke up with a spider in his mouth, thus causing traumatic experience that will stay with him forever. Ryu will mention his dislike of spiders when facing Spider-Man in the Marvel Vs Capcom series.

14 Ryu Is Older Than You Think

The first Street Fighter game available in Japanese arcades was created in 1987 by Capcom. It revolutionized the fledgling gaming industry, becoming one of the very first one-on-one fighting games. However, Street Fighter II is the game most people remember playing in the arcades and home consoles. Street Fighter would give rise to other fighting games like Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, and King of Fighters. Ryu has been in every Street Fighter game since the first one. But did you know that Ryu's official birth-date is July 21st, 1964! He's already pushing into his 50s and still kicking butt like no other fighter can. At this point, he might as well retire and train a new generation of fighters.

13 Ryu Has A Dark Side

Ryu has always tried to stay pure and focus on honing his technique and fighting style. His fighting style also has the potential to create a murderous lust for battle known as the Satsui no Hado. It was latter written that he unleashed his Satsui no Hado in a desperate attempt to defeat Sagat. The closest and literal translation of Satsui no Hado is "Surge of Murderous Intent." Evil Ryu made his first appearance in the Street Fighter Alpha series as a color swap of the original Ryu pixel model. He shares many similarities and attacks with Akuma throughout the Street Fighter series. Evil Ryu will also have access to the Raging Demon Super in which his Kanji of "Destruction" will flash on the screen.

12 Mario Stole His Moves

Ryu is the most recognizable fighting game character in history. Most people know who Ryu is, even if they don't know how to properly say his name. The 90s was a good time for fighting games and many tried to emulate Street Fighter's success. Ryu has appeared in SNK Vs Capcom, X-Men Vs Street Fighter, Marvel Vs Capcom 1-3, Street Fighter X Tekken, and Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. He even makes an RPG debut with his partner Ken in Project X Zone and Project X Zone 2. He always appears with his traditional costume and keeps his signature moves. Even other fighting games will use Ryu as the basis for a Shoto fighter in their own games. Mario in Smash Bros. has many moves that are almost direct copies of Ryu's Hadoken, Shoryuken, and Tatsumaki.

11 Ryu Is A Shounen Character!

Shounen Anime or Manga are stories about male protagonists that have action filled plots and humorous story lines. This type of storytelling is very popular to males between the ages of 8-18 since it is action packed. Many shounen characters will often have similar character traits such as being happy, wanting to prove and challenge their skills, camaraderie, honor, and developing self-discipline. Ryu shares many traits that are similar to characters like Goku from Dragon Ball and Luffy from One Piece. He loves to eat large amounts of food when possible, always seeking to challenge himself, fight for justice, and he also believes in self-discipline. Ryu has strong ties of camaraderie with his rivals and his best friend Ken, making him very similar to other Shounen characters.

10 Ryu Lineage

Gouken is the master that teaches both Ken and Ryu when they were young. Ken's dad is a good friend of Gouken and he agreed to train his friend's son. Ryu, however, has no recollection of his parents and was orphaned the entire time. Gouken adopted Ryu as his own son and trained him in his style of Ansatsuken. It is odd that Ryu has no recollection whatsoever about his past before Gouken and also has the potential to use the Satsui no Hado. What if Akuma is actually Ryu's dad? Akuma's age is listed as unknown, but we know that he and Gouken trained under the same master. There could be a revelation down the line for Ryu about his unknown heritage and how he became orphaned.

9 Ryu Respects Marvel

Ryu has appeared in and been a staple of the Marvel Vs Capcom series. Having him fight along side other superheroes has inspired him to train harder and vice versa. There are several lines of dialogue across many Marvel Vs Capcom games that show his respect for Marvel heroes. He particularity holds Cyclops, Captain America, Spider-Man, and Wolverine in high regards when it comes to justice and combat. Wolverine is usually Ryu's biggest rival. They both believe in justice and are also bound by a darker primal instinct. The idea of Ryu traveling across the Marvel Universe in order to train and become a better fighter is both hilarious and awesome. I would like to see if Ryu could best Iron Fist in a one-on-one match.

8 Ryu Is In Asura's Wrath

Asura's Wrath was a beat-em up game that came out in 2012 and published by Capcom. Asura is a demigod who is on a revenge spree against all the other demigods that betrayed him. In May 2012, a DLC called "Lost Episode 1: At Last, Someone Angrier Than Me" featured a non-canonical fight between Asura and Ryu. The Lost Episode is set in Asura's world, but it looks like a fight taking place in Street Fighter IV with health bars and other fighting game mechanics. Asura's Wrath has over the top action and Ryu's Shoryuken was powerful enough to transport Asura and himself to the moon! They resumed their fight and Asura causes Ryu to transform into his evil counterpart.

7 Ryu Scarred Sagat

Sagat is a Muay Thai fighter and is considered the "King of Muay Thai" in Street Fighter's world. His concept art and appearance is based on traditional Muay Thai fighters, while his signature symbol is the Tiger. Sagat was introduced as the final boss in Street Fighter and made another boss appearance in Street Fighter II. He only became playable after Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and has stayed as a staple character for future releases. In East Asian mythology, the tiger and dragon are considered rivals and this is alluded to in Street Fighter since Ryu's symbol is often a dragon. Ryu scarred Sagat by using a Shin Shoryuken when he lost control of himself and fell prey to the Satsui no Hado. Sagat never covers up the scar on his torso in order to remind himself of his defeat which fuels his ambition to beat Ryu.

6 Ryu Can Still Parry

Ryu is the only character that retained his "Parry" move from Street Fighter III: Third Strike. That game introduced the "Parry System" which involves absorbing a opponents attack by using the right inputs and good timing. Many Street Fighter fans loved the parry system and have wanted it back, but Capcom does allow its resurgence in small forms. Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 allowed the player to equip a card that allows the use of parry. While in Street Fighter V, Ryu is the only known character that can still parry using his Mind's Eye V-Skill.

5 Ryu's Biggest Fan

Sakura is Ryu's biggest fan and admirer, wanting to become his student. Sakura is a high school student who became obsessed with martial arts after watching Ryu win the first World Warrior tournament. She has studied videos and has personally started following Ryu to several events and tournaments. Sakura is self taught and many of her moves resemble Ryu's fighting style. Ryu has on occasion instructed and trained both Sakura and Dan. However, he feels that he's not ready to settle down with a dojo because he still has many more battles ahead of him. By Street Fighter IV, Sakura's admiration for Ryu becomes a crush and she vows to train harder in order for him to notice her.

4 Ryu Amiibo

Nintendo started testing the toys to life market with their own brand known as Amiibo. These toys would unlock cool features or items in several Nintendo published games. The Amiibo line first started with the Smash Bros. for Wii U collection in which every Smash Bros. character would be given an Amiibo. Ryu is one of the newest and unique Smash Bros. characters introduced via DLC. Both Ryu and Mega Man are characters that are owned by Capcom and the only other third party character in Smash was Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Ryu, as a Smash character, is the only one who can carry over his combos from Street Fighter and has access to two final smashes: Shin Shoryuken and Shinku Hadoken. The Amiibo in person is beautifully sculpted and makes a great addition to any Street Fighter toy collector.

3 Ryu Is An Assassin?

Not everyone knowns what Ryu's fighting style actually is and where it derives from. Originally, Capcom had described Ryu's fighting style as Shotokan, which described other characters that had projectiles and Shoryukens like Akuma, Ken, and Gouken. However, his official style is known as "Ansatsuken" aka Assassin's Fist. Ryu prides himself of using this effective fighting style outside of its intended purpose of assassinations. Akuma believes that by not killing, one is not properly using Ansatsuken techniques to their fullest. Gouken developed his style of Ansatsuken as a peaceful and spiritual alternative that does not require Satsui no Hado. Ryu also shares his master's beliefs and trains everyday to suppress the evil nature of his style and hone his self-control through discipline and sparring.

2 Movie Ryu Is Awful

The 1994 film Street Fighter is a God awful adaptation of the video game series. The main stars of the movie are not Ryu or Ken, but instead Guile, who is played by popular action star Jean-Claude Van Damme and M. Bison who is played by the legendary Raul Julia. Ryu and Ken do makes appearances throughout the plot, but are known as street brawlers and con artists. Ryu's first scene in the movie involves conning Sagat in a weapons deal. The 1994 Street Fighter movie was a commercial success, but was ripped apart by fans and critics. This movie was simply made to cash in on the popularity of the franchise. Other Street Fighter live action adaptations have not had success at the box office, but several fan films are critically acclaimed.

1 Ryu In Wreck-It Ralph!

Wreck-It Ralph is a 2012 film created by Disney that tells the story of a video game villain who wants to be the good guy. This movie has several video game references from popular arcade games and home console games like Sonic the Hedgehog. Ryu can be seen multiple times throughout the movie, if one plays close attention to the background. You will see Ryu and Ken fighting on a Street Fighter II arcade cabinet, while Ryu also shows up again at Tappers bar drinking a cold cup of root beer. Lastly, he also attends Mr. Fix-It's wedding as a seated guest with Chun-Li next to him. Several other Street Fighter characters appear through out the movie like Cammy, Zangief, and M. Bison.