Background
Ryu has been in every Street Fighter game, since 1987's Street Fighter. He has remained very much the same, but he can be a powerful character to learners and experts alike.
Ryu studied Shotokan Karate in Japan under a figure known as Gouken, alongside a young American named Ken. The two students became close friends and fighting rivals. Ryu's signature red bandana once tied back Ken's ponytail. In Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie Ken gives it to Ryu after knocking Ryu down some steps in training, but in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Ken gives Ryu the bandana after defeating him at the end of the game.
At the age of around seventeen Ken left for America while Ryu toured Asia, seeking truth and enlightenment through the way of the warrior. He defeated Sagat in the first Street Fighter tournament, creating a huge scar on Sagat's chest with his Shouryuken. Sagat has ever since vowed vengeance.
In the Alpha games Ryu met a mysterious man called Akuma, the brother and murderer of Ryu's master, Gouken. Akuma challenged Ryu to search within himself for the true power. This produced the split-character Evil Ryu, a kind of alternate being who had walked down the same dark path as Akuma.
Despite all these rivalries Ryu remains focussed on the path of the warrior, and only seeks to perfect his art.
Discrepancies
Firstly, Ryu has no official surname, even though some comics and anime give him one. He is not Ken's brother, they only fight similarly because they trained together.
In Street Fighter II one of Ryu's winning quotes was "You must defeated Sheng Long to stand a chance." Some thought that this referred to his master, but it's generally accepted that Sheng Long is a mis-translation of Shouryuken, the Rising Dragon Punch, one of Ryu's techniques. Sheng Long has never existed as a character, besides a few April Fools jokes on the internet. Although he's never mentioned in the games besides 'master', it's believed that Ryu's master was named Gouken, that he was the brother of Akuma (Gouki) and that they both studied under Goutetsu.
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