Anime and Video Game Characters: Ryu

The Famous Ryu

Sorry, I'm not talking about Street Fighter's Ryu, I'm talking about Breath of Fire 2's Ryu. Yeah, Ryu isn't as buff as the Street Fighter character who goes by the same name, but oh wait, yes he is.

Not the troll in the back, the one with the sword

So no matter how you picture him, the Ryu that I'm talking about is from Breath of Fire 2. Now, each of the Breath of Fire games has two names that are always there: Ryu and Nina. In every single game, the Ryu and Nina are different. In this game, Ryu begins off as a boy living in Gate. He lives with his father and sister, and in the very back of the town, where the mountain is at, there is a dragon guarding a gate. That is Ryu's mother. And when going through the path to that mountain, one of my favorite pieces, Memories, plays.

And at night, a thieving dog-human hybrid Bow comes along and Ryu goes along with him because after sleeping, the whole town has forgotten all memories of Ryu (the reason for this is revealed later in the story). Ryu and Bow find refuge in a cave and meet Barubary, one of the final bosses in the game. They get their butts whooped and the two wake up later in Hometown best friends some years into the future.

And that's the backstory. Ryu is a silent protagonist, so there isn't much he says except yes or no and the occasional nod or shake of the head. At one point Katt likes him, and Nina's feelings for him are ambiguous, but she does say that next to her sister Mina, Ryu is her best friend. And Sten regards meeting Ryu and being friends with him as the event that made himself face his fears. And Bleu is glad that she came out of her sleep to see Ryu because he has made life interesting for her. And if this goes on much longer I'll have to play the game again and get the ending where there is no township because that's where I got this information from.

So yeah, stat-wise, Ryu doesn't have the best magic (belongs to Nina and Bleu), doesn't have the best HP or health (belongs to Rand) or attack (belongs to Sten I think) or speed (definitely belongs to Katt). But his stats are damn good and he has access to the dragon magic....which is pretty amazing except for the fact that it saps all the MP and deals a damage to all the enemies. So it's Awesome but Impractical.

Rating: Best Ryu