Art of Fighting 2/Ryo Sakazaki

Backstory

Ryo was not born a fighter. Though the successor to Takuma Sakazaki, Ryo struggled during his training at a young age and often struggled in sparring matches against his friend Robert. On Ryo's 10th Birthday, Ryo's mom died, and his father Takuma dissappeared shortly after. Ryo was forced to take care of his younger sister Yuri, and as such was forced to start working at a young age. Ryo began street fighting for money. At first he was unsuccessful, but eventually he became the best street fighter in South Town, gaining the attention of Mr. Big. After declining Big's invitation to join his gang, Big kidnapped Yuri. Ryo tracked down Yuri and defeated Big and Mr. Karate, who was Takuma in disguise. After reuniting with his sister and father, Ryo left to train, until he recieved an invitation to the King of Fighters tournament.

Special Moves

Ko'ou Ken - qcf + A (236 + A) [20% spirit meter]

• Ryo shoots a blast of ki energy from his palm
• Ryo can perform this move in the air as well. Press A to shoot diagonally downward; B to shoot straight.
• It's your standard fireball, not much to say
• With red spirit bar, this move will have very short range

Kohou - dp + A (623 + A) [20% spirit meter]

• Ryo performs an anti-air uppercut
• This move has two different hits
• Both hits must hit a grounded opponent to knock down
• This move has relatively short range
• This move will not come out with red spirit bar

Kyokugenryuu Renbuken - qcb + A (214 + A) [20% spirit meter]

• Ryo unleashes 4 quick punches, 2 at a time
• This attack will not change depending on the spirit bar but will still drain it nonetheless

Hienshippu-Kyaku - db, f + A ([1]6 + A) [25% spirit meter]

• Ryo launches himself forward to deliver a kick attack
• If successful, he will hit twice, unless he has red spirit bar, where he'll hit only once and also launch at a slower speed

Zanretsu-Ken - f, b, f + A (646 + A) [40% spirit meter]

• Ryo stands still and attacks with multiple punches
• Can be used as an anti-air against farther opponents and on wakeup to stop pressure
• If all punches whiff, there is no recovery, but if one punch hits a blocking opponent, Ryo will have a long recovery where he can be punished with a combo
• This move will not come out with red spirit bar

Super Move

Haohshokoken - f, hcf + A (641236 + A) [75% spirit meter]

• Ryo creates a wall of ki energy to attack opponent
• Has slow startup compared to other super moves
• Can be dodged with a well timed jump or wall jump

Hidden Super Move/Desperation Move

RyuukoRanbu - qcf, hcb + C (2363214 + C) [75% spirit meter]

• Ryo rushes towards the opponent to deliver an unlockable barrage attack
• Does massive damage and can be safely performed on knocked down opponents
• Move can only be performed when health is low enough (Ryo's stance will change as a sign)

Strengths And Weaknesses

Ryo is the purest character in the game. He doesn't have any broken or unintended tools (unless you dig really deep for obscure tech). What you see is what you get. This doesn't necessarily help him in the game though.

Strengths: Ryo has good zoning tools, especially using his air fireballs. He can use Zanretsu-Ken on wakeup to stop some character's pressure and his DP to beat jumping characters. Zanretsu-Ken can also work as an anti-air with the right spacing. He can link a good amount of attacks together, being one of the few characters who can easily and properly combo a jump attack into a sweep, and can cancel many moves into Zanretsu-Ken for large amounts of damage. His normal moves have good range too.

Weaknesses: Ryo is weakest when trying to get in on an opponent. His throw is slow and easy to recover from in time, and your opponent if thrown too far away to try to attempt an unblockable setup. He doesn't have anything special or broken to him that other characters have to deal massive damage with ease. If an opponent gets in on you, your best option is to just wait until they mess up a move in order to take your turn back. If you mess up, on the other hand, many of Ryo's moves are punishable or reactable up close, leaving you at a disadvantage mid-screen if you use them. Ryo is underpowered in many aspects of the game because of these weaknesses, but he's strong enough to beat other low to mid tier characters, and has a chance against a few strong ones as well.