Do we like them?

Do we like Ryu?

A character from Street Fighter (1987-present)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's humble, honest and loyal, and he fights to improve rather than to dominate. He's not much of a talker, so don't expect deep conversation.

Ryu is the face of Capcom's Street Fighter series, which began in 1987. He's a quiet, focused Japanese fighter who was raised and trained in the Ansatsuken style alongside his friend and rival Ken Masters. He enters fighting tournaments across the world, not for money or fame, but to find stronger opponents and learn from them.

His personality is the draw. He's polite, stoic and a little awkward. He is more at home training in the mountains than in a crowd, and he respects a worthy opponent far more than he cares about winning. Villains who want power for its own sake never really understand him.

The series' running tension is the dark power inside every fighter, the pull of fighting with pure killing intent. Ryu is tempted by it, but the games show him choosing restraint and the discipline he was taught. That struggle is why we score him 8 and not a perfect 10. He's a little single-minded and often absent from the people who care about him, but his heart is reliably in the right place.