Characters of the Art of Fighting series

The following is a list of video game characters featured in the Art of Fighting fighting game series developed by SNK. The Art of Fighting series serves as a prequel to the Fatal Fury series, with the three games taking place between 1978 and 1980, over a decade before the events of Fatal Fury: King of Fighters. The initial two games are set in South Town, the same setting as the Fatal Fury series, as martial artists Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia face several foes after Ryo's sister Yuri went missing. The second Art of Fighting 2 is a direct sequel starring far more playable characters with the leads alongside Yuri and Ryo's father Takuma participating in the King of Fighters tournament in order to have revenge against the host Geese Howard for orchestrating Yuri's kidnapping. The third Art of Fighting game takes place in the fictional Mexican town of Glasshill Valley as several fighters travel around the area for their own purposes with Ryo and Yuri searching for the missing Robert.

Many characters from both Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury appear in The King of Fighters series, which is set in its own universe that ignores the continuity established in the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury games so that the characters from both series could battle without having to age any of them. Ryo Sakazaki and his allies are also featured as guest characters in other games such as Buriki One, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and Capcom vs. SNK. In certain games, Ryo has aged and became his father's successor under the new alias Mr. Karate.