Ryo Sakazaki

Ryo Sakazaki (Japanese: リョウ・サカザキ) is a character introduced in the 1992 fighting game Art of Fighting developed by SNK. In the series, Ryo is depicted as a skilled martial artist who practices his family's fighting style, Kyokugenryu Karate (Japanese: 極限流空手), taught by his father Takuma. After his younger sister Yuri disappears, Ryo and his best friend Robert Garcia search Southtown to find her, facing several opponents along the way. While the series follows Ryo's journey as a protector of those he loves, he also regularly appears in the crossover series The King of Fighters, in which he participates in fighting tournaments to promote the Kyokugenryu Karate. He also appears in other SNK games as an older fighter named "Mr. Karate" (Japanese: Mr.カラテ) influenced by his father Takuma. Additionally, he features in several manhua adaptations and appears in the anime OVA adaptation of Art of Fighting.

SNK developers Hiroshi Matsumoto and Takashi Nishiyama created Ryo as an homage to the Street Fighter characters; the team that produced the first game in the franchise left Capcom to join SNK to produce other games. Ryo's inclusion in The King of Fighters series was decided immediately by the staff as the company wanted to employ characters from its other series in crossover games. SNK artist Hiroaki Hashimoto was responsible for his alter-ego Mr. Karate's design as he wanted to create a new design distinctly different from the original. Multiple voice actors have portrayed Ryo throughout his different appearances.

Video game publications have both praised and criticized Ryo's character. Although Ryo has been criticized for his similarities to the Street Fighter video games' characters, several reviewers have praised his development in several SNK games such as his introduction in Fatal Fury Special and The King of Fighters as one of the first crossover characters. Ryo served as a model for the development of Dan Hibiki, a joke character in the Street Fighter series due to similar designs.