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Ryu
リュウ Ryuu
BoFIII RyuPSP Artwork
Portrait BoFIII RyuPortrait SpriteBoFIII RyuChildPortrait Sprite
Sprite BoFIII RyuFrontSideIdle SpriteBoFIII RyuFrontSideWorldMap SpriteBoFIII RyuChildFrontSideWorldMap SpriteBoFIII RyuChildFrontSideWorldMap Sprite 2
Type
Playable Character
Home
Cedar Woods
Occupation
Hero
Height
168 cm (5'6")
Child: 131cm (4'4")
Weight
62.5 kg (137.8 lbs)
Child: 29.8kg (65.7 lbs)
Action
Sword Slash
Weapon
Sword
Voice actor
Kappei Yamaguchi
Child: Tomoko Takai
I II III IV V VI
Main article: Ryu
"As the hero, Ryu is the only character who must be in your party at all times. His quest to shed light on his mysterious past propels him into a journey spanning his childhood and adolescence. He's a well-rounded character, naturally quick in battle and useful for his healing spells, powerful attacks, and Dragon-transformation abilities. He's the only party member who can use the Brood Genes scattered throughout Breath of Fire III."
— Prima strategy guide description
"Ryu is a blue-haired young man with a moral heart. He is the only known survivor of the dragon race the Brood, and he uses his strength and dragon abilities to help his companions. Ryu learns a good set of healing and assist magic, and putting that together with his dragon abilities make him the most valuable member of your party."
— Bio

Ryu is the main protagonist of Breath of Fire III. As a member of the mythical Brood, he has the ability to transform into dragons, and is heralded as the Prince of Dragons by those in Dragnier. Being one of the few remaining Brood left, it's up to him to find out why God wanted his people destroyed in the Great War.

Appearance and Personality[]

As a child, Ryu sports a beige and dark green tunic jumper shorts with a white undershirt with large, white and brown boots. As an adult he wears a blue gray and red breastplate under a white long vest, with a large baggy olive green pants and brown boots. Both in his childhood and adolescence, he wears red shoulder guards and the orange scarf that they wear is different which the color of his scarf in his childhood years is red orange as his adolescence years' scarf is yellow orange. His hair is always seen blue and spiky, and his eyes match that color.

Ryu is a silent protagonist, and thus the player does not observe any dialogue of his during the course of the game. However, he does appear to speak as the game will show him interacting conversationally with the rest of the party who seem to understand him. Further, you are able to hear him call out spell names in battle. As a child, he seemed to be a crybaby, as he would often cry when something bad happened, though this disappeared over time. He is also shown to be shy around females, such as comically fainting when a faerie kisses him as a child, and blushes feverishly when he sees revived Deis in the nude (as an adult), turning away as other male characters, like Garr and Rei, don't turn away.

He seems to be protective of Nina and cares very much about her. He will often resort to extremes to protect her from harm. She is also the main reason he uses his Brood powers: in order to protect her, something that Garr took note of during the trip. While he did try to deny it at one point, Nina was able to pry the truth out of him, vowing to become stronger so he wouldn't get into trouble for using his powers. Some of the most notable events where Ryu resorts to extreme measures to save her life was when the two jumped down the side of a mountain and he transformed into a Whelp to soften her fall as children, and when he killed the Rakda to feed her the nutrient-rich and water-filled meat when she passed out from heatstroke as adults, both times taking large gambles for her sake.

His favorite food appears to be apples, as when idle while a child, can be sometimes seen eating them.

Story[]

Ryu first appears in the beginning of the game as a Dragon Whelp sleeping in a giant chrysm crystal in Dauna Mines when two miners, Mogu and Gary, blow it apart with dynamite. This causes Ryu to wake up and the miners are startled by finding a Dragon Whelp in the giant crystal, and in fear attack him. From here Ryu goes on attacking several miners but is finally stopped when a voice yells out in his head, and in this moment the miners knock him out and cage him. As they are transporting him he wakes up and shakes the cage off, and lands in Cedar Woods where he is rescued by Rei. He takes him home way out in the middle of the woods where Teepo also lives and they head to McNeil Village to get Ryu some clothes. Teepo is somehow able to learn Ryu's name before he even tells him what it is, and like Ryu he was abandoned in the forest alone. Rei and Teepo take Ryu along with them to make some money thieving on Yraall Road, but stop when they notice Bunyan heading down the road.

After being caught by Bunyan, Rei is sent off to kill the monster Nue on Mt. Glaus, and so Ryu and Teepo head off after him and meet up in an old hut on the mountain. There they battle the Nue and follow it to its den to finish it, and by doing so they end up bringing a plentiful harvest and peace to the village, and for the first time the villagers see them as heroes.

Afterwards, the team is separated at McNeil Manor, after they had agreed to steal the return the mayor's money to the farmers. Ryu and Teepo, after having to fight several ghosts of McNeil's past relatives, joins up with Rei and get the money and spread it to the villagers. This attracts unwanted attention however, and the Crime organization becomes aware of the team's actions. After they hear of this from Bunyan they run back home and find it up in flames, and Balio and Sunder reveal themselves and try to kill them. Ryu wakes up in Bunyan's house and despite Bunyan saying he found no one else, he heads off to Wyndia to see if Rei and Teepo headed the same direction.

While crossing Mt. Myrneg he bumps into Balio and Sunder again, who stab him in hopes of killing him. In doing so however they cause Ryu to transform back into the Dragon Whelp again, and the two get the idea to turn him over to the King of Wyndia in hopes of presenting Ryu as an evil threat to get a reward. But when they reveal the thing in the cage Ryu has already reverted back to his human form, and the King imprisons all three as con artists. Just when things looked grim the King's daughter, Princess Nina, came down to try and free him but she gets tricked by Balio and Sunder and gets kidnapped. Ryu breaks out and chases after them and through fighting them saves Nina. They escape the graveyard and Ryu learns that Teepo was in Wyndia but chased out to Eygnock Road. Upon arrival though they are once again captured by Balio and Sunder.

They escape again and flee into Mt. Boumore and eventually meet and befriend Momo and Peco, who join at their respective locations (Tower and Dump), only to be captured again. Nina suggests that they let your party enter the Contest of Champions to gain their freedom. However Ryu loses the Contest in the final round to Garr who sets the party free as his prize. Balio and Sunder, in anger of having been betrayed and having their prisoners escape yet again, fuse together to form the Stallion, and attacks the party. Garr intervenes, and together they finally defeat the brothers.

Garr tells Ryu that if he wishes to learn about his Brood heritage he should head to Angel Tower in the Urkan Region.

They finally make it to Angel Tower, and once they reach the burial ground in there Garr asks the rest of the party to wait upstairs so that he and Ryu can continue ahead. Inside are gravestones with the names of the four Guardians and a number below them. Garr tells Ryu and the number signifies the number of Brood they have killed and attacks Ryu, the last known surviving Brood. Ryu easily defeats him, and ends up transforming into a giant Kaiser Dragon and flies off, with Garr telling everyone that Ryu had died.

Several years go by, and a Dragon Whelp can be seen running around Dauna Mines again. Garr subdues it, and it transform into a much older Ryu. Garr leaves him some clothes and says Ryu can kill him at any time if he chooses, but he spares him. Garr wants to take Ryu to talk to God, to learn why he had to slaughter the Brood when they never even fought back, since if they had Garr would have easily been defeated just like Ryu defeated him in Angel Tower. As they try to leave Dauna Mines a dead Brood's spirit known as the Dragon Zombie appears and beckons Ryu to help him slay Garr. Ryu refuses and he attacks them both, eventually being overpowered and defeated by them.

The two head down Ogre Road and are attacked by a man eating tiger, who later escapes once they hurt it enough, heading towards Cedar Woods. Ryu decides to check it out, and upon visiting his old burned down home he confirms his suspicions; the man eating tiger was none other than Rei. Rei has the power to transform into the Weretiger, and is happy to see that Ryu had survived that terrible night. He still vows revenge against the people who killed Teepo and broke up his family and heads to McNeil Village, viciously attacking Loki before running off. Ryu and Garr go to McNeil Manor and reunite with Nina, who is with several Wyndian guards that are hauling away Mayor McNeil. She talks with them and decides to accompany them in taking down this organization.

As the team's objective turn into finding God, Ryu learns that he needs to find the Guardian Gaist. They head to a small town called Cliff and find Gaist, who challenges Ryu to a 1 on 1 fight to see for himself the true power of the Brood that God feared. By defeating him, Ryu releases the seal that imprisons Deis. She then bestows upon Ryu the prana, a third eye that will show him the path to God.

Eventually the team discovers Dragnier. Here they learn more about the history of Ryu's people from the elder Jono. In a battle where he couldn't use his Brood powers, Ryu fought and defeated Jono. In doing so he gained the full power of the Brood, and set off to confront Myria.

From Dragnier they go through The Factory and come upon the Desert of Death, and after several days of walking and fighting Manmo, Nina passes out from heat exhaustion. She is saved when Ryu sacrifices the Radka to feed Nina the nutrient rich meat it possesses, but from here there is no turning back as the Radka was their last resort to getting back to safety.

After finding the lost town of Caer Xhan in the depth of the desert, they enter Eden and find none other than Teepo there, who had no interest in no one else but Ryu, a fellow Brood. When Ryu refuses to give in to Myria, he sends him into a dream world where he meets the rest of his party members. Refusing to let himself be defeated by Arwan, Ryu slays him to exit the dream. Seeing that he won't give in to Myria's reason, Teepo transforms into the Dragon Lord and does battle with the party. After being brutally killed off, Teepo says all he ever wished for was to have lived peacefully with Rei and Ryu, and leaves behind a keycard that leads to Myria. They finally reach her and, after hearing what she has to say she gives Ryu two choices; be like Teepo and live here with her forever to keep the world safe, or refuse and live for yourself. Ryu refuses her offer, not willing to lose a part of his very being, and Myria transforms into a scary looking giant lizard, attacking the party.

With Myria destroyed, her station collapses, and the team escapes to the desert. Ryu is seen having survived the fall with Nina, Rei, Momo, and (presumably) Peco and Honey.

In Battle[]

Like the past Ryu's before him, he wields a sword and can wear all heavy armor. He also has a plethora of healing and support magic at his disposal, and combined with his physical feats and the diversity and power his Brood powers grant him, he's the strongest character in the game.

One strategy is to put him under Mygas as soon as possible, in ordr to give his AP and Intelligence a boost, since his Power and Defense grow well enough that the drawback doesn't hurt them much. After you feel he's gained enough, D'Lonzo is a good choice in boosting his Power and Agility, along with his accuracy, which will help reduce the drawback of him wearing heavy armor, which often lowers Agility, plus him acquiring Steal helps in places where Rei isn't around, and it fits his Thief "occupation" rather well. Hachio is a good option for later on, focusing on offensive might and HP, plus Demonsbane Skill is rather helpful for later in the game. Ladon is a good late-game master, as the skills he gives can be powerful, but make sure Ryu has ample amounts of HP and AP before taking him on, so an early enrollment to Giotto to bolster it doesn't hurt for a little while. Another popular option is to apprentice him under Bunyan early in the game and later under Deis, doing so will rise his physical attributes in early game where Dragon Forms are less needed and build the necessary AP later on to sustain the forms.

In terms of Skills, some good ideas are getting Jump early on, which can deal some easy, often impressive damage, though it is random, but oftentimes it can be strong enough to kill a monster, or even a mini-boss, with one blow. Snap is also useful if obtained early, as it can help whittle down tougher foes by reducing their Defense. Since Ryu is always in a team, giving him Influence can help tame Weretiger so Rei doesn't turn against his allies in a berserk attack. Up until just before your first visit Angel Tower, it's a good idea to have Burn and Frost to deal with monsters like the Nut People, Tar Man, Lava Man, and Vulcan (the former of which can awaken Vulcan, allowing you to gain more EXP and possibly the Lavaburst Skill). If you want to go for a more support role, then Kyrie can be helpful against enemies like Dragon Zombie and Arwan, especially the latter, as it saves time, energy, and AP that you would need to focus on other things.

Abilities[]

Abilities
Level Ability Type Description AP Cost Quote/SFX
- Heal Heal Heal light wounds on one target 4 "アパリフ!" / "Apurifu!" / "Uplift!"
4 Purify Heal Cures poison 4
6 Protect Assist Raise one target's Def 2
10 Rejuvenate Heal Heal medium wounds on one target 7
16 Shield Assist Raise all targets' Def 4
19 Raise Dead Heal Chance of restoring dead member 10
20 Remedy Heal Cures all status changes 7
23 Vitalize Heal Heal medium wounds on all targets 20
26 Barrier Assist Raise one target's magic defense 4
29 Restore Heal Heal heavy wounds on one target 12
31 Resurrect Heal Restore dead member 20
34 Vigor Heal Heal heavy wounds on all targets 50
36 Bonebreak Attack Attack: Usable at fixed intervals 0 "ゼノブレイク!"/ "Zenobuureiku!" / "Xenobreak!"
Event Accession Attack Change into dragon form 0

Stats[]

Stats
Lvl HP AP Pwr Def Agl Int
1 20 11 12 10 8 10
2 22 11 13 10 9 11
3 25 12 14 11 10 13
4 29 15 15 12 10 16
5 32 18 17 14 11 19
6 37 20 18 16 11 19
7 41 24 21 17 13 22
8 45 28 23 20 13 25
9 50 31 26 23 15 29
10 56 36 29 25 15 33
11 58 39 33 27 16 36
12 64 42 35 29 18 38
13 66 49 38 29 18 43
14 71 51 39 33 18 47
15 75 56 42 35 21 49
16 82 56 44 39 21 54
17 87 59 48 41 23 57
18 95 62 51 44 23 60
19 100 66 55 47 23 63
20 106 71 61 49 25 63
21 110 75 64 52 25 69
22 117 80 68 54 28 69
23 124 83 71 58 30 74
24 129 89 76 58 32 78
25 133 95 78 61 32 82
26 142 97 84 64 32 82
27 147 102 88 66 35 86
28 153 108 92 69 35 91
29 160 112 96 72 37 91
30 168 116 101 75 37 95
31 174 122 107 77 38 97
32 182 126 112 80 39 101
33 188 131 115 83 39 105
34 195 134 121 83 41 108
35 198 141 125 87 43 108
36 207 142 130 89 44 113
37 212 147 134 92 44 117
38 216 150 137 95 47 117
39 222 154 141 97 47 123
40 227 154 144 100 49 127
41 231 157 147 103 50 131
42 236 162 151 103 50 133
43 242 164 154 105 52 134
44 245 169 157 107 54 138
45 250 173 159 110 54 138
46 253 173 161 113 55 140
47 258 177 164 114 55 144
48 261 180 164 116 57 145
49 265 182 167 118 57 148
50 268 184 169 118 57 151
51 268 186 169 119 58 151
52 271 186 171 119 58 154
53 273 186 172 119 58 156
54 273 188 172 120 60 156
55 277 188 173 120 62 156
56 277 192 175 120 62 159
57 280 195 178 122 62 159
58 282 195 178 122 65 159
59 286 197 180 122 65 160
60 289 198 180 124 66 160
61 291 201 181 124 66 160
62 293 201 182 126 66 161
63 293 202 184 127 68 161
64 293 202 184 129 68 164
65 296 202 185 129 68 165
66 296 202 185 129 72 165
67 300 204 185 130 72 165
68 300 204 188 130 72 167
69 300 205 188 130 73 167
70 302 206 188 131 73 167
71 305 206 190 131 73 168
72 305 208 190 131 75 168
73 305 208 190 133 75 168
74 307 208 191 133 75 168
75 307 211 191 134 75 168
76 308 211 191 134 76 171
77 309 211 193 134 77 172
78 309 213 193 134 77 173
79 309 215 193 136 78 173
80 311 216 194 136 78 175
81 311 218 197 136 78 175
82 314 218 198 136 78 175
83 315 218 198 138 79 175
84 315 218 199 138 80 175
85 315 219 199 138 80 177
86 318 219 199 139 82 178
87 318 221 200 139 84 178
88 319 221 201 139 84 178
89 319 221 201 140 84 179
90 321 221 203 140 84 180
91 321 224 203 140 85 181
92 321 224 204 141 87 181
93 322 224 204 142 87 184
94 324 225 204 142 87 184
95 324 226 204 144 87 184
96 324 228 205 144 87 184
97 324 228 206 145 89 186
98 325 228 206 146 91 186
99 328 228 207 146 91 187

Intrinsics[]

Age Surprise Reprisal Critical Dodge Accuracy Willpower
Child 50 12 5 6 95% 1
Adult 55 12 5 8 100% 1

Dragon[]

Main article: Dragon Form System#Breath of Fire III

Ryu has access to the unique ability Accession, which lets him combine Dragon Genes to form a dragon. Depending on which genes were used, the dragon will have different stats, elemental properties and abilities.

Trivia[]

  • Ryu's child sprite is unique among the characters in the game because it has two different attack animations. Ryu begins the game with an attack animation that has him flailing the sword around while crying to show he's terrified of combat. Once Nina joins the party, Ryu's animation changes to a more focused standard attack to show he's grown in confidence of his fighting ability.
  • His child sprite is unique in another way, possessing two different defending animations. In the beginning, when he defends, he crouches down, ducks his head, and holds it while sweat animations emit off it, showing he's scared. When Nina joins the party, he instead stands upright, crosses his arms in front of him, and holds his sword near his face, showing more confidence.
  • His child sprite is unique in a third way as well, possessing three different idle animations. Prior to defeating the Nue, Child Ryu's idle animation is putting his finger in his mouth and looking around nervously. After defeating the Nue, Child Ryu's idle animation is eating an apple. Directly after escaping the cell in Windia until Nina joins his idle animation is Ryu crying and then rubbing his eyes.
  • Not counting palette swaps, Ryu in Breath of Fire III has more unique dragon forms than any other incarnation of the character in the series.
  • Though unknown if this was intentional or just an odd coincidence, Adult Ryu's outfit incorporates elements from both Rei and Teepo's fashion. He wears similar gauntlets, breast plate, and a scarf like Teepo while incorporating bandages and color choices from Rei.
  • His battle stance in his adult sprite resembles Teepo's battle stance from his childhood stance.
  • It's possible that the female apparition in Dauna Mine that appears after defeating the Dragon Zombie is the ghost of Ryu's mother.
  • When Ryu uses Accession, there is a frame of animation where Ryu's face turns into the face of Doraemon. This was removed in the PSP version.

Gallery[]

4 artwork5 screenshots8 sprites
Characters
Ryu · Nina · Rei · Teepo · Momo · Garr · Peco
Masters
Bais · Bunyan · D'Lonzo · Deis · Durandal · Emitai · Fahl · Giotto · Hachio · Hondara · Ladon · Lang · Lee · Meryleep · Mygas · Wynn · Yggdrasil
Other characters
Balio · Beyd · Cadis · Ecarl · Elkhair · Fa'ah · Gaist · Gary · Gatz · Gaw · Griol · Honey · Horis · Iggy · Jono · Kimiko · King of Wyndia · Kukuys · Loki · Mason · Mayfly · McNeil · Mikba · Miyuki · Mogu · Mutant · Myria · Palet · Repsol · Shadis · Shayd · Sinkar · Sudama · Sunder · Ylikov · Zig
Bosses
Gary · Mogu · Nue · Amalgam · Mutant · Claw · Cawer · Patrio · Emitai · Golem · Garr · Stallion · Gazer · Dolphin · Gisshan · Scylla · Charyb · Dragon Zombie · Mikba · Huge Slug · Shroom · Gaist · Angler · Ammonite · Elder · Manmo · Chimera · Arwan · Dragon Lord · Myria
Locations
Yraall Region · McNeil Village · Cedar Woods · Farm · McNeil Manor · Mt. Glaus · Yraall Road
Central Wyndia · Wyndia · Eygnock Road · Maekyss Gorge · Mt. Myrneg · Genmel · Mt. Boumore
Eastern Wyndia · Tower · Coffee Shop · Plant · Dump · Eastern Checkpoint
Rhapala Region · Rhapala · Wharf · Lighthouse · Parch · Cliff · Mt. Zublo
Urkan Region · Urkan Tapa · Angel Tower · Junk Town · Dock · Steel Beach
Dauna Hills · Dauna Mine · Syn City · Ogre Road · Dauna Checkpoint · Mt. Levett
Lost Shore · Kombinat · Colony · Steel Grave · Dragnier · Factory
Desert · Oasis · Desert of Death · Container Yard · Caer Xhan · Station Myria
Tribes
Creeping Clan · Demons · Dragon Clan · Endless · Faeries · Grassrunners · Guardians · Highlanders · Humans · Iron Ogre Clan · Manillo · Maoren · Mutated Plants · Shell Clan · Woren
Archive
Abilities · Accessories · Armors · Dragon Genes · Enemies · Helmets · Items · Shields · Weapons
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