Ryu was discovered by Nina, lying with no clothing and unconscious in the middle of a crater in the Eastern Continent. He possesses a Dragon's Eye which allows him to both transform into a dragon form and summon other dragons.[1] Ryu has lost his memories and has no idea of who he is or where he comes from. He decides to join Nina in her search for her sister, Elina. Ryu protects Nina at several key moments during their travels, for example when the party first encounters Rasso. The player eventually learns from an elderly traveling minstrel, that Ryu is indeed a dragon in temporary human form. However, the party members are kept in the dark about this until later in the game.
After reuniting with Cray, Ryu's Dragon Eye causes Ryu, Nina and Cray to have a dream of finding where Nina's sister is, only for it to end just after a certain point (this is believed to be foreshadowing of a later event), Ershin points out that it was Ryu's Dragon Eye that showed them the vision.
As their journey progresses, Ryu learns more and more about himself and eventually discovers that he is one of the endless, a tribe of immortal extra-dimensional entities often described as gods. However, his true self was divided into two as a result of the process that summoned him into his present dimension. In time, he will need to rejoin with his other half, who is the first emperor, Fou-Lu. As Ryu travels to the imperial capital of Chedo to face Fou-Lu, he calls upon the help of the various dragon gods that inhabit the earth to share their power with him so that he may become strong enough to defeat Fou-Lu, and become the dominant half of the Yorae Dragon. He eventually succeeds and decides that the world does not need gods. He uses his powers to send all the gods back to the worlds from which they came.
It is interesting to note that this version of Ryu seems to talk to others during some of the game's story scenes, noted by his mouth moving and gesturing with his hands, though no text dialogue accompanies his speech. In some cases, people respond to him, while in others they seem to ignore the fact he was trying to communicate.
In Battle[]
Ryu is fairly well-balanced in human form, with decent stats for each parameter. This version of Ryu is very much like the first incarnation of the series when it comes to a skill list. He learns no magic or special abilities whatsoever from leveling up, unlike his allies, and this means the player needs to round out his list with moves learned from either Masters or monsters. Otherwise, all he can do is attack with his weapon or evoke one of the dragon gods for assistance (though the evocation system doesn't come into play until much later in the story). This limits his standard combat utility as it is not necessary to transform into dragon form for every battle and is only a waste of his AP. Ryu possesses an advanced affinity toward fire, causing him to take half damage from that element, but an additional 50% from water. Also, underscoring them being opposite halves, any skill Ryu learns will also be known to Fou-Lu and vice-versa.
Abilities[]
As a result of his Dragon's Eye[1], Ryu has the ability to summon dragons and to transform into one. These grants him access to unique breath attacks and other moves. The dragon forms he adopts can automatically upgrade themselves depending on the number of in-game points that the player receives throughout their journey. Game points are displayed when any character other than Ryu is selected in the Status portion of the menu screen.
Dragon
Upgrade
Gem
Aura
None
None
Kaiser
None
None
Wyvern
Weyr
Fire
Myrmidon
Knight
Wind
Behemoth
Mammoth
Earth
Mutant
Punk
Flawed
Stats[]
Stats
Lvl
HP
AP
CP
Pwr
Def
Agl
Int
Info
1
230
6
3
10
10
8
7
Starting level
2
254
7
3
11
11
10
8
3
284
9
3
13
13
11
10
4
306
12
3
14
15
14
12
5
346
14
4
16
16
16
14
6
378
16
4
19
18
17
15
7
407
20
4
21
19
20
17
8
438
23
4
23
21
23
18
9
475
26
4
26
23
25
20
10
526
35
5
31
26
30
25
11
555
39
5
34
27
33
28
12
586
42
7
36
29
37
30
13
635
42
7
37
32
40
34
14
682
45
7
41
34
42
37
15
732
49
7
43
37
46
39
16
777
54
8
46
41
48
43
17
819
58
8
50
43
51
46
18
866
63
8
53
44
54
51
19
914
68
9
55
47
56
54
20
966
80
10
62
51
62
60
21
1001
86
10
66
53
66
64
22
1050
91
10
69
56
71
67
23
1100
96
10
75
60
74
72
24
1145
103
11
78
62
77
75
25
1191
108
11
80
65
82
79
26
1238
112
11
84
69
84
83
27
1286
120
12
89
73
87
86
28
1336
126
12
92
78
92
89
29
1371
131
12
96
81
96
93
30
1434
142
14
103
88
102
100
31
1481
149
14
107
93
105
103
32
1531
155
14
110
97
109
107
33
1576
161
14
116
100
112
111
34
1622
164
15
120
103
115
116
35
1674
169
15
125
108
119
119
36
1722
177
15
128
112
124
123
37
1772
185
16
135
118
129
125
38
1825
192
16
139
122
133
130
39
1877
199
16
145
126
136
134
40
1960
212
19
156
133
142
140
41
2022
220
19
162
138
146
145
42
2088
228
19
167
144
151
149
43
2160
232
20
174
148
155
154
44
2233
235
20
178
156
158
160
45
2304
245
20
181
162
162
165
46
2386
252
21
189
167
167
168
47
2450
262
21
194
171
173
173
48
2530
270
21
202
178
177
179
49
2608
278
21
209
184
181
184
50
2706
293
23
221
194
188
193
51
2778
302
23
229
200
193
197
52
2844
309
24
235
204
197
202
53
2897
312
24
239
208
200
208
54
2958
318
24
246
213
204
212
55
3010
325
24
250
217
207
217
56
3057
327
25
253
223
209
220
57
3095
330
25
258
227
211
224
58
3137
335
25
260
230
214
226
59
3171
338
25
264
232
217
228
60
3227
347
27
269
236
221
231
61
3265
349
27
271
238
223
232
62
3295
350
27
272
241
226
234
63
3327
351
27
273
243
229
237
64
3365
351
27
275
244
230
238
65
3400
353
28
278
245
233
240
66
3432
354
28
279
247
234
241
67
3462
354
28
280
250
236
242
68
3490
356
28
282
252
237
242
69
3512
356
28
283
253
238
244
70
3538
362
29
287
256
240
246
71
3561
364
29
288
257
240
247
72
3582
364
29
288
258
241
248
73
3606
365
29
289
260
241
249
74
3626
366
30
291
262
242
249
75
3645
368
30
292
263
242
249
76
3662
369
30
293
265
243
249
77
3682
370
30
293
265
243
250
78
3700
370
30
294
266
244
250
79
3714
371
30
294
267
245
250
80
3730
376
31
297
270
247
251
81
3742
378
31
297
271
247
251
82
3755
379
31
298
271
247
252
83
3769
379
31
298
271
248
253
84
3781
379
32
298
272
249
253
85
3792
383
32
299
272
249
254
86
3802
385
32
300
272
250
255
87
3811
388
32
300
273
251
255
88
3819
389
32
300
274
251
255
89
3827
390
33
301
274
252
256
90
3839
396
33
301
275
252
257
91
3846
399
33
301
275
252
258
92
3852
400
33
302
275
252
258
93
3860
400
33
302
276
252
259
94
3865
402
34
302
276
253
260
95
3871
402
34
302
276
254
260
96
3875
403
34
303
276
254
260
97
3881
404
34
303
277
254
261
98
3885
404
34
304
277
254
262
99
3892
409
35
304
278
254
263
Trivia[]
Upon transforming into a god Ryu's clothes color becomes ligher and his hair becomes radiant gold, not unlike his namesake's Kaiser transformation in BoF III.
Ryu and Fou Lu's Meditate Dragon Forms designed are based off the Warrior Dragon Form from BoF III.
While the game never goes into exactly what the Dragon's Eye does for Ryu, the manga adaptation explains that it gives Ryu limited ability to see the future as well as the ability to see through Fou Lu's eyes. The game manual states that it grants Ryu the power to transform into a dragon.
In his in-game appearance, the white shirt that he wears is a tank top instead of the ripped sleeve shirt with red trim.
In the opening cutscene of the game Ryu's eyes appear to be purple, while both in-game and original art show them as blue.