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Ryu Hayabusa

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Ryu Hayabusa
'Ninja Gaiden
Dead or Alive' character
File:RyuHayabusa.jpg
Ryu Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden (2004)
First gameNinja Gaiden (1988)

Ryu Hayabusa (リュウ・ハヤブサ, Ryū Hayabusa) is the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden video game series as well as a player character in the Dead or Alive series.

Character

According to the game canon, Ryu (lit. "dragon") Hayabusa ("falcon") is a ninja and the leader of the Dragon Ninja Clan that has spiritual, physical, and magical ties to ancient dragons. As a son of Joe Hayabusa (Ken Hayabusa in the NES Ninja Gaiden), Ryu is the current heir to the Dragon lineage and is also the holder of the legendary Dragon Sword. Although his father should carry the sword, he passed the sword to Ryu early, due to his bravery and valor. His mother was neither mentioned nor seen in any NG games, although was mentioned in the Worlds of Power novel (where she gives Ryu the letter from his father).

Ryu is 21 years old in Ninja Gaiden and 23 in the Dead or Alive series. Although he appears as a normal man, he is not completely human; this was discovered during the Dark Dragon Blade incident. Because his ancestors draw their blood from the same deities as the Fiends of Vigoor, he is succeptable to the Blood Curse and therefore is able to be turned into a fiend.

He is the ninja Hayate's best friend and an ally of Kasumi and Ayane. He and his ninja brethren have been direct players in the defeat of every major threat in the DOA tournaments, himself defeating the rogue Tengu in single combat during the second tournament. Ryu has befriended several people from the DOA tournaments, notably Jann Lee, with whom he shares a mutual respect, though it's never specifically mentioned in any of the games.

In Ninja Gaiden, Ryu is known by some as "The Dragon Ninja" or "The Super Ninja". The CIA knows about his clan, abilities, and history. Ryu has been betrayed by some of his alleged allies such as A. Foster (Ninja Gaiden NES), and his uncle Murai (Ninja Gaiden Black).

Appearances

In the Ninja Gaiden series

Ryu first appeared in the Ninja Gaiden in 1988, first for arcade. Two NES sequels, Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, followed in 1990 and 1991 to complete the trilogy. Also in 1991, Ninja Gaiden Shadow for the Game Boy. There is no story to the original arcade version of Ninja Gaiden, except that Ryu is beating up his foes throughout the United States. Ryu's story commences in Ninja Gaiden for the NES, when he receives a letter from his father, who has departed to fight a life or death duel. This was followed by the next two games of the trilogy, which have mysterious introductions that unfolded in a similar manner. In Ninja Gaiden II, players are introduced to a new villain who wields the Dark Sword of Chaos. In Ninja Gaiden III, Ryu Hayabusa is framed for killing his girlfriend. Another Ninja Gaiden game was released in 1992 for the Sega Master System.

The series and Ryu returned with Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox in 2004 (later remade as Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3). The prologue explains the mythos of the Dragon Lineage who sided with the dragons against the evil deities, and how they slew the Dark Dragon. The dragons are described as god-like, benevolent creatures with metallic bones, teeth and claws, created by the Deity of Creation to counter the Evil Deities. The prologue includes a brief history of the two Dragon Swords. The first is the Dark Dragon Blade, carved out of the bone of the legendary Dark Dragon that betrayed his brethren out of jealousy and thirst for power, joining the Evil Deities. This blade consumes evil, charging as more evil is committed in its vicinity. As a result, the weapon turns its wielder into the devil incarnate. The second sword is the Dragon Sword, carved from the fang of a dragon, and bequeathed the Dragon Lineage from generation to generation, and finally to Ryu Hayabusa. It is the same sword used by Ryu in the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy. The story of the Xbox game deviated from the original NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy by a few small retroactive continuities. This game and its sequels Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (Nintendo DS) and Ninja Gaiden 2/Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (Xbox 360/PS3) serve as prequels to the original Ninja Gaiden series, both series are connected to the Dead or Alive series. Timeline wise the events the current Ninja Gaiden series happen first, then the NES Ninja Gaiden series, and finally the Dead or Alive series.[1]

Ninja Gaiden (1988)

Eventually, Ryu's father disappears. Ryu finds a letter from his father, informing that he was on his way to a life or death duel, and instructing that, should he not return, Ryu is to go to the United States and find his friend Walter Smith. During his time in America searching for Walter Smith, Ryu crosses paths with the CIA, in particular with Irene Lew, and is immediately spun into a globe-trotting adventure. He eventually crosses paths with Bloody Malth, the man who defeated Ryu's father. Ryu eventually finds his father then who tries to attack him, being under a spell that Ryu managed to break. However, Ken was killed by Bloody Malth's master, the Jaquio (whom Ryu encountered midway through his adventure). Ryu avenged his father's death by killing Jaquio and also the Demon god. After Ryu vanquished the evil beings, he was to be terminated by Irene Lew on Foster's orders, but she did not comply and Ryu vows to "get Foster". The two (Ryu and Irene) begin a relationship.

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Ashtar, Jaquio's master and the Emperor of Darkness, had planned to rule the world with the power of the Demon. With the Demon dead, Ashtar kidnaps Irene to lure Ryu to his home dimension. Ashtar wields the Dark Sword of Chaos, made from the bone of the Demon at the same time that the Dragon Sword. Ryu eventually confronts and defeats Ashtar, but before he can get Irene to safety, she is captured by Jaquio, who now bears the Dark Sword. Ryu confronts and defeats the Jaquio a second time at an altar made from the Demon's bones. However, the Jaquio's blood flows into the Dark Sword, awakening it. The Jaquio is revived by its power and stabs Irene with the sword. Ryu slays the Jaquio again, but Irene's blood empowers the sword further, and revives the Demon. After Ryu kills the Demon again, the Dark Sword of Chaos shatters, and he carries Irene back to Earth, where she succumbs to her wounds and dies. Crying over her body, Ryu calls on the spirits of his ancestors, saying his victories are meaningless without her. The Dragon Sword then begins to hum and glow, emitting a blue light which flows into Irene, reviving her. The couple then watches the evening sunset (unlike the sunrise in the other two NES Ninja Gaiden games).

Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom

Ryu's doppelgänger supposedly assassinates Irene and frames the original for murder. During his quest to clear his name, Ryu discovers that Irene is still alive and that his doppelgänger was a BIO-NOID sent by Irene's own boss and former acquaintance of his, Foster. This was followed by an engagement with Ryu's doppelgänger which ended in Ryu's defeat. But in their second encounter, Ryu turns the tables, defeating his doppelgänger instead. Foster is then double-crossed by his accomplice, H.P. Clancy, who murders him and reveals the true nature of their location, the Castle Rock Fortress, as an inter-dimensional warship, which he intends to use for global dominance. With both Irene and himself caught up in Clancy's machinations, Ryu is forced to take action. Subsequently, he foils Clancy's plans and flees the crumbling Castle Rock Fortress with Irene.

Ninja Gaiden (1992)

One day, Ryu is away from home, and he receives a message that the Dragon village, home of the Dragon Clan, has been brutally massacred. He rushes home only to find that all but one of the village members have been killed. The last survivor of the village tells Ryu with his dying breath that the sacred Bushido scroll has been stolen. The Bushido is a scroll of power so strong that its owner can control the world. As the last ninja of the Dragon Clan, the fate of the world is in its hands, and he must embark on a trip to regain the Sacred Scroll of Bushido from the hands of the evil Shogun of Darkness and his minions.

Ninja Gaiden (2004)

The Hayabusa Ninja Clan was annihilated including Ryu's childhood friend Kureha, and the Dark Dragon Blade was stolen by the evil Lord of the Greater Fiends Doku and his minions. Though killed by Doku, Ryu was revived by the clan's animal spirit, the falcon, and goes on a journey in search of the stolen Dark Dragon Blade and avenge his clan's death. As he proceeded, he met the fiend hunter Rachel, who was in search of her sister. He was observed by Gamov and a mysterious associate of his, known only as the Dark Disciple. Ryu also came across Rachel's twin sister Alma, who was morphed into a fiend. Eventually, Alma saved Rachel from Doku and Doku was defeated by Hayabusa. Ryu defeated the Vigoor Emperor and the fiends and retrieved the evil blade. Ryu and Rachel came across two "observers" but Gamov was betrayed and killed by his own associate who was wielding the Dark Dragon Blade. The Dark Disciple was later revealed to be an ally of Ryu, Murai, who then betrayed him and challenged him. Despite wielding the evil blade, Murai was defeated and Ryu destroyed the sword. He then left Rachel with no further comment and brought back the Dragon Eye he got from Kureha's grave.

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword

The story of the game takes place six months later. The story begins as female ninja named Momiji is kidnapped by the Black Spider Clan led by Obaba. Ryu sets out to find seven Dark Dragonstones, defeating several bosses along the way. At the climax of the adventure, Ishtaros (an ancient fiend, who is said to have ruled over the land along with her sister, Nicchae) steals the dragonstones from Ryu, making her stronger, and making Ryu's sword weak and useless. Ryu is quickly defeated by Ishtaros, but when Kureha, Momiji's sister, appears and fuses with Momiji's Dragon Eye, the Dragon sword becomes the True Dragon Sword once again. After defeating the rest of the Black Spider ninjas, Ryu meets up with Nicchae, who tried to fuse Ishtaros together with the dragonstones. The process goes awry, and after Ryu fights with Nicchae, she accepts her fate and is drawn into the cocoon with her sister, warning Ryu of what is yet to come, something she even fears. With this, Ryu must fight the final boss in the game, a dragon which emerged from Ishtaros' cocoon. When Ryu defeats the dragon, he brings Momiji back home. All of the Hayabusa village mourn at Kureha's grave and Momiji once again starts training with Ryu, hoping to fulfill her promise to her sister to become stronger.

Ninja Gaiden II

The story begins with Sonia, a CIA agent, asking Muramasa if he knows the whereabouts of Ryu Hayabusa, telling him that she has information concerning the Archfiend. Before long, the store is attacked by the Black Spider Clan. Ryu arrives in the nick of time, but is unable to save her and she is kidnapped. He eventually finds her after travelling through the skylines of Tokyo, whereby she warns him of the plot of the greater fiends to steal the Demon Statue, which is being protected by the Hayabusa ninja village, in order to resurrect the Archfiend. The Hayabusa Ninja Clan, who protect the Demon Statue, are now in grave danger. Informed by Sonia, Ryu heads back to the village to see it burning once again. Fighting his way to the Castle of the Dragon where the Statue is held, he finds his father, Joe, fighting Genshin, leader of the Black Spider Clan. They are unable to stop the statue being stolen by Elizébet (one of the greater fiends) and so Ryu follows her trail in the hope of retrieving the statue. Defeating all four greater fiends along the way and later Genshin, Ryu is unable to stop the resurrection of the Archfiend, created by the ruthless High Priest Dagra Dai. However, he ultimately destroys it before it can escape. In the aftermath, Ryu reunites with Sonia, and is last seen placing Genshin's sword among many others in a field as a symbol of his grave.

Ninja Gaiden 3

Ryu was confirmed to return in Ninja Gaiden 3, a next game in the second series and the first one since Tomonobu Itagaki left the Team Ninja. The game is supposed to showcase Ryu's "more human side".

In the Dead or Alive series

Taking place chronologically years after his exploits in the Ninja Gaiden series, he adopts a new, sleeker look. After the events of Ninja Gaiden for NES, as chronicled in the Ninja Gaiden anime, he moved to America where he married Irene and bought an antique shop he ran with her. His story is fleshed out more, as a new ninja clan is introduced, several other supporting characters, and a new, serpentine plot that he finds himself intertwined in. He has been a participant in every DOA tournament, canonically winning the second tournament by killing Tengu. His cohorts have also claimed the other contests, save Dead or Alive 4.

Dead or Alive

Ryu joined the first DOA Tournament looking for the disappeared Kasumi.

Dead or Alive 2

Ryu then joined the second tournament because he was informed by his own clan that a creature from another dimension named Tengu joined it to create chaos in the world. Eventually, Ryu came across his lost friend Hayate (as Ein and was still suffering from a memory loss) and defeated him, restoring his memory. Ryu then defeated Tengu to save the world from his evil plot and effectively won the second tournament, although it was Kasumi who defeated her clone.

Dead or Alive 3

In the third tournament, Hayabusa faces off against Hayate, who became the 18th leader of the Mugen Tenshin ninja clan after recovering from a memory loss. In his CG ending, he receives a letter from an unknown ninja while he's fishing near the river. It is not known what is said on this letter but it might have something to do with the plans to attack DOATEC in DOA4 from Ayane and Hayate, whom would need his assistance.

Dead or Alive 4

Ryu joins Hayate, Kasumi and Ayane to stop DOATEC. Ryu and Ayane come across with Christie who is trying to stop the ninja from destroying the DOATEC Tritower. In his CG ending, he destroys three DOATEC special aircraft, first by making it self destruct, second by a slash of his sword into two and the last with a ninpo attack he produced from his palms before disappearing into the night. He produces another ninpo attack Helena's CG ending onto a single chopper to destroy it, showing a man trapped inside the aircraft who could have been Donovan.

In other media

File:HayabusaInHalo3.png
Hayabusa armor in Halo 3
Ninja Ryūkenden

Ryu, voiced by Keiichi Nanba, is the main character in the 1991 OVA film Ninja Ryūkenden, released in Japan only. Ryu Hayabusa has a unique look in the animation.

DOA: Dead or Alive

In DOA: Dead or Alive, the 2006 live-action adaptation of Dead or Alive, Ryu was portrayed by Kane Kosugi.

Cameo appearances

Ryu, along with Ayane and Momiji, makes an unplayable guest appearance in Koei's video game Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, in commemoration of the 2009 merger between Koei and Tecmo.[2] In 2010 GamesRadar ranked their guest appearance in DW: Strikeforce as #49 on their list of 55 awesome character cameos.[3]

An armor similar to Ryu Hayabusa's outfit makes a cameo in the Xbox 360 game Halo 3, as an unlockable armor set called Hayabusa. For the player to obtain the chest, shoulder, and helmet pieces of the armor they must collect all hidden skulls in campaign mode. Additionally, if the player unlocks the original 49 achievements in the game, they are awarded a replica of Ryu's Dragon Sword.

Gameplay

Reception

In 2008, GamesRadar featured Ryu among the top video game assassins in the category "ninja" ("we've never known Ryu to specifically take on assassination jobs, but we have seen him kick a whole lot of ass in fantastically gruesome ways over the span of his 20-year career").[4] In 2009, GameDaily listed the "badass ninja" in their top 25 video game archetypes, using Ryu as an example,[5] and featured him among the Gaming's Greatest Patriots of Japan.[6] He was also featured by Virgin Media on the list of top ten video game ninja heroes,[7] as well as the list of top ten gaming ninja characters by 1UP.com in 2004.[8]

In 2008, when readers of IGN voted on which of the two ninja would win in a "Hero Showdown" between him and Joe Musashi of Sega's Shinobi series, Ryu won with 82% of the votes.[9] In 2009, GameSpot had him in their poll for the Greatest Game Hero,[10] in which he has won against the Nameless One from Planescape:Torment and the Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet, but ultimately lost to Duke Nukem.[11] In 2010, Nintendo Power listed Ryu as one of the best ninja characters on Nintendo consoles,[12] previously also having nominated him for their Nintendo Power Awards '89 and '91 in the category Best Character / Best Hero of the year.[13][14] He was also featured among the top ten ninjas for PlayStation consoles by PLAY in 2011.[15]

Ryu Hayabusa was ranked as the #1 best video game ninja character of all time in several lists, including by CrunchGear in 2008,[16] by Unreality in 2009,[17] and by PC World[18] and ScrewAttack[19] in 2010. Empire magazine ranked him #50 on the list of The 50 Greatest Video Game Characters, adding: "This is a man not to be messed with, and his honour, grace, and iconic image as the superlative gaming ninja, he'll never be forgotten."[20]

References

  1. ^ Mielke, James (2007-11-16). "Previews: Ninja Gaiden 2". 1Up. Retrieved 2008-07-04. (Tomonobu Itagaki: "This is a new story starring Ryu Hayabusa. It takes place after Ninja Gaiden 1 for Xbox, and before the timeframe of the old Ninja Gaiden games on the NES.")
  2. ^ Ninja Gaiden invades Dynasty Warriors, Destructoid, 09.23.2009
  3. ^ 55 awesome character cameos | We explore 26 years of surprising guest spots and non-canon crossovers, GamesRadar, April 30, 2010
  4. ^ The Top 7... Assassins, GamesRadar, 2008-02-05
  5. ^ Top 25 Game Archetypes, GameDaily, January 23, 2009
  6. ^ Gaming's Greatest Patriots: Team Japan, GameDaily, May 19, 2009
  7. ^ Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) - Top ten ninjas - Pictures - Games - Virgin Media
  8. ^ Top Ten Ninjas, 1UP.com, July 23, 2004
  9. ^ IGN Stars (January 9, 2008). "Hero Showdown: Ryu Hayabusa vs. Shinobi's Joe Musashi". IGN. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  10. ^ Greatest Game Hero: Ryu Hayabusa, GameSpot, Sep 18, 2009
  11. ^ "All Time Greatest Game Hero - The Standings". GameSpot. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  12. ^ Nintendo Power 250th issue!. South San Francisco, California: Future US. 2010. p. 47. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ Nintendo Power 11
  14. ^ Nintendo Power 34 (March 1992)
  15. ^ Top ten ninjas on PlayStation | PLAY Magazine
  16. ^ CrunchArcade: Top Ten Video Game Ninjas, CrunchGear, March 31, 2008
  17. ^ Unreality - Unreal Power Rankings: The Top 5 Video Game Ninjas
  18. ^ Top Ten video game ninjas, GamePro, 06 August, 2010
  19. ^ Top Ten Ninjas, GameTrailers, January 8, 2010
  20. ^ The 50 Greatest Video Game Characters | 50. Ryu Hayabusa | Empire | www.empireonline.com

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ryu_Hayabusa&oldid=420856643"