I will spread a bit more love to Ryu here
It is the best fighting game character ever created.
- Story: He is basically a result of what fighting games are all about with whole story based in a journey of self-improvement. He is basically the soul and spirit of all fighting games. Are there more interesting characters and stories? Yes. But no other matches the face of the genre than Ruy... even if you don't like him you respect him because he is basically 100% focused in fighting. He is the true warrior.
- Moveset: His moveset is basically of the pinnacle and works in types of fighting games. The inputs for Hadokens and Shoryukens are so matched that even a 3 years old kid can do it. Outside the specials their base moves can counters mostly if no all fighting styles. Even the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is pretty useful as move. He is so balanced to high tier with Tier S offence and Tier S defense that makes really hard to make another fighting character so well balanced.
- Design/Art: It is basic design that can be used to any others character, a simple fighting kinono with a red headband. It is classic but when used by Ruy becomes so iconic.
Maybe it can be boring.
But no matter where it is... Street Fighter, Mavel vs, Capcom vs, Smash Bros., etc... any place he is always Top S tier... not just that it is figure in the most used characters in all these games.
IMO He is the perfect fighting character.
He is like a mountain in front of their opponents.
Who created him was very very fortuitous.
I like Ken too but Ken is just a clone of Ryu that with the time will adding weakness to the point that they differentiate so much that Ryu become the perfect fighting character and Ken the cool character with weakness.
BTW all his clones have weakness and are not balanced like Ryu and in these I can list:
- Ken: the cool playboy clone.
- Akuma: the evil focused clone.
- Evil Ryu: another evil focused clone.
- Dan: the parody focused clone.
- Sakura: the woman disciple focused clone.
- Sean: the disciple (Ken) focused clone.
- Gouken: the master focused clone.
When you do a deep analysis of the movesets and story of these clone you will see they all have issues in their story or deficiencies in their moveset making you realize how Perfect is Ryu.
I understand perfection is somehow boring too