a total of 193 votes. The scene of Ryo Sakazaki in the first Art of Fighting game where he is driving a bike in his fighting clothes became an internet meme to the point merchandise based on it was developed. In 2018, Ryo was voted as the sixth most popular Neo Geo character. Den of Geek listed him as the 70th best King of Fighters character stating that while the Kyokugen cast from the series is appealing, Ryo is the least appealing of all of them as he was the "straight man". As part of an official partnership between SNK and Akiba, Ryo has appeared on an Akiba beer bottle label for one of their craft beers. Reviewers of video games and others in the media have praised and criticized Ryo's character. Wesley Yin-Poole of Videogamer.com commented that Ryo and Robert are "two double-hard bastards" but complained about "the complete lack of fan service on the disc". GameSpot lamented how Ryo and Robert were the only playable characters from the first Art of Fighting story mode, pointing out the similarities between each other's special moves. A number of critics compared Ryo and Robert to the Street Fighter protagonists. David Simpson of AceGamez also noted the similarities between Ryo and Ken and jokingly commented this could not be avoided. However, William Usher from Cinemablend noted that Ryo and Robert's relationship was unique as they never attempt to kill each other. He also noted Ryo was one of the main characters responsible for the creation of The King of Fighters series, praising his development in the series. Eurogamer reviewer Spanner Spencer mentioned that Ryo "seems to model himself after Ken from SFII" due to the similarities of their designs, whereas Pedro Hernandez of Nintendo World Report still referred to him as "clone" of Ryu to the point that they both have similar names. Despite noting his similarities with Street Fighter characters to the point they considered him a "clone", ScrewAttack still praised Ryo's character in Art of Fighting. Juan E. Hernandez of IGN also compared both Robert and Ryo to Street Fighter and Dragon Ball characters based on their type of fighting techniques. Gaming Excellence found both Ryo and Robert likable characters in the Art of Fighting trilogy alongside those in supporting roles. Niche Gamer referred to Ryo as "stoic and strong" in terms of both personality and skills while contrasting him