Mr. Karate II

Mr. Karate II or (, lit. The Second Mr. Karate) is an alias for Ryo Sakazaki, the central character in the Art of Fighting series. He inherited the mantle from the previous Mr. Karate and is usually referred to as "Mr. Karate" in his earlier appearances. He also sports a tengu mask for most of his alternate outfits.

Development
Hiroaki recalls not liking Ryo's original orange gi and thus wanted to alter him under his superior's approval. The biggest changes was Ryo's clothes now featuring more the black color while giving him more facial hair.

Art of Fighting/Fatal Fury
After the events of the Art of Fighting series, Takuma Sakazaki retires from the fighting scene and Ryo takes the identity of Mr. Karate. This new Mr. Karate travels the world proving the power of Kyokugenryu Karate. He appeared in South Town and in Japan, during the Buriki One '99 Tokyo tournament.

Buriki One
Competing under his real name and not the Mr. Karate title, Ryo is one of the tournament's invited competitors and considered a top candidate to win. He was on a trip to fight a Canadian karate master when the invitation was sent, but upon his return, he immediately accepts the invitation and leaves for Tokyo. He enters the competition in hopes of meeting strong opponents, spreading the Kyokugen style and inspiring spectators to take up martial arts. His interviews and fan Q&A answers indicate not much has changed regarding Robert, Yuri, Takuma and King.

The King of Fighters
Mr. Karate variant of Ryo was only playable in Maximum Impact series’ games. Ryo’s canonical promotion as Mr. Karate eventually started in the New Age Saga.

The King of Fighters XIV
Following Takuma’s retirement to open a family-themed barbecue restaurant branch of Kyokugen business, Ryo succeed him, albeit remains under his real name instead of as “Mr. Karate II”.

The King of Fighters XV
As his family becoming too stagnant on focusing barbecue business instead of re-improving the Kyokugen’s fighting tradition and its martial arts business, Ryo becomes frustrated and brought Takuma’s old Mr. Karate mask to don it and “transform” himself as Mr. Karate II. Accompanied by a confident King, Mr. Karate II scolds his family and Robert (safe for Marco Rodrigues) and demands that everyone rekindle their resolve for the martial arts to be stronger, before Takuma ends up leaving the business in Marco's hands, as everyone in the family undergoes retraining in the mountains.

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum
In Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, he is joined by an older Robert, previously unseen in other games.

Personality
As Ryo grows older, he becomes more serious about fighting and embraces his father's wishes. He wonders if he should keep his facial hair since his sister and many of his friends complain about it.

Powers

 * Energy Projectile - Mr. Karate can fire a projectile of energy.
 * Multiple Attacks - Mr. Karate can deliver several punches at an amazing speed.

Fighting Style
Mr. Karate is now a master of Kyokugenryu Karate. In Buriki One, many of his flashier moves were removed due to character balancing issues. As such, he uses traditional karate to better fit the realistic fighting styles in the game. In his Wild Ambition and Maximum Impact appearances, he retains many of his classic moves and also uses some of Takuma's specials. His appearance in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum uses a combination of his previous appearances with one of his supers being a homage to Buriki One's unique control system. The player has to input a sequence of joystick directions (instead of button presses) after a specific command in order to attack.

Music

 * GET HIGH ～BURIKI MIX～ - Buriki One
 * Power of Kyokugenryu Karate - Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
 * DREAM MATCH - Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, boss theme

Voice Actors

 * Masaki Usui - Buriki One, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, KOF Maximum Impact, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
 * Daiki Takakura - The King of Fighters XIV~present (in his cameo appearances)

Game Appearances

 * Buriki One
 * Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition - unlockable on Playstation version
 * KOF: Maximum Impact 2 - both unlockable and Ryo Sakazaki's Another Outfit-Variation A
 * KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation "A"
 * Neo Geo Battle Coliseum

Mobile Appearances

 * The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Online
 * Kimi wa Hero

Cameo Appearances

 * Garou Densetsu Special
 * KOF: Maximum Impact - Another outfit for Ryo Sakazaki
 * The King of Fighters XI - In the Buriki One team's ending
 * The King of Fighters XIII - As an alternate color for Ryo
 * The King of Fighters XIV - As a discarded outfit in Artwork Book; also mentioned indirectly in Oswald's winquote vs. Ryo
 * The King of Fighters XV - in the Art of Fighting Team ending, using his Tengu mask

Similar Characters

 * Ryo Sakazaki
 * Mr. Karate

Trivia

 * A fan request for Ryo was to add the beer bottle chop that he did back in Art of Fighting into his moveset. As promised by the developers, it was added in The King of Fighters series. The move somewhat resembles the forward + medium punch Ryu uses in Street Fighter (also known as the Collarbone Breaker.)