Mr. Karate II

Mr. Karate II or 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.

He is voiced by Masaki Usui.

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.

Story
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. 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

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

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.)