Street Fighter’s Ryu Turns 50 Today

You may not realize it, but on this day in 1964, Street Fighter hero Ryu was born. The fireball flinging World Warrior was first introduced in 1987’s first Street Fighter title.

Since then, Ryu has appeared in nearly 20 games (not including updates like Street Fighter II Turbo Edition and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3). His move set hasn’t changed much in those years, building on fireballs, hurricane kicks, and dragon punches.

We were curious and dug up the Street Fighter II manual from the Super Nintendo version to find out how old the other World Warriors are. You’d be surprised how spry this group is given its age.

Edmund "E." Honda, the master of the Hundred Hand Slap is 53 years old. We’re impressed he can still torpedo himself across the stage.

Blanka, the green bestial fighter, is 48. He hasn’t lost his spark.

Guile hasn’t retired from active duty. At 53, he’s still flash kicking.

Ryu has waged a rivalry with Ken Masters for as long as we’ve known the pair. Perhaps he is just jealous of the slightly younger fighter. Ken is 49.

Chun Li is the baby of the group. Her quest to take down M. Bison is still young, as is she. She turned 46 this March.

Zangief is the old grizzly of the competition. He hasn’t started going gray (not even in his copious chest jungle), which is a bit surprising for someone of 58 years.

Finally, Dhalsim keeps his aging body limber with regular exercise and frequent yoga. He keeps the flame lit, despite being 61 years old.