Ryuji Yamazaki
Encyclopedia
is a video game character
appearing in Fatal Fury series and The King of Fighters developed by SNK Playmore
(formerly known as SNK). Yamazaki is first introduced as the sub-boss character of Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory
, where he is a criminal known as "Dark Broker". In the game Yamazaki hired by the Jin brothers into recovering their sacred scrolls able to give immortality to its user. In following titles from the series Yamazaki does not work for anybody, normally making crimes just to entertain himself. He has also become a character from The King of Fighters, in which participates in the annual tournaments from some games being hired by the Southtown crime lord Geese Howard
.
Yamazaki's introduction in The King of Fighters series was made as a result of three popularity polls developed by three video games journals in which players voted which character they wanted to see in The King of Fighters '97
, the upcoming game from the series at that time. Yamazaki has also appeared in the crossover games Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
and Capcom vs. SNK 2
as a playable character. Video games publications have commented on Yamazaki's character, with some praising his introduction in Fatal Fury 3 and development in titles from The King of Fighters. However, other reviewers criticized how hard defeating him is in the Fatal Fury games and how strong he is in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 in comparison to other popular characters.
, Yamazaki wears a black t-shirt with short sleeves and black pants. He also sports gloves which do not cover his finger and shoes, both of the same color. He also appears with this outfit in all the games from the Fatal Fury series, the SNK vs. Capcom series and The King of Fighters 2003
. The King of Fighters '97
and all the other games from the same series except KOF 2003 show Yamazaki with a black shirt which also covers his neck. He also sports a black sleeveless jacket which covers his shirt.
, Yamazaki is hired by the Jin brothers to help them search for the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to obtain immortality. He appears after as a mid-boss character to have one round after the player fights four fights. After six fights, Yamazaki will have a full battle against the player as a sub-boss or final boss depending on the grade average from the player. In the following game, Real Bout Fatal Fury
, he competes in the tournament King of Fighters in order to obtain the Jin scrolls for himself. Although a regularly selectable playable character, Yamazaki is one of three final opponents the players face against the CPU. He also appears in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers
as a regular character. Despite not being featured in the first Fatal Fury game
, Yamazaki was added to the 3D game Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
, which retells the events from such game, with Yamazaki being against the boss Geese Howard
.
Yamazaki would appear in The King of Fighters series as a member of the '97 Special Team in The King of Fighters '97
, along Blue Mary
and Billy Kane
. In the backstory of the game, the three fighters are arranged into the same team due to the manipulations of Geese Howard. The game also establishes Yamazaki as one Eight Heralds of the Orochi Clan. However, Yamazaki has no interest in serving Orochi, engaging the other Heralds in combat. In order to have all of the eight servants from Orochi confirmed by this game, Yamazaki was chosen to be the new member as the staff noted him to be a good villain and liked that he was similar to a snake (as the ancient Orochi was a giant snake). Although the '97 Special Team was disbanded in the storyline at end of KOF '97, the team would be featured in later "Dream Match" (games without storylines) installments in the series such as The King of Fighters '98
, The King of Fighters 2002
and The King of Fighters Neowave
. Ryuji and Billy would also return in The King of Fighters 2003
, only this time they team up with Gato (from Garou: Mark of the Wolves
) and forms the "Outlaw Team" in order to conquer Southtown. Although he is not playable in other games from the series, Yamazaki appears as an assistant character (dubbed as "Striker") in The King of Fighters '99: Evolution
and The King of Fighters 2000
. While in the former he appears as a Striker for every character, in the latter he is the "Another Striker" for Blue Mary. He is also a recurring opponent in the spin-off The King of Fighters: Kyo, normally allying with the Orochi servant Yashiro Nanakase into attacking the lead character Kyo Kusanagi
although Yamazaki is only interested in fighting. His character was also added to the crossover game Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
and its sequel, Capcom vs. SNK 2
, developed by Capcom
.
Yamazaki is also featured in the volume 7 from the soundtracks series SNK Character Sounds Collection released by Pony Canyon
. The CD features several songs based on his character such as monologues and soundstracks from the games in which he appeared. He also appears in The King of Fighters 2003 manwhua adaptation authored by Wing Yan, fighting against Ash Crimson prior to the 2003 tournament, but he is interrupted by Geese. In the tournament, however, the Outlaw Team is defeated by Ash's team.
character, Galford, and Street Fighter
character, Ken. In order to decide who would become the members of the '97 Special Team from The King of Fighters '97
, three polls were conducted by the videogames journals Famitsu, Gamest and Neo Geo freak, in which readers voted who was the character they wanted to see in the team. Yamazaki was Famitsu's winner. Additionally, the three journal created a team, which players can view an image of them after beating the game in the Japanese port. The Famitsu created a team composed of Chang Koehan, Choi Bounge and Yamazaki. Shane Bettenhausen, Ignition Entertainment
's Director of Business Development, commented that Yamazaki is one of his favourites characters from The King of Fighters series, and would have liked he appeared in the latest game, The King of Fighters XII
.
His character has also received mixed reviews from video game publications. Kurt Kalata from Armchairempire.com praised Yamazaki's introduction in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the best ones from the game. He also liked his character and considered him as a good replacement for the ones who were removed from that game. William Usher from Cinemablend.com found Yamazaki to be his favourite character out of The King of Fighters series. He also liked Yamazaki's development in The King of Fighters, additionally noting him to be one of the most popular new characters in Fatal Fury 3. Gamezone reviewer Eduardo Zacarias noted Yamazaki to be one of the "powerhouses" from the Fatal Fury series due to how difficult is to defeat him in a similar way to the other boss Geese Howard
. In contrast to this Jeremy Dunham from IGN
noted that Yamazaki's ratio of three over four (a rank given to character at the time of playing with various of them) in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
was "absurd" as other characters who have good movesets in the game like Benimaru Nikaido or Blanka
from Street Fighter II
had only one ratio.
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
appearing in Fatal Fury series and The King of Fighters developed by SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore
SNK Playmore Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. SNK is an acronym of , which was SNK's original name. The company's legal and trading name became SNK in 1986....
(formerly known as SNK). Yamazaki is first introduced as the sub-boss character of Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory
Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory
is a 1995 head-to-head fighting game released by SNK for the Neo-Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the fourth game in the Fatal Fury series after Fatal Fury Special . Console versions of Fatal Fury 3 were released for the Neo Geo CD, Sega Saturn, Windows 95-based computers and on the Wii Virtual...
, where he is a criminal known as "Dark Broker". In the game Yamazaki hired by the Jin brothers into recovering their sacred scrolls able to give immortality to its user. In following titles from the series Yamazaki does not work for anybody, normally making crimes just to entertain himself. He has also become a character from The King of Fighters, in which participates in the annual tournaments from some games being hired by the Southtown crime lord Geese Howard
Geese Howard
is a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...
.
Yamazaki's introduction in The King of Fighters series was made as a result of three popularity polls developed by three video games journals in which players voted which character they wanted to see in The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...
, the upcoming game from the series at that time. Yamazaki has also appeared in the crossover games Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
and Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
as a playable character. Video games publications have commented on Yamazaki's character, with some praising his introduction in Fatal Fury 3 and development in titles from The King of Fighters. However, other reviewers criticized how hard defeating him is in the Fatal Fury games and how strong he is in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 in comparison to other popular characters.
Character design
Yamazaki has black hair, but above his forehead it is blonde. He has a total of two outfits, both with black clothes. Before fighting and in cutscenes, Yamazaki sports a white fur coat which covers almost all his body. In Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final VictoryFatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory
is a 1995 head-to-head fighting game released by SNK for the Neo-Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the fourth game in the Fatal Fury series after Fatal Fury Special . Console versions of Fatal Fury 3 were released for the Neo Geo CD, Sega Saturn, Windows 95-based computers and on the Wii Virtual...
, Yamazaki wears a black t-shirt with short sleeves and black pants. He also sports gloves which do not cover his finger and shoes, both of the same color. He also appears with this outfit in all the games from the Fatal Fury series, the SNK vs. Capcom series and The King of Fighters 2003
The King of Fighters 2003
The King of Fighters 2003 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the first KOF game to become a tag tournament as well as the first one to be published by SNK Playmore...
. The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...
and all the other games from the same series except KOF 2003 show Yamazaki with a black shirt which also covers his neck. He also sports a black sleeveless jacket which covers his shirt.
Attributes
Yamazaki was raised in Okinawa after and which he developed while growing up on the streets alone fighting against sailors during his teenage years, then as an enforcer for a criminal mob. In contrast with most of the other fighters in combat video games, Yamazaki does not use any particular martial art - he is a self-taught brawler, and uses a wide variety of attacks in his fighting, including unfair and dishonest moves such as kicking sand in his opponent's eyes, and his ever-present knife. He also rarely takes his right hand out of his pocket unless he is using his knife. In order to adapt him to KOF, the game planner had to provide new moves to Yamazaki. The new moves were initially noted to be failures, but designers later thought of them as successful. Yamazaki is a very sadistic person who enjoys violence as well as injuring people and making them bleed. However, he normally hides this madness with a calmer and more confident personality which he has when he is not fighting. As a criminal, Yamazaki started a rivalry with the Hong Kong detective Hon Fu, who becomes determinted to arrest Yamazaki, while Yamazaki does not want to be arrested by him.Appearances
Starring in Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final VictoryFatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory
is a 1995 head-to-head fighting game released by SNK for the Neo-Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the fourth game in the Fatal Fury series after Fatal Fury Special . Console versions of Fatal Fury 3 were released for the Neo Geo CD, Sega Saturn, Windows 95-based computers and on the Wii Virtual...
, Yamazaki is hired by the Jin brothers to help them search for the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to obtain immortality. He appears after as a mid-boss character to have one round after the player fights four fights. After six fights, Yamazaki will have a full battle against the player as a sub-boss or final boss depending on the grade average from the player. In the following game, Real Bout Fatal Fury
Real Bout Fatal Fury
is a 1995 fighting game released by SNK for the Neo-Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the fifth installment in the Fatal Fury series, following Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory. Ports of Real Bout were released for the Neo-Geo CD, PlayStation and the Sega Saturn...
, he competes in the tournament King of Fighters in order to obtain the Jin scrolls for himself. Although a regularly selectable playable character, Yamazaki is one of three final opponents the players face against the CPU. He also appears in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
, is a 1997 fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo platform. It is the sixth installment in the Fatal Fury series and the second game in the Real Bout sub-series, following the original Real Bout Fatal Fury...
and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers
is a 1998 fighting game by SNK for the Neo Geo platform. It is the seventh game in the Fatal Fury series and the third game in the Real Bout sub-series, following Real Bout Fatal Fury and Real Bout Fatal Fury Special...
as a regular character. Despite not being featured in the first Fatal Fury game
Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
is a 1991 head-to-head fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. Fatal Fury was SNK's first fighting game for the Neo Geo system and served as the inaugural game in their Fatal Fury series, as well as the first game to depict the fictional "King of Fighters" tournament...
, Yamazaki was added to the 3D game Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
is a 3D fighting video game produced by SNK. The game was released in Japanese arcades on January 28, 1999, though the title screen shows the year 1998. It is part of the Fatal Fury series of fighting games. It was one of the last games released for the Hyper Neo Geo 64 system board. It was ported...
, which retells the events from such game, with Yamazaki being against the boss Geese Howard
Geese Howard
is a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...
.
Yamazaki would appear in The King of Fighters series as a member of the '97 Special Team in The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...
, along Blue Mary
Blue Mary
, real name , is a video game character from both the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series of fighting games developed by SNK Playmore . Blue Mary's first appearance was in the arcade and console game Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory which introduced her as an agent who investigates...
and Billy Kane
Billy Kane
is a video game character created by SNK Playmore . He makes first appearance in the fighting game Fatal Fury: King of Fighters as the sub-boss from the game. In the Fatal Fury series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, the crime lord from Southtown...
. In the backstory of the game, the three fighters are arranged into the same team due to the manipulations of Geese Howard. The game also establishes Yamazaki as one Eight Heralds of the Orochi Clan. However, Yamazaki has no interest in serving Orochi, engaging the other Heralds in combat. In order to have all of the eight servants from Orochi confirmed by this game, Yamazaki was chosen to be the new member as the staff noted him to be a good villain and liked that he was similar to a snake (as the ancient Orochi was a giant snake). Although the '97 Special Team was disbanded in the storyline at end of KOF '97, the team would be featured in later "Dream Match" (games without storylines) installments in the series such as The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters '98 is a fighting game released by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fifth game in The King of Fighters series...
, The King of Fighters 2002
The King of Fighters 2002
The King of Fighters 2002 is a competitive fighting game produced by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one produced by Eolith and developed by SNK Neo Geo . The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox...
and The King of Fighters Neowave
The King of Fighters Neowave
The King of Fighters Neowave is a 2D competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore and originally released as a coin operated arcade game for Sammys Atomiswave hardware. It was the first game SNK Playmore produced for the Atomiswave...
. Ryuji and Billy would also return in The King of Fighters 2003
The King of Fighters 2003
The King of Fighters 2003 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK Playmore for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the tenth game in The King of Fighters series and the first KOF game to become a tag tournament as well as the first one to be published by SNK Playmore...
, only this time they team up with Gato (from Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
, known as Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves on Dreamcast, is a 1999 fighting game produced by SNK, originally for the Neo Geo system. It is the ninth and final game in the Fatal Fury series, set ten years after the death of Geese Howard in Real Bout Fatal Fury...
) and forms the "Outlaw Team" in order to conquer Southtown. Although he is not playable in other games from the series, Yamazaki appears as an assistant character (dubbed as "Striker") in The King of Fighters '99: Evolution
The King of Fighters '99
The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle is a head-to-head fighting game by SNK released for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sixth installment in the companys The King of Fighters series. The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD and the PlayStation as the final KOF game released...
and The King of Fighters 2000
The King of Fighters 2000
The King of Fighters 2000 is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the seventh installment in The King of Fighters series for the Neo Geo, as well as the final one produced by SNK before the bankruptcy. The game was ported to the Sega...
. While in the former he appears as a Striker for every character, in the latter he is the "Another Striker" for Blue Mary. He is also a recurring opponent in the spin-off The King of Fighters: Kyo, normally allying with the Orochi servant Yashiro Nanakase into attacking the lead character Kyo Kusanagi
Kyo Kusanagi
is one of the main characters in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series; he was first introduced in The King of Fighters '94 as the leader of the Japan team. He is one of the iconic characters of the series and regularly appears on publicity material and merchandise. His name and...
although Yamazaki is only interested in fighting. His character was also added to the crossover game Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
and its sequel, Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
, developed by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
.
Yamazaki is also featured in the volume 7 from the soundtracks series SNK Character Sounds Collection released by Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
. The CD features several songs based on his character such as monologues and soundstracks from the games in which he appeared. He also appears in The King of Fighters 2003 manwhua adaptation authored by Wing Yan, fighting against Ash Crimson prior to the 2003 tournament, but he is interrupted by Geese. In the tournament, however, the Outlaw Team is defeated by Ash's team.
Reception
The character of Yamazaki has been well-received by gamers from the games in which he appears, having ranked high in popularity polls from various journals. In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Yamazaki was voted as the staff's fifteenth favorite character. He shared the spot with Samurai ShodownSamurai Shodown
Samurai Shodown, known as in Japan, is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for their Neo Geo arcade and home platform. In contrast to other fighting games at the time which were set in modern times and focused primarily on hand-to-hand combat, Samurai Shodown is set in feudal-era Japan ...
character, Galford, and Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
character, Ken. In order to decide who would become the members of the '97 Special Team from The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97
The King of Fighters '97 is a fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series. It was ported to the Neo-Geo CD, as well as the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in Japan only...
, three polls were conducted by the videogames journals Famitsu, Gamest and Neo Geo freak, in which readers voted who was the character they wanted to see in the team. Yamazaki was Famitsu's winner. Additionally, the three journal created a team, which players can view an image of them after beating the game in the Japanese port. The Famitsu created a team composed of Chang Koehan, Choi Bounge and Yamazaki. Shane Bettenhausen, Ignition Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment Ltd. is a British video game publisher formed in April 2002. It was created from a selection of smaller developers and publishers, such as Archer MacLean's Awesome Studios.-History:...
's Director of Business Development, commented that Yamazaki is one of his favourites characters from The King of Fighters series, and would have liked he appeared in the latest game, The King of Fighters XII
The King of Fighters XII
is the twelfth installment of The King of Fighters series. SNK Playmore announced that it is abandoning the Atomiswave system and is moving its most popular game franchises to the Taito Type X2 arcade system. KOF XII uses newly-drawn 2D sprites on 2D backgrounds...
.
His character has also received mixed reviews from video game publications. Kurt Kalata from Armchairempire.com praised Yamazaki's introduction in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the best ones from the game. He also liked his character and considered him as a good replacement for the ones who were removed from that game. William Usher from Cinemablend.com found Yamazaki to be his favourite character out of The King of Fighters series. He also liked Yamazaki's development in The King of Fighters, additionally noting him to be one of the most popular new characters in Fatal Fury 3. Gamezone reviewer Eduardo Zacarias noted Yamazaki to be one of the "powerhouses" from the Fatal Fury series due to how difficult is to defeat him in a similar way to the other boss Geese Howard
Geese Howard
is a fictional video game character appearing in SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury fighting games series. Debuting in Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese hosts a fighting tournament named "The King of Fighters", in which he faces the...
. In contrast to this Jeremy Dunham from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
noted that Yamazaki's ratio of three over four (a rank given to character at the time of playing with various of them) in Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for Segas NAOMI hardware and later ported to the Dreamcast...
was "absurd" as other characters who have good movesets in the game like Benimaru Nikaido or Blanka
Blanka
is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Blanka is depicted as a feral savage, with green skin and long orange hair, resembling a monster more than a human...
from Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
had only one ratio.