Ryu might’ve been the most popular character in Street fighter II but he technically isn’t the best. I still liked him a lot.
He’s just so fun to play with, and very easy for beginners to pick up.
One of my first great gaming memories was doing the Hadouken fireball.
It took me more time to master the other moves.
There’s a reason he was picked for Smash Brothers versus all the other characters, though Ken did get put in as his echo fighter in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.