At times such as these he relies on his friends - primarily Ken, Chun-Li, and Sakura - to keep him grounded and snap him out of it. This desire to be better can sometimes make his advice to his defeated opponents in his win quotes seem more superior and judgmental than Gouken's. There is, however, a dark side to Ryu his drive to improve himself (no matter the difficulty) can sometimes develop into a drive to win and be the best (no matter the cost) when the Satsui no Hadou starts to take over, as these two goals are so dangerously similar.
He is still very quiet and reserved, but is willing to greet people with a smile and some kind advice, very much like his master Gouken. However, by the time of Street Fighter III, it seems that Ryu has developed a somewhat more friendly personality. He respects others with skills equal to his own and holds heroic figures like Captain America, Spider-Man and Cyclops in high regard, as seen in the Marvel vs.
Although he appears to be aloof and unemotional, Ryu is actually a kind and honorable warrior. To this end, Ryu plays the part of the wandering warrior, and takes both his travels and his training very seriously. Ryu's overarching goal in Street Fighter is to become a total master of his fighting style. In rare occasions, Ryu shows a very bad sense of humor. He travels the globe with a stern nature, often appearing to others as boring or detached. Ryu is usually a silent, serious individual whose severity is often juxtaposed against the light-hearted, fiery persona of his best friend, Ken. These kanji are again visible on his belt in Street Fighter IV. The four words are based on chapter seven of Sun Tzu's Art of War, which dictates how one should conduct battle. The same four kanji can be seen on a sign on the left-hand side of Ryu's stage in Street Fighter II. In some official Street Fighter II artwork, Ryu's belt has four kanji emblazoned upon it: kaze (風 wind), hayashi (林 woods), hi (火 fire) and yama (山 mountain) these four kanji make up the furinkazan. In many of his appearances, Ryu carries around a large, white duffel bag containing items important to his travels such as: clothing, plane tickets, passports, and local currency. Ryu's most recent appearance in Street Fighter IV has him in his original Street Fighter II outfit. Ryu's gi becomes increasingly tattered and aged throughout the game’s timeline, indicating its years of wear and tear.
In Street Fighter III, Ryu has black hair, and facial stubble to show his growth in age. Ryu would not canonically receive his red headband until after a sparring session with Ken during this timeline. In the Street Fighter Alpha series, Ryu’s hair became a lighter shade of brown, and he retained the white headband which hearkens back to his appearance in the first Street Fighter. Ryu's first appearance in the original Street Fighter replaced the red headband with a white one and depicted him with bright red hair, gray eyes, and red slippers. Ryu is portrayed as a Japanese man whose basic, and most recognizable attire from the Street Fighter II timeline consists of medium-length brown hair, brown eyes, a long, red headband a white karate gi with the sleeves ripped off at the shoulders, bare feet, and a black belt.