>>718349918
He has just gained his fanbase and reputation through sheer accomplishments really. He does have some emotional beats and other characters he cares about to build his story and motivation, but when it comes down to it people like him because he is just fucking invincible and always wins no matter what, he doesn't show off or try hard to look stylish, but gets the job done with brutal efficiency. It feels satisfying to watch him succeed because the games are notoriously difficult, so seeing him brush those challenges off without breaking a sweat amplifies the "fuck yeah that was me I did it I'm so cool" factor. Sometimes it's cool to have a simple character who is absolutely reliable, the player never has to doubt or question Ryu. It leads to tricky scenarios like how in every Dead or Alive game they have to find an excuse for why Ryu doesn't instantly solo kill every villain (and a lot of the time he does anyway). It's just simple innocent fun to be able to say "there's our boy Ryu "FUCKING" Hayabusa" when he shows up and does exactly what you thought he would do.