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[[caption-width-right:250:UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts SavingTheWorld]]

''Hiryū no Ken'' (飛龍の拳, lit. "[[SignatureMove Fist of the Flying Dragon]]") is a GenreMashup video game series developed by Culture Brain which ran from 1985 to 2000. The series started with the UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Hokuha Syourin Hiryū no Ken'' / ''[[CompletelyDifferentTitle Shanghai Kid]]'', which is one of the earliest examples of a UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts [[note]](as in "style vs. style matches")[[/note]] FightingGame. Its main feature is the [[CrosshairAware "Mind's Eye" system]], which indicates one of the two fighters' [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak points]] to attack or defend. It was also one of the first fighting games with a special move, a [[CounterAttack Counter Attack]] and a FinishingMove. In what would be a series' tradition, the main character, a [[AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu Kung Fu]] practitioner, fights against martial artists who practice six different fighting styles (one of them being a MirrorBoss).

When the game was remade two years later for the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, it was turned into a 2D BeatEmUp / PlatformGame with RPGElements and a story, although the fighting game roots were kept in its combat mechanics, and emphasized on [[TournamentArc martial arts tournaments]] and boss matches. The sequels moved further into [[ActionRPG Action RPGs]], introducing a FiveManBand with [[SuperMode super modes]], [[EasierThanEasy variable]] [[NintendoHard difficulties]], PlayerVersusPlayer modes, and an RPG mode that replaces the combat portions with commands. This was also when Culture Brain was trying to push a ForeignRemake of the series with the {{Superhero}}-themed ''Flying Warriors'' and ''Ultimate Fighter''.

When ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' revolutionized the fighting game genre, the series failed to keep up with the modern conventions, so it tried to FollowTheLeader with the ''[[SuperDeformed SD]] Hiryū no Ken'' games. Later, it also tried to borrow from the more "realistic" 3D fighting games like ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' and ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' in ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'' and ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' to little success, since the style returned into the ''SD'' slant. ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'' was the final title of the series[[note]]not counting [[UpdatedRerelease color rereleases]] of the Platform/GameBoy titles[[/note]], which had a story mode that was a VideoGameRemake [[BookEnds of the first game]].

Compare with the sister series ''VideoGame/SuperChinese'': ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' was made in the style of Culture Brain's own ''Super Chinese World 2'', which itself borrowed from ''Hiryū no Ken'''s TournamentArc tropes [[RecycledINSPACE in space]]. Also, Ryuhi and his gang made cameos in ''Super Chinese 2'' and ''Super Chinese World'' -- in turn, fighters from ''Super Chinese Fighter'' would be guest fighters in the last two ''Hiryū no Ken'' titles.
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!!'''The series consists of the following games:'''
* ''Hokuha Syourin Hiryū no Ken'' / ''Shanghai Kid'' (1985, Arcade)
* ''Hiryū no Ken: Ōgi no Sho'' / ''Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll'' (1987/1988, [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem FC/NES]])
* ''Hiryū no Ken II: Dragon no Tsubasa'' (1989, [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem FC]])
** ''Flying Warriors'' (1991, [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]): ForeignRemake of ''Hiryū no Ken II'' with ''III'''s engine.
* ''Hiryu no Ken III: Gonin no Ryū Senshi'' (1990, [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem FC]])
* ''Hiryū no Ken Gaiden'' / ''Fighting Simulator: 2-in-1: Flying Warriors'' (1990/1992, [[Platform/GameBoy GB]])
** ''Hiryū no Ken Retsuden GB'' (2000. [[Platform/GameBoyColor GBC]]): UpdatedRerelease of ''Hiryū no Ken Gaiden'' with a different story.
* ''Hiryū no Ken Special: Fighting Wars'' (1991, [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem FC]]): ''Hiryū no Ken III'' FightingGame spin-off.
* ''Hiryū no Ken S: Golden Fighter'' (1992, [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SFC]])
** ''Hiryū no Ken S: Hyper Version'' / ''Ultimate Fighter'' (1992/1994, [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SFC/SNES]]): [[UpdatedRerelease Tweaked update]] of ''Hiryū no Ken S'''s engine.
* ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' (1994, [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SFC]])
** ''SD Hiryū no Ken Gaiden'' (1995, [[Platform/GameBoy GB]]): Port of ''SD Hiryū no Ken''.
* ''SD Hiryū no Ken Gaiden 2'' (1996, [[Platform/GameBoy GB]])
** ''SD Hiryū no Ken EX'' (1999, [[Platform/GameBoyColor GBC]]): UpdatedRerelease of ''SD Hiryu no Ken Gaiden 2''.
* ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'' (1997, [[Platform/PlayStation PS1]])
* ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' / ''Flying Dragon'' (1997/1998-99, [[Platform/Nintendo64 N64]])
* ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'' (1999, [[Platform/Nintendo64 N64]])
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!!'''This series provides examples of:'''
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'''s story mode is a retelling of the first ''Hiryū no Ken'', but it manages to add the second game's new heroes and villain in cameo roles: Red Falcon and Wiler substitute the boxing bosses Boxer X and Giga Bruiser -- and the remaining boxer, Fighter Question, is heavily implied [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown to be Shouryu]]. Ellie, the only new character in the installment, gets a minor cameo [[RememberTheNewGuy as Wolf's daughter]].
* AllYourPowersCombined:
** The heroes can combine their powers against the second and third games' [[EleventhHourSuperpower final bosses]] to transform into Ryūten Taisei, an ancient [[GoldColoredSuperiority gold-colored]] heavenly hero that banished the BigBad of the second game in the past.
** This also happens with the villain Fudō Ryumaou and the Godai Myōō of ''Gonin no Ryū Senshi'', who merge into a [[OneWingedAngel demon-looking monster]]. The Matenshu, villains of ''Gaiden'', also combine their powers to create [[TrueFinalBoss Dark Dragon]].
* AnimalMotifs: Associated with the FiveManBand's super modes: Ryuhi symbolizes the [[GoldColoredSuperiority Golden]] [[DragonsAreDivine Dragon]], Min Min the {{Kirin}}, Hayato the [[ThePhoenix Houou]], Wiler the [[KingOfBeasts Lion]], and Shouryu the [[SilverHasMysticPowers Platinum Dragon]].
* AnotherDimension: Fights between the heroes and the bosses are fought in the "Kekkai" (''Samgha'', aka dimensional barrier).
* ArrangeMode:
** ''Hiryū no Ken II'', aside from its main story mode, gets a proto-FightingGame Tournament Mode and an Anime RPG mode, which substitutes the main game's fighting game-like boss fights with RPG commands. After an absence in ''III'' (which got its own fighting game spin-off), these modes return to ''Golden Fighter'' along with a new Battle Mode, which lets the player fight [[BossRush against any boss]].
** ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'' lets you choose against four modes: ''Hiryū Mode 1'' (''[[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Virtua Fighter 3]]'' controls, Mind's Eye), ''Hiryū Mode 2'' (''Virtua Fighter 2'' controls, Mind's Eye), ''EXCITE Mode'' (''[[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Tekken 2]]'' controls, no Super Special Moves) and EXPERT mode (''Hiryū 1'' without Mind's Eye nor Super Special Moves). The options let you switch the controls from the first three modes, though.
** The Virtual Hiryu mode in ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' / ''Flying Dragon'' allows players to choose between 2D or 3D gameplay (though said choice doesn't bring much difference in terms of overall gameplay).
* AttackItsWeakPoint:
** The whole point of the "Mind's Eye" system is marking the player character and its enemy's weak point. Hitting in one of the other two possible points results in a brief stun. The marker can occasionally change into a CriticalHit blue marker, a "R" (''Rush'') [[{{Combos}} custom combo]], or a OneHitKill star.
** ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'' redesigns it from its pseudo-RhythmGame turn-based origins into a more dynamic feature, where the markers show up to warn where an attack is going to hit -- and at the same time, the attacker's unprotected points ([[{{Kneecapping}} usually the legs]]). Since the feature is kind of redundant in a fighting game, it was optional in every installment since ''SD''.
* BadMoonRising: A red star is an ominous sign of Daimajin's return.
* BigBad:
** Ryumaou (Dragon Devil King), the leader of the Dragon Tusks, although it's more complicated than that. The main villain of ''Ōgi no Sho'' / ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'' and ''Golden Fighter'' is Fuzu-Fu Ryumaou ([[DubNameChange Dargon]] overseas), and the main villain of ''Gonin no Ryū Senshi'' is his younger brother Fudō Ryumaou, the leader of the "Godai Myōō". However, from ''SD Hiryū no Ken Gaiden 2'' to the end of the series, Ryumaou returned as the main villain. It's unclear if he's one of the brothers or if it's [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep just somebody with the same title]] [[note]]considering that ''Virtual'' / ''Twin'''s Ryumaou looks like Fuzu-Fu, ''Densetsu'' retells the first game's plot, and that Fudō is [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never mentioned again]], it's probably Fuzu-Fu[[/note]].
** Other main villains include Suzaku / Zakros, the main villain of ''Dragon no Tsubasa'', ''[[ActuallyADoombot SD Hiryū no Ken]]'' and ''Retsuden'', and Dark Dragon from ''Gaiden''.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: The backstory of ''Hiryū no Ken II'' involves the resurrection of the ultimate forces of good and evil, Ryūten Taisei and Daimajin (aka Dragonlord and Demonyx).
* BodyguardingABadass: Aleph, a competent American karateka, is sent by Min Min's father to protect her.
* BossInMookClothing:
** The "Kiba Toshi" (Tusk warriors) from the first three game are a literal version of this, since they tend to be hidden in the bodies of [[HumanDisguise martial artists]]. Beating them is essential for the HundredPercentCompletion, but managing to fight against them usually involves knowing [[Main/PuzzleBoss specific strategies]] against the martial artists.
** Inverted by the "Makaishū Shitennō" boss Baishura in II, who hides as a Kiba Toshi.
* BoxingBattler: Too many to list, since every game has at least a boxer enemy / boss. Probably the most notorious one is Roseman, who debuted in ''SD Hiryū no Ken''.
* CelebrityEndorsement: The NES / GB titles were endorsed by Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling talent such as Wrestling/AntonioInoki or Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger. It's fitting, because the series was strongly influenced by Inoki's famous "style vs. style" matches in the late seventies.
* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown: After being defeated in ''Hiryū no Ken II'', Suzaku reappears as Red Falcon, a HumanDisguise. He also sports a [[GoodScarsEvilScars scar on his face]] as a mark from his defeat (which doesn't make sense in ''Densetsu'''s story mode, since it [[AdaptationInducedPlotHole happens before the second game]]).
* ChineseVampire: ''Hiryū no Ken II'' / ''Flying Warriors'' had jiangshi as enemies in the Hong Kong level, with a giant jiangshi subboss at its end.
* ChromeChampion: ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' / ''Flying Dragon (N64)'' features platinum and gold versions of the playable characters as sub-bosses. They're equipped with items to make their fights harder -- the game even offers purchasable items to [[PuzzleBoss explain their weaknesses]].
* CounterAttack: In the early titles, it was possible to counter a high punch into an arm throw. When the series returned into being full-blown fighting games, counter-attack mechanics were expanded into an essential feature.
* CreatureHunterOrganization: Seimadan, a ancient ghost-hunting organization (vaguely implied to be Dragon Tusks) led by Shouryu. In fact, every organization leader is given the title Shouryu.
* CyberNinja: RAIMA, who was created by a scientist to [[AwesomenessByAnalysis collect data from the world's best fighters]]. While the CIA, and therefore Wiler, doesn't trust its destructive potential (which is [[AIIsACrapshoot sort of proven]] with Suzaku's attempt to revive Daimajin), Raima's purpose is [[GoodAllAlong to save the world from danger]]. He also gains two more rivals in ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'': Swedish policewoman Kate and Hayato, who is sent by Shiranui Shizuka (daughter of Hayato's [[FaceHeelTurn story boss]] in ''III'') to search for her lost brother -- [[WeCanRebuildHim no guessing where he is and what happened to him]].
* DeathByOriginStory: The story of the first ''Hiryū no Ken'' (remade in ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'') starts when Shou'an Rōshi (Master Shou'an / Juan), Ryuhi's teacher and foster father, is killed to steal his ''Ōgi no Sho'' book.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Hayato and Min Min were rivals to Ryuhi in the first game, but turn into main cast members in the sequel.
* DegradedBoss: Fuzu-Fu Ryumaou evolves from the final boss of the first game to the last opponent of ''II'''s TournamentArc, which happens halfway in the game. He gets it even worse in ''III'', where he's the final trial of the combat tutorial as a RecapEpisode. The same thing happens to Suzaku between the second and third games, who returns in ''III'' as "Red Falcon", the mysterious boss of the tournament. To a lesser extent, the martial artists' sprites, which were used for boss fights in the first two games, are also used for common mooks in ''III'' and ''S''.
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: In ''Ōgi no Sho'', Min Min was a Ryuhi HeadSwap, and Hayato was a minor boss. ''Dragon no Tsubasa'' makes Min Min and Hayato playable, along with new characters Wiler and Shouryu, but only as head swaps of Ryuhi's SuperMode. ''III'' makes them once again playable as Ryuhi head swaps in both modes, and now their super modes wield either two swords or a staff. ''Fighting Wars'' makes them different for the first time by assigning every one of them a fighting style archetype -- except for Min Min, since there is no female fighter archetype. ''Golden Fighter'' gives Min Min her own sprite, at the expense of removing her super mode -- Hayato, Wiler and Shouryu are only playable in super modes. Finally, ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' gives them for the first time their own sprites and completely different movesets.
* DragonInChief: Between ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' and ''Gaiden 2'', Suzaku revives Ryumaou to help him awaken Daimajin. Since Ryumaou is the major villain of most of the games (including every game after ''Gaiden 2''), this goes as well as you can imagine. Averted in the earlier ''Dragon no Tsubasa'', where Ryumaou was indeed a servant of Suzaku.
* DressedLikeADominatrix: Jennifer from ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' / ''SD Gaiden''. She even has a whip to control his winged lion, Daddy.
* ElementalPowers:
** Each character gets assigned an elemental power in their SuperMode: Ryuhi gets [[HolyHandGrenade heavenly]] powers, Min Min controls [[PlayingWithFire fire]], Hayato has [[BlowYouAway wind]] abilities, Wiler controls [[ShockAndAwe lightning]], and Shouryu gets the power of [[LightEmUp light]]. The sequels add [[BlowYouAway Yuuka]], [[ShockAndAwe Raima]] and Gou [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] to the mix.
** ''Densetsu'' adds elemental affinities to the character's moves, namely FireIceLightning, Wind and [[PoisonousPerson Poison]]. Ryuhi gets elemental-themed clones in the same game: most of them are Ryuhi with [[MovesetClone moves taken from one of the characters mentioned above]]. [[AnIcePerson The ice-themed clone]] gains most of his moveset from ''[[VideoGame/SuperChinese Super Chinese Fighter]]'''s Jack.
* EvilCounterpart: Every major villain is either an evil counterpart of Ryuhi (Fuzu-Fu, Red Falcon, Dark Dragon, Kim Wang-Yu in ''[[NoAntagonist Fighting Wars]]'') or his SuperMode (Suzaku, Fudō, Fuzu-Fu's super mode in ''Golden Fighter'').
* EvilKnockoff: Dark Dragon, the secret boss of ''Gaiden'', is literally an evil copy of Ryuhi made with the power of the Matenshu and the five Hiryū medals.
* {{Expy}}:
** The Martial Arts fighters are either based on Wrestling/SatoruSayama (''[[Manga/TigerMask Lion Kid]]'' / ''Litron''), Benny Urquidez (''Haken'' / ''Harkon'', ''Hurricane Benny'', ''Falcon''...), or Everett "Monster Man" Eddy (''Monster T'', ''Monster Joe'') -- no wonder, since they're the fighters more strongly associated with the fictional "Martial Arts" fighting style in Japan.
** ''Ōgi no Sho'''s wrestler boss Mongol Khan is vaguely similar to [[Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors Road Warrior Animal]], and Demon Kabuki might be loosely based on The Great Kabuki. Later, the wrestler boss Warrior / Max Crusher from ''II'' and the wrestler sprite from ''III'' (aka ''Conan'') are identical to Wrestling/HulkHogan. [[FinalBoss Mad Warrior]] from ''Fighting Wars'', Zebra and Gossett from ''Hiryū no Ken S'' and Randy Powers from the ''SD'' games are expies of Wrestling/UltimateWarrior.
** As far as boxers go, ''Ōgi no Sho'''s Giga Bruiser is probably meant to be a [[Franchise/{{Rocky}} Rocky Balboa]] lookalike, but Crusher / Slugger Sam from ''Dragon no Tsubasa'' is undoubtedly based on [[Film/RockyIII Clubber Lang]]. Mick Johnston from ''Fighting Wars'' is probably meant to be Creator/MikeTyson.
** Bob Roman, the kickboxer from ''Fighting Wars'' (a Muay Thai fighter in all but name), is clearly meant to be Rob Kaman.
** The karate fighters from ''Fighting Wars'', Muguruma Shirou and William Gordon, are probably meant to be Masaaki Satake and Willie Williams.
** ''Fighting Wars'' redesigns the Kung Fu fighter archetype into [[BruceLeeClone Bruce Lee Clones]]. Jackie Dean is Creator/JackieChan, and Kamikaze Kid is probably meant to be the [[Creator/BruceLee real deal]].
** ''Fighting Wars'' also redesigned the gigantic wrestler archetype into a more realistic Wrestling/UniversalWrestlingFederation-type fighter, most notably Mach Akira as an Wrestling/AkiraMaeda expy and Toukon Taro being "Moeru Toukon" Wrestling/AntonioInoki. In ''Hiryū no Ken S'', there is a wrestler HeadSwap with a Manga/TigerMask called Gym Owner / Huge Hugh.
** Grimson / Grimzon from ''Hiryū no Ken S'' is an imposing wrestler that uses spiked shoulderpads, just like Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors.
** Kevin Clark, the Martial Artist who serves as the first boss of ''III'' (and the host of the "Godai Myōō" Aizen), is redesigned in ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'' as a wrestler who is basically Wrestling/{{Stan Hansen}}.
* ForeignRemake: The NES ''Flying Warriors'' game is a remake of ''Hiryū no Ken II'' with a {{Superhero}} aesthetic and storyline. However, it's unusual because it was made with the ''Hiryū no Ken III'' engine and some ''Gaiden'' graphics, instead of just editing the graphics and calling it a day. Further sequels for the Game Boy and Super Nintendo simply edited the main characters' sprites.
* GenreMashup: The NES installments and ''Golden Fighter'' are a proto-fighting game, platformer / beat'em up and RPG at the same time. ''Dragon no Tsubasa'' has proto-open world stages, while ''Golden Fighter'' loses the platforming elements of its prequels. The last games are simply fighting games with light RPGElements.
* GoldenSuperMode: In the last boss fight of ''Flying Warriors'' the heroes all combine into one golden hero.
* GottaCatchThemAll: The last two games added a Treasure Item-collecting feature, which allowed the games to return to its earlier RPG elements. The items could range to stat-changing items, [[StatusBuff status buffs]], [[HealingPotion healing potions]], unlockable moves, magic spells, weapons, [[OutOfContinues extra continues]], [[GuideDangIt game hints]], etc.
* HeadSwap: Common in the early games: ''Hiryū no Ken I'', ''II'' and ''S'' used head swaps of the six fighter archetypes, and ''II'' and ''III'' used it for the main five protagonists. ''III'' only has different heads for the hero / Kung Fu archetype, otherwise there's only a single sprite type for the fighter characters. Inverted in ''Fighting Wars'', which uses [[DivergentCharacterEvolution slightly different movesets]] for each archetype clone, despite them being little more than [[PaletteSwap Palette Swaps]].
* HeavenVersusHell: Ryūten Taisei comes from the Tenkai (Heavenly realm), and the Ankoku-kai (Dark world) is the origin source of the Gekkōshū.
* HurricaneKick: It's one of the iconic moves of the main characters (especially back when they shared sprites) -- the titular "Hiryū no Ken" technique starts as a hurricane kick into one of the screen's corners, where the characters perform a flying kick.
* IHaveYourDaughter: The reason why Kevin Clark enters the tournament in ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken''.
* JapaneseDelinquents: Tetsuo Kusanagi from ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' / ''SD Gaiden'' is a heroic version.
* KamehameHadoken: A common ability in the early games, known as ''Tōki''. However, it could only be performed against minor enemies and supernatural bosses, not against martial artists. Since ''Golden Fighter'', they're performed in 'VideoGame/StreetFighterII'''s traditional quarter circle forward command.
* LegacyBossBattle: The Muay Thai fighter Songlam / Thornram and the Martial Artist [[Manga/TigerMask Lion Kid]] were bosses from ''Hokuha Syourin Hiryū no Ken'' to ''Dragon no Tsubasa''. Likewise, the karateka Daimon appeared in the second and third games.
* LimitBreak:
** The "Hiryū no Ken" technique, which initially could only be used when the K.O. Gauge was full, is probably the first technique of its kind in a fighting game. It's also an essential technique [[GameplayAndStorySegregation in the storyline]], since the villains learned it in the first game.
** From ''Hiryū no Ken II'' to ''S'' (except ''Gaiden''), the main characters' super modes and the bosses could use the "Hōriki", mantra-invoked [[StockRPGSpells spells]].
* MacGuffin:
** ''Ōgi no Sho'': The ''[[TitleDrop Ōgi no Sho]]'' (Mysterious Book), who was stolen from Shou'an Rōshi by the Dragon Tusks and [[DismantledMacGuffin divided into various scrolls]], and contains the teachings to perform the ''Hiryū no Ken'', the "Mind's Eye", and [[GameplayAndStorySegregation various power-ups in the first game]]. It's implied in further titles that it was created by Shou'an Rōshi after Ryūten Taisei teached him the ''Hiryū no Ken''.
** ''Dragon no Tsubasa'': The [[DismantledMacGuffin broken]] Mandala Talisman, which used to seal Daimajin in the past.
** ''Gonin no Ryū Senshi'': The [[CoolSword Nichirin Ken]] (Sun blade), which is used to summon Ryūten Taisei. It's mentioned to be known under other names in the past, like {{Excalibur}}. Unlike earlier examples, it's acquired fairly early in the game -- the rest of the game is about PuttingTheBandBackTogether.
** ''Hiryū no Ken Gaiden'': The Hiryū medals, which can be combined to summon Dark Dragon.
** ''Golden Fighter'': The older games' ''Ōgi no Sho'' and ''Nichirin Ken'', stolen from the Shaolin temple.
* MaskedLuchador: ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' retcons Shouryu, who was previously a "Martial Artist" in ''Hiryū no Ken Special'', as a high-flying luchador. While he isn't masked, he appears as a masked fighter in ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'''s story mode.
* MovesetClone: Mostly played straight in ''Fighting Wars''. The new characters from ''SD Hiryū no Ken Gaiden 2'' (Karateka Helbert, nak muay Dava, and Noel) highly resemble older characters from ''Super Chinese Fighter'' (namely Gou Fire, Kamanchai, and Ryu). Cleverly PlayedWith in ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'', though, since every returning boss from the first game (little more than bonus characters) borrows their moveset from different characters:
** The Kung Fu archetype is still made from Ryuhi clones (Kokūnsai, Fuzu-Fu) -- however, Min Min and Ryumaou (Fuzu-Fu's SuperMode) have been individual characters since earlier ''SD'' installments. Sadly, Gengai is now a Ryuhi clone, instead of an individual character like in ''Virtual'' / ''Twin''. The Kiba Toshi mooks now retain their possessed body's moves, instead of being Kung Fu fighter [[HeadSwap head swaps]].
** Karate fighter Gou Hayato retains his ''SD'' moveset, but Mugen Shirou is now a clone of Gou Fire.
** Muay Thai fighters Songlam and Jungle Tagan get their own non-cloned moveset, so they are clones of each other.
** Wrestler fighters are all over the place: the BandagedFace wrestler Zongerian turns into a full-body mummy with Earth Quaker's appearance, Mongol Khan shares his SumoWrestling style with Robo-no-Hana, and Demon Kabuki's fighting style is borrowed from Powers, the most straight pro-wrestler in the ''SD'' series.
** Martial Arts fighter Harrier (aka "Lion Kid" / "Litron" in the older series) borrows his style from Shouryu -- which makes sense, given that Shouryu's fighting style was Martial Arts in ''Fighting Wars''. Wolf Morgan, now named Wolf Schwartz, is turned into an {{Expy}} of Wiler.
** The Boxer discipline from ''Ōgi no Sho'' is mostly absent, only Fighter Question returns as another Shouryu clone (in fact, heavily implied to be himself). Boxer X and Giga Bruiser are nowhere to be seen, since they're replaced by Red Falcon and Wiler -- one would guess that basing them on Roseman from the ''SD'' series or Astro Joe from the ''VideoGame/SuperChinese'' series would have greatly helped.
* MultinationalTeam: Ryuhi is Chinese, Hayato is Japanese, and Min Min is from Hong Kong. The second game introduces allies from the United States: Wiler, who is commonly associated with foreign JungleJapes, and Shouryu, who is from New York's Chinatown (although since ''SD Hiryū no Ken'', he turns into a [[ForeignCultureFetish Mexican luchador]]).
* {{Mummy}}: Earth Quaker, one of the bosses of ''Hiryū no Ken S'' / ''Ultimate Fighter'' and the only new character from the game that made it to the ''SD'' sequels.
* MysteriousEmployer: Jennifer and her pet Daddy are sent by the "Kongo Shichibushin" Kendara to oversee Suzaku's actions. Likewise, ''Gaiden 2'' and ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'''s Dava follows the orders of Tiha, a mysterious Tennō who is [[AbortedArc never mentioned again]].
* NotJustATournament: You can expect the Dragon Tusks or other villains to be behind them. Roseman, the winner of the ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' tournament, is responsible for making the one in ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'', and is soon overtaken by various villains.
* OldMaster: Gengai serves as the ParentalSubstitute / master of Ryuhi and, to a lesser extent, to other main characters. Also [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Rakan]] ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arhat Arhat]]) in the second game, a Shaolin monk protected by two [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nio Nio]]-looking monks who teaches Ryuhi to transform into his super mode. Min Min and Yuuka's grandparents are implied to be expert martial artists, since they fought with Gengai.
* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: '''''Inverted''''' with ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' / ''Flying Dragon'', its main gimmick being that it brings ''two'' different fighting games in the same cartridge, one of them being a customizable ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'' port (although having fewer characters than the PSX version released some months before), titled "Virtual Hiryu mode", and the other being a 3D ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' sequel, titled "SD Hiryu mode" - the latter ended up being favored due to its Treasure Item-collecting feature that returned for the sequel (based entirely on the SD Hiryu mode).
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Yuuka Kurenai, the UsefulNotes/{{Aikido}} user from ''SD Hiryū no Ken'', was defeated by Hayato and has been looking for him since then.
* PromotedToPlayable: Hayato and Min Min in the second game, Suzaku and Earth Quaker in ''SD Hiryū no Ken'', Ryumaou in ''Gaiden 2'', Gengai and Kevin Clark in ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'', and almost every boss from ''Ōgi no Sho'' in ''Densetsu''. Powers from the ''SD'' series is an {{Expy}} of earlier wrestlers such as Mad Warrior and Zebra, though.
* PsychicChildren: Shouryu is an especially skilled one.
* ThePsychoRangers: Incredibly common villains in every non-fighting game, usually [[PaletteSwap Palette Swaps]] of the Kiba Toshi. Many of them hide in the body of a martial artist:
** ''I'''s "Garyu Jushi Rokunin-shu" (''Six Dragon Tusk Beastmen'': [[DarkActionGirl Zora]], [[TheGrimReaper Taron]], [[TheQuincyPunk Torudo]], [[EyelessFace Pebora]], [[MultiArmedAndDangerous Kali]] and [[BigRedDevil Gordon]]) are little more than overworld EliteMooks. Unlike further installments, every one of them has their own sprite.
** ''II'' has the "Makaishū Shitennō" (''Hellish [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Heavenly_Kings Four Heavenly Kings]]''), and the [[TheFourGods Four Gods]]-themed "Gekkōshū Hissatsu-ō" (''Four Moonlight Killing Kings'') who have their own sprite -- in an unusual example, Suzaku, the leader of the Gekkōshū, is both a team member and the BigBad of the game.
** ''III'' has the "Godai Myōō" (''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_King Wisdom Kings]]''), which much like the protagonists, [[OnlySixFaces they either wield]] [[DualWielding twin swords]] or a staff. Even their boss Fudō Ryumaou shares their sprite.
** ''Gaiden'' has the five "Matenshu" (''Devil [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism) Devas]]''), which all share the [[DualWielding twin sword]]-wielding sprite. For some reason, in the UpdatedRerelease they have been renamed as the "Ryuga Goketsushu" (''Five Great Dragon Fangs''), which have dinosaur-themed names.
** ''S'' has the "Shura Satsuo" (''Four Killing [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura Asura]] Kings'': [[ArmiesAreEvil Iron Jason]] / Iron Claw, [[ShouldersOfDoom Grimson]] / Grimzon, [[BladeBelowTheShoulder Broadway]] / [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead Jake Spinner]], and [[{{Mummy}} Earth Quaker]]) -- unlike the older bosses, who [[ReusedCharacterDesign shared sprites]], every one of them has its own design. Played straight, however, with the seven "Makaishu" (''Hellish ones''), which seem to be extremely similar to the "Godai Myōō".
** The end of ''Hiryū no Ken S'' teases the appearance of the "Kongo Shichibushin" (''Seven [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra Vajra]] Deities'') in future installments. However, the only mention of them in sequels was that Daddy and Jennifer (from ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' / ''SD Gaiden'') are minions to Kendara, one of the seven Shichibushin.
* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: Albert Roseman, an aristocratic boxer whose psychic powers wake up when Suzaku tries to summon Daimajin in ''SD Hiryū no Ken''.
* RecurringBossTemplate: Every game contains six types of martial artist bosses: a [[AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu Kung Fu]] practitioner, a [[UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} karateka]], a [[BoxingBattler boxer]], a [[UsefulNotes/MuayThai nak muay]], a [[ProfessionalWrestling professional wrestler]] and a Martial Artist[[note]]a FantasticFightingStyle -- see the "martial arts" entry on Main/LostInTranslation[[/note]]. This template gets followed as late as ''Virtual Hiryū no Ken'': for example, there's Kung Fu (Red Falcon), Karate (Aleph), Boxing (Roseman), Muay Thai (Dava Siddharta), Wrestling (Kevin Clark) and Martial Arts (Kate).
* TheRival: In ''SD Hiryū no Ken'', every character gets their own subboss before fighting against Suzaku, and they share their ending with the designated character: Yuuka wants to avenge her lost fight against Hayato, Min Min wants to end the forecoming threat of Jennifer, Wiler is suspicious of RAIMA's purpose, Shouryu and Earth Quaker are after a mysterious MacGuffin, Powers and Mainohana fight to prove [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours their wrestling style is better]], and Tetsuo and Uruka are the ComedicReliefCharacters who can't understand each other. The exceptions are Ryuhi ([[AlwaysSomeoneBetter fights against Hayato]]), Suzaku (fights against Ryuhi) and the pre-subboss fighter Roseman (fights against a psychic {{Doppelganger}}).
* SealedEvilInACan: Daimajin, the last boss of ''Dragon no Tsubasa''. The end of ''Gonin no Ryū Senshi'', ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' and ''Retsuden'' [[GreaterScopeVillain tease with his return]].
* {{Shotoclone}}: Zig-zagged: Ryuhi has had a HurricaneKick since the first installment (two years before the first Street Fighter game came out), and a KamehameHadoken power-up since the NES port. However, his {{Shoryuken}} counterpart, a rising kick, appeared for the first time in ''Golden Fighter'', a year after Street Fighter II came out. From there, it was easy to make him a Shotoclone in subsequent games.
* ShoutOut: A Japanese game from the eighties about a FiveManBand with legendary armors that fight against other evil armored warriors? Yeah, ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' was kind of popular back then. One of them has even a peacock-like tail ([[CutscenePowerToTheMax at least in cutscenes]]), just like Phoenix Ikki.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple:
** Min Min is the only woman in Ryuhi's FiveManBand, and is the only female character in ''Golden Fighter''.
** Yuuka is the only female character in the SD Hiryu mode in ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' - the Virtual Hiryu mode adopts the TwoGirlsToATeam trope instead, with Min Min and Kate.
* SumoWrestling: Kotarou Mainohana from ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' / ''SD Gaiden'' is an excommunicated sumo wrestler. He seems to have been forgotten by ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'', since he was replaced by the more colorful Robo-no-Hana from the ''VideoGame/SuperChinese'' series.
* SuperDeformed: Every ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' title, and half of ''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' / ''Flying Dragon''.
* SuperMode: From ''II'' to ''S'', the five protagonists can transform into super modes with a special armor and weapons. Due to sprite limitations, in ''II'' they are [[HeadSwap head swaps]] (and the only way to play as anyone other than Ryuhi), and in ''III'' and ''S'' they either wield [[DualWielding twin swords]] or a staff. ''S'' [[{{Chickification}} removes Min Min]]'s super mode, since they didn't bother to do a new armored female sprite.
* SuperTitle64Advance: In ''Hiryū no Ken Retsuden GB'', although it's technically a GBC title.
* TeenGenius: At 15, Shouryu is the youngest cast member, but is said to have immense psychic power potential. Moreover, he's the leader of a ghost-hunting organization.
* TournamentArc: Present in every game, as an homage to its proto-FightingGame roots.
* {{Transplant}}: Many fighters from ''[[VideoGame/SuperChinese Super Chinese World 2]]'' and ''Super Chinese Fighter'' moved to ''Hiryū no Ken'''s last two installments, namely Robo-no-Hana, Bokuchin (''Twin'', ''Densetsu''), Jack, Ryu and Gou Fire (''Densetsu'').
* VideoGameRemake: ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'''s story mode is a remake of ''Ōgi no Sho''.
* WarriorMonk: Ryuhi's first assignment after his father's death is to visit a Shaolin Temple where Gengai and his fellow Shaolin monks reside, to teach Ryuhi how to fight.
* WildMan: Uruka from ''SD Hiryū no Ken'' / ''SD Gaiden'' is a monstruous-looking child from a CannibalTribe.
* WorldTour: The BigApplesauce is a recurring location, since the finals of the martial arts tournament are hosted there. In ''Dragon no Tsubasa'', the heroes visit China, Hong Kong, Peru, New York and the underworld. ''Gonin no Ryū Senshi'' moves them to North America, Japan, Thailand, Europe and New York. ''Golden Fighter'' has a more limited scope, since they move from a chinese Shaolin temple to Miami, New York and [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Catle Grolba]]. Later, in the fighting games, every character gets their own location in the grand tradition of Franchise/StreetFighter''.
* WorldWreckingWave: Subtly done by Suzaku's attempt to re-awaken Daimajin in ''SD Hiryū no Ken'': the mummy Earth Quaker wakes up from slumber, the already wild Uruka turns into TheBerserker, Roseman's psychic powers wake up, and RAIMA's [[AIIsACrapshoot programming fails]].
* YouKilledMyFather: Both Ryuhi and Min Min's parents were killed by the Dragon Tusks. To a lesser extent, Wiler's subordinates were killed by a monster summoned by the Dragon Tusks, and both Hayato's clan and Shouryu's parents probably disappeared under Dragon Tusk-related incidents.