The Six Degrees of Ryu
June 29, 2021 1:31 PM Subscribe
Six Degrees of Ryu is a Twitter account that, in the manner of Erdos numbers and the old Kevin Bacon game long discussed on the internet (and automated through the still-functioning Oracle of Bacon), counts the number of video game connections it takes to get from various characters to Ryu from Street Fighter. Pepsiman, Slenderman, and EVA Unit 01 all have Ryu numbers of 3. Jesus Christ, Joe Biden, and Snoop Dogg have Ryu Numbers of 2. Because of Scribblenauts, many historical figures, including George Washington Carver and Thomas Edison, have Ryu Numbers of 4. Deadmau5 has a Ryu Number of 7. (Previously, in 2001 and 2012)
Ryu Numbers only count video games, and only follow characters that are animate or active in some way (so, no Smash Bros trophies or spirits), but don't require the characters to be playable. Obviously, Smash Bros. and Marvel vs. Capcom are great unifiers.
Pepsiman, Slenderman, and EVA Unit 01 all have Ryu numbers of 3. Jesus Christ, Joe Biden, and Snoop Dogg have Ryu Numbers of 2. Because of Scribblenauts, many historical figures, including George Washington Carver and Thomas Edison, have Ryu Numbers of 4. Deadmau5 has a Ryu Number of 7.
Other unifiers:
Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2, Civilization games, Project X-Zone, Sonic All-Stars Racing, Brawlhalla (which means Stevonnie from Steven Universe has a Ryu Number), various Capcom fighting games, Lego Dimensions (brings in a ton of properties including Doctor Who, Portal, The Goonies, The Simpsons, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Wizard of Oz, a bunch of classic Atari and Midway arcade games, and 2001: A Space Odyssey), and NBA Jam's hidden character roster.
Inspired by a Fanbyte article and a (sadly, now private) Youtube video.
Ryu Numbers only count video games, and only follow characters that are animate or active in some way (so, no Smash Bros trophies or spirits), but don't require the characters to be playable. Obviously, Smash Bros. and Marvel vs. Capcom are great unifiers.
Pepsiman, Slenderman, and EVA Unit 01 all have Ryu numbers of 3. Jesus Christ, Joe Biden, and Snoop Dogg have Ryu Numbers of 2. Because of Scribblenauts, many historical figures, including George Washington Carver and Thomas Edison, have Ryu Numbers of 4. Deadmau5 has a Ryu Number of 7.
Other unifiers:
Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2, Civilization games, Project X-Zone, Sonic All-Stars Racing, Brawlhalla (which means Stevonnie from Steven Universe has a Ryu Number), various Capcom fighting games, Lego Dimensions (brings in a ton of properties including Doctor Who, Portal, The Goonies, The Simpsons, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Wizard of Oz, a bunch of classic Atari and Midway arcade games, and 2001: A Space Odyssey), and NBA Jam's hidden character roster.
Inspired by a Fanbyte article and a (sadly, now private) Youtube video.
Wow, I'm learning about a ton of mash-up games I'd never heard of. I don't know if I'm more surprised by Eva Unit 01 and Godzilla sharing a game or Godzilla and Spider-man sharing a game but they're both great.
posted by brook horse at 1:41 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by brook horse at 1:41 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
I assume that MUGEN (previously) could potentially give literally everyone and everything a Ryu Number of 1 since it can import fighters from other games and allows anyone to create new ones.
posted by ardgedee at 1:44 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by ardgedee at 1:44 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Yeah, I imagine they don't consider MUGEN, especially since all its uses are unlicensed.
posted by JHarris at 1:47 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 1:47 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yeah it's fairly trivial to just throw together something in GameMaker Studio, for instance. Give me a few hours and a generous definition of "game" and I could make any character have a Ryu number of 1.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:25 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:25 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Some people have Erdős–Bacon numbers, are there any characters with Erdős–Ryu numbers? Or the holy trinity of Erdős–Bacon-Ryu numbers?
posted by star gentle uterus at 2:41 PM on June 29, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by star gentle uterus at 2:41 PM on June 29, 2021 [11 favorites]
If you look at the twitter account's bio it lays out the rules:
1: Video games only
2: Commercial works only
3: No time-limited accessibility (no gacha, Fortnite)
4: Identifiably unique individuals.
Presumably Rule 2 would exclude MUGEN or any sort of user or community created content, in the same way and for the same reasons that if I take a short video of me getting an autograph from Kevin Bacon, that doesn't give me a Bacon number of 1.
posted by firechicago at 2:42 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
1: Video games only
2: Commercial works only
3: No time-limited accessibility (no gacha, Fortnite)
4: Identifiably unique individuals.
Presumably Rule 2 would exclude MUGEN or any sort of user or community created content, in the same way and for the same reasons that if I take a short video of me getting an autograph from Kevin Bacon, that doesn't give me a Bacon number of 1.
posted by firechicago at 2:42 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
Derivation for Jesus Christ's Ryu number 2.
Since, in canon, Jesus Christ loves everyone, it follows that no one has a Ryu number higher than 3.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:03 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
Since, in canon, Jesus Christ loves everyone, it follows that no one has a Ryu number higher than 3.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:03 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
> Since, in canon, Jesus Christ loves everyone, it follows that no one has a Ryu number higher than 3.
No, only people who have fought Jesus get a Ryu number. So that includes the time he wrestled Satan, and I guess the moneylenders in the temple if you wanna stretch the meaning of "fight".
posted by ardgedee at 3:12 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
No, only people who have fought Jesus get a Ryu number. So that includes the time he wrestled Satan, and I guess the moneylenders in the temple if you wanna stretch the meaning of "fight".
posted by ardgedee at 3:12 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
1: Video games only
The existence of Street Fighter: The Movie (the video game, not the movie), is really complicating my processing here. It is a video game, in which Ryu appears, alongside Guile, as played by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Does this count as JCVD having a Ryu number of 1? Or not because he is playing a character, not appearing as himself?
posted by subocoyne at 3:16 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
The existence of Street Fighter: The Movie (the video game, not the movie), is really complicating my processing here. It is a video game, in which Ryu appears, alongside Guile, as played by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Does this count as JCVD having a Ryu number of 1? Or not because he is playing a character, not appearing as himself?
posted by subocoyne at 3:16 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Man, I'd love to get the Ryu # for Ulala, but not enough to reactivate my twitter account.
posted by ApathyGirl at 3:17 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by ApathyGirl at 3:17 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ulala appears in Project X-Zone along with Ryu, so that would be a Ryu number of 1.
posted by subocoyne at 3:22 PM on June 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by subocoyne at 3:22 PM on June 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
Okay. Then what are the Ryu numbers for:
1) Pajama Sam
2) Beavis from Beavis & Butthead (they were in an old SNES video game and the adventure game Virtual Stupidity)
3) Niko from OneShot (wanted to pick someone from this century at least)
posted by FJT at 3:36 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
1) Pajama Sam
2) Beavis from Beavis & Butthead (they were in an old SNES video game and the adventure game Virtual Stupidity)
3) Niko from OneShot (wanted to pick someone from this century at least)
posted by FJT at 3:36 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
No, only people who have fought Jesus get a Ryu number.
That doesn't seem to be the rule in use here. Qin Shi Huang gets his Ryu number via Mahatma Gandhi in Civilizations 6 despite being in strategic competition, not fistfights. You do raise the interesting question of how many people have physically fought against the Christian God in a video game.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:40 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
That doesn't seem to be the rule in use here. Qin Shi Huang gets his Ryu number via Mahatma Gandhi in Civilizations 6 despite being in strategic competition, not fistfights. You do raise the interesting question of how many people have physically fought against the Christian God in a video game.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:40 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
are there any characters with Erdős–Ryu numbers? Or the holy trinity of Erdős–Bacon-Ryu numbers?
I couldn't find a fighting game with Padme Amidala in, which would give Natalie Portman a REB number, but my money is on her after she plays Thor. So, it will happen.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:41 PM on June 29, 2021
I couldn't find a fighting game with Padme Amidala in, which would give Natalie Portman a REB number, but my money is on her after she plays Thor. So, it will happen.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:41 PM on June 29, 2021
Man, I'd love to get the Ryu # for Ulala, but not enough to reactivate my twitter account.
Best I can do is:
Ulala -> Michael Jackson (Space Channel 5)
Michael Jackson -> Bill Clinton (Ready 2 Rumble 2nd Round)
Bill Clinton -> Duke Nukem (Duke It Out in DC)
Duke Nukem -> Doomguy (Duke Nukem 3D)
Doomguy -> Wolverine (Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3)
Wolverine -> Ryu (Marvel vs. Capcom)
for a Ryu number of 6.
posted by firechicago at 3:43 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Best I can do is:
Ulala -> Michael Jackson (Space Channel 5)
Michael Jackson -> Bill Clinton (Ready 2 Rumble 2nd Round)
Bill Clinton -> Duke Nukem (Duke It Out in DC)
Duke Nukem -> Doomguy (Duke Nukem 3D)
Doomguy -> Wolverine (Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3)
Wolverine -> Ryu (Marvel vs. Capcom)
for a Ryu number of 6.
posted by firechicago at 3:43 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
> Erdős–Bacon-Ryu numbers
Wikipedia lists 12 people with Erdős-Bacon numbers: Daniel Kleitman, Bruce Reznick, Nicholas Metropolis, Richard Feynman, Colin Firth, Stephen Hawking, Danica McKellar, Elon Musk, Carl Sagan, Mayim Bialik, Natalie Portman, and Kristen Stewart.
There are more than that, since somebody has documented people with Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath numbers (as in, have Erdős-Bacon numbers as well as musical collaborations linking them to Black Sabbath), including Brian May and Tom Lehrer. If there's a problem it's that he stretches the qualification for earning an Erdős number to accommodate any kind of publication, for example granting Mr. Rogers an Erdős number through a coathored book titled "Mister Rogers Talks with Parents". You can weed through this directory of JSON files to see his work.
But anyway, there are around 40 people with Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath numbers and maybe one of them has an Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath-Ryu number.
posted by ardgedee at 3:50 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Wikipedia lists 12 people with Erdős-Bacon numbers: Daniel Kleitman, Bruce Reznick, Nicholas Metropolis, Richard Feynman, Colin Firth, Stephen Hawking, Danica McKellar, Elon Musk, Carl Sagan, Mayim Bialik, Natalie Portman, and Kristen Stewart.
There are more than that, since somebody has documented people with Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath numbers (as in, have Erdős-Bacon numbers as well as musical collaborations linking them to Black Sabbath), including Brian May and Tom Lehrer. If there's a problem it's that he stretches the qualification for earning an Erdős number to accommodate any kind of publication, for example granting Mr. Rogers an Erdős number through a coathored book titled "Mister Rogers Talks with Parents". You can weed through this directory of JSON files to see his work.
But anyway, there are around 40 people with Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath numbers and maybe one of them has an Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath-Ryu number.
posted by ardgedee at 3:50 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Lately I've been feeling more reluctant to make MeFi posts, but reading this thread was definitely worth it.
posted by JHarris at 3:55 PM on June 29, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 3:55 PM on June 29, 2021 [14 favorites]
I couldn't find a fighting game with Padme Amidala in, which would give Natalie Portman a REB number
Seems like you have to count Natalie Portman the real person and Padme Amidala the fictional character as separate concepts. So you'd need to find a video game with Natalie Portman as herself, or a mathematics paper authored by the fictional character Padme Amidala.
posted by star gentle uterus at 4:01 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
Seems like you have to count Natalie Portman the real person and Padme Amidala the fictional character as separate concepts. So you'd need to find a video game with Natalie Portman as herself, or a mathematics paper authored by the fictional character Padme Amidala.
posted by star gentle uterus at 4:01 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
If this game counts, then Stephen Hawking has an Erdős-Bacon-Ryu number if any of his costars there (including several deities) have one. Thor (the Marvel version) was in Marvel vs Capcom 3 (among others) with Ryu, so Hawking's Ryu number could be as low as 2.
Looks like it doesn't, due to the "commercial releases only" rule, but this at least proves it's possible.
posted by wanderingmind at 4:02 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Looks like it doesn't, due to the "commercial releases only" rule, but this at least proves it's possible.
posted by wanderingmind at 4:02 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
2) Beavis from Beavis & Butthead (they were in an old SNES video game and the adventure game Virtual Stupidity)
Poked around a bit on this one but couldn't find any connections, though I did find some weird tidbits that violate the rules firechicago lists above:
1. Data from last year's Nintendo Gigaleak revealed that a model of Beavis's head is hidden in the texture files for 1998's N64 game F-Zero X.
2. There's an Easter Egg in Virtual Stupidity that lets you find a game piece from the 1995 multi-platform puzzle game Zoop.
posted by star gentle uterus at 4:20 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Poked around a bit on this one but couldn't find any connections, though I did find some weird tidbits that violate the rules firechicago lists above:
1. Data from last year's Nintendo Gigaleak revealed that a model of Beavis's head is hidden in the texture files for 1998's N64 game F-Zero X.
2. There's an Easter Egg in Virtual Stupidity that lets you find a game piece from the 1995 multi-platform puzzle game Zoop.
posted by star gentle uterus at 4:20 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
So what about real life actor Byron Mann who plays Ryu in Street Fighter the Movie the Video Game? I'm so confused.
posted by cmfletcher at 4:22 PM on June 29, 2021
posted by cmfletcher at 4:22 PM on June 29, 2021
Giant Bomb's wiki is a very useful resource for calculating Ryu numbers.
1) Pajama Sam
I don't have the time to really track this down, but I think they key is Backyard Skateboarding, which has Tony Hawk. From there it's an easy line to Spider-Man and then Ryu. The only question is if Pajama Sam himself appears in Backyard Skateboarding or if any other Humungus characters do. There's info on cameos in other Backyard games but I can't find anything about Skateboarding. There's also the other Backyard series games which each have famous athletes that appear in other games.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:26 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
1) Pajama Sam
I don't have the time to really track this down, but I think they key is Backyard Skateboarding, which has Tony Hawk. From there it's an easy line to Spider-Man and then Ryu. The only question is if Pajama Sam himself appears in Backyard Skateboarding or if any other Humungus characters do. There's info on cameos in other Backyard games but I can't find anything about Skateboarding. There's also the other Backyard series games which each have famous athletes that appear in other games.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:26 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Worth noting that while "commercial release" is a rule, "licensed appearance" is not, going by the Revenge of Shinobi and McPixel appearances they cite.
posted by subocoyne at 4:26 PM on June 29, 2021
posted by subocoyne at 4:26 PM on June 29, 2021
Man, I'd love to get the Ryu # for Ulala, but not enough to reactivate my twitter account.
It's 1, they're both in Project X Zone. (Sorry firechicago!)
posted by brook horse at 4:30 PM on June 29, 2021
It's 1, they're both in Project X Zone. (Sorry firechicago!)
posted by brook horse at 4:30 PM on June 29, 2021
3) Niko from OneShot (wanted to pick someone from this century at least)
Niko appears in Indie Game Battle with McPixel, so I guess that gives them a Ryu number of 3, same as the Half-Life G-Man.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:38 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Niko appears in Indie Game Battle with McPixel, so I guess that gives them a Ryu number of 3, same as the Half-Life G-Man.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:38 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't have the time to really track this down, but I think they key is Backyard Skateboarding, which has Tony Hawk.
I'm procrastinating, so:
Pajama Sam -> Freddi Fish (Pajama Sam "No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside")
Freddi Fish -> Pablo Sanchez (Backyard Baseball 2005)
Pablo Sanchez -> Tony Hawk (Backyard Skaters)
Tony Hawk -> Spider-man (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2)
Spider-man -> Ryu (Marvel vs. Capcom)
A Ryu number of 5 at most, and 4 of those are just trying to get out of the Humongous Entertainment universe.
posted by brook horse at 4:45 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'm procrastinating, so:
Pajama Sam -> Freddi Fish (Pajama Sam "No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside")
Freddi Fish -> Pablo Sanchez (Backyard Baseball 2005)
Pablo Sanchez -> Tony Hawk (Backyard Skaters)
Tony Hawk -> Spider-man (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2)
Spider-man -> Ryu (Marvel vs. Capcom)
A Ryu number of 5 at most, and 4 of those are just trying to get out of the Humongous Entertainment universe.
posted by brook horse at 4:45 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
This page is likely the best resource for Humongous Entertainment characters and crossovers, and yeah, it's pretty locked up. I suppose the makers of games for children are a lot less likely to throw in Doomguy in their game for laughs.
Just goes to show, Tony Hawk unites us all.
posted by subocoyne at 4:57 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Just goes to show, Tony Hawk unites us all.
posted by subocoyne at 4:57 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
If this game counts, then Stephen Hawking has an Erdős-Bacon-Ryu number if any of his costars there (including several deities) have one. Thor (the Marvel version) was in Marvel vs Capcom 3 (among others) with Ryu, so Hawking's Ryu number could be as low as 2.
Looks like it doesn't, due to the "commercial releases only" rule, but this at least proves it's possible.
Stephen Hawking is a Great Scientist in Civ V, which includes Gandhi as a leader; Gandhi has a Ryu number of 2. From the ESB site linked above, both Einstein and Edison are similarly in Civ V as Great Scientists / Engineers. This gives Hawking, Einstein and Edison EBSR numbers of 11, 14 and 18 respectively. (Assuming you accept some of the tenuous connections.) Interestingly, Hawking's Erdős number is higher than his Bacon, Sabbath or Ryu numbers.
It's a little tenuous, since there are dozens of Great Scientists and they all do the exact same thing. Einstein also appears as a Great Scientist in Civ VI (which also has Gandhi and Montezuma), where each Great Scientist does something slightly different so he could be said to be slightly more of a character. According to this tweet, without counting the Civ appearance, Edison has a Ryu number of 4. (This also shows Montezuma -- another Civ stalwart -- with a Ryu number of 2, via different games than Gandhi.)
posted by Superilla at 5:05 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
Looks like it doesn't, due to the "commercial releases only" rule, but this at least proves it's possible.
Stephen Hawking is a Great Scientist in Civ V, which includes Gandhi as a leader; Gandhi has a Ryu number of 2. From the ESB site linked above, both Einstein and Edison are similarly in Civ V as Great Scientists / Engineers. This gives Hawking, Einstein and Edison EBSR numbers of 11, 14 and 18 respectively. (Assuming you accept some of the tenuous connections.) Interestingly, Hawking's Erdős number is higher than his Bacon, Sabbath or Ryu numbers.
It's a little tenuous, since there are dozens of Great Scientists and they all do the exact same thing. Einstein also appears as a Great Scientist in Civ VI (which also has Gandhi and Montezuma), where each Great Scientist does something slightly different so he could be said to be slightly more of a character. According to this tweet, without counting the Civ appearance, Edison has a Ryu number of 4. (This also shows Montezuma -- another Civ stalwart -- with a Ryu number of 2, via different games than Gandhi.)
posted by Superilla at 5:05 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
Just goes to show, Tony Hawk unites us all.
He really does.
posted by brook horse at 5:15 PM on June 29, 2021
He really does.
posted by brook horse at 5:15 PM on June 29, 2021
Carl Sagan co-authored Scintillation-induced intermittency in SETI with James M. Cordes, who co-authored A vision for petabyte data management and analysis services for the Arecibo telescope with Alan J. Demers, who co-authored Worst-case performance bounds for simple one-dimensional packing algorithms with Ronald Graham, who co-authored On sums of Fibonnaci numbers with Paul Erdős.
Sagan also appeared in The Earth Day Special with Candice Bergen, who appeared in Starting Over with Kevin Bacon.
Sagan also reportedly appeared in Sid Meier's Civilization VI with Montezuma, who appeared in Scribblenauts Unlimited on the Wii U with Mario, who appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with Ryu.
This gives him an Erdős-Bacon-Ryu number of 4+2+3 = 9.
posted by qntm at 5:21 PM on June 29, 2021 [9 favorites]
Sagan also appeared in The Earth Day Special with Candice Bergen, who appeared in Starting Over with Kevin Bacon.
Sagan also reportedly appeared in Sid Meier's Civilization VI with Montezuma, who appeared in Scribblenauts Unlimited on the Wii U with Mario, who appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with Ryu.
This gives him an Erdős-Bacon-Ryu number of 4+2+3 = 9.
posted by qntm at 5:21 PM on June 29, 2021 [9 favorites]
I thought Sagan obviously had a Ryu number of 1... oh wait, I'm thinking of Sagat.
posted by JHarris at 5:24 PM on June 29, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 5:24 PM on June 29, 2021 [6 favorites]
A reminder that (MeFi's Own) Kibo has a scripting/writing credit on a Pajama Sam game.
So we are one email away from Kibo having a Ryu Number and Ryu having a Kibo Number.
posted by delfin at 6:12 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
So we are one email away from Kibo having a Ryu Number and Ryu having a Kibo Number.
posted by delfin at 6:12 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
I cannot conceive of having a Ryu number at all but, all the same, I am content to find I am a Bacon 3.
posted by y2karl at 6:29 PM on June 29, 2021
posted by y2karl at 6:29 PM on June 29, 2021
It's a shame that this is limited to video games, because as someone who spent a decade putting many many hundreds of different characters into the tabletop game HeroClix ranging from Spider-Man and Superman to Star Trek characters and Gandalf and the Predator, I bet I would have helped bring a lot of Ryu numbers down (not least because of the Street Fighter expansion.)
posted by Inkslinger at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Inkslinger at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Wikipedia lists 12 people with Erdős-Bacon numbers: Daniel Kleitman, Bruce Reznick, Nicholas Metropolis, Richard Feynman, Colin Firth, Stephen Hawking, Danica McKellar, Elon Musk, Carl Sagan, Mayim Bialik, Natalie Portman, and Kristen Stewart.
OK, so, look, I know we’re mostly rooting for LeVar Burton to be the next host of Jeopardy!, and I guess having Mayim Bialik guest-host still helps, but we can do this!
Wait! I guess it doesn’t really matter—it’s just the number, and it’s only one more, regardless of who wins.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:14 PM on June 29, 2021
OK, so, look, I know we’re mostly rooting for LeVar Burton to be the next host of Jeopardy!, and I guess having Mayim Bialik guest-host still helps, but we can do this!
Wait! I guess it doesn’t really matter—it’s just the number, and it’s only one more, regardless of who wins.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:14 PM on June 29, 2021
Speaking of expansions, I will note that Ryu appears in the mobile game Puzzle & Dragons, along with many of his Street Fighter compadres.
PAD's fetish for unusual collaborations means that all of the following are connected with Ryu in one way or another:
* Major gods from just about every pantheon, assorted archangels and devils, including a buxom Metatron in a bikini
* Hello Kitty and friends
* Batman and other DC Comics characters (both comic book and movie versions)
* the Angry Birds
* the Japanese prefecture of Gunma
* much of the Evangelion cast
* the Space Invaders, from the game of the same name
* assorted noodle bowls
* Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in both regular and chibi flavors
* Grimm fairy tale heroines
* Fist of the North Star
* Final Fantasy series
* Santa Claus
* Bleach
* Full Metal Alchemist
* Samurai Shodown
* King of Fighters
* Cthulhu and his fellow Great Old Ones
* Kamen Rider
* the Persona series
* Demon Slayer
And so on.
posted by delfin at 7:19 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
PAD's fetish for unusual collaborations means that all of the following are connected with Ryu in one way or another:
* Major gods from just about every pantheon, assorted archangels and devils, including a buxom Metatron in a bikini
* Hello Kitty and friends
* Batman and other DC Comics characters (both comic book and movie versions)
* the Angry Birds
* the Japanese prefecture of Gunma
* much of the Evangelion cast
* the Space Invaders, from the game of the same name
* assorted noodle bowls
* Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in both regular and chibi flavors
* Grimm fairy tale heroines
* Fist of the North Star
* Final Fantasy series
* Santa Claus
* Bleach
* Full Metal Alchemist
* Samurai Shodown
* King of Fighters
* Cthulhu and his fellow Great Old Ones
* Kamen Rider
* the Persona series
* Demon Slayer
And so on.
posted by delfin at 7:19 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Having never played P&D, I have to ask are those time-limited crossovers? Those don't count. (Think of this as the Fortnite Clause.)
Also, Minecraft has been pretty promiscuous about crossovers that are just skins or maps, I don't know if those count.
posted by JHarris at 7:41 PM on June 29, 2021
Also, Minecraft has been pretty promiscuous about crossovers that are just skins or maps, I don't know if those count.
posted by JHarris at 7:41 PM on June 29, 2021
Does this mean anyone who has used bleach or listened to the Nirvana album is on the list
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:51 PM on June 29, 2021
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:51 PM on June 29, 2021
Nikita Krushchev and Lyndon Johnson have a Ryu number of 3.
NK & LBJ -> Big Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
Big Boss -> Solid Snake (Metal Gear)
Solid Snake -> Ryu (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)
posted by rodlymight at 8:08 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
NK & LBJ -> Big Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
Big Boss -> Solid Snake (Metal Gear)
Solid Snake -> Ryu (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)
posted by rodlymight at 8:08 PM on June 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Having never played P&D, I have to ask are those time-limited crossovers? Those don't count. (Think of this as the Fortnite Clause.)
Many are recurring time-limited collaborations, yes. So that leaves us with most of the gods, demons, and angels (MINUS Metatron in a bikini, who is only in the summer attire egg machine), the Japanese prefecture of Gunma, the noodle bowls, Santa Claus, Cthulhoids, and the Space Invaders ships as non-gacha readily-obtainables.
posted by delfin at 8:15 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Many are recurring time-limited collaborations, yes. So that leaves us with most of the gods, demons, and angels (MINUS Metatron in a bikini, who is only in the summer attire egg machine), the Japanese prefecture of Gunma, the noodle bowls, Santa Claus, Cthulhoids, and the Space Invaders ships as non-gacha readily-obtainables.
posted by delfin at 8:15 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
I feel like connecting Ryu to the Tommy Westphall Universe, which should be trivial by these standards, may open dimensional portals best left closed.
posted by delfin at 8:23 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by delfin at 8:23 PM on June 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
Surely Munch showed up in a video game somewhere
posted by thecaddy at 8:34 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by thecaddy at 8:34 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
The most promising link I can think of is if Sam and Max show up as easter eggs in the Telltale CSI games. That'd link the Tommy Westphale Universe to Ryu through Poker Night at the Inventory.
(Although I have a beef with the Tommy Westphale Universe - nothing says that the crossover characters in St. Elsewhere couldn't have come from TV shows his family watched that Tommy incorporated into his fantasy.)
posted by Merus at 8:50 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
(Although I have a beef with the Tommy Westphale Universe - nothing says that the crossover characters in St. Elsewhere couldn't have come from TV shows his family watched that Tommy incorporated into his fantasy.)
posted by Merus at 8:50 PM on June 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Obama has a Ryu number of 1. Feels like burying the lede.
posted by lock robster at 10:20 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by lock robster at 10:20 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
really digging the fact that the prefecture of Gunma has a Ryu number of 1
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:38 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:38 PM on June 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
While the Tommy Westphall universe might contain games with Ryu Number characters, and spread that way, Ryu Numbers cannot easily transmit the other way, since they require shared video game to host the connections. There has been no St. Elsewhere video game, at least, to my knowledge.
posted by JHarris at 11:07 PM on June 29, 2021
posted by JHarris at 11:07 PM on June 29, 2021
Obama has a Ryu number of 1. Feels like burying the lede.
I wanted to leave some of the more entertaining connections for you guys to notice.
posted by JHarris at 11:08 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
I wanted to leave some of the more entertaining connections for you guys to notice.
posted by JHarris at 11:08 PM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
You can get a whole lot of mileage out of Shovel Knight, because he's in a ton of indie games as well as an assist trophy in Smash. E.g.
Ryu (via Smash Bros) Shovel Knight (via Blaster Master Zero's DLC) Jason (via Blaster Master Zero 2) Yacopu (via Galaxy Fight) and then to Bonus-Kun, who is a parody of Ryu. It's debatable whether it's the same Yacopu in both games, but I like to think it is.
posted by wanderingmind at 12:12 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ryu (via Smash Bros) Shovel Knight (via Blaster Master Zero's DLC) Jason (via Blaster Master Zero 2) Yacopu (via Galaxy Fight) and then to Bonus-Kun, who is a parody of Ryu. It's debatable whether it's the same Yacopu in both games, but I like to think it is.
posted by wanderingmind at 12:12 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
You can get GLaDOS through Lego Dimensions, and GLaDOS appearing in Poker Night 2 gets you to Strong Bad (and through him all the Homestar Runner characters), Claptrap (and the Borderlands characters), Sam and Max, and the Team Fortress characters.
Oh, GLaDOS gets you the Companion Cube which appears in all kinds of otherwise inaccessible games like The Talos Principle, Terraria, Death Stranding, and The Witcher.
You can get Lara Croft through Brawlhalla, Ezio Auditore via Soulcalibur (by way of Darth Vader if there's not a shorter path), but I can't think of a path for Shodan or Cortana (or Master Chief) or "B.J." Blazkowicz.
posted by straight at 1:14 AM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh, GLaDOS gets you the Companion Cube which appears in all kinds of otherwise inaccessible games like The Talos Principle, Terraria, Death Stranding, and The Witcher.
You can get Lara Croft through Brawlhalla, Ezio Auditore via Soulcalibur (by way of Darth Vader if there's not a shorter path), but I can't think of a path for Shodan or Cortana (or Master Chief) or "B.J." Blazkowicz.
posted by straight at 1:14 AM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
B.J. Blazkowicz is easy, he links to Hitler (via Wolfenstein 3D), who has a Ryu number of 2.
posted by reynaert at 2:31 AM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by reynaert at 2:31 AM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
> really digging the fact that the prefecture of Gunma has a Ryu number of 1
Gunma Prefecture also has a role in live-action and anime TV series adaptations of "You Don't Know Gunma Yet", which could also potentially give it a Bacon number and put it in the Tommy Westphall universe.
posted by ardgedee at 6:47 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
Gunma Prefecture also has a role in live-action and anime TV series adaptations of "You Don't Know Gunma Yet", which could also potentially give it a Bacon number and put it in the Tommy Westphall universe.
posted by ardgedee at 6:47 AM on June 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
→
And since Mario has a purported Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath number of 12, this means there are known people with EBSR numbers.
The (not-very-good) Spitting Image fighting game from 1989 featured Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Ruhollah Khomeini, P. W. Botha, Queen Elizabeth II and John Rambo, if you need to really mess stuff up.
If you need a really low-numbered EBS connector, Robert Schneider claims 6, where I confirmed he'd previously had a 7. If Schneider isn't in a video game, he needs to be.
posted by scruss at 7:02 AM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
This gives [Sagan] an Erdős-Bacon-Ryu number of 4+2+3 = 9.
And since Mario has a purported Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath number of 12, this means there are known people with EBSR numbers.
The (not-very-good) Spitting Image fighting game from 1989 featured Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Ruhollah Khomeini, P. W. Botha, Queen Elizabeth II and John Rambo, if you need to really mess stuff up.
If you need a really low-numbered EBS connector, Robert Schneider claims 6, where I confirmed he'd previously had a 7. If Schneider isn't in a video game, he needs to be.
posted by scruss at 7:02 AM on June 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
are there any characters with Erdős–Ryu numbers?
I have an Erdős number of 4, but my chances of a Ryu number plummeted when EA bought PopCap and laid off a lot of my friends. Will see if they can put me in Smash Karts.
posted by kersplunk at 8:01 AM on June 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
I have an Erdős number of 4, but my chances of a Ryu number plummeted when EA bought PopCap and laid off a lot of my friends. Will see if they can put me in Smash Karts.
posted by kersplunk at 8:01 AM on June 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
And since Mario has a purported Erdős-Bacon-Sabbath number of 12, this means there are known people with EBSR numbers.
Since we're talking video games, surely this should be ESRB numbers.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:27 PM on June 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
Since we're talking video games, surely this should be ESRB numbers.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:27 PM on June 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
are there any characters with Erdős–Ryu numbers? Or the holy trinity of Erdős–Bacon-Ryu numbers?
I couldn't find a fighting game with Padme Amidala in, which would give Natalie Portman a REB number, but my money is on her after she plays Thor. So, it will happen.
Padme appears in Lego Star Wars with Jango Fett who appeared in the Tony Hawk series.
posted by dances with hamsters at 2:31 PM on July 3, 2021
I couldn't find a fighting game with Padme Amidala in, which would give Natalie Portman a REB number, but my money is on her after she plays Thor. So, it will happen.
Padme appears in Lego Star Wars with Jango Fett who appeared in the Tony Hawk series.
posted by dances with hamsters at 2:31 PM on July 3, 2021
But that is Lego Padme and Jango. Does that count as the same character?
posted by JHarris at 7:02 PM on July 3, 2021
posted by JHarris at 7:02 PM on July 3, 2021
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posted by JHarris at 1:35 PM on June 29, 2021