Strategy

Long Range

Even though he’s most dangerous at mid and close range, Ken’s long-range options are actually rather powerful, as they enable him to do what he does best. Although he doesn’t apply the strongest zoning game, simply having a projectile that travels full screen affords him at least a functional one, especially coupled with his invincible MP Shoryuken. Depending on the matchup, you may want to restrict yourself to using basic fireball and dragon punch anti-air zoning techniques before mounting your offense, particularly against dangerous grappler-type characters like Birdie and Zangief. Characters with dominant mid-range attacks, such as Cammy and Vega, may also give you issues in a footsie battle, so staying past mid range and prodding with Hadoken to apply pressure before going in with Quick Step or Thunder Kick Feint is advised. Keep in mind, however, that Ken’s Hadoken is significantly weaker overall compared with Ryu’s, and you should use it cautiously. All three normal versions of Ken’s Hadoken suffer from longer recovery and startup, whereas Ryu’s Hadoken properties can vary with button strength.

It may seem simple, but a long-range zoning game is usually the most difficult part to master in the Street Fighter series. Mindlessly throwing fireballs at full screen gets you nowhere against a competent player, as you simply become predictable. You might not get punished immediately, but you will lose ground and end up unexpectedly cornered, which can cost you the game regardless of your life total advantage (especially in Street Fighter V). You can think of the space behind you as another resource or stamina bar—do what you can to preserve your ground. Do this by gauging your opponent’s reaction to your projectiles and taking note of how they’re moving. A player who walks forward aggressively can be extremely intimidating because this can make you second-guess your next projectile as they walk into range for a jumping attack. In these cases, you can resort to fishing with jump bait, using normal whiff techniques in place of Hadoken.

For instance, you can motion for Hadoken by inputting , but instead of finishing the command with , finish it with . Since Ken does not have a special move, he will instead perform a crouch (from the portion of ) and then transition into standing . This animation signals to most players that a fireball may be coming and can result in an impulsive forward jump. You can anti-air their jump with ease, as there’s essentially no recovery on standing . This then adds another dimension to your zoning mind games, as it will become ingrained in your opponent that you’re capable of faking them out. This opens more opportunities to throw actual fireballs because you’ve successfully given the opposition cause for hesitation.

If you’re near full-screen distance and you notice the enemy playing passively against your projectiles, it’s usually best to start advancing aggressively. Treat LP Hadoken as a horizontal clearing tool, paving the way for your offense. At the farthest distances, you can trail your LP fireball with a dash, Quick Step, or HK Tatsumaki Senpukyaku (if just within full screen distance). Otherwise, you can just walk forward behind it and react to your adversary accordingly. Many of your opponents will react with a neutral jump, which is typically safe for them to do, but it does gain you some ground so Ken can get into mid and close range. Several characters have special moves or V-Skills that deal with projectiles, such as F.A.N.G.’s Nikankyaku (projectile-invincible dash) or Ryu’s Mind’s Eye (parry). Some of these can be punished on reaction (Cammy’s Axel Spin Knuckle, for example), but some simply reset the neutral situation (like Nash’s Bullet Clear). Dealing with any of these attacks will require a lot of training and experience against these particular characters.

Against most other zoning characters, Ken’s Hadoken is completely serviceable. His Hadoken is usually outclassed when you compare its startup and frame advantage to other projectiles, but these properties don’t matter as much in a full-screen fireball fight. Against these characters, you can opt to trade projectiles in order to build meter, or you can blow through them with either HK Tatsumaki Senpukyaku or forward jump, provided you make a good read on the enemy’s fireball patterns.

As with previous iterations of Street Fighter, your overall strategy from long range with Ken will generally involve planning to get into close range through intelligent use of LP Hadoken, Quick Step, and HK Tatsumaki Senpukyaku.

Mid Range

Ken has a deceptively powerful mid-range game, with enough tools to overwhelm the opposition at a moment’s notice. At first glance, his pokes seem to have been considerably weakened compared to his Street Fighter IV self (especially crouching ). However, his standing makes up for most mid-range shortcomings thanks to its reach, and you can use it much like his standing from Street Fighter III. On block, it leaves you at -4, which is punishable by many light attacks, provided the opponent is in range to hit Ken. You can avoid this by poking with it at the farthest range possible (from about crouching distance). If you happen to end up just within the enemy’s light attack range on block, the most they can do is a light attack into special move type combo (which are generally weak—about100 points of damage).

On a counter-hit standing , you can (with relative ease and a good eye) confirm into a V-Skill cancel that subsequently links into LP Shoryuken. With a maxed out V-Gauge, standing becomes even more of a powerhouse attack, as it now turns into a hit-confirmable full-damage threat from its farthest range (see Combo 5).

Although crouching isn’t as dominating as it once was in previous iterations of Street Fighter, it still has its uses in this one. You’ll want to use it to at least check your opponent’s low block from outside of close range, even if doesn’t lead into much damage. Crouching Hadoken will not combo from farther out, nor is it a true blockstun combo (characters with invincible reversals can blow through the Hadoken portion). However, it is relatively safe to use as a blockstring as long as you’re connecting with the tip of the kick. At -10 on block, this mid-range sequence can be punished by gap-closing special moves and long-range attacks that have startup faster than 10 frames (such as Ken’s EX Tatsumaki Senpukyaku). These attacks are few and far between, but it’s something to consider when heading into a match. Additionally, you lose a bit of valuable tempo after it’s blocked, particularly if you have your adversary cornered.

Crouching is a solid alternative to crouching since its hitbox covers the mid-section, whereas crouching loses to low crush attacks. It also sports three active frames, while crouching only stays out for two; this makes it superior for stuffing opposing attacks and hitting airborne aggressors out of their low-crush moves. Additionally, crouching causes more blockstun and hitstun than crouching , so canceling into HP Hadoken is much more attractive. Use an option-select input of crouching just outside of range for a threatening poke; if your opponent walks into it or eats a counter-hit, you earn a two-hit combo that deals around 100 points of damage.

Ken’s V-Skill complements the range and threat of standing and crouching nicely. If you can gauge your foe’s defensive habits and think they will block or play passively waiting for your attack, you can go for a Quick Step to transition into close range immediately. Alternatively, you can use Thunder Kick Feint for the same purpose, with the bonus of instilling some hesitation in the opponent because you can hold during the motion for a Thunder Kick overhead. The drawback, though, is that the duration of Thunder Kick Feint is significantly longer than Quick Step.

In some cases, you may want to take your offense into the air. Ken has a few tools available to him for an air-to-ground assault. One is to simply forward jump into a timed jumping near his opponent’s head. Not only does this lead into a hit-confirm (see Combo 8), but it also lands Ken next to the target at close range, where his offense shines. Otherwise, you can use a forward jump cross-up Tatsumaki Senpukyaku for a left/right mix-up. Unfortunately, unlike the Street Fighter IV series, you can’t link into a combo on hit (except in rare cases of connecting with the hurricane kick extremely low to the ground, where you can link LP Shoryuken). It does give Ken some air mobility, allowing him to avoid certain anti-air attacks. For instance, you can slightly alter his jump trajectory forward to avoid an anti-air like Ryu’s MP Shoryuken. From just about a backdash distance away from your enemy, jump forward and perform . A jump from this range is usually met with an anti-air Shoryuken from a competent player, but with Ken’s trajectory boosting him forward, he will avoid it and be able to score a reversal counter-hit punish (see Combo 11 and Combo 13). In some cases, he can even hit his opponent out of the air with his rear hitbox on Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, which is preferable to eating a Shoryuken.

With Air EX Tatsumaki Senpukyaku having unique properties similar to that of a dive kick, you can use it for a surprise aerial attack. Here, Ken descends quickly to the ground, throwing off anti-air timings. It does cost you a stock of EX Gauge, but it provides an easy way to get into close range, with plenty of frame advantage on block. On hit, you can juggle with HP/EX Shoryuken or standing Quick Step. The latter forces your opponent into air recovery and puts Ken directly next to them as they land, giving you a throw or frame trap setup. The best range to apply this is around the half screen mark or slightly closer. If Ken is too close, he risks flying over his foe’s head, becoming vulnerable to a punish.

Close Range

Sadly (for Ken players; less sad for opponents facing Ken), Ken no longer has his incredibly powerful kara throw from Street Fighter III/IV, so his up-close game isn’t as scary once he’s outside of throw range. Furthermore, he has lost his three-frame light attacks, with his fastest jabs clocking in at four frames. Needless to say, his close-range game has been significantly weakened, and you’ll be using frame traps with standing , crouching , crouching , and crouching instead of the good old tick into kara-throw like in previous games.

Once Ken is face to face with the enemy and you have tempo advantage (e.g., from landing a successful anti-air Shoryuken knockdown), you have several options at your disposal. One of the most common ones you’ll be using is the standard low-hit crouching confirm. On hit, finish with Combo 1; on block, you’ll still follow up with standing OR crouching (standing pushes your opponent back farther than crouching , albeit very slightly), with +2 frames of advantage. Here, you can branch off to a few other attacks depending on how aggressive you want to be. If you’ve assessed your opponent and conclude that they’re a passive player, you can close distance by walking up and going for a standing OR crouching counter-hit-check (see Combo 10). Of course, this can lose to reversal light attacks, unless you shorten the window between your previous blockstring, which can reward you with a counter-hit.

Another option that is more defense-oriented after your crouching crouching string is going for crouching at max range. Do this by slightly backing up after crouching and then executing the crouching Hadoken sequence. This will beat out badly timed defensive pokes or tech throw attempts while dealing chip damage and keeping you safe from almost all attacks.

Your other line of play if you get Ken next to his opponent is to merely go for a normal throw instead of crouching when you have advantage. Ken’s position on the screen should determine which throw to use. (see Hell Wheel) is best if Ken’s either cornered or close to the corner; he can toss an enemy into the corner from almost halfway into the stage, so keep this in mind. Otherwise, if Ken has a strong stage lead and the opponent’s back is near a corner, go for (see Knee Bash). Ken’s throw damage isn’t too great, but you have to show your foe you aren’t afraid to use them so that you can set up counter-hit attacks like crouching .

Once you’ve introduced the threat of throws to your enemy, you can start going for your high-damage counter-hit setups with either standing or crouching . You can use standing in a few ways, including canceling into Quick Step. It’s a hyper-offensive and somewhat risky maneuver against an experienced player (see Quick Step), but it can be highly rewarding. It not only gets Ken back into close range, but it also rewards you with major damage on a successful counter-hit (see Combo 11). At -6 on block after the V-Skill cancel, standing is arguably the best attack to use if you’re going to cancel into Quick Step. Most characters have a fairly potent combo off of six-frame medium attacks, but the timing to actually hit Ken is rather awkward. Still, the risk may be worth it, as it can be stressful being overwhelmed by Ken’s in-your-face aggression.

Alternatively, you can cancel standing into LP or HP Hadoken to transition back into mid range safely. Unfortunately, since Hadoken isn’t V-Trigger-cancelable past a certain range, you won’t be able to get a fat Heat Rush combo off of this sequence, unless Ken is within a certain distance when connecting with standing . This also means that you’re more likely to be punished after a blocked Hadoken.

At closer ranges, Ken can V-Trigger cancel his Hadoken for substantial frame advantage. Crouching is the most useful frame trap attack in terms of versatility. On hit, you can hit-confirm into Combo 2. Like standing and crouching , you’re left at +2 on block, with the main difference being that it causes more pushback, essentially sacrificing the threat of throws for the chance of more damage. Hit-confirming crouching into may be difficult for newcomers, but it’s entirely possible with some training and a sharp eye. Otherwise, you can just complete the target combo canceled into Hadoken on block. However, Ken is extremely vulnerable at this range since the target combo advances his position closer. To remedy this, cancel your target combo with either EX Hadoken (+1 on block) or by canceling the normal Hadoken with V-Trigger (+13). Using the latter sequence puts your enemy into massive blockstun, allowing you to even set up a counter-hit standing frame trap. If your adversary comes out of blockstun with an attack other than an invincible special, they will be counter-hit.

On defense, Ken is fortunate to have an invincible reversal with Shoryuken. Recovering out of the air, wakeup, or guardstun, you can blow through any attack that your enemy has ready for you. LP Shoryuken beats out throws and low attacks, while MP Shoryuken will beat out everything barring invincible moves. If you’re certain that your opponent is going for a meaty attack or a throw on your recovery, you will usually want to use MP Shoryuken to ensure that you beat out their move. Most characters can devastate you with a Crush Counter combo from a blocked LP or MP Shoryuken, although you can make it a little bit more difficult for them if you choose to use LP Shoryuken. The downside is that the startup of LP Shoryuken loses to any mid attack, and most players use mid attacks for their meaty hits.

Heat Rush Activated

With Heat Rush activated, your neutral game remains roughly the same. You still want to get Ken into close and mid range to pressure and deal damage to his foe. All of Ken’s special moves are enhanced (mainly with damage), but the most significant change for your neutral game is that Ken’s Tatsumaki Senpukyaku kicks become huge attacks with projectile-like properties. This allows you to beat out most other attacks and nullify projectiles. You can exploit this fact at long range with HK hurricane kick, barreling down from the sky with Ken’s flame-enhanced kicks. On hit, you can juggle your opponent (see Combo 15). On block, you’re safe at -2.

At mid range, you can start using cross-up V Air Tatsumaki Senpukyaku to link into combos (see Combo 16), as the Heat Rush version causes longer hitstun. This makes your aerial engages far more frightening, not to mention that your combos naturally deal more damage while V-Trigger is active.