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Ken: Street Fighter 4 Character Guide

Last updated on Sept. 28, 2008

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Character Overview

Ken seems like an even mix between his Street Fighter 3 Third Strike and Super Turbo versions. He's flashy, has a ton of combos, and his line of Shoryuken (Dragon Punches) are pretty good.

Most players seem to think he's best off played offensively, but you still find some people who like his defensive game.

• Strengths •
+ His Shoryukens can be Dash Canceled
+ A very effective Ultra move when used in combos
+ Excellent cross up game
+ Tons of awesome combos
+ Great range on his Kara throw
+ His Command Normal Kick moves are pretty good

• Weaknesses •
- Super and Ultra moves don't have much range
- Light and Hard Shoryukens will often trade hits when used as an anti air move
- Medium Punch, Hard Punch Chain Combo can be ducked under and has a long recovery time if blocked
- One of the most popular characters, so most people know his game well
- Recovery time on his normal fireballs is slow
- His Focus Attack has poor range

Special Moves

• Hadouken (Fireball) •
The recovery time of this move is a bit slower than you might be used to, which does affect how often you can throw it out. There's nothing special about it, but it's still an effective projectile and helps him play his zoning game when needed.

You can Cancel out of many of his normal moves into this, which is usually a good way to stay safe from counter attacks when trying some of his combos.

Again be wary of the recovery time.

• Shoryuken (Dragon Punch Uppercut) •
Ken's Shoryuken is arguably more powerful than ever with the addition of Focus Attack Dash Canceling. If your opponent blocks your Dragon Punch, you can cancel out of the move and have enough time to recover before they can counter attack.

The Punch button pressed determines the speed, power and angle of this move.

Light Punch goes the shortest distance and does the least damage, but it's good in counter attack/reversal situations because it has the fastest recovery time and has good priority.

Medium Punch is best used for anti-air situations, because the other two versions of the Dragon Punch tend to trade hits more often.

Hard Punch is great in combos because it hits several times and you can Dash Cancel out on the second hit. While you can also Dash Cancel on the third hit, your damage output on the next hits will usually suffer.

An Empty Jump (jumping without attacking) and landing and doing a Shoryuken when you're close to your opponent is still a viable strategy because of how quick these come out. The other fighter might think you'll throw them after jumping in and attempt to counter — and they'll get nailed for their trouble.

• Tatsumaki Senpuu-Kyaku (Hurricane Kick) •
You can also do this move in the air. An alright attack, but nothing special.

EX Moves

• EX-Hadouken (Fireball) •
This throws out a fireball that hits twice, but it does not knock down so you can set up some nifty combos with it.

The recovery time on this is quick too.

• EX-Shoryuken (Dragon Punch Uppercut) •
Hits 4 times and has GREAT priority, so it's best used in reversal situations. If you ever need to get your opponent off of you — use this move.

• EX-Tatsumaki Senpuu-Kyaku (Hurricane Kick) •
This move hits multiple times and you can be used it in the air. It comes out very quickly and changes the trajectory of Ken's jump when used while airborne.

If timed correctly you can use this to cross up your opponent while jumping, usually you need to do it right after leaving the ground.

Pretty effective anti air attack if you know your opponent is going to jump and can catch them with this.

Super and Ultra Moves

• Shoryureppa (Super Dragon Punch Uppercut) •
Most players aren't using this very often, instead they're spending Super meter on EX fireballs, Shoryukens and Focus Attack Dash Cancels.

• Shinryuken (Ultra Dragon Punch Uppercut) •
Ken does an Uppercut a series of kicks and finishes off with a huge Shinryuken.

This is a pretty good Ultra combo because Ken can Dash Cancel out of his Shoryuken into this. Also word has it that you can juggle your opponent with this after landing his Super in the corner.

The biggest problem with this move is that it doesn't have much range, you need to be right next to or under your opponent to hit with it, but its great combo potential more than makes up for this.

Combos

This is not a complete list of all of Ken's combos, just the core ones you should know.

• Cross up with Jumping Medium Kick, Crouching Light Kick, Crouching Light Punch, Hard Punch Shoryuken, Dash Cancel, Ultra •
You must Focus Attack Dash Cancel on the second hit of Ken's Hard Punch Shoryuken to pull off this combo.

• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, cancel into Hard Punch Fireball •
A good combo to use when you're not in close enough to set up some of Ken's other combos.

• Medium Punch (Close), Hard Punch, cancel into Hard Punch Shoryuken •
Ken's Third Strike Chain Combo is back, and still pretty effective, but it will not hit crouching characters this time around. A good way to set this up is with a Level 2 or 3 Focus Attack.

• Medium Punch (Close), Hard Punch, cancel into Hard Punch Shoryuken, Dash Cancel, Ultra •

• (Opponent in corner) Crouching Medium Punch, cancel into EX-Fireball, Level 2 Focus Attack, Dash Cancel, Ultra •
You must do a Level 2 or higher Focus Attack for this to register as a combo.

• Crouching Light Kick, Crouching Light Punch, Crouching Medium Kick, cancel into Hard Punch Shoryuken •
Note, the timing can be tricky on this combo. You can cut out the Crouching Medium Kick if you have trouble landing it.

• Crouching Light Punch 3x, Crouching Medium Kick, cancel into EX-Fireball •

• Anti-air Hard Punch Shoryuken, Dash Cancel, Ultra •
The timing of this is tricky, but if your opponent jumps in, Dash Cancel after the second hit and go into your Ultra. They'll take big damage just for jumping in.

Normal Moves

Note this is not a complete list of all of Ken's normal moves, just the ones we think are noteworthy.

(In the air)
• Cross Up Kick •
Still a great move to use to cross up your opponent.

• Forward Kick •
Good range, fast and leaves you at a frame advantage if blocked. Also can use this to end some combos if your opponent is good distance away from you.

And most importantly you set up his Kara-Throw with it. Some claim this is Ken's best normal move.

• Spinning Side Kick •
Ken does a spin kick that has a good bit of range.

Kara Throw Mix Up

For more information on what a Kara Throw is and how to do it, please see this page. Even though it's for Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, the same rules apply.

Ken's Kara Throw is really good. It extends his throwing range considerably, and it helps keep your opponent guessing whether to counter the throw or block when you're close in.

To do it, you press towards your opponent and Medium Kick and immediately press Light Punch and Kick to throw. To most people it would appear as you're hitting all three buttons at the same time, but in reality the throw command comes out right after the Medium Kick, like it's part of the motion.

This results in Ken quickly stepping forward and then throwing, greatly extending his normal throw range.

This is helpful because you can cross your opponent up with Medium Kick, do two Crouching Light Punches, if you've hit you can go into a combo, if not you can do a Kara throw.

Until the other player learns to counter, you'll either throw them or land a big combo when you're able to cross them up with this strategy, guaranteeing some damage and much frustration.

The timing can be tricky, but there are several ways to abuse Ken's extended throw range.

Contributions to this guide by Cynistar, JoeMasters, Maximilian Masters, Mickey D', Mariodood, BlackShinobi and Forgenjuro.