Ken Guide ~~~~~~~~~ E-Mail- Daemon23@aol.com Sections ~~~~~~~~ 1.)Intro 2.)Moves 3.)Strategies 4.)Combos 5.)Thanks UPDATE HISTORY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6\11\98- First Release! Everthing is new! Legalities ~~~~~~~~~~ DO NOT use this for any commercial gain, AT ALL. Copy anything you like (for any non-profit publication, mind you) just give me credit and I'll be happy. WHAT'S MISSING? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -I'm almost positive I made a couple mistakes in the Basic Moves Analysis section. Anyone? - Vs. Urien, Necro, Oro, Alex, and Yun&Yang strats. ============================================================================= Intro Ken's back and ready for another butt-kicking good time! Ken is the most powerful (and fun to play) of any of the immediatly selectable characters, even Ryu (one hit knockdown moves are very easy to Parry!) even though he can't play that Hadoken keep away stuff nearly as well. ADVANTAGES TO USING KEN - Quick, hard to Parry moves - He's quite fast. Ken can easily run rings around Ryu. - He builds stun quickly! (Although it has been toned down from the original SF3) - Supers are fast and damaging! DIADVANTAGES - Ken has no super that leaves him safe! Every single one has a long recovery time. - His Hadoken leaves something to be desired... ============================================================================= -=Basic Moves=- -While standing far Jab- Comes out quick, recovers quick, but it doesn't start up his Chain Combo. The only time you should really Jab is to try to keep your opponent away if they get up right in your face! Strong- A straight punch. Comes out pretty fast. Very good for keeping your opponent at mid-range. This also starts Ken's Short->Fierce Chain! Fierce- Ken swings his arm in a big ole around punch! Reminds me of the cowboy punches from some old westerns. A very good way to keep overoffensive people from getting near you... provided they don't parry. This comes out faster than Ryu's but doesn't do as much damage. This is interuptable. Short- Same kick Ken's had from the begging of SF. Basically same as the Jab. Forward- A high kick, good for preventing pesky jump-ins and if you press it again Ken will perform his overhead. Very useful in a Dashing combo. Roundhouse- Ken's best standing attack. Great speed, range, priority, etc. Great for a counter, or to whack someone snoozing. Also good after parrying a relativly slow attack. -Standing Close Jab- Same as above. Strong- A four-finger gut strike. Looks exactly like Dan's from SFA2. Chains into the Fierce. Fierce- Becomes a small uppercut. Pretty good for preventing jumpins. Short- Same as above. Forward- Same as above. Roundhouse- Same as above. -Crouching Far Jab- A bit more usefull than the standing one. If you quickly duck and use a Jab, you'll probably hit. Strong- Good priority. Use it to stop other normal moves. Fierce- A big huge uppercut, THE Basic move to stop jump-ins with. It has great priority so you don't have to be afraid. Especially use this if you have problems doing a DP in a split second. Short- Same as the Jab. Forward- Good range, the classic Hadoken 2-in-1 still works great! Roundhouse- Ken's knockdown. Combos after a jumping attack well. That's pretty much it. -Crouching Close SAME AS CROUCHING FAR. -While Jumping Jab- Same as the standing one. Strong- Good air to air priority but not the best to use while jumping in. Fierce- Good weapon to use. Most people who play the game use J.Roundhouse, and the J.Fierce will tear right through it. Short- Same as the standing one. Forward- IMHO the best jumpkick. Great air to air, as a jump-in, or as a cross up! Use this! Roundhouse- Good damage and range, but alot of other air attacks can snuff this out. Stick to the J.Forward. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -=Special Moves=- Hadoken- D,DF,F any punch Out of any of the Shotokans, Ken's Hadoken is the worst (or as I like to call it "fairest.") Most Ryu & Akuma players just use the FB, DP crap, but that doesn't work well with Ken! Your opponent can jump right over your Fireball and kick you in the face!! Just use the Hadoken in combos, or at long range. *EX- Moves VERY fast, like Ryu's, and is perfect for snuffing other FBs from mid to close range. Also a very good counter from just about anywhere. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shoryuken- F,D,DF any punch A powerful attack on an incoming enemy, it has better speed, range and damage than Ryu or Akuma! It's best to do the Jab version of the DP 'gainst a jump in. The Fiece version has to hit with the first hit for it to be damaging, and the it is alot more vunerable. Save the Fierce version for combos. *EX- USE THESE! They go very fast (startup and recovery) and the damage is great! Their best used in combos, or when you have the ShoryuuReppa or Shippu Kyaku as your super and someone jumps at you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TatsuMakiSenpuuKyaku- D,DB,B any kick Your able to do these in the air again. They probably have the best air to air priority of anything you've got, but are sucky jumpins. They lost alot of stun potential from the original SF3, but its still alot better than Ryu's! *EX- These are FAST! The stun damage is great and it combos well, so use whenever you have the chance, or use it after a C.Forward. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -=Super Arts=- ShinRyuuKen- D,DF,F,D,DF,F any kick Does UNGODLY damage if you keep hitting kick while rising (though not as much as stupid Ryu's stupid Shin-Shoryuken.) It hits out of the air very well, and the range is about the same as it was back in Alpha 2; better than it looks. The recovery is just awful if blocked or missed, SO MAKE SURE YOU HIT!! Begginers should use this the most. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ShoryuuReppa- D,DF,F,D,DF,F any punch Still one of the fastest supers the game. All things considered, its probably his best super, because it has very high priority, speed, damage, and the ability to go through fireballs. I personally use this the most. As always, though, the recovery is just sucky! Use it in a combo or right after you block a sweep. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shinpuu Jinrai Kyaku- D,DF,F,D,DF,F any kick Another quick super! Its not as versatile as the ShoryuuReppa, but it looks alot cooler! Use these after blocking a sweep or as a counter. It CAN go through fireballs, but the timing is hard. As with the other 2, the recovery on this move is pretty bad. Combo it most of the time to be safe. ============================================================================= Strategies -=Offensive=- Peck at them with your Roundhouse kick until you get in close enough for a combo. Don't jump at them unless they really leave themselves open, cause this game is loaded with good air defense moves. When you do try and make a jump-in, try to cross them up with J.Forward then combo. In close, your S.Strong has fairly high priority, so use it and Chain into your Fierce, then Hadoken, even if they block. As stated earlier, use your J.Forward or Air Hurricane Kick for Air-to-Air fights. -=Defensive=- Don't leave the ground that much, only leave when you are positive you can Parry or over prioritise whatever they use. Ken's got alot of air defense moves so use 'em on over jumpy people. Learn to Parry. You can Parry the crap out of the overoffensive and smash them with a combo. Long Jumps should also be used to avoid any potential FB traps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Versus Vs. Ryu- This bum shouldn't give you too much trouble, just don't let him trick you into thinking it's safe to jump at him. Don't EVER try and get into an FB war with ole Ryu cause he WILL win. Parry any close range FBs, and then try and quickly counter. From mid-range use your HK to make you way over any FBs.Its okay to poke him with your Roundhouse kicks. Ryu can't use Chains, but he hits very hard. This is actually in your favor, cause Ryu can't hit what Ryu can't touch! Dash alot, and pressure him with constant RK and CF until he tries and jump at you, and when he does, give him a taste of ShoryuuKen (or ShinRyuuKen, if you have it.) Use your ShoRyuuReppa to plow through any close range attacks he might use. If he uses his Electric Fireball, jump at him! The recovery on that is awful, but its unblockable, so don't try. Vs. Ken- A mirror match can promise to be fun! If he Hadokens at you, leap over it and whack him in the head, then quickly go into a combo. Jumping at Ken is a big mistake (especially when he has a ShinRyuuKen charged) so thats a big no-no. You basically just want to wade back until he makes a mistake, then dash in and clobber him. If you block any of his supers, use your Super to catch him in recovery. Air-to-Air is, of course, draw game, but if he uses his J.RK, use your J.Forward or Air Hurricane against it. Vs. Necro- He's pretty safe to Cross-Up, provided he doesn't have his ElectroBlast super charged. DP his limbs from long range and Far Jump over his Lariat and then combo. When you get into close range, don't let up the pressure; constantly peck at him with RKs and CFs. I really don't play against Necro that often, so any help would be appreciated. Vs. Sean- Don't jump at Sean too much, that Dragon Slam HURTS. (It has realativly low priority, but why tempt fate?) If he is stupid enough to just try and Sean Tackle you, just hit him with a Fierce DP. Again, he's not someone to FB regularly; he can Parry it then Hado Burst you. His Hado Burst super moves at ridiculous speed, so you must be very careful in what you try to do if he has it charged (especially if he's at level 3!) Vs. Hugo- Don't get too close. Stay at mid-range and Parry his attacks then counter with your RK. Jump in every once in awhile, but be sure it counts. Never stand right by Hugo as he's getting up because his Spining Pile Driver move is a great reversal. Also, don't rely on your Hurricane Kicks cause he might recover and SPD you before YOU get a chance to escape! Vs. Alex- A little safer to get close to than Hugo. but don't make a habit out of it. Stay on the ground. Alex has excellent air-to-air range and priority and can make things very unpleasant for you. His attacks are powerful but slow, so Parry them and counter. Vs. Akuma- Your toughest fight. When it comes to his GouHadokens, Parry them. They move about as fast as they did in in SFA1, so avoiding them can be dificult. Stay out of the air completely- don't let all the Hadokens he shoots scare you. Your best bet is to get to mid-range and poke him with RKs, wait for him to shoot a Hadoken, Parry it, dash in and combo. Play him more or less the same as you would play a trigger happy Ryu. Vs Dudley- Dude Dudley is one of my favourite characters. He has a Dragon Punch, lower priority than yours, but if you jump-in often, he'll break through about 60% of the time. So stay grounded. Most of his moves have bad recovery, so play defensive and hit him whenever he makes the mistake of trying to use a special move on you. Watch for his supers. The Corkscrew Drill is fast, but you can probably nail him in the recovery. Don't mess with the Rolling Thunder. Avoid it, DP through it, but don't let it get you because the block damage/range/recovery are all awesome! Play carefully. Vs Ibuki- Her annoying little slide moves FASTs (and can't be Parried, at least I haven't been able to) so never stand in one place too long. Cross her up whenever possible, and start a quick little combo. If you block her beat-down super, hit her with a Hurrican Kick, or super if you've got one! Lock her on the ground with a barrage of RKs and hope she jumps. Don't rely on your Hadokens that much; she can throw her dagger over it. Vs Oro- Ugh! Worst of the new characters, I think. Nothing wrong with his fighting style, but he likes Ryu more than Ken! Senile old tart. Anyway, jumping in is okay, just be sure to Parry any FBs he might shoot at you. Counter his Head Bounce with the DP (or Shinryuuken, if you've got it.) Wait for Oro to try and attack, Parry it, and kill him. Basic stuff. Vs Yun & Yang- Fast little buggers, but most of their moves have a bit of recovery you can take advantage of. To be safe, don't use your Hadoken at all. If your good enough, try and Parry all the little combos they throw at you. If your not, stay close. Wait for them to leave themselves open and POW! Kill them! ============================================================================= Combos This section was clipped from Matt Hall's Combo FAQ. (Nice FAQ, by the way. You might want to check it out. I know it's at GameFaqs.) -=Ken=- Best Jumping Attacks: Forward, Fierce, Roundhouse Interruptable Attacks: Close/Far Standing and Crouching Jab Close/Far Standing and Crouching Short Close Standing and Crouching Strong Crouching Forward Close Standing and Crouching Fierce Chains: Close Standing Strong, Standing Fierce (interruptable) Combos: Losing stun damage on his HK was a blow against Ken, but he still has plenty of combos, especially with EX's. (1) Jump-in, Crouching Forward, Fireball, Shoryureppa - ? Hits Jump-in, Crouching Forward, Fireball, Shinryuken - ? Hits Jump-in, Crouching Forward, Fireball, Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku - ? Hits Jump-in, Crouching Forward, Roundhouse Hurricane Kick - 7 Hits (2) Jump-in, Crouching Forward, EX Hurricane Kick, Shoryureppa - ? Hits Jump-in, Crouching Forward, EX Hurricane Kick, Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku - ? Hits Crossup Forward, Standing Fierce, Fierce Dragon Punch - 5 Hits (3) Crossup Forward, Standing/Crouching Fierce, Fierce Dragon Punch, Shoryureppa - ? Hits Crossup Forward, Standing/Crouching Fierce, Fierce Dragon Punch, Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku - ? Hits Crossup Forward, Standing/Crouching Fierce, Jab Dragon Punch, Shinryuken - ? Hits (4) Jump-in, Standing Fierce, Shoryureppa - ? Hits Jump-in, Standing Fierce, Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku (5) Jump-in, Standing/Crouching Fierce, Shinryuken - ? Hits (6)! Early Jab Dragon Punch, Jab Dragon Punch, Shinryuken - ? Hits (7) Jumping EX Hurricane Kick, Jab Dragon Punch - ? Hits Notes: 1. As with Akuma, feel free to replace the Crouching Forward with a Fierce. Take out the fireball and you'll do more damage overall. 2. There's a very brief window in which you can link a Super after an EX Hurricane Kick. 3. Fierce Dragon Punch is super-cancelled on the first hit. 4. You can either interrupt or link the Standing Fierce. 5. You can't link this attack, it must be interrupted. 6. When the enemy jumps near the corner, do a Jab DP as soon as possible, you may have enough time to do another one before they hit the ground. Cancel into a Shinryuken if you have it. 7. Similar to the last combo, you must knock the opponent out of the air with a mid-air EX HK. It then becomes possible to juggle once you hit the ground. ============================================================================= Thanks Well thanks go to me, for writing this, and Capcom for making the game. Many thanks to Matt Hall for his Combo FAQ, because without it, there probably would not BE a combos section! Also John Halili, for his site (http://members.aol.com/xxgrayxx.) The only site for SF32I!