Ken is enought different from Ryu.
Generally he’s not as good as him in tier lists, because a lot of normals that can seem similar, have more frame disadvantage. He hasn’t a solid ultra like Ryu and his EX fireball is horrible.
But he has good tools versus Sim:
air tatsu changes a bit his air arc, so sometimes is not easy to AA and can beat b.hk
best karathrow in the game to mixup his attacks.
f+mk is really good and a nice way to approach. It also has a great hitbox and can beat some Sim’s close limbs. Really Annoying.
his U2 beats fireballs but fortunately it’s very slow
his shoryuken lp has a really small recovery, and you can eat the second one while punishing lol (this should change in the arcade version)
The matchup look like the Ryu’s one, but I feel less confident, especially in the corner. He can spam shoryuken, uses kara, overhead kick or f+mk.
Some other considerations:
I hate his normal tatsu because leaves him close to you on hit.
I think crouch tech is a good way to escape from close mixups.
s.hk is also great, it can stop far predictable air tatsus.
b.hk is good, but probably flame ex is more reliable as AA.
I normally use b.mk against his f+mk.
I know I post this a bit too much. But focus back-dash on the step kick proves to be very useful if you are hit at it’s max range, partly cause they can’t really do too much against you once you are out of range. Crouch tech works well and b.mk is a fairly useful poke too. If you can anti-air him with b.mp, go for the cancel into yoga fire and push him back.
I’d say he’s a bit harder to fight against than Ryu, but it’s still a good match-up for Dhalsim. Don’t use fierce too much when he’s up-close.
I’ve learned to never try to punish a close jab SRK online. Dhalsims moves have too slow a startup and the window is too tight. I just backdash when they get jab SRK happy or yoga flame if I am at safe distance.
If they Air Tatsu a lot, I tent to b.MP xx yoga fire I think it at least trades and the yoga fire pushes them back if you successfully connect and cancel YF.
Backdash Kara throws.
IAT away b+MK or focus.
This is a very Dynamic matchup. Typically if they get over agressive and reckless with the rushdown, I can time an IAT combo when they do something unsafe, but if they play more tight and defensive I just play more defensive.
Backdash is used quite a bit on wake up, but when they catch on they start using step kicks and tatsus.
Thought i was the only one who had more issues with Ken than Ryu. I should say “KARA” Kens because that dam near turns him into a grappler.
His meaty short seems to be a whole lot better than Ryu’s as well.
I’ve started to learn the late cr tech after a blocked tatsu, but better Ken players seem to anticipate and CH you with his short to combo of choice. Tele is also an option unless he tatsus again so guess its best to vary it up.
Hey Shawn, I saw you were #1 in your TN rankings recently. Congrats man! It was a week or so ago that I saw the list, but just wanted to say congrats, belated or not. Seeing Sim on the top of any list makes us all proud.
I think this video can help a lot --> [media=youtube]28fTO7kIl4c[/media]
Ken Pro player seems do not abuse the f+mk leg and air tatsu. Probably Mochi knows how to punish them.
He plays very smart. The key is using s.lk to prevent f.mk and punish jumpin. In fact even if you use s.lk and your opponent jumps, you’ve time to use b.hk. Great zoning.
Thanks man =) We have a super cool scene here and everyone is eager to help everyone else learn to defeat them. We have one of those vibes where like… We want TN to be on the fighting game map so we’re trying to expose our weaknesses to each other as much as possible so that they can exploit what we’re doing wrong. I love these guys. I’m dieing to move out of the south but leaving the scene is going to be hard.
Oh, and one of our local players actually purchased 2 SSF4 arcade boards for our local arcade. Our arcade is run by the illustrious Jason Wilson of national fighting game fame. So, when the game hits arcades in December you guys all gotta come visit Nashville!
I’ve been playing Jason on video game networks since 1995, on a modem called XBAND for the SNES & Genesis. Lol. I was one of the better MK2 players in the US, but Jason was (and is) a far, far superior player. He was DreamTheater on SNES, and DreamTheater+ on Genesis. I’m old, and old school haha. I had the pleasure of meeting him when he visited Orlando from his then-home Miami back in '97. Great guy, and I’m super jealous that I don’t have an arcade nearby with SSF4 AE coming soon
