… I have to steal a concept here…
I think it was Sirlin who said SF has two main character archetypes: Characters who fireball (RYU, KEN, CHUN, GUILE, SIM, DJ, SAGAT (7)), and characters who get around fireballs (Blanka, Honda, Gief, Hawk, Cammy, Fei, Vega, Rog, Bison). It is like Yin/ yang concept? you know there can be no good without evil? etc etc?.
Honestly, ask yourself this question: How can you really beat a fireball character archetype if you really don’t understand how fireball player archetype has to play to win?
I think your post raises a great point of discussion. For me at least, my three favorite characters are Blanka, O.Honda, and Sim.
Sim, is one of the most technically difficult characters to play well. I am not an Expert player by any means. I am just a guy who loves to play ST. But, I tell you one thing?. I could not play Honda and Blanka as well as I do if I did not spend all the time that I did learning to play Sim.
The one big thing I learned for myself is that the ?Fireball? is an extremely powerful tool, . However its weakness is that the fireball player archetypes heavily really on it to win?. If that makes any sense.
Think about it this way Ryu?s fireballs lasts 42-44 frames. That is nearly 1.5 seconds?.. That is a long time? If you can find a way through, around, over, or under the amount of space the fireball occupies when released you have is 1.5 seconds and ~ 45 frames to do what ever the hell you want to Ryu. A 1.5 second opening can lead to a lot of pain in ST…actually in any competive situation
Don?t get me wrong, I know it is much easier said then done. But, it may give you a perspective when approaching this problem.
If you are just looking to better understand how to beat the typical fireball player archetype: Out of the three characters you stated, I would learn to use O.Ken. He is the easiest and least technically difficult to use. There are not many character nuances to have to learn. He has a great fireball, hits HARD, has an easy cross up, great AA, and his DP is the best in the game. (IMHO)
The whole point of Ken?s game, is to apply the classic Shoto Fireball trap. You don?t have to worry about supers, big multi hit combos, weaker DP?s, and etc? DON?T GET ME WRONG, O.Sagat is all about the Fireball trap too. But, you?ll have to work harder with O.Ken, and I believe that will help you better understand how the fireball player archetype wins in the long run.
Now, if you are looking to win more matches with a fireball player archetype I would use N.Ryu or O.Sagat. But, from your post I am assuming that is not your goal.
I could be wrong, and I am sure some will disagree with me. And some others will make some great points that I missed. But this is my perspective. Good Luck :tup: