Yes, I get it to go forward every time I can actually do it which is close to 50% of the time now. I was getting it backwards occasionally when I first started practicing this motion but not anymore. I use a stick BTW.
Does Ken have an overhead other than the command kicks?
want to be able to mix things up consistently if I miss the crossup, and the command overheads dont come out 50% of the time :mad:
If you can’t get his overhead to come out, I’d reccomend holding the kick buttin rather than pressing it twice. For some reason t his works for me.
Double post!
How about a cr. forward into rh ck? Only problem is you have to be kind of close.
I’ve messed around with Ken tactics for a while now, and in no way have ever used him in tourny fights, or as a secondary/main.
HOWEVER I have played ST long enough, and have checked out a lot about HDR Ken over the past week, that I’d like to try and contribute to help out improving one’s game.
First of all I just want to point out, that you ALWAYS have to renda cancel into a super, when doing a grounded combo (I say grounded because you can chain into a super by doing a really deep jump in roundhouse, and then a shoryureppa as soon as you land, etc etc). With this particular setup, you have to renda cancel as the lp will not leave your opponent stunned long enough.
The ONLY exception is a move that leaves the opponent in stun just long enough, and lets you recover quick enough that you can use the super before they recover. This however is not a cancel, but a link (A good example is that vid someone posted, Ken doing the hurricane kick and then did his super as soon as he recovered, and Ryu was in stun long enough for it to chain).
With that out of the way, I’ll list some stuff I didn’t see in this thread that I think will be particularly useful:
- When knocking down an opponent and then going for a tick throw, it’s usually wiser to tick with a jump in attack. The reason being that if you jump, you only risk being reversal anti aired out of a meaty punch or kick.
If you attempt to throw a meaty attack on the ground while they get up, they have two options: Reversal, or throw you back, and THEY will have advantage on the throw and CAN throw you out of a meaty.
So jumping actually limits their options, and in all truth it’s harder to time a reversal special than it is a reversal throw. The exception to this rule, is that it’s okay to do a grounded meaty attack as long as you are good at spacing far enough where you can hit them, but they can’t throw you. Remember you have frame advantage, but you’re not completely invulnerable.
- **I’m guessing a lot of people here didn’t read Sirlin’s changes on Ken for HDR **(Which isn’t a bad thing, I’m just pretty sure most didn’t lol, I didn’t even myself until I started up training mode with Ken.).
In case you haven’t, I wanted to point out to those who don’t know, that Ken’s strong (Medium punch) shoryuken, is entirely invulnerable all the way up, and only gains the vulnerable hitboxes once he falls back down.
I was testing it online today, and use it to easily go through fireballs (You stay in the air much longer however and can get punished, but it’s much easier than timing a jab srk if you’re no good at that), beat out anything that can be hit since you’re invulnerable all the way up (Played Honda’s, knocked them out of headbutts, supers, buttslams, handslaps you name it), and even baited a wakeup shinku hadouken, and strong shoryuken’d him out of it.
Not a huge amount of info, but hope I helped improve your game 
P.S. And don’t listen to the command list…you can just hold kick when doing Ken’s crazy kicks to get the second part to come out. You don’t need to press it twice 
For the Overhead, I always use Forward cuz it comes out the fastest.
If the opponent is standing, Roundhouse Crazy Kick combos work fine. But it doesn’t work on the majority of the cast when they’re crouching, even from a crossup. From my testing so far, only Zangief and Dhalsim get hit from RCK max range while crouching. Balrog, Hawk, Dee Jay and Sagat can also be hit while crouching, but it has to be close to point blank range. It whiffs on the rest of the cast. I’m surprised it whiffs on Honda as he is one of the bigger characters.
Note: Short Crazy Kick is supposed to hit all crouching opponents, but it whiffs on Blanka, even at point blank range. Lucky dog. = )
If the opponent is standing, almost all jump combos work.
eg j.Forward>cr.Forward>RCK
J.attack>st. or cr. Fierce>RCK will whiff or be blockable on some characters or if you did the jump attack from max range, especially on Chun Li. Cr. or st. Fierce will combo fine off crossups though.
I thought you could 2-in-1 the super, ie from a cr. forward or something. You’d just have to do first qcf before you stick out the forward. Am I wrong?
Yep, that’s how I do it. Dan, that’s not renda cancelling, that’s buffering.
Anyone else having problems landing combos on Chun Li? Because of her weird hit box, she’s almost impossible to cross up for Ken, as well as the previously mentioned super cancel whiffing the first hit only on her.
And now I found out that after doing Ken’s Knee Bash on her, you can’t just j.Jab>Air Tatsu again as you will land on the other side of her. She’s the only one that this happens to. Ken has to always go for the walking cross up into tick throw, and has less options for mixing it up on Chun Li. WTF? :mad:
RANTING
Is it not renda canceling simply because you’re hitting with the cr.forward, rather than canceling from the kick frame into the super? Just wanna make sure why I got that confused.
I don’t know if it is renda cancelling simply cuz the cr.Forward hits instead of being “cut off”, but IMO it’s buffering, which is different. The reason people “cut off” normals is so that a fireball can have better recovery or so that a super combo will work, cuz otherwise it wouldn’t work. But buffering allows a normal to combo into a super.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but as I understand it:
kara cancels = cancelling a normal into a special eg. cr.Jab+Fierce Hadoken so that the Fierce Hadoken has faster recovery
renda cancels = kara cancelling a chain combo eg. cr.Short>cr.Short>st.Short+Jab Super so that the combo will work, cuz otherwise the Super would be blockable if the st.Short was not kara cancelled
buffering = doing a normal during the motion of a special or a super eg. qcf,d+cr.Forward,df,f+Jab Super cuz otherwise normals would never combo into supers
IMO renda cancels are strictly for chain combos and buffering is for both chain and non-chain combos. You can use both together in a combo, and a lot of combos do that, but there’s a big difference to me.
Off topic, but I figured out a way to get the throw loop on Chun Li. You just have to take a single step back after the last hit of the Knee Bash and then j.Jab>Air Tatsu. I’ve tested it on good players and it works fine. = )
So, after playing more against decent players, I’ve come to the conclusion that I suck against a lot of different competition.
I have trouble getting in on players that zone well (fireballers in particular, but just in general). Ken can’t keep up with Ryu or Sagat in a fireball fight. I’m too used to playing against people who don’t know how to AA. It seems like Ken’s best moves for getting in against fireballers are jab DP’s, short hurricane kicks, or juice kicks. But juice kicks are hard to pull off. Jab DP’s, short hurricane kicks, and inching forward seems like it’s often the safest option, but messing up once just leaves Ken back on the other side of the screen again.
I also suck against people with good close-up games like Geif, Hawk, and tick throwers like Blanka or Rog. I’m not good enough at mixing up yet to be able to keep the pressure with knee bashes against people who block well. I end up getting out-thrown. Should I try to keep these characters farther away? Or should I just get better at mix-ups while still staying on the attack (ie, cross them up when I can knock them down, jump jab -> air hurricane -> knee bash, etc.)
Is there a place online that provides random tips for various match-ups? I think the moral of the story is I don’t really know how to play individual match-ups that well. Ken’s best when he’s up-close or not too far away from the opponent. That means I suck against people who keep Ken away, or people who can play the up-close/mid game better than me.
blitzfu,
When doing the knee bash -> jumping jab -> air HK on most characters, do you jump right after the knee bash ends (ie, hold up-forwards?) Do you wait a split second? I have trouble figuring out when the knee bash is about to end.
Also, do you press jab immediately or do you wait til you’re close to the opponent? You can’t cancel into the air HK unless you wait til you’re close right?
Thanks again.
And one last question…
In vanilla ST, Ken could shorten his recovery on fireballs by kara canceling from a jab or short. Does that work in HD Remix? Does it only apply to strong/fierce fireballs or to jab also?
I hold uf. And I wait to hit the j.Jab, otherwise it wouldn’t cancel into Air Tatsu. I don’t usually mash Forward Kick and d-pad for more hits, but once I get my stick, I’m gonna start working that into my game. In training mode, without mashing buttons, the Bash does 5 hits on every character, every time. In competition though, I’ve seen 3 to 7 hits depending on the opponent mashing or my mashing.
Yes to all. I’m not sure about Jab but it should apply to it too.
SRK wiki doesn’t have anything for Ken’s matchups, so I figured I’d make one, and maybe other ppl could add to it, or correct me. I wouldn’t say I’m a SF pro, but I would say I am a SF veteran, and will give some of my opinions on Ken’s matchups. Take it with a grain of salt, or don’t take it at all…
Match-ups
Some ppl say Ken is a high risk/reward character, he either completely overpowers his opponents or is completely overpowered by them. I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean, so I don’t think of Ken that way. I basically see him as a Ryu without the Hadoken traps and with a throw loop. Ken is a character who can hold his own against any other char, without any horribly bad matchups.
The most important thing to remember about Ken is his Shoryuken. He is one of only 2 chars with a first frame hitting special. The other move is Blanka’s Roll. This means that if you knock Ken down, you can’t safe jump or meaty him, as his reversal Shoryuken will always hit. Just keep an eye out for ppl that like to walk up when you’re knocked down and then walk back out of throw range to bait your reversal Shoryuken. A big strategy of ALL players against Ken is to bait his reversal Shoryuken, but luckily it’s hard to punish. Still, keep your cool when you see stuff like that.
It’s the best reversal in the game, which is why I’m such a reversal Shoryuken whore. = ) But once I can execute it a 100% of the time though, I’m going to use it wisely. So remember kids, don’t be a Shoryuken whore…be a Knee Bash whore. heheh
Vs. Akuma:
Strong Shoryukens beat his Air Hadokens clean, and Fierce works well from its max range, while Jabs get stuffed or trades everytime. Ken will lose the Hadoken battle against Akuma, but most Akumas don’t focus on zoning too much as they are rushdown whores anyway. Be patient but don’t hang back too much either. If Akuma screws up, one of Ken’s signature Shoryuken combos will have him crying on his beads, thanks to Akuma’s low defense. Tatsus work great on his teleports and Super. If you are not ready to Tatsu his Super tho, just jump away as he can’t grab you when you’re airborne. Apparently if Akuma block stuns you while you’re crouching low, you can’t escape his Super even if you jump. I’m assuming something like cr.Short>Super, but I don’t see how reversal Strong or Fierce Shoryuken cannot escape it, or even reversal Tatsu. See Ryu for more strats against Akuma.
Vs. Balrog (Boxer):
The matchup I enjoy winning the most. = D Balrog is one of the few chars that can punish a whiffed Jab Shoryuken if he has his charge, so use it wisely. Hadoken traps don’t work well on Balrog thanks to his Headbutt, so do them from outside its range (about half screen). ALWAYS punish his whiffed Headbutt, he has more recovery now than in ST, so get him with a Knee Bash or a sweep. You’d be surprised just how bad his recovery is, almost as bad as Honda’s Jab Torpedo or Guile’s Somersault. But if he has a Super, be aware that he can whiff Jab Headbutt into Super, it’s a trick good Boxers will use to fuck up your counter.
If he does his favorite move, Low Rush, be aware that he can follow that immediately with a Headbutt. If he meaty TAPs, that’s reversible with Shoryuken (there’s not much that isn’t Shoryuken-reversible really). = )
If he goes for his throw loop, he can do the same trap as Ken, j.Jab>Grab or walk under to cross up into cr.Forward>Grab. If he j.Jabs, that’s easy, SHORYUKEN!!. If he walks under, reverse throw him after the blocked hit, or if you’re good enough, reversal SHORYUKEN!! Another Balrog trick is to whiff Dashing Upper close to you and then grab. If you ever see that, do a reversal throw, but also be aware that if he has Super he can do it right after a whiffed Upper. Always be on your guard once he gets his Super, it is the most damaging one in the game and can’t be punished, so he will definitely use it whenever he can.
Vs. Blanka:
Another char that can a punish a whiffed Jab Shoryuken with his Roll or cr.Fierce. Blanka is usually a jumper, but against Ken he won’t do that too much for obvious reasons. = ) However, good Blankas can time their j.Roundhouse early and stuff or trade with Ken’s Jab and Fierce Shoryukens. Just do Shoryuken late or early to catch him or just always use Strong. I haven’t tested if Roundhouse Tatsu can punish a blocked ball, but if it doesn’t, there’s almost nothing Ken can do, aside from Fierce Hadoken for the chip damage, but I believe Blanka can jump over that cleanly (need confirmation).
Blanka’s throw shenanigans are hard for Ken to counter throw, as Blanka’s range is much bigger than Ken’s. But unlike other chars, Blanka’s tick throws are easy to see coming from a mile away. A good trick with Blanka is to whiff Vertical Roll into Super, but it’s not that effective. Other than that though, there’s nothing else the dog can do to overpower Ken. All his footsies can be stuffed with Shoryuken as well as his electricity. And if Ken gets a Shoryuken into his Horizontal Ball, especially Fierce (though I don’t recommend trying Fierce unless you KNOW he’s gonna do it), he will eat a TON of damage.
Vs. Cammy:
I haven’t faced many good Cammys (literally about 2 or 3 in my whole life) so I don’t really have any strategy for her. Oh, Fierce Shoryuken can punish a blocked Super. Other than that, remember that close st.Fierce will always whiff on a crouching Cammy as well as Blanka.
Vs. Chun-Li:
Grr…I’m hating on the chinese chick this week. Aside from her new SBK, there’s not much different about this matchup. Hadoken will force her to jump or SBK over it, and when she does, SHORYUKEN!! She can screw you up with her SBK shenanigans and all its different trajectories, so don’t let her even breathe. Chun doesn’t have a good anti-air except for air-to-air kicks, but an early j.Forward can even beat that clean, so pressure her with crossups, overheads and throw shenanigans. If you let her breathe, she might knock you down and do her wakeup Knee Drop>Throw shenanigans. This is very dangerous as she has HUGE frame advantage, and is very hard to reverse. If you have to block it, remember that it doesn’t crossup. Shoryuken can stuff all her footsies.
I haven’t tried Strong Shoryuken reversal on her meaty Lightning Kicks, but I’m sure it works. Jab and (sometimes) Fierce will get stuffed. As previously mentioned in this thread, j.Jab after Knee Bash doesn’t work on Chun, so take a step back after the Knee Bash and then j.Jab or walk under. I also find that when Chun goes for her favorite tick throw st.Strong>Throw, it’s not easy for Ken to reversal throw her, as her throw range outclasses all of Ken’s throws. I find it’s easier to reversal Shoryuken or Tatsu.
A good trick you might see is whiffed Upkicks into Super. A better trick good Chun Li players use is Kikkoken followed by stored Super, or just walk up super. If you see Chun walking towards you from mid to far range without doing anything else, just jump towards her with Air Tatsu. If she tries to counter jump, she will get smacked and if she doesn’t activate her Super, she will have to charge it again as she’s on the opposite side now. = D
Vs. Dee Jay:
This can be a hard match for Ken due to DJ’s excellent anti-air Upkicks. And he can be hard to anti-air with a Shoryuken due to his high priority air Roundhouse and Forward that can stuff it. Basically when he jumps, get him early or always use Strong. Space yourself and plaster him with Hadokens, forcing him to jump or to at least stop turtling. When you’re inside, DJ’s got a great footsie game, but remember that he can’t resist sliding, and Shoryuken will kill it. Also beware of whiffed Short Upkicks or MGUs as DJ can follow them up with Super or Max Out or Sobat Kicks. That’s a good player trick tho.
Vs. Dhalsim:
Tatsu is your best friend in this matchup. Ken is fast enough to smack Dhalsim after a Yoga Fire from almost any range except full screen. Air Tatsus also screw up Dhalsim’s aerial shenanigans as well as when he’s on the ground, depends on his position and which Tatsu trajectory you use. Shoryuken against his limbs and slides is VERY satisfying. Even though he can punish a whiffed Jab Shoryuken, it’s worth it as stretching his limbs is a big part of Dhalsim’s strategy.
Watch out for his Yoga Flame trap in the corner, Strong Shoryuken should smack him back or at least get you inside his Flame, and then make him pay for it. Dhalsim’s throws have much greater range than Ken’s, so when he does his Noogie throw trap, Short or Forward Slide>Noogie, it’s better to reversal Shoryuken or Tatsu. And when you’re inside, don’t try to play footsies with him, go for the crossup shenanigans as Dhalsim has a huge hitbox and Ken can cross him up at almost any range. And don’t forget Roundhouse Crazy Kick can hit him from its max range, even if he’s crouching. Use it to mix him up if/when he hesitates as he won’t be expecting it, or just use it as an alternative to Hadokens for chip damage.
Vs. E. Honda:
Easy matchup. Honda has a hard time against fireball chars, so bait his Jab Torpedo from mid to far range with Hadokens, then Knee Bash or sweep him. If he’s stupid enough to Butt Slam, give him a colonoscopy with Shoryuken. = D But be wary of cross up Slams, they can be hard to counter. If he meaties Slaps, go for Strong Shoryuken reversal. Just don’t let him get too close, as his throws and Ochio traps are deadly. Oh, and I haven’t tested this, but his crossup splash should stuff any Shoryuken except Strong. Block it and then reversal Shoryuken. Honda can also whiff Short Butt Slam into Super. I’ve heard that Honda can be hit out of the second Torpedo of his Super if you block the first. Hmmm…SHORYUKEN!! = D
Vs. Fei Long:
Don’t spam Hadoken as Fei can make Ken pay with his Short Flying Kick. Use Hadoken out of its range as the Forward and Roundhouse FK can be easily stuffed by Hadoken or Shoryuken. The only thing to really be wary of is his meaty cr.Fierce>cr.Fierce>dizzy. If you’re not good at reversal Shoryukens, I recommend always blocking after being knocked down. Keep your eyes peeled for his Overhead though. If he’s very close after a blocked Flying Kick, reversal Shoryuken will get him, but not if he’s a bit farther out. In that case, block and keep an eye out for walk up throws and Overheads.
Vs. Guile:
Tatsu is a great weapon against Guile’s Booms, try to use the Forward Tatsu instead of the Roundhouse as he has a hard time punishing that with cr.Fierce or cr.Strong. Pretty much the same as DJ, except Ken can stuff ALL his aerial attacks, overheads and footsies with Shoryuken from almost any range, especially cr.Forward. Force him out of his turtle shell with Hadokens, and then blast him with SHORYUKEN!!
Vs. Ken:
Aaargh!! I hate Ken matches, as it’s pretty much a waiting game as to who will jump first and eat a Shoryuken. Hadoken is an important tool in this matchup, but don’t do it too much. I don’t like to let Ken land after a whiffed Fierce Shoryuken or Super, as I know how tricky it can be to punish him, so I just smack him before he lands (depending on the position though, I recommend doing a combo). And if it’s a good Ken, be prepared to counter Knee Bashes every round. Same as Balrog, if he j.Jabs, reversal Shoryuken, and if he walks under, block>reversal throw, or block>reversal Shoryuken.
Vs. M. Bison (Dictator):
Don’t open the round with Hadoken as Bison’s st.Roundhouse will stuff it. Don’t let him get too far away, as a fast, early Head Stomp will stuff all Shoryukens except Strong. Keep on his ass as Bison doesn’t have a good anti-air except for st.Jab and j.Strong juggle. Use jump attacks, Tatsus and Air Tatsus to mix up his anti-air attempts, and then get him in the Knee Bash loop. If that particular Bison is very good at countering air attacks tho, try to get to within mid range of him and blitz him with Hadokens. At that range, well timed Fierce Hadokens will kill his Head Stomp attempts. I haven’t seen this, but Bison’s Devil Reverse supposedly goes through Hadokens. Shoryuken it or follow him to wherever he lands and start blitzing him again. If he has a Super, he will use it as an anti-air (mostly) and as a reversal (always), so be careful when his meter is full.
Bison’s greatest strength is his Scissor shenanigans and throw trap. If he lands extremely close after a Scissor, he will grab. Reversal Shoryuken as his throw range is not only greater than Ken’s but the block stun off Scissors almost always guarantees a Bison grab. If he doesn’t grab or lands farther out after a Scissor, he will cr.Forward>cr.Forward. If you anticipate another Scissor after the cr.Forward, SHORYUKEN!! If not, a quick Short or Forward Tatsu should get you right in his face again and/or off balance. Crossup shenanigans work great on Bison.
If he gets desperate enough to do his tick throw trap, st.Short>st.Short>Throw, reversal Shoryuken or Super if you have it. And ALWAYS block his crossup j.Forward the regular way, and not the opposite way you would normally block a crossup. It’s hard to see coming as Bison’s got a far jumping trajectory like Chun Li, but even mediocre Bisons have mastered this technique. All Shoryukens will get stuffed as he lands deep behind Ken…it’s kinda weird. I haven’t tried reversal Tatsu, but I don’t think it will work. Block and then reversal Shoryuken or whatever.
Vs. Ryu:
Obviously Hadoken battles are gonna be in Ryu’s favor, but don’t let that force you into constantly rushing him down. Do like charge characters do, answer with a Hadoken whenever you can and jump straight up whenever you can’t or use Shoryuken to get through the fast Hadokens. If you mistime your straight up jump, do like Daigo does, Air Tatsu early to help get you over the Hadoken. Basically, force Ryu to come to you, as Ken’s Shoryukens can beat everything Ryu does up close, including Ryu’s own Shoryuken (as long as Ken does his own first, or does it from farther out, doesn’t work on Akuma tho except Strong). And most Ryus, even good ones, will expect Ken to try and rush them down, so stay away as much as you can, which will unbalance their strategy.
Whiffed Jab Shoryukens from sweep range are great for psyching out Ryus and Akumas. They can punish you, but the timing of their counters are extremely crucial for them. If they Hadoken, sweep or anything at the wrong time, they will get hit. If they don’t respond, walk up grab or Hadoken or Overhead should get them. And obviously Ryu/Akuma’s whiffed Jab Shoryukens are more easily punishable than Ken’s.
If Ryu tries meaty Super to chip you to death, Ken’s Super is invincible until the second Shoryuken is airborne, so it will get through Ryu’s Super and other projectile supers. That and Strong Shoryuken. You may still die from the punishment when you land, but sometimes ppl will mess up their timing in countering Ken’s whiffed Super (it really is tricky to counter, unless you don’t wait for him to land), and blocking Ryu’s Super will definitely kill you anyway, so might as well. = )
Vs. Sagat:
Another fireball battle that Ken will lose, but not as badly as Ryu/Akuma. If you’re losing the fireball exchanges, Jab Shoryuken will go through his low Shots, but not high ones, and so will Tatsu. Use that and more Hadokens to advance. Once inside, Shoryukens will always beat his Uppercuts as Sagat has less invincible frames than Ken or Ryu. Use them to silence his footsies and Knees as well, and then go for the Knee Bash.
Vs. T. Hawk:
Always be ready to Shoryuken his Dives, but be wary of his fake straight up jumps to bait your Shoryuken. Watch out for his high priority pokes st. and cr.Strong, and his tick throws. Reversal Shoryuken any blocked ticks when he’s close as his Tornado has more range than Ken’s throws.
Vs. Vega (Claw):
Easiest of the 3 top tier chars for Ken, but not THAT easy. His long range pokes are an opportunity to Jab Shoryuken, as well as his Wall Dives. Don’t fall for the fake Dives tho, just Shoryuken when you KNOW he’s in range of the Fierce. And always hold back before you Shoryuken his Dives, cuz when he goes to the wall, it may be a Wall Poke which is harder to stuff as it’s so fast (unless you’re good tho)=), and if you thought it was a Dive, at least you’ll be blocking. If you block a Wall Poke, Roundhouse Hurricane should smack him (haven’t tried it yet).
Don’t jump on him when he’s crouching, his Flip Kick is an excellent anti-air. I need to confirm this, but don’t try to reversal Shoryuken his meaty Jab Rolling Claw as it has a weird property that stuffs or trades with Shoryukens (I haven’t tried Strong yet, I’ve gotta pad and Strong is as far away as Antarctica to me, but I don’t see why it should be stuffed too as it’s invincible). And always be alert for an aggressive Vega that likes to do throw shenanigans. He’s very fast, but if you keep your wits about you, you should be able to reversal Knee Bash him everytime as his throw range is about the same as Ken’s.
Vs. Zangief:
Currently the hardest matchup for me. Zangief really exposes the weaknesses in Ken’s keep away game. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, keep Zangief away. If he gets inside, he’s got a lot of tools to fuck Ken up.
A good Zangief will not jump a lot, for obvious reasons = ), but also cuz he knows that Lariats are pretty effective against a Hadoken-happy Ken thanks to his slow recovery. Don’t do Hadokens too much or too close, but use them to keep him away and bait his Lariats from mid-range and then sweep him or Fierce Shoryuken. Tatsus can sometimes smack Lariats, but more often than not, Zangief wins. If he Green Hands, sweep or Shoryuken if close enough, or if you’re good enough, cr.Forward>Shoryuken as his recovery off Green Hand is bad. Also keep him away with sweeps, cr.Forwards and st.Roundhouse, but keep an eye out for his Hop as that goes over footsies. And always keep out of range of his SPD, it’s got MASSIVE range (almost a quarter of the screen), and a Zangief that is not jumping much, WILL get ideas. = ) Such as SPD’ing you while you’re just standing there doing footsies.
He will also do Running Grab to mix it up on you, so keep an eye out for that. Thankfully, Knee Bash loops work great on Zangief, so if you get one, stay on his ass until he dies or escapes. Another great tool is Air Tatsu, especially the trajectories that cross up, almost always a guaranteed hit. Crossing up a knocked down Zangief with j.Forward can be tricky tho, thanks to his reversal Lariat. But if you get an opening or a dizzy, go for the maximum damage as Zangief can be hit with combos not possible on smaller characters thanks to his FAT hitbox.
If he manages to get inside, keep your cool. Tick>SPD is his best weapon and the only defense against it is reversal Shoryuken, so make sure you do it everytime he goes for it (hasn’t worked for me so far, but I’m sure it works, my timing is just crappy). The different ticks I’ve seen are st.Short>SPD (very popular), meaty j.Knee>SPD, cr.Jab or Forward>SPD, etc. His meaty sweeps are hard to reverse, your timing has to be excellent. Zangief’s most powerful inside tool tho, is the crossup splash. This stuffs all Shoryukens as long as he does it early and deep (haven’t tried Strong yet). If it’s late, smack him out of it. If it’s early, block it and THEN reversal Shoryuken the follow up tick or the SPD attempt. Usually crossup attempts on wakeup can be countered by doing Shoryuken in the other direction, but not the splash.
Reversal Shoryuken is a hard tool to master, but if it can be reliably executed, it turns Ken from a mediocre character into a dangerous beast. Can’t WAIT till I get my stick. = )
^
great breakdown of matchups.
Thanks
Thank you Blitz. Great info for new players especially.
You’re the best Blitz!
My pleasure guys. There’s still a lot of blanks that need to be filled, especially against Cammy and Hawk. If anybody has any tips in those matchups, don’t keep it a secret!
Also if anyone has tried Roundhouse Hurricane after a blocked Ball or Wall Poke, let us know if it works. Also try hitting Honda out of the second torpedo of his Super. I tried it once with Dee Jay last night (didn’t know my opponent was Honda or I would’ve picked Ken), but I got hit, prolly cuz I wasn’t charged down or I was beat clean. But if you can block the 1st Torpedo yet get hit by the second, that means there’s at least a window of opportunity there. I’ll be trying all this stuff once I get my stick for sure.
You can hit honda out of the second super headbutt, and it doesn’t even have to be reversal timed.
Oh snap, sucks to be Honda. heheh Thanks for the tip, that’s awesome news!!