Call me crazy, but after using both Ken and Ryu for the majority of my Hyper Fighting days, i’ve noticed that its easier for me to beat Guile players using Ken rather than Ryu. Now before you go calling me a newb, let me first clarify that i understand perfectly that Ryu and Guile are top tier, and overall the best characters in the game. However, i’ve noticed Ken has some traits that make it easier for him to fight Guile than Ryu. Below are the traits i think give Ken more of a chance against Guile than Ryu in street fighter 2: Hyper Fighting:
-Faster Hadoken recovery time. Yes i know the hadoken itself is slower than Ryu’s, but the recovery time is faster, allowing for a better chance at stopping Guile if he tries to jump in for a combo, by using either a high kick, or a shoryuken.
-Faster drop down from Shoryuken. Allowing for a quicker follow-up attack, or chance to use another attack.
-Faster drop down from Hurricane Kick. Yes, his hurricane kick doesn’t do much damage compared to Ryu’s. However, it drops down a hell of a lot faster, and if done with the weakest kick, travels a shorter distance to; I think…:wonder:, making it better for going over booms.
-Broader arching Shoryuken. This helps ken DP Guile better if he lands a short distance away and tries to use a flash kick, and in some cases it hits him right before he can pull off the flash kick.
Conclusion: I am aware that Guile’s attacks are more damaging than Kens, and in a trade off Ken recieves more damage. A Ken player would have to be much more precise than a Ryu player because there is a smaller margin for error, due to the fact that Guile’s attacks hurt more. However, i believe if played with precise timing and skill, Ken makes a better choice when fighting Guile than Ryu because he is exposed to fewer situations that he can’t get of (or make use of) than Ryu. What do you guys think?