Who is better Ken or O.Ken?

[System_1]

Hey guys I am new to Super Turbo and Ken is one of my best characters. I was wondering who is better Ken or O.Ken. I have heard people claim either way. How do they differ from each other aside from O.Ken not having a super meter and being unable to soften throws? Which is more commonly used in tournaments? Do their matchups differ at all? Thanks for the info guys.

[Battosai]

It depends, if you want to zone with ken use O.ken since his fire balls are really fast and he has a invincible dp and land quick from it to. If you like to rush down then use New ken and use those knee bash tricks(knee bash+ walk past the opponent then stand fierce +jab dp.

[System_1]

Since I am still new O.Ken sounds easier to use for now. Is their a list anywhere that goes over all of their differences?

[Sanjuro_The_Ronin]

Since I am still new O.Ken sounds easier to use for now. Is their a list anywhere that goes over all of their differences?

SSF2T: Ken Strats

No biggie, that’s a legit question. First of all here’s why you would want to pick old ken:

1- Invincible dp
2- faster foot speed
3- no wacky kicks

Old Ken is a footsie god and a fb trapping bastard. He plays the old fb/dp patterns well and is overall pretty simple and effective to play.

Here’s why new Ken is better then old

1- the knee bash throw
2- super dp
3- the wacky kicks
4- throw softening

The knee bash throw does SO much damage when mashed and has hella set-ups afterwards for repeated ticks and/or mix-up combo opportunities. The super dp arguement is pretty self-explainatory, easy to land damage after low shorts or it can be a 3-hit anti-air dp, good stuf. The wacky kicks are great if you can control them, they function as combo enders, overheads, anti-airs and can put you in position after a sweep to set you up for cross-ups or whatever. The throw softening bit is obviously universal for all new characters and becomes huge in fights against characters with high throw priority.
-wes

There you go.

[System_1]

Thanks that is very helpful. Battosai mentioned O.ken’s fireballs are really fast. Did he mean that they travel through the air quickly than those of New Ken, or that he can shoot them out more rapidly than New Ken? Something else I am wondering what does the phrase “footsie” mean in street fighter? This game has a complicated meta-game thanks to everyone for helping me understand it a little bit better.

[dehmarko]

Something else I am wondering what does the phrase “footsie” mean in street fighter?

“Footsies, in layman’s terms, is when you stand at the range of the guy’s farthest attack, and when he hits a button, you hit your highest priority button, and you beat him.” - ComboFiend on Gootecks’s Street Fighter Podcast

Footsies is the term that describes the range and zoning games involved in 2d fighters. Each character has a certain range or zone that they could damage you from. This range or zone differs with each attack a character has.

So why is knowing ranges useful? Let’s say your opponent is playing Ryu and stays in the crouching position the whole time and only attacks from that position. You try and get close to him to attack, but everytime you get within range to attack, he busts out a crouching long before you can react. (I know what you’re thinking, jump-in attack, right? But let’s just say for theory’s sake your jump is broken.) If you knew the range of Ryu’s crouching long, however, you could dance around that range and since that’s his longest attack, you’ll know to expect the crouching long. Once it comes out, your opponent has exposed himself to your crouching roundhouse.

I don’t know whether Ken’s roundhouse beats Ryu’s long for sure, I’m new to ST and fighting games as well, but yeah, you get the point.

[System_1]

Thanks I understand now, but how do their fireballs differ?

[System_1]

Random notes…

Walking speed: Both Kens actually have the same walking speed. There used to be rumors that O.Ken walked faster, but it’s not true.

Fireball release speed: The fireball release and recovery speeds are actually fairly close. Old Ken has an edge here:

O.Ken: 13 startup frames – [fireball released] – 39 recovery frames
N.Ken: 14 startup frames – [fireball released] – then 39 (LP), 40 (MP), or 41 (HP) recovery frames

Fireball travel speeds: O.Ken’s fireballs travel just a hair faster than N.Ken’s, but it’s a pretty tiny difference. I won’t say which character it favors, since I don’t know; I think pros sometimes prefer to have a slower-travelling fireball for corner-trapping but a faster-travelling one for whipping it in their face at medium range.

Attack damages: I heard a rumor that O.Ken does more damage. I tested, and while the jab DP and fireballs seem to do the same damage, it’s true that O.Ken’s sweep (cr.HK) does do a medium amount more than N.Ken. So that’s interesting. Didn’t have time or inclination to do an entire test of all the moves.

[oldschool_BR]

The question is really debated, and I believe there is no definite answer as some people often try to imply. Some professional players actually believe O.Ken is not only better than N.Ken, but superior to N.Ryu as well.

I suggest you check this post on NH2’s blog, which has some feedback from really good (mostly) US players.

I, as a more mediocre player, find O.Ken interesting as it is harder to mess up motions with him. A careless player can put himself into trouble with N.Ken by getting a funky kick when he does not want it.

[System_1]

I am still new also, but I find him easy to use and a fairly solid character all around, from my limited experience anyway. Thanks for the link, this is very interesting stuff.

[oldschool_BR]

You are welcome. BTW, this thread has some other interesting ST links.

Edit: the forum, by default, only shows threads that had new posts in the last 30 days. You will find many other good topics if you change it to, say, last year.

[System_1]

Yes I have noticed this, thanks for the link it has some pretty good stuff also.

EDIT: By the way does O.ken have his own thread?