Street Fighter IV Character Guide: Ken

Ken is a loose cannon but one of the most talented fighters in Street Fighter IV and also a student of Gouken, like Ryu. Ken has never learned the total self discipline and focus that would allow him to become the fighter he could be and is usually more involved with his life away from martial arts.

Many gamers will find Ken to be similar to Ryu and since they have many of the same attacks and are delivered with the same techniques this is definitely true. There are differences that make Ken capable of playing an aggressive inside game and he can fake out his opponent using a feint with a Thunder Kick and then move into a throw or different attack. Use Ken’s EX Hadoken to beat most opponents in long range projectile battles and his EX Shoryuken to defend against flying attacks while delivering good damage to the attacker. Move in close to use Ken’s Super and Ultra Combos, as they do excellent damage, and you can combo into his Ultra Combo from his Super Combo if your opponent is pinned in a corner.

Street Fighter IV implements six attack buttons in the game; Light Punch, Medium Punch, and Heavy Punch (LP, MP, HP) and Light Kick, Medium Kick, and Heavy Kick (LK, MK, HK). The lighter attacks are executed faster but require the attacker to be closer to the opponent to execute properly. Heavy attacks have a greater range and do more damage than light attacks.

Special Attacks are the fighters' main abilities; the individual moves that are their signature and indicate their fighting style. This guide will use P for punch or K for kick when talking about special attacks, and PP and KK when an attack calls for you to press the button twice.