Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo/O. Ken

Introduction

Old Ken is the Super Street Fighter II version of Ken. He has a few different hit-boxes and frame data on some of his normals, one-frame better recovery hadoukens and shoryukens which are completely invulnerable on the way up. He is a solid character in ST, considered almost as good as N.Ryu. As any old character, he can not soften throws and has no super, but his better hadoukens and shoryukens make him a better character for zoning.

Moves List

Special Moves

All motions are listed under the assumption that Ryu is facing right.

↓↘→ + P: Hadouken, also known as the fireball. Ryu throws a blue ball of energy at his opponent. The strength of the punch determines its speed: Jab flies the slowest, while Fierce flies the fastest. The Jab and Strong versions do 12% damage while the Fierce one does 13%.

Although all 3 versions (Jab, Strong, Fierce) have Ryu release the fireball at the same interval, Ryu will recover from the vulnerable "after-throw" state fastest after a Jab fireball and slowest after a Fierce fireball. However, the difference is almost imperceptible. You can reduce the recovery of strong and fierce hadoukens by kara or special canceling a jab or short into them. Conversely, all versions will have the longest recovery when canceled out of a fierce or roundhouse. Some characters such as Vega can punish hadoukens on block or hit from close distance, so watch out for that. In adition to it, the move can evade completely when used from point-blank range, as some characters' attacks move their hitboxes towards a bit. This leaves Ryu wide open for throws or any ground combo they want to use.

This move is known to do high amounts of stun damage. Three hits in a row and pretty much any enemy falls dizzy. It's been rumored (though not verified, to my knowledge) that this normal fireball has more dizzying power than the red fireball.

→↓↘ + P: Shoryuken, also known as Dragon Punch or uppercut. Ken becomes completely invincible and does an upper followed up with a rising punch, then remains completely defenseless as he falls back to the ground. The jab version will cause a full knockdown. The strong one hits up to two times and causes a full knockdown if the rising punch connects, while the fierce version causes flaming hitstun, hits up to three times and also causes a full knockdown if the rising fist hits, but this often does not happen if the initial stages connect but from point-blank range. The jab shoryuken is very good for evading projectiles and it is Ken's best reversal move by far, possibly the best in the whole game, as it causes good damage if it hits early, always knocks down on hit and is safe on block against most characters.

Since a properly-timed Dragon Punch will beat most other moves, its simplest and most common application is as a general anti-air counter, because you have a lot of time to react and time the attack as you see the opponent approaching through the air. Because it'll knock down, you can continue pressuring with whatever you like, such as a meaty fireball or a cross-up attack. In addition to it, any character that can not alter its jump arc will be unable to evade any versions of the move, as Ken is invulnerable during the whose active part. Notice that Ken does more damage if it hits early, so time it late if possible.

You can also use it to stuff virtually any normal ground attack from your opponent, and the timing is much more lenient than for Ryu's shoryuken, as Ken's has slightly more horizontal range but much better vertical range, making it much better to stuff low pokes.

↓↙← + K (on ground): Tatsumaki senpuu kyaku, A.K.A. hurricane kick or tatsu, for short. Ken immediately attacks with a knee bash, then advances with fast spinning kicks that may combo one after the other. Different kicks have different effects: Short has the lowest duration and speed, while Roundhouse has the highest. Unlike Ryu, Ken is never invulnerable during this move.

Ken's Hurricane Kick also travels right over some projectiles and can be used to punish characters like Dhalsim and Guile for trying to use them. However, as it does not cause a knock down, Ken may be punished after or during the move.

↓↙← + K (in air): Air Tatsumaki senpuu kyaku. The Hurricane Kick can also be done while airborne. Again, stronger kicks give it longer duration. Unlike the ground version, it doesn't always move Ken forward; if performed while jumping backwards, Ken will continue moving in that direction.

The Air Hurricane Kick has some interesting effects on the speed and trajectory of the jump, as felineki writes:

The character's vertical velocity is not directly affected. Rather, their gravity value is temporarily adjusted. Every character has their own jump gravity value (as I'm sure you've noticed, Dhalsim falls much more slowly from a jump than Claw). This normally stays constant throughout a jump. However, when a shoto performs a mid-air hurricane kick, their gravity value is temporarily decreased. This gives them the effect of falling more slowly if it is performed on the way down, or allowing them to gain more height if done on the way up.

The decreased gravity value lasts as long as the character's leg is out, able to hit. As soon as they pull their leg back in, the gravity value returns to normal.

In addition, they are given a slight boost in horizontal velocity as the kick starts (a forward boost if jumping forward or straight up, a backward boost if jumping back). This additional velocity lasts until they actually touch the ground.

Similarly to Ryu's, Ken's Air Hurricane Kick has a multitude of uses. It serves as an alternative air attack with alternative properties than Ken's normal attacks and may interact with opponent anti-air moves differently. As it changes jump properties, it can surprise the opponent. Done correctly, it can actually cross-up enemy air counters like the Flash Kick to hit the opponent from behind. Or it can be used for purposes as simple as building meter on the way down from a jump that you otherwise aren't interested in doing an attack in, such as when jumping far back away from an opponent or jumping straight up over a projectile from a distance. Ken's air tatsu, however, can combo (for more than one hit) on the way down, hits crouching characters much more often and is much better for shennanigans.

While the air hurricane kick looks like the grounded one, in fact it has much worse priority. Also, it does not recover instantly when Ken touches the ground. Watch out for this if the enemy has a long reaching move or a super that moves it fast in your direction, such as Chun Li's, as this increased recovery can be exploited for major damage.

Match-ups