Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike/Ken/Archive

Ken's Character Select Portrait

Ken's Neutral Stance

Moves List

Normal Moves

Throws

Hiza Geri	LP LK
Seoi Nage	F LP LK
Jigoku Guruma	B LP LK

Command Normals

Inazuma Kakato Wari	B MK, or hold MK
Fumikomi Mae Geria	F MK
Shiden Kakato Otoshi	F HK *
	* hold HK to cancel attack

Target Combos

1. Close MP -> Close HP

2. Close d.lk -> d.lp -> d.lk

This combo is character specific and does not work on: Q, Urien, or Necro.

Special Moves

Hadouken	D, DF, F P	(EX)
Shoryuken	F, D, DF P	(EX)
Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku	D, DB, B K *	(EX)
	* can be done in air

Super Arts

I	Shoryu-Reppa	D, DF, F, D, DF, F P	2 stocks
II	Shinryu-Ken	D, DF, F, D, DF, F K Tap K rapidly	1 stock
III	Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku	D, DF, F, D, DF, F K	3 stocks

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Combos

SAI:

Cr. mk, SAI

Cr. lk x2, xx SAI

SAII:

Cr. mk, SAII

Cr. lk x2, xx SAII

Cl. mp, hp, lp shoryuken, SAII (only in corner)

SAIII:

Cr. mk, SAIII

Cr. lk x2, xx SAIII

Cl. mp, hp, (hadouken), xx SAIII

Cl. hp, mp shoryuken, xx SAIII

Cr. mp, SAIII

(Far) mp, SAIII

Note about performing combos: I do super cancels like this for ken.

QCF M kick QCF and kick button but here's the real trick

The special thing to keep in mind is to press down and mk at the same time then follow through with the rest of the combo.

You can practice even during matches. Instead of holding down and performing mk just press down and mk at the same time.

I also do something similar for canceling Hadouken into SAIII but instead, do not press down and punch at the same time. The notation should

QCF, P, QCF, K.

Some people might have problems going from shoryuken to SAIII. My method is

F, QCF, P, QCF, K.

Hope this helps out future players. -Velius

Frame Data

Strategies

Overview

Super Art 3 is the super of choice, although SAI does more damage it has range. For example it will whiff at max range of cr. mk.

Ken has a fast dash and a good close up game with his MPxxHP chain and cr. LKx2 into shippu. Also his jumping mk is good for crossing up.

Basics

Learn how to use low forward because it is pretty safe, and can cancel into EX hadoken (use Ex hadoken cause it is safer that a regular hadoken). It can also cancel into SAIII.

Get a knockdown and do any of these:

- cr. short,cr. short xx Shippu.

- strong->fierce xx Shippu.

note:if you have trouble confirming the Shippu throw in a hadoken to buy some time, it only takes away 1 point of damage. So it wold be strong-> fierce xx hadoken xx Shippu)

- dashback, cr. forward xx Shippu.

- cr. strong -> Shippu.

- far strong -> Shippu.

- cr. short, walk up, throw.

If your beating him badly, chances are he'll do a shoryuken or super on wakeup so just block then punish it.

• Best punisher*

Close Fierce xx MP Shoryuken XX Shippu.

Super Art Selection

SAI (Shoryu-Reppa):

A decent super, would probably be his super of choice if SAIII didn't exist. Has numerous hit confirms, 2 stocks, and good damage. On the downside, doesn't have the incredible invincibility frames and lightning-fast startup of SAIII, and has significantly worse recovery.

SAII (Shinryu-Ken):

Not a very popular super, as it has very pronounced flaws and strengths. It is a fairly good anti-air (since you can mash unpredictably, and thus mess up the opponent's air-parry timings), and does the most damage out of his supers by a good amount. On the flip side, it has terrible range, even more terrible recovery, and doesn't have as many good hit-confirms and cancels as his other two supers. Probably his least used super.

SAIII (Shippu-Jinrai-Kyaku):

The universal choice of super for Ken, for good reason. Perhaps its biggest selling points are the 3 stocks (lots of EX meter for fireballs and air hurricane kicks) and its absurd number of hit confirms...it links off of just about anything you can possibly imagine. But less obvious (but equally important) properties include its lightning-quick startup - it can punish a whole bunch of moves that are otherwise usually safe, i.e. any shoto's cr. mk (yes, it can be reversal super punished, if blocked), Alex's EX shoulder, etc. It also has great invincibility properties - at point-blank, virtually nothing but a projectile can knock Ken out of the super. (I've heard Dudley's jab is also capable of this, but this needs to be confirmed.) The only downside to this super is the fairly low damage, but it's still perfectly respectable, especially for the length of meter, and the numerous upsides completely outweigh that one small negative.

Additional Notes

• Personal Action: Increased damage for all moves except throws, this increase goes away after the next attack (blocked or not) and extends for an entire combo. Ken's personal action can actually hit twice.

Match-ups

Serious Advantage Match-ups

• Twelve
• Sean

Advantage Match-ups

• Yang
• Akuma
• Urien
• Oro
• Ibuki
• Elena
• Necro
• Alex
• Remy
• Q
• Hugo

Fair Match-ups

• Yun
• Makoto
• Dudley
• Ryu

Disadvantage Match-ups

• Chun-Li

Serious Disadvantage Match-ups

Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike