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How to play Ken in Street Fighter 6
Fiery fists and crisp kicks: Ken returns in Street Fighter 6, of course. He is perfect for players who like to go on the offensive.
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Fighting games are a complex genre. And Street Fighter 6 is, of course, no exception. Although the title offers numerous opportunities to learn more about the system and characters within the game, you may be looking for a quick overview of the strengths and strategies of the different fighters. Then you've come to the right place.
If you want to play a classic but Ryu is too boring for you, Street Fighter 6 also has the hothead Ken up its sleeve. Find out all about his moves and strategies here.
Watch how the world's best players use these characters at Red Bull Kumite in New York on March 16-17.
01
Ken's game plan
Ken retains much of his offensive game plan from previous installments in Street Fighter 6. Similar to his rival Ryu, he also has solid options in the neutral game and, therefore, good mid-range possibilities. However, he shines above all in closing the gap to his opponent, be it through his run, strong drive rush normals or his Dragonlash kick.
Ken aims to get close to the opponent and stick with them until they break. Coupled with his high damage potential, it can be really scary to go up against a competent Ken.
11 min
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02
Run-cancels
Ken's run
© Capcom
Ken's V-Skill from Street Fighter V is now a move in its own right. If you press two kick buttons, he starts running towards the opponent. His run can be cancelled like a special move from the corresponding normals. Depending on which button you press afterwards, he has different follow-ups:
- LK: Stops your run
- MK: Overhead (Safe on Block)
- HK: Stepkick (cancels into all super arts)
Alternatively, a few of his special moves can be boosted if you use them during a run:
- Tatsumaki Senpu-kyaku
- Shoryuken
- Dragonlash
03
Notable normal moves
st.LP
Ken's st.LP
© Capcom
- Long range
- 4 frames startup
- Cancel possible in specials like Hard Shoryuken
cr.LP
Ken's cr.LP
© Capcom
- 4 frames startup
- Link in st.MP possible, allows Confirm in its target combo st.MP~st.HP
st.HP
Ken's st.HP
© Capcom
- Good poke
- Cancelable and therefore very good bait for Drive Impact
- Starter for many run-cancels
cr.MK
Ken's cr.MK
© Capcom
- Far-reaching poke
- Typical crouching medium kick from Shotos
- Perfect as a drive rush buffer
Shotos...
are characters like Ryu and Ken who practice Shotokan characters. Meanwhile a FG archetype.
st.HK
Ken's st.HK
© Capcom
- Punish counter leads to full combo
- Spacing trap
- Not cancelable
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04
Special moves
Hadoken
Ken's Hadoken
© Capcom
⬇️↘️➡️+👊
- Ken's classic fireball
- Strength of the button determines the speed of the projectile
- OD version hits twice
Shoryuken
Ken's Shoryuken
© Capcom
➡️⬇️↘️+👊
- The iconic anti-air
- Important combo ender for Ken
- All versions are invulnerable to attacks from the air
- OD Shoryuken is completely invulnerable
Tatsumaki Senpu-kyaku
Ken's Tatsumaki
© Capcom
⬇️↙️⬅️+🦶
- Hurricane Kick
- Can be performed in the air
- Carries the opponent far into the corner as a combo ender
- All versions are very unsafe on block
Dragonlash
Ken's Dragonlash
© Capcom
➡️⬇️↘️+🦶
- Tool to strengthen the offense
- The strong version of Dragonlash is plus on block
Jinrai Kick
Ken's Jinrai
© Capcom
⬇️↘️➡️+🦶
- Kick move with different follow-ups
- f.LK: Low attack. Unsafe on block, but a frame trap
- f.MK: Overhead. Safe on block
- f.HK: Combo ender. Does not hit Croucher
05
Super moves
Dragonlash Flame (Super-Art 1)
Ken's Dragonlash Flame
© Capcom
⬇️↙️⬅️⬇️↙️⬅️+🦶
- Cancel from normal moves
- Invulnerable to strikes and throws
Shippu Jinrai-kyaku (Super-Art 2)
Ken's Shippu Jinrai-kyaku
© Capcom
⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️+🦶
- Cancel from normals and OD special moves
- Completely invulnerable
Shinryu Reppa (Super-Art 3)
Ken's Shinryu Reppa
© Capcom
⬇️↘️➡️⬇️↘️➡️+👊
- Invulnerable to strikes and throws
06
Modern controls
Ken does not suffer from the restrictions of Modern controls. All his important moves are intact or can be executed together with the assist button. However, he also has access to a Dragon Punch, for which you only need to press a single button.
07
Tips & tricks
- Don't be too obvious when approaching opponents with Dragonlash. An attentive opponent will easily hit you with a Drive Impact.
- It is tempting to use Jinrai as a mixup tool. However, the reward here is often quite low, especially against players who know what they are doing and sometimes punish you for the gaps in the strings. In the corner, however, you can hit opponents with Jinrai kicks several times in one combo.
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