Ken (SSBU)

Ken in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Street Fighter
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Shippu Jinraikyaku / Shinryuken

“	Ken Turns Up the Heat!	”
—Introduction Tagline

“	Ken joins the battle as Ryu's Echo Fighter! Their differences are carried over from the original game: Ken's Hadoken is shaped differently, his strong Shoryuken has flames, and he moves a bit faster. He has two Final Smashes: Shinryuken and Shippu Jinraikyaku.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Ken (ケン, Ken) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was announced as a newcomer during the November 1st, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct, alongside Incineroar and Piranha Plant. He is an Echo Fighter of Ryu, thus being classified as Fighter #60ε.

Reuben Langdon, Ken’s English voice actor since Street Fighter IV, reprises his role in the overseas versions. His Japanese voice actor since Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Yuji Kishii, reprises his role in the Japanese version.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Ken being the 57th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or anyone in his unlock tree, being the eighth character unlocked after Chrom.
• Have Ken join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Ken must then be defeated on Boxing Ring.

Attributes

Being the more aggressive "shoto" compared to Ryu, Ken shares most of his attributes with some slight tweaks. As a medium-heavyweight of average size and mobility, Ken has decent frame data and damage output, as well as a dependable ground game due to his decent traction and above-average dashing speed. However, other attributes are polarized in an attempt to replicate the physics of Street Fighter; Ken's walking speed is extremely slow, and while his air speed is average, this is counteracted by his moderately high falling speed and short jumps. Additionally, he has very low air acceleration, and his air friction is uniquely locked at 0 while jumping, causing his jumps to follow a fixed "arc" unless the player steers them manually. Finally, Ken's fast fall increases his falling speed by 40% instead of the usual 60%. Overall, this grants Ken effective burst movement through dashing and jumping, but forces him to commit when approaching through the air and makes it difficult to land or move short distances.

Despite his average attributes, Ken is one of the most unique fighters in Ultimate, as he has access to many variations of both his standard and special attacks (a trait only shared with his base fighter, Ryu). His jab and tilts can either be held or tapped; tapped attacks are faster and usually combo well into themselves, while held attacks have greater KO potential and can serve as combo finishers. This also applies to his special moves (other than Focus Attack), which gain different effects like increased power or altered hitboxes when the button is held; they also see an increase in power when used with the original Street Fighter inputs. This effectively gives Ken two movesets—one for starting combos and racking up damage, and the other for scoring KOs. This versatility gives him access to potent true combos and mix-ups, leading to a strong punish game overall.

Ken's standard attacks are also unique in that most of them (even his tapped tilts) have a freeze frame multiplier of at least 1.8x, making them surprisingly safe on shield given their poor range and average damage output. This grants Ken an effective means of applying shield pressure and make some of his combo starters difficult to escape.

Ken's grounded moveset boasts considerable utility. His tapped jab and down tilt both hit on frame 3, making the former useful for relieving pressure, and the latter excellent for extending combos due to its launch trajectory being useful for followups, such as grabs. Tapped up tilt's low knockback, high speed and active frames make it effective for combos, either into itself, Shoryuken, or even down aerial at high percents near the ledge. Held down tilt can be canceled on hit into a special move, making it effective for shield pressure and damage-racking even at high percents. Down smash is quite powerful for its speed, and up smash lowers Ken's hurtbox while charging. Both tapped forward tilt and held jab are altered at close range, both becoming very potent at starting combos into his special moves. Additionally, Ken will automatically face his opponent in 1-on-1 matches while standing on the ground, making it considerably easier to land his effective ground attacks.

Ken's aerial moveset is effective as well. Neutral aerial is a sex kick with low knockback and has only five frames of landing lag, making it useful for combos and kill confirms even at high percents. Forward aerial is quick, highly damaging and has good range; it can be chained into itself through repeated jumps, and its sourspot deals high shield damage. Up aerial has fast startup, a fairly active hitbox and decently high reach, making it useful for juggling. It is also reliably follows up into Shoryuken. Both up and down aerial are also able to auto-cancel from a short hop.

Complementing Ken's moveset and combo potential is his wide array of powerful finishers; some of his held tilts, smash attacks and aerials are very capable KO moves due to their high speed. Held up tilt grants upper body intangibility on frames 4-10 while hitting on frame 7, making it deceptively safe for KOs when combined with its speed and tapped up tilt setups. Up smash makes an effective substitute for held up tilt as a finisher, and its wide hitbox can catch aerial approaches. Ken's forward smash has long range, fast startup and is his strongest standard ground attack, making it useful for hard punishes. Back aerial is Ken's strongest aerial, and is fast and has good range despite its small hitbox. Forward aerial also serves as a decent KO move, enhancing its already impressive utility. Finally, down aerial is a powerful meteor smash with fast start-up and long duration, making it a deadly edgeguarding tool. Combined with his excellent combo ability, Ken's punish game is incredibly effective and versatile, being able to rack up damage or KO very easily after connecting with almost any attack.

Ken's signature special moves are also effective in their own ways. Hadoken is a large ki projectile, with three travel speeds based on input method; the standard version is capable of locking, while the input variation deals more damage. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku propels Ken forward, hitting multiple times throughout the attack, and potentially leading to followups. While Ken's signature Shoryuken serves as his main vertical recovery move, it is most well-known for its offensive utility, due to its sweetspot's high knockback, multiple powerful hitboxes, and brief intangibility (frame 5), making it both a powerful KO option and a potent anti-air. The input version of Shoryuken has increased KO power, even longer intangibility (frames 4-6, with arm intangibility frames 1-14), and lower landing lag, and can easily be chained into from Ken's other moves. Focus Attack grants Ken heavy armor against a single hit, and incapacitates opponents when at least half charged, allowing for followups. It can also be canceled on hit, after tanking a blow, or even while charging, allowing Ken to fake out with a shuffle that also provides horizontal recovery distance. His close held neutral attack, first two hits of tapped neutral attack, close tapped forward tilt, held down tilt, and all aerials can be canceled into special moves, allowing Ken to combo into Shoryuken for KOs, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku for extending combos, and Focus Attack for mixups and safety.

Outside of the standard special moves, Ken also has access to the Oosoto Mawashi Geri roundhouse kick and the Nata Otoshi Geri crescent kick using inputs only. The former is a powerful KO option at the edge with much more safety than his other special moves, while the latter is a combo extender that leads into either a forward smash, a down smash, or even a Shoryuken with proper reading. Furthermore, both attacks can be cancelled into Inazuma Kick, which deals heavy shield damage, further complementing his ability to pressure and deplete shields with his lengthy blockstrings.

Lastly, Ken has a long-distanced recovery and is surprisingly difficult to combo, traits not shared with most heavyweights. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has large hitboxes and doesn't cause helplessness; this combined with canceled Focus Attack's armor and momentum boost grants surprisingly effective horizontal distance and protection. Shoryuken travels a good vertical distance, reaches above edges, and can stage spike reckless edgeguarders. Focus Attack also serves as an effective combo breaker, and neutral aerial and input Shoryuken both grant high speed and intangibility, and can even lead into combo or KO opportunities respectively. These traits allow Ken to survive to very high percents when used effectively, which also allows him to take full advantage of rage.

Despite his abundant strengths, Ken has his weaknesses as well, most of them shared with Ryu. Though his recovery travels a long distance, it becomes very short if extendable elements, such a Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, cannot be utilized. Focus Attack requires a brief charge before it can be canceled. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku's long duration and low damage makes it vulnerable to being interrupted by long-ranged attacks, and he can only use it once without landing or suffering hitstun. Ken's falling speed, low jumps and poor air acceleration make it difficult to recover from below the stage, as Shoryuken's recovery is almost strictly vertical and has high endlag, making Ken's vertical recovery easy to predict and interrupt. While Ken excels at shield pressure, his grab game is sorely lacking; his throws have high damage, but none of them have effective follow-up or KO potential. Down throw is his only combo throw at very low percents, and the extra utility of his throws (down throw instantly breaking shields, and up throw's kick KOing bystanders) does not apply in a 1-on-1 setting, making them situational.

Ken also suffers from a weak neutral game. Despite his good frame data (especially for his tapped tilts and neutral aerial) and decent running speed, his slow walking speed and short range hinders the otherwise great utility of his tilt attacks, which gives him trouble against characters who possess disjointed hitboxes, especially when combined with his tall stature. Ken's only projectile, Hadoken, is punishable if used carelessly due to its long endlag, weak damage and low priority. Aside from the advantages granted his neutral aerial and Focus Attack, Ken's fixed arc jumps make his aerial approach highly committal and thus very predictable. These issues force Ken to play patiently and take advantage of any opening, as he has trouble against opposing camping. Focus Attack's utility is also match-up dependent, as it becomes much less effective against fast or multi-hitting moves (such as Roy's forward aerial or Cloud's Cross Slash, respectively). Because Focus Attack is also Ken's main method of escaping combos, this makes him susceptible to certain combos and juggles due to his high weight and quick falling speed, and his slower fast-fall compared to most other characters occasionally makes it difficult to land safely.

Finally, Ken struggles to "force" early KOs, as his KO potential relies heavily on executing combos. While Ken does possess some powerful moves, like back aerial and sweetspotted forward smash, these usually require hard reads to land, and most of his other moves have low knockback scaling due to being tailored for combos. Ken's superb combo ability does largely compensate for this, but without accounting for opposing SDI, or without full knowledge of Ken's moveset, setups and combos, he can have a difficult time taking stocks. Ken's multihit special moves can be fallen out of if not used properly, leading to him being unsafe, or even punishable if he is not careful. Finally, the emphasis on Ken's unique inputs means that his non-input special moves have lower power, and a mere slip of the hand can be more detrimental than usual, at worst even causing a self-destruct while recovering.

Overall, Ken is a combo-oriented fighter with a fearsome offensive ability, as his unique mechanics deliberately give him access to powerful true combos essential to the competitive success of most characters; his ability to trap opponents in hitstun or shield pressure, multiple options for escaping or negating combos, and dependable recovery all make Ken very rewarding and unpredictable. However, his polarized movement, mediocre vertical recovery, and lacking approach make him difficult to play optimally. His high learning curve in particular is perhaps his biggest issue; much practice is generally require for his input specials to use them reliably and consistently, rather than accidentally inputting the wrong move.

In spite of his weaknesses and high learning curve, Ken's results and representation are more notable than Ryu's. Some players choose to utilize both accordingly to play to either's strengths, whether it be reliable damage and zoning or massive combo opportunities and options.

Differences from Ryu

Ken is considered the original "Echo Fighter" in fighting game history, but unlike other Echo Fighters in the game, Ken's differences extend beyond visual changes and damage distribution, using the gameplay differences from Super Street Fighter II Turbo onward to distinguish him from his mirror character, Ryu. He primarily trades Ryu's stronger knockback from single hits and zoning capabilities in exchange for more combo routes and damage-racking capabilities, similar to their differences in their home series. His grounded movement is slightly faster than that of Ryu's, and a handful of his attacks have entirely different properties as well.

Since Ken has multiple entirely different moves from Ryu, he is near-universally accepted to be the most unique Echo Fighter, being the only Echo Fighter that is a semi-clone. As such, he, much like fellow Echo Fighters Chrom and Lucina, is not expected to share a tier list spot with his base fighter, and is expected to be legally allowed to be used with his base fighter in Squad Strike.

Aesthetics

• As with all other Echo Fighters, Ken has unique taunts and victory animations.
• Ken says "I'm ready for ya! Bring it on!" during his on-screen appearance rather than being silent like Ryu. His dialogue is the same as his fight entrance in Street Fighter IV.
• Unlike Ryu, Ken faces forward with a neutral expression instead of looking dejected or annoyed during his clapping animation.

Attributes

• Ken's walking (0.75 → 0.825), dashing (1.6 → 1.76) and initial dash (1.76 → 1.936) speeds are faster than those of Ryu, with his initial dash and run speeds being identical to those of Mario.

Ground Attacks

• Held neutral attack is Inazuma Kick, a double-hitting axe kick resembling up throw. It is somewhat hard to land by itself, as its effective range tends to overlap with his close variant. It deals a large amount of shield damage.
• Neutral attack 3 has altered hitboxes and reduced hitlag (2 → 1.5).
• Ken's held forward tilt is his far standing medium punch, a straight with his right arm, as opposed to Ryu's Collarbone Breaker.
  • Held forward tilt is faster and deals more knockback at a lower angle.
  • Held forward tilt has less range and far less shield damage.
• Forward smash:
  • Ken's forward smash is based off of his standing heavy kick introduced in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
  • It has less start-up (frame 15 → 13).
  • It has less range and does not make Ken travel forwards.
  • It deals less damage (16%/17.5% → 12%/16%), making it slightly weaker despite its higher knockback growth (98 → 102).

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Ken's neutral aerial is based off of his diagonal jumping medium kick in SFII, as opposed to Ryu's diagonal jumping light kick.
  • Due to it being a kick rather than a knee, the range of the move is increased compared to that of Ryu's neutral aerial.
  • It has less ending lag than Ryu's (FAF 36 → 28).
  • It has more startup lag (frame 4 → 6).
  • Its duration is shorter (4-31 → 6-17).
  • It has a sourspot on its clean hit that deals less damage (8% → 6.5%).
  • The late hit deals more damage on its sweetspot, but less on the sourspot (4.5% → 4% (sourspot)/6.5% (sweetspot).
  • The late hit has more base knockback (13 → 20).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial is based off of his neutral jumping light kick, a kick straight upwards.
  • It deals considerably less knockback, which hinders its KO potential, but makes it much better for combos.
  • It has less startup (frame 6 → 5) and has a longer duration than both hits of Ryu's up aerial (6 (first)/10 (second) → 5-9).
  • It deals less damage (11% (total) → 6.5%) and only hits once.
  • It does not grant partial intangibility.

Throws

• Ken's back throw, Hell Wheel, has him roll backwards twice, allowing him to cover more distance and move closer to the edge of stages from farther away.
• Ken's back throw takes a longer time to release opponents compared to Ryu's back throw.
• Up throw's kick hitbox comes out 2 frames later, without the animation being altered, reducing its vertical range, and making it less likely to hit Nana.

Special moves

• Ken has more input command moves than Ryu.
  • He has Oosoto Mawashi Geri, an outward roundhouse kick from Super Street Fighter II Turbo similar to Ryu's standing held neutral attack that can be canceled into Inazuma Kick by holding the attack button, letting him use his special cancels without committing to the potential endlag of Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku and mix up his attacks. Inazuma Kick also deals a fair amount of shield damage, making it much riskier to block Ken during his blockstrings. At the edge, Oosoto Mawashi Geri makes for a reliable KO option from his special cancel normals.
  • Ken also has his Nata Otoshi Geri, a swiping roundhouse kick from Super Street Fighter II Turbo with a unique input (forward, down forward, down, special/attack) that Ryu does not have. He can cancel either the startup of the move or after the first hit and change it into his Inazuma Kick by holding the attack button. Its low knockback and angle make it useful for combos, leading into down smash, forward smash or a Shoryuken.

• Hadoken:
  • Hadoken contains an image of Ken's hands, as it does in the original Street Fighter II.
  • Hadoken deals less (7%/8% → 4.5%/5.5%), with even his strongest input Hadoken (6.8%) dealing less damage than Ryu's weakest standard Hadoken (7%).
  • Hadoken has slightly more startup lag (frame 12 → 13).
  • Ken does not have access to Ryu's Shakunetsu Hadoken, meaning that he lacks a multi-hit projectile.
  • Ken's Hadokens do not vary in speed as significantly as Ryu's do depending on how long the button is held. This reduces his space control and approaching options.

• Tatsumaki Senpukyaku:
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku hits multiple times, as opposed to Ryu's single hit.
  • If all hits connect, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku deals more damage.
  • Due to its multihit property and distance, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku can be used to drag opponents offstage far away at low percentages, being effective against opponents with poor recoveries.
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has less endlag, allowing for followups after the move is complete.
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku does significantly less knockback compared to Ryu's.
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku connects less reliably than Ryu's, and lacks a final hit, making it punishable.

• Shoryuken:
  • Shoryuken deals less knockback than Ryu's equivalent and hits at a slightly more horizontal angle.
  • Holding the special attack input performs a Heavy Shoryuken, which hits more than 2 times, and has a flame effect.
  • Although it KOs later, Ken's Shoryuken deals more damage and has powerful hitboxes throughout the move in contrast to Ryu's Shoryuken losing strength the longer it is out. Shoryuken can also drag enemies upwards, letting it kill earlier when close to the top.
  • Ken can travel more horizontally during his Heavy Shoryuken. This makes certain combos possible and horizontal recoveries easier.

• Focus Attack:
  • Ken performs a spinning kick in his Focus Attack instead of a straight punch. The hitbox comes out 1 frame later for all variants, however with total duration unchanged this also allows Ken to act 1 frame earlier on hit.
  • Focus Attack launches at a lower angle (60 → 45), and the uncharged version has slightly more base knockback (100 → 110), hindering its followup potential but aiding its ability to set up edgeguards.
    • The lowered angle improves the fully charged version's KO potential on aerial opponents.
  • Ken does not lunge forward as far in his Focus Attack, slightly hindering its range.
  • Ken's Focus Attack has him kicking at a lower elevation than Ryu's punch which makes him capable of hitting certain downed opponents that Ryu cannot (such as Zelda).

• Ken has two unique Final Smashes, Shinryuken and Shippu Jinraikyaku. Shinryuken produces a giant pillar of fire with immense vertical range, which is similar to its appearance in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, which reused Street Fighter Alpha sprites in its 2D-era games. Meanwhile, Shippu Jinryaikyaku has Ken furiously kicking opponents before ending in a devastating series of hurricane kicks, much like his Guren Senpukyaku Ultra Combo II from Super Street Fighter IV and the ending of his Guren Enjinkyaku Critical Art from Street Fighter V, but is ultimately based on his Shippu Jinraikyaku Super Art from Street Fighter III. Shippu Jinraikyaku occurs when Ken initiates his Final Smash near an opponent. Otherwise, he will perform Shinryuken.

Update history

Ken has been significantly buffed overall in game updates so far, with most of his significant buffs coming in the 3.1.0 update. Many of his multi-hit moves connect more reliably and have a lower SDI multiplier, and more importantly, his moves that can be special canceled have a longer window to do so, making his combos more consistent. His held, close neutral attack has completely changed for the better, now functioning as a reliable combo starter at a much wider percent range.

2.0.0

• Neutral aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 34 → 28), matching the move's interruptibility. This allows it to autocancel from a short hop.
• Forward aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 41 → 38), matching the move's interruptibility. This allows it to autocancel from a rising full hop.
• Ken can no longer interrupt his down tilt with a jump.

3.0.0

• Edge attack deals less hitlag.
• Shoryuken's animation has been slightly altered.
• Focus Attack sliding has been removed.

3.1.0

• Neutral attack 1 and 2 can be cancelled with a special move for a longer amount of time.
• Neutral attack (heavy, close) deals drastically less knockback (70 (base)/70 (scaling) → 25/15) and sends at a slightly more horizontal angle (85° → 80°), making it a much better combo starter even at high percents.
• Neutral attack (heavy, far)'s second hit deals more damage (6% → 10%) with knockback compensated.
• Forward tilt (light, close) can be cancelled with a special move for a longer amount of time.
• Forward tilt (light, far)'s tip has a larger hitbox.
• Forward tilt (heavy) sends at a slightly more horizontal angle (38° → 34°).
• Up tilt (light) sends at more vertical angle when hitting airborne opponents, making it a better combo starter (66° → 75°).
• Down tilt (light) deals more hitstun.
• Down tilt (heavy) deals less knockback (70 (base)/23 (scaling) → 73/16), allowing it to combo at a wider percent range.
• Forward smash deals more knockback (26 (base)/100 (scaling) → 28/102).
• Down aerial can be cancelled with a special move for a longer amount of time, making it identical to Ryu's variant.
• The first hit of Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has a larger hitbox when used on the ground (3.5u → 4.5u).
• Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has a lower SDI multiplier (1 → 0.5).
• Shoryuken
  • Shoryuken's hits connects more reliably and it has a lower SDI multiplier (1 → 0.5).
  • Shoryuken's first hit no longer negates other attacks.
  • Shoryuken's grounded heavy version has more knockback growth (121 → 126).
  • Shoyuken's light and heavy aerial versions have more knockback growth (49 → 55 (light), 100 → 107 (heavy)).
  • Shoryuken's medium aerial version has less knockback growth (121 → 112).
• Command Input Moves
  • Nata Otoshi Geri has a lower SDI multiplier (1 → 0.5).
  • Oosoto Mawashi Geri deals more damage (10% → 12% (both hits)) with knockback compensated.
  • Inazuma Kick deals more damage (6% → 10%) with shield damage compensated.

4.0.0

• Ken now turns to face opponents after perfect shielding.

Moveset

• Fighter ability: In one-on-one matches, Ken always faces his opponent.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Inazuma Kick[2] (held, far)	1.5% (hits 1 and 2)	Tapped: A jab, followed by a short straight-punch, followed by a hook. The second hit is based on Ken's Street Fighter III close medium punch. The first and second hits can be special-canceled, and are also able to lock. Held (far): Ken performs his Inazuma Kick: a double-hitting axe kick. It is somewhat hard to land both hits, as the range tends to overlap with his close variant. This move causes Ken to slightly move forward, and deals a good amount of shield damage; coupled with its ability to be followed up from Ken's unique roundhouse kicks, it is useful for shield pressure. Cannot be special-cancelled. Held (close): An uppercut similar to his held up tilt, but with significantly different properties, doing virtually no knockback and being special-cancellable. This makes it extremely potent for combos, reliably cancelling into Shoryuken even at high percents.
			5%
			6% (hits 1 and 2, held, far)
			12% (held, close)
Forward tilt			6.8% (tapped, far), 6% (tapped, close), 5% (arm), 10% (fist)	Tapped (far): The tsumasaki geri[3], a kick used in Karate. It launches the opponent diagonally upward. As with Ryu, it is good for following with a dash attack or forward aerial at low percents, and grants intangibility on his leg from frames 7-12. Cannot be special-cancelled. Tapped (close): An inward hook. Like with Ryu, the move causes the opponent to slightly shift towards Ken. The only purpose of this move is to initiate combos. Held: A straight with his left or right arm. While it is faster and deals more damage that Ryu's Collarbone Breaker, it has less range and far less shield damage. It is based on his far standing medium punch. Cannot be special-cancelled.
Up tilt			2% (tapped), 12% (held)	Tapped: The sok ngat[4], an uppercut-style elbow strike used in Muay Thai. Identical to Ryu's version. Held: An uppercut. As with Ryu, it grants his upper body intangibility from frames 4-10, making it a surprisingly effective anti-air attack and KO move.
Down tilt		Light Ankle Kick (tapped) Heavy Ankle Kick (held)	1.6% (tapped); 7% (leg, held), 5.5% (foot, held)	Tapped: A crouching, Hapkido-style shin kick. As with Ryu, it can be repeated as fast as the player can press. Any prone opponents will be lightly launched back onto their feet, allowing for longer combo strings. Held: A lunging, Hapkido-style shin kick. As with Ryu, Ken's Shoryuken combos well from this attack.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 8% (late)	A flying kick. Identical to Ryu's version.
Forward smash			16% (foot), 12% (leg)	A roundhouse kick. Unlike Ryu's forward smash, it has less range, and doesn't move him forward as much. It also has slightly less base knockback. Based on his standing heavy kick introduced in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Can cancel into his Final Smash upon hit.
Up smash			17% (clean), 13.5% (late)	Squats and then rises up to throw an uppercut. Makes his hurtbox smaller while attacking, making this a good anti-air attack. Grants intangibility on frames 3-6. Identical to Ryu's version.
Down smash			16%	A legsweep. Identical to Ryu's version.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean, bent leg), 6.5% (clean, leg/ late, bent leg), 4% (late)	A downward angled kick. While weaker than Ryu's neutral aerial, the move has increased range. The strongest hitbox is at Ken's bent leg. Hitting with it will also cause the opponent to slightly shift towards Ken, much like his close, tapped forward tilt. At mid percents, hitting clean with his bent leg will cause anyone behind Ken to move in front of him, allowing for combos into his special moves. It is based on his diagonal jumping medium kick in SFII.
Forward aerial			14% (clean sweetspot), 12% (late sweetspot), 9% (clean sourspot), 8% (late sourspot)	A flying kick. Similar to Ryu's version, though Ken's clean and weak sweetspots deal slightly less damage.
Back aerial			16% (leg), 13% (foot)	An outside crescent kick. Since Ken always faces his opponent in one-on-one matches, one must perform a reverse aerial rush in order to use it for edge-guarding.
Up aerial			6.5%	A kick straight upwards. Unlike Ryu's up aerial, it only hits once. Can cancel into any of his special moves upon hit. Based off of his neutral jumping light kick.
Down aerial			12% (grounded opponent), 15% (aerial opponent sweetspot), 11% (aerial opponent sourspot)	A downward angled cross. Identical to Ryu's.
Grab			—	Reaches out.
Pummel			1.3%	A knee strike while holding the opponent in the collar-and-elbow position. It is based on his Tsukami Hizageri (つかみ膝蹴り, "Grasping Knee Kick") throw in the Street Fighter Alpha/Zero games.
Forward throw			9%	The seoi nage[5], a Judo throw. Identical to Ryu's.
Back throw		Hell Wheel	12%	Ken performs a tomoe nage[6]. However, when he lands on his back, he uses his free foot to spring him and his opponent off the ground. He then uses the momentum from the first roll to toss them away after landing a second time on his back, thus causing him to roll backward a total of two times. This allows him to cover more distance and move closer to the edge of stages from farther away.
Up throw			8% (throw), 15% (kick)	A stretch kick transitioned into an axe kick. Identical to Ryu's version.
Down throw			3% (hit; throw)	Pins the opponent to the ground and performs a knifehand strike, much like Ryu. Deals less damage.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Kicks behind himself and then in front of himself before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Kicks around himself before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Kicks behind himself and then in front of himself before getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Performs a crouching shin kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Hadoken	4.5%, 5%, 5.5% (Standard), 5.6%, 6.2%, 6.8% (Input)	Quickly cups his hands to his side and then thrusts them forward to launch a blue ki blast from his cupped hands that deals low damage and knockback, and may cause tripping at low percents. As in the original games, Ken's Hadoken is weaker than Ryu's version. Since Ken does not have access to Shakunetsu Hadoken, he can only do two versions of the move: a small blue Hadoken (special button only), and a minutely stronger and larger inputted Hadoken (↓ ↘ → + attack/special). Combos well out of his tapped tilt attacks and aerials, and is mainly used to rack up damage due to its low damage outputs, knockback and slow speed. Both variants can cancel into his Final Smash. Like in the original Street Fighter II, Ken's Hadoken contains an image of his hands.
Side special		Tatsumaki Senpukyaku	3% (Standard, ground, hits 1 - 4), 3.4% (Input, ground, hits 1 - 4), 3% (Standard, midair, hit 1), 2% (Standard, midair, hits 2 - 4), 3.4% (Input, midair, hit 1), 2.3% (Input, midair, hits 2 - 4)	A jumping, spinning crescent kick. Unlike Ryu's version of the move, Ken's version hits multiple times, has less endlag, and doesn't grant intangibility on his leg. Also, Ken will announce the move by name whether he uses the input or not (Ryu only announces the move if it was performed via input). If all hits connect, it can deal more damage than Ryu's version. The multi-hits can also drag opponents offstage at low percents, making it effective against characters with poor recoveries. However, Ken's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku deals significantly less knockback than Ryu's, repurposing the move from a KOing option into a combo starter and combo extender. Any of the hits can be canceled into his Final Smash.
Up special		Shoryuken	13% (Standard ground, fast tap), 8%/6% (Standard ground, mid-fast tap; hits 1/hit 2), 15.6% (Input ground, fast tap), 9.6%/7.2% (Input ground, mid-fast tap; hits 1/2), 2.2%/8%/6.5% (Heavy, Standard ground; hits 1/2/3), 2.6%/9.6%/7.8% (Heavy, Input ground; hits 1/2/3)	A leaping uppercut. Ken's Shoryuken deals less knockback than Ryu's equivalent and hits at a slightly more horizontal angle. However, it deals more damage and has powerful hitboxes throughout the move (in contrast to Ryu's Shoryuken, which loses strength the longer it is out). Shoryuken can also drag enemies upwards, letting it kill earlier when close to the top. Depending on how long the button is pressed, Ken's Shoryuken will hit a different amount of times: tapping the button fast causes it to hit once, tapping the button at a mid-fast speed causes it to hit twice, and holding the button performs Heavy Shoryuken: a flaming Shoryuken that hits 3 times. Can cancel into his Final Smash.
Down special		Focus Attack	12% (Level 1), 10% (Level 2), 17% (Level 3)	Similar to Ryu's version, version, but with a spinning kick instead of a punch. Additionally, the uncharged version on grounded and aerial opponents, as well as the semi-charged and fully-charged versions on aerial opponents, launch opponents at a lower angle.
Final Smash		Shippu Jinraikyaku / Shinryuken	1.2% (hits 1 - 13), 13% (hit 14), 1% (initial hit), 3.2% (hits 1 - 4), 4% (hit 5), 4.3% (hits 6 - 10), 7% (hit 11)	Ken's Final Smash varies depending on range. At point-blank range, Ken traps the opponent with Shippu Jinraikyaku, a furious series of kicks, followed by devastating series of hurricane kicks. At any other range, Ken performs the Shinryuken, an uppercut which produces a giant pillar of fire with immense vertical range.

Roundhouse Kicks

Unique to Ken, he has two additional special moves that are performed only by input. Both moves, each being a variation of roundhouse kicks, originate from Super Street Fighter II Turbo. These moves can only be used on the ground.

• Oosoto Mawashi Geri^[7]: An outward roundhouse kick, which resembles Ryu's far, held neutral attack. The input is the same as Ryu's Shakunetsu Hadoken: a half-circle input (← ↙ ↓ ↘ → + attack/special). By holding the attack button, he will cancel it into Inazuma Kick. The Inazuma Kick deals a fair amount of shield damage, making it much riskier to block Ken during his blockstrings. He also gains intangibility on his leg for frames 7 and 8. The move does 12%, while the cancelled Inazuma Kick, deals 10%. Works well as a safe combo ender, particularly at the edge where it becomes a powerful KO option.

• Nata Otoshi Geri^[8]: A swiping crescent kick that hits twice, launching them into the air. This move uses a unique input, a reversed forward quarter-circle (→ ↘ ↓+ attack/special), that Ryu does not possess. While not always guaranteed, the attack leads into various followups and resets. Much like Oosoto Mawashi Geri, holding the attack button will cancel into Inazuma Kick (cancels after the first hit only). As with his Oosoto Mawashi Geri, the Inazuma Kick cancel deals fair shield damage. The two hits both deal 5% each, and the cancelled Inazuma Kick deals 10%.

Canceling

Ken can perform a special move out of certain normal attacks, a mechanic known in their home series as special-cancelling. By pressing the special button or doing the command input after connecting with a normal attack on hit or on shield, Ken will cancel the endlag of the normal attack and perform the move. The normal attacks that can be canceled include the first two hits of neutral attack, tapped and held down-tilt, tapped up-tilt, and proximity forward-tilt and held neutral attack. He is also capable of doing so with his aerials. Special-cancelling allows Ken to perform blockstrings and hit confirms into Shoryuken for a kill, Tatsumaki for a combo, Hadoken for safety and pressure, and his roundhouse kicks for mixups and KOs at the edge. He can also bait the opponent out with a special cancel into a Focus Attack, further increasing mixup potential.

On-screen appearance

• Walks onto the stage from some mist in the background, then gets into a fighting stance while saying "I'm ready for ya! Bring it on!". Nearly identical to Ryu's on-screen appearance.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Gives a thumbs up, saying "Yeah!" Based off of his Street Fighter Alpha winpose.
• Side Taunt: Bumps his fists together, holds his fist out, and says "Get serious!" (本気出しなよ。, Give it your all.) Based off of one of his Personal Actions in Street Fighter IV.
• Down Taunt: Does a beckoning gesture with his hand, saying "Bring it on!" (かかってきな！, Bring it on!) Based off of his introduction in Street Fighter IV.

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  Ken's up taunt.

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  Ken's side taunt.

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  Ken's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Adjusts his gloves.
• Wriggles the fingers on both hands, then crosses his arms and pumps them.

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  Ken's first idle pose

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  Ken's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Brushes his hair before giving a thumbs-up to the camera, saying "I did it!" ("やったぜ！", I did it!). Based off of his Street Fighter Alpha victory pose, which recurs throughout the series.
• Up: Punches twice, does a roundhouse kick, and raises his fist (similar to Ryu), while saying "Challenge me after some practice." In Japanese, he says "いくらでもかかってこい！" (Come at me as much as you like!), his win quote from Street Fighter II. Based off of his victory pose throughout the series, specifically his Street Fighter V variant.
• Right: Kicks twice (the first being the Nata Otoshi Geri, and the second being the Oosoto Mawashi Geri) and performs a beckoning gesture, saying "I knew I'd win! Hah!" In Japanese, he says "スパッと勝つと気持ちいいな！" (It feels good to win a spat!), one of his generic win quotes from Street Fighter V.

A remix of the victory theme from Street Fighter II.

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In competitive play

Notable players

•  Brosinex - Placed 5th at LVL Up Expo 2019, 13th at GameWorks Pre-EVO 2019, and 97th at EVO 2019.
•  DAMN. - Placed 13th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018 and 17th at Emerald City 8.
•  FSharp - Placed 25th at Shine 2019. Has wins over Riddles and Pelca.
•  Locus - Placed 7th at The Pinnacle 2019 and 13th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018.
•  Nito - One of the best Ken players in SoCal. Placed 13th at Thunder Smash 2 Arcadian singles and 25th at 2GG: SwitchFest 2019.
•  Riddles - Uses Ken as a secondary to Joker. Placed 33rd at Shine 2019 using Ken along with Richter.
•  Venom - Placed 17th at both Let's Make Moves and Defend the North 2019, 25th at Get On My Level 2019 using Ken as one of his characters.

Classic Mode: Red-Hot Rivalry

Ken's congratulations screen.

All of Ken's opponents are rivals to the main character of their franchise of origin. Because Crazy Hand represents the destruction of Master Hand’s creations, Crazy Hand is encountered in Master Hand’s place on lower difficulties.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Dark Pit	Palutena's Temple (Battlefield form)	Dark Pit's Theme
2	Wolf	Venom	Star Wolf's Theme / Sector Z (for 3DS / Wii U)
3	Dark Samus	Frigate Orpheon	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
4	Link	Temple	Great Temple / Temple
5	Luigi	Mario Bros.	Underground Theme - Super Mario Bros.
6	Ryu	Suzaku Castle (Ω form)	Ryu Stage
Bonus Stage
Final	Crazy Hand	Final Destination	Crazy Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Master Hand fights alongside Crazy Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Ken has Ken Stage accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Ken in World of Light

Although Ken does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Ken was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He can be found in Dracula's Castle behind an evil ghost; Akuma must be defeated in order to reach him.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
60ε		Ken	Neutral	10,600	Boxing Ring (Ω form)	Ken Stage

Spirits

Ken's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Ken in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic.

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  978. Ken

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
602	File:JackLevin.png	Jack Levin	F-Zero series	•Ken •Wii Fit Trainer (×3)		8,800	Big Blue (Battlefield form)	•Sudden Final Smash	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Dream Chaser
766		Kazuhira Miller	Metal Gear Solid series	•Ken •Snake (×3)		9,600	Midgar (Battlefield form)	•Attack Power ↑	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Timed battle •The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage	Encounter
942	File:Don Flamenco Spirit.png	Don Flamenco	Punch-Out!! series	•Ken		3,600	Boxing Ring	N/A	•The enemy's up special has increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors up specials	Vega Stage
996	File:Dan Hibiki.png	Dan	Street Fighter series	•Ken		1,600	Suzaku Castle (Ω form)	•Jump Power ↓	•Stamina battle •The enemy loves to taunt •All fighters have reduced jump power	E. Honda Stage Type A
1,197		Munchy Monk	Rythm Heaven series	•Ken •Tiny Kirby (×3)		1,500	Spirit Train	Item: Food	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors up specials •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Fruit Basket

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Ken's splash art.

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  Ken's amiibo.

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  Ken's fighter card.

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  Ken on Coliseum.

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  With King K. Rool, Diddy Kong, and Donkey Kong on Tortimer Island.

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  Alongside Koume on Gerudo Valley.

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  Using Focus Attack on Wario on Onett.

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  Using Hadoken on Luigi on Mario Galaxy.

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  Unleashing Shinryuken on Final Destination.

Trivia

• Ken's pose in his official artwork is much like the pose in his Street Fighter III artwork.
  • It also resembles Ryu's pose in his Smash 4 artwork, only mirrored.
• Ken's attack on Wario's motorcycle in the character showcase video is a reference to the car smashing mini-game from the Street Fighter II games.
• Ken's inclusion makes Street Fighter the second third-party universe to have more than one representative, after Castlevania.
  • Ken is also the second third-party Echo Fighter.
  • Additionally, Ken is the first Echo Fighter based on a third-party veteran, as Richter debuted alongside Simon.
  • Ken is the second clone to debut in their home series in the same game as the base fighter, after Falco in Melee, who debuted in Star Fox alongside Fox.
    • Coincidentally, they are the only two fighters who can fight a lone Crazy Hand in Classic Mode.
• Ken is the second newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to be from a franchise that had its first character introduced in Super Smash Bros. 4, and the only one to be from a DLC-introduced franchise. His inclusion also makes Street Fighter the second franchise with a single character in Smash 4 to receive another playable character, the first for both instances being Animal Crossing.
• Ken is the first character revealed for Ultimate to share a reveal trailer with a character not from the same franchise, having been revealed in the same trailer as Incineroar.
• Ken's showcase of Shippu Jinraikyaku after a successful parry in his reveal trailer is a reference to "Evo Moment 37" (sometimes referred to as the "Daigo Parry"), a famous portion of an EVO 2004 match between top Street Fighter III players Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara.
• Ken and Richter are the only Echo Fighter newcomers with a CGI trailer as well as the only one with CGI footage for their splash art. Daisy did not have either, while Chrom and Dark Samus had only gameplay footage for their trailers and their official artwork for their splash arts.
  • Unlike Richter, Ken’s trailer can be played on his fighter page on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site.
• Interestingly, Ken's appearance in Ultimate marks the fourth time in any game where his eye color is blue opposing to the usual brown after Street Fighter X Tekken and Street Fighter IV.
• With the inclusion of his Roundhouse Kicks, Ken has a total of six unique special moves at once, making him the only character in the series with this distinction.
  • This also makes him the character with the most amount of special moves that can't be used in midair, the number being 2.
• Ken is one of the few characters who speaks while teetering: he voices a surprised "Uh oh!".
• Ken is the only character who speaks when he grab releases an opponent, voicing a quick "Whoops!".
• Ken has the third highest amount of voice clips for any character in the game, with 62 clips. Kirby and Joker are the only characters who have a higher amount, with 97 and 98 total clips, respectively (counting the clips from the Phantom Thieves of Heart).
  • Strangely, his Star KO clip is unavailable in his sound library, making him the only fighter with this distinction.
• Ken and Mario are the only characters that possess the Neutral typing when unlocking them in World of Light.
• Ken, Dr. Mario, Ivysaur, Greninja, Little Mac, Ryu, Cloud, Dark Samus, and Olimar are the only characters to never appear as minions in any Spirit battles.

Notes

2.^  "Inazuma" translates into "Lightning"

3.^  translates into "Toe Kick"

4.^  translates into "Uppercut Elbow"

5.^  translates into "Shoulder Throw"

6.^  translates into "Circle Throw"

7.^  translates into "Big Outer Roundhouse Kick"

8.^  translates into "Hatchet Dropping Kick"