Ken (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

This article is about Ken's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For other uses, see Ken Masters.

“	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.	”
—Description from the Super Smash Blog.

Ken
Universe	Street Fighter
Shares slot with	Ryu
Availability	Echo Fighter Unlockable
Final Smash	Shinryuken / Shippu Jinraikyaku
Tier	B- (45)
Character Statistics
Number of Jumps	2
Character Stats
Weight	Middleweight
Voice Actors
Voiced by (English)	Reuben Langdon
Voiced by (Japanese)	Yūji Kishi

Ken is a newcomer fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is an Echo Fighter of Ryu. He was confirmed during the November 1st, 2018 Smash Direct.

When unlocked, he is fought at the Punch-Out version of Boxing Ring, much like Little Mac.

Attributes

Strengths

• Good movement speed on the ground.
• Command inputs allow for stronger special moves.
• Great combo ability and confirms in weaker move variations.
• Good kill option in Heavy Shoryuken.

Weaknesses

• Most kills require setup.
• Precise inputs can be difficult to keep consistent.
• Slow and predictable recovery options open up easy gimping.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack: Tapped: A jab, followed by a short straight-punch, followed by a hook. Held (far): Ken performs his Inazuma Kick: a double hitting axe kick. Held (close): An uppercut.
• Forward Tilt: Tapped (far): The tsumasaki geri, a kick used in Karate. Tapped (close): An inward hook. Held: A straight with his left or right arm.
• Up Tilt: Tapped: The sok ngat, an uppercut-style elbow strike used in Muay Thai. Held: An uppercut.
• Down Tilt: Tapped: A crouching, Hapkido-style shin kick. Held: A lunging, Hapkido-style shin kick.
• Dash Attack: A flying kick.

Smash Attacks

• Forward Smash: A roundhouse kick.
• Up Smash: Squats and then rises up to throw an uppercut.
• Down Smash: A legsweep.

Other attacks

• Floor Attack (Front): Kicks behind himself and then in front of himself before getting up.
• Floor Attack (Back): Kicks around himself while getting up.
• Floor Attack (Trip): Kicks behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
• Ledge Attack: Performs a crouching shin kick while climbing up.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial: A downward angled kick.
• Forward aerial: A flying kick.
• Back aerial: An outside crescent kick.
• Up aerial: A kick straight upwards.
• Down Aerial: A downward-angled cross.

Grabs and Throws

• Grab: Reaches out with his hand.
• Pummel: A knee strike while holding the opponent in the collar-and-elbow position.
• Forward Throw: The seoi nage, a Judo throw.
• Back Throw: Rolls backward twice before performing the tomoe nage.
• Up Throw: A stretch kick transitioned into an axe kick.
• Down Throw: Pins the opponent to the ground and performs a knifehand strike.

Special Moves

Ken's Special Moves
	Ultimate
Standard Special	Hadoken
Side Special	Tatsumaki Senpukyaku
Up Special	Heavy Shoryuken
Down Special	Focus Attack
Final Smash	Shinryuken/Shippu Jinraikyaku

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Ken did this when he was interviewed in his reveal trailer. He faces the screen, and announces "Yeah!" while giving a thumbs-up. This is based off of his winning pose in Street Fighter Alpha.
• Down Taunt: Ken moves his finger towards himself, beckoning towards himself while saying "Bring it on!". Resembles his Street Fighter IV intro along with his quote.
• Side Taunt: Ken catches his fist in his hand and points forward, saying "Get serious!" Based off of his unique intro with Ryu in certain games, matching the latter's own side taunt. The quote itself comes from Ken's fifth Personal Action in Street Fighter IV.

Victory Poses

1. Ken brushes his hair before giving a thumbs-up to the camera, saying, "I did it!" This was his recurring win quote in the series, debuting in Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
2. Ken punches twice, before doing a roundhouse kick similar to his forward Smash, saying, "Challenge me after some practice." The Japanese version has him say, "Come at me as much as you like!" This is based off his winning quote from Street Fighter II.
3. Ken kicks twice (the first being the Nata Otoshi Geri kick and the second being the Oosoto Mawashi Geri kick) and performs a beckoning gesture, saying, "I knew I would win! Hah!" In Japanese, his quote is changed to, "It feels good to win a spat!" This is based off one of his generic win quotes from Street Fighter V and is based off his victory pose throughout the series, specifically his Street Fighter V variant.

In competitive play

To be added.

Classic Mode: Red-Hot Rivalry

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.

Role in World of Light

Although Ken does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was one of the characters (aside from Kirby, who had managed to escape) to be captured by Galeem.

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.

Palette Swaps

Trivia

• Ken is the only Echo Fighter to have received a cinematic reveal trailer, unlike Richter Belmont.

Gallery

Ken's splash screen. Ken Turns Up the Heat!

Ken’s speed compared to Ryu’s.

Ken along with Toon Link in the Suzaku Castle stage.

Videos

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Clash of Flames - Nintendo Switch

60ᵋ Ken – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate