SNK VS. Capcom: Chaos/Character Ken Masters FAQ

SNK VS. Capcom: Chaos/Character Ken Masters FAQ
Started on: December 16, 2003
Latest Update: February 23, 2004
Version 1.0
By: [email protected]

This FAQ is copyright of [email protected]. SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos and Ken
Masters are copyrights of Capcom, SNK, and Playmore. This FAQ is for personal
use only, and cannot be altered, printed or distributed for commercial reasons.
Anyone who I find violating this will be punished to the full extent of the law.

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Table of Contents
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I. The Endless Debate: Who is the best Shoto?
A. Strength
B. Speed
C. Vitality
D. Combo-ability
E. Fireball
F. Hurricane Kick
G. Dragon Punch
H. Style
I. Life
J. In the end...
II. Ken's Bio
A. Ken's History
B. Ken's Vital Statistics
III. Move Descriptions
A. Special Normal Attacks
B. Special Moves
C. Super Moves
D. Exceed Moves
IV. General Strategy
V. Combos
VI. Quotes
VII. Misc. Information/Rants
VIII. Credits

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Mission Statement
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To make it abundantly clear why I like to use Ken and how to use him in general.

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I. The Endless Debate: Who is the best Shoto?
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Because I'm very partial to Ken, I'm more than willing to debate anyone who
believes that Akuma or even Ryu (blech) is a better shotokan fighter. What it
comes down to is an efficiency rating and a move by move analysis of the three
challengers. All worthy contenders, but I'll explain why Ken comes out on top.

A. Strength
Akuma wins this category hands down. The fighter with murderous intent
completely dominates in a strength perspective. Ryu and Ken are equals in this
part, each one's basic moves doing the same amount of damage against a common
foe.

B. Speed
Again, Akuma comes out strong in this category. Ken is almost as fast, but not
quite. Ryu had better get his slow ass in gear! In a test of moves, walking
speed, dashes, combos and jumps, the evil shoto pulls through with Ken close
behind.

C. Vitality
This is a test of endurance for a shoto's life bar. This is Ryu's category.
He can take hits pretty well for his size. Ken is next. Akuma is awful in
this category. He can deal the damage, but he obviously can't take it.

D. Combo-ability
Akuma and Ken are close contenders for winning this, but Akuma is victorious
just barely. Ryu can combo, but they tend to be slower and smaller chains that
aren't as effective as his keep away game.

E. Fireball
Akuma clearly dominates with a strong aerial fireball and fast ground fireball.
Ryu's Hadouken is a close second, but only because he lacks the air projectile.
Ken is last, with a slower fireball, but this is honestly hardly noticeable.
In a fireball war, Ken seems to be able to easily cancel out Ryu's attack with
no danger of ever being struck. He does have a slight bit more reaction time,
however, but this is usually never a problem.

F. Hurricane Kick
Ryu's Tatsumaki Sempuu Kyaku just plain sucks. It strikes once, does mediocre
damage, is slow as hell, and leaves him extremely vulnerable. Akuma's makes
life easier with an unparalleled combo-ability, sending the opponent into the
air and helpless before a Goushoryuken. Ken's is fast, with good priority and
nice damage (especially chip), but does not knock down an enemy even on full
contact. Each one is different for a specific playing style. Akuma's for a
strong combo, Ken's for a breather and putting the heat on an opponent, and
Ryu's for a one hit wonder.

G. Dragon Punch
Ken wins this category, no contest. First of all, Shoryukens and Goushoryukens
should be used strictly as a light punch move, with an exception in combos.
The light punch versions are stronger, faster, and leave the shotokan far less
vulnerable. That being said, Ken wins this section, no contest. There are
many misconceptions about what makes Ken's Shoryuken better than Akuma's or
Ryu's. Many rumors are spread over the internet from people who have no idea
what they're talking about. "Ryu has strength and priority, Ken has combo and
reach, Akuma has strength and reach." All wrong. In the light punch versions,
Akuma does more damage, while Ken and Ryu do the SAME damage. In the heavy
punch versions, Ken does the most damage with Akuma next and Ryu last. In any
case, Ken's general move counter has several things going for it. It's faster.
The attack frames start up faster than Ryu's or Akuma's do. This means that in
a Shoryuken wake up match fight, Ken's will interrupt the others. It's so fast
that it can easily be abused. If the opponent blocks his uppercut and tries to
counter, he's got another uppercut waiting for him. It's also got better
priority. Ken's Shoryuken is invincible on startup, snuffing any other move
out. It's also got greater range. Not only does Ken move horizontally more,
his hit area is larger, meaning that his punch is more versatile. It's also
got practically no reaction time. The move is extremely difficult to counter.
Ken can pump them out one right after the other.

H. Style
Akuma is a very aggressive destroyer who annihilates foes with a flurry of
powerful attacks. He practically never plays defensively and moves with the
intention of constant bombardment. Ken is similar, but can afford to take a
breather now and again. He will pound and punish enemies who turtle and can
tear apart an opponent in a close range fight. Ryu is a defensive player who
waits out his opponents into making mistakes and then punishes them brutally.

I. Life
I like Ken's style simply because he's passionate. His Shoryuken burns with
inner fire. He's an aggressive fighter, preferring close range combat to
projectile wars and can easily punish someone who tries. Self-confident,
charming, and rich, he knows that he's good and he doesn't mind showing off a
little. Akuma is an evil murderous legendary fighter who is shrouded in
darkness. His quest is to find an opponent who can beat him, and he will crush
anyone who cannot. Ryu is the "chosen one" type character who believes there
is nothing but the fight. He is on a quest to become the world's strongest and
that is all he lives for.

J. In the end...
Ken simply rocks. The Shoryuken is one of the deadliest moves and his owns all.
His fireball is his only weakness, but the way Ken should be played there's
hardly any need for Hadoukens. He should be up close and personal... in the
face if your opponent. The guy, in addition to being the best shoto fighter
in my opinion, also is someone that people can relate to. He's an awesome
fighter, but he's got a life too. He has a gorgeous wife, Eliza, and a son,
Mel. He's rich and smug, but in a playful and friendly way. He's far more
dimensional than Ryu's flat character and Akuma's evil character. For me,
Ken's style wins out. I've been playing with him for so long that playing with
Ryu now feels very awkward. He's just so bulky and slow! Those that can't tell
the difference obviously do not know how to play as Ken.

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II. Ken's Bio
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Now that you've decided to give Ken a try, here's a little more info about him.

A. Ken's History
Street Fighter's storyline is ambiguous at best and there are so many plot holes
that it is difficult to decide how to even begin. Amongst the television
series, the animated movie, alpha movie, regular games, alpha games, crossover
titles, there remains the skeleton of some barely extractable coherent story.
For certain it is known that it all began in with the original Street Fighter,
or Fighting Street. Ken was the clone of Ryu, formed for the specific purpose
of testing a player's ability against oneself, since the only selectable player
in the game was Ryu. Ken was in the finals with him and was beaten. Ryu
progressed to beat Sagat. At this time it is established that Ken trained in
the same dojo as Ryu, sent there by his family to learn value and discipline
(he was a little reckless).

Street Fighter II came about, allowing the player to select Ken, but he was the
exact same character as Ryu. There was no difference whatsoever between the
two. That changed with a modification of the title, Street Fighter II: The
New Challengers. Along with the introduction of Cammy White and Dee Jay,
Capcom made some slight differences between Ryu and Ken. Ken's Fierce Punch
Shoryuken set opponents aflame and had more reach, while his Tatsumaki Sempuu
Kyaku hit multiple times. Ryu's obtained the Shakunetsu Hadouken that could
knock down enemies and burn them into nothing. In Street Fighter II, Ken was
the reckless lazy American guy who went through the same Shotokan training as
Ryu. By this time, he had met his girlfriend, Eliza, and allowed his training
to whittle away as he spent his time with her. Once he heard that Ryu was
competing in the next Street Fighter tournament, he took up his training again.
It is never stated exactly how everyone did in the tournament. Street Fighter
II: The Animated Movie shows the combined efforts of Ryu and Ken beating M.
Bison (Vega). Ken's ending shows him finally tying the knot with Eliza.

Street Fighter Alpha was where the differences between Ryu and Ken became
abundantly obvious. This series took place as a prequel, before both Street
Fighter I and II. Ken was the tough talking showy reckless guy with a sense of
humor while Ryu was the sturdy and serious fighter with nothing to lose.
Capcom made Ken faster and his combos flashier, and left Ryu the way he was.
This series also introduced Akuma (and Shin Akuma) into the picture. Evil Ryu
was created as well, a version of Ryu that embraced the Dark Hadou. This is
where the story gets really confusing because supposedly Ryu overcomes the
murderous intent of the Dark Hadou and moves on. The game of Street Fighter
Alpha has a mode where both Ryu and Ken fight and beat Bison (Vega) together.
So... did Bison get beaten by both of them during Alpha or during II? Or was
he beaten by both of them in both games? Confused yet? This was by far the
greatest incarnation of Ken, to the point where he was almost overpowered. He
was as quick as Akuma and stronger than Ryu. His Shoryureppa was lightning
fast, swept across the screen quickly, had great priority, and did insane
damage. His Shoryuken did massive damage as well. His fireballs were as fast
as Ryu's, but they weren't as strong and he lacked the red fireball. His only
weakness was his vitality, which was still largely higher than that of Akuma.
I always have the best time playing as Ken in Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Street Fighter II V, an anime series in Japan, was supposed to take place
before Alpha. This shows Chun Li as a love interest to Ken and also explains
Ken's development of the Shinryuken (What they called HadouShoryuken). Again,
this series ended with the combination of Ken and Ryu defeating Bison (Vega).
You'd think that he'd learn by now that both of them together can beat him?
This series possibly should be completely disregarded because it created so
many problems with the storyline, although it's a shame since the series had a
stronger development than in the game.

X-men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 were all crossovers that added more confusion to the Street
Fighter storyline. In some cases the scenarios that unfolded were dreams of
Ken or an actual game that Ken was playing with his son, Mel (revealed in an
ending).

Sooo... there leaves Street Fighter III, which I know very little about except
for the fact that Bison is finally given a break and the Shotos are still the
same people they've always been, Ken now a family man.

That about wraps it up. The Capcom vs. SNK series completely screws everything
up so I won't even go there. I do know that the Masters Corporation had
supposedly contributed to the tournament funds, but that's the extent of my
knowledge. Crossovers were more created for the fun of seeing different
fighters duking it out and are best left out of the story (after all, there was
a young Terry with a Rock Howard? Yeesh).

B. Ken's Vital Statistics

Name: Ken Masters

Birthday: February 14, 1965

Game List: Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition, Street
Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street
Fighter EX, Street Fighter EX 2, Street Fighter EX 3, Street Fighter Alpha 1,
Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III: New
Generation, Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, Street Fighter III: Third Strike,
Pocket Fighter, X-men VS Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes VS Street Fighter,
Marvel VS Capcom 2, Capcom VS SNK, Capcom VS SNK 2, SNK VS Capcom Chaos, Super
Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo, Street Fighter 2010, Fighting Street

Family: Eliza and Mel

Place of Birth: USA

Birthdate: 2-14-1965

Height: 5' 10"

Bust: 44"
Waist: 32"
Hips: 33"

Blood Type: B

Fighting Style: Shotokan Karate

Sensei: Gouken (Killed by his brother, Akuma)

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III. Move Descriptions
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A. Special Normal Attacks

Kurubushi Kick (Down + Back + Strong Kick)-
Ken's longer range crouching light kick. Comes out fast and hits harder than
its brethren, doing more damage and also pushing Ken further away upon striking.
It has great range and can easily comboed into. A solid kick that allows for
continuing combos and follow up attacks.

Inazuma Kakato Wari (Forward + Weak Kick)-
This is Ken's axe kick, designed as an overhead move. This will strike over
an opponent's crouching block. Slow startup, but does good damage (about as
much as a Hard Punch or Kick). Its a good mix up move that can take some
more inexperienced players by surprise. Limited usefulness, but essential to
have. The fact of the matter is, Ken has better kick variants down the line
because all can potentially turn into this move. Just hold down the kick
button when performing the Kama Barai Geri, Nata Otoshi Geri, and Oosoto
Mawashi Geri and it will turn into this overhead after the first hit.

Kama Barai Geri (Half Circle Forward + Weak Kick)-
A standard in to out kick. Can be used to mix things up in your kick seletion,
but it isn't very effective except when comboed into from a Standing Stong
Punch. Otherwise it is pretty worthless unless transformed into the Inazuma
Kakato Wari.

Nata Otoshi Geri (Half Circle Forward + Strong Kick)-
A standard high roundhouse kick. Not a lot more to say about it other than that.
Some use in obscure comboes. Hits twice for double the goodness.

Oosoto Mawashi Geri (Half Circle Forward + Both Kicks)-
Similar to that of the Inazuma Kakato Wari, this move is an overhead attack, but
it also hits twice and spins first.

B. Special Moves

Hadouken (Quarter Circle Forward + Punch)-
Standard fireball with medium startup and speed. The strength of the button
pressed determines the speed of the wave punch. This is a staple for most
characters and is nice to have as a backup, but Ken should by no means
whatsoever rely on this move. It can be used to force the opponent to make a
move or block, but otherwise it should be rarely seen from Ken.

Shoryuken (Forward, Down, Down Forward + Punch)-
Yay! This is Ken's move! The badassness of all badassity, this move owns.
Well, it used to anyway. Still high priority and ranged, the punch has been
toned down from its otherwise unbeatable state. The Weak Punch version of this
move should be abused since it does good damage, has insane priority, and an
invincibility frame. It moves coves more ground (more than Ryu anyway) and is
extremely quick, difficult to counter. Great to surprise a waking opponent.
If they do anything other than block, they're done. The Strong Punch version
sets the opponent aflame. Always a fan favorite, this move does the most
damage out of any General Move Counter. It should only be reserved for moments
that you're willing to show off or that you're certain that it will connect. If
it doesn't, then be prepared for a brutal counter. The best way is to hit
airborne opponents jumping in. Oftentimes they are surprised by the range of
the uppercut. It flies halfway across the screen.

Tatsumaki Sempuu Kyaku (Quarter Circle Back + Kick)-
The Hurricane Kick has always been a staple of the Shoto, but its strength lies
more in maneuverability than in offensive tactics. The move can be comboed into
quite easily and it has the property to fly over fireballs (very good counter
in fact because the move's range is a slight bit less than a full screen).
Damage is okay, but not anything special. The air Hurricane Kick, however, is
very very helpful in both escaping and approaching. When used in the air, Ken
is much safer than otherwise. First of all, he is performing a striking move,
any attack against him has the possiblity of being snuffed. Secondly, he can
travel much further in a shorter amount of time. Thirdly, he moves much faster
in the air (so much so that some counters miss, leaving the opponent very
vulnerable. The range and speed has been toned down by SNK, but it still
remains a good tactic to use in the air.

C. Super Moves

Shippu Jinrai Kyaku (Quarter Circle Back, Quarter Circle Back + Kick)-
Ah, the move is no longer a Level 3 MAX Combo. Ken performs four grounded kicks
while moving forward and ends with a rising Hurricane Kick. This is probably
Ken's best super in SNK Vs. Capcom, just because of its versatility. It deals
good damage (half a life bar) and is fast. High priority and invincibility
frames are what we like and this move has both. It can easily be used to take
out poking games. The move actually does stretch almost across the entire
screen since the last kick has such good range. It can strike opponent's stuck
in recovery animation. This move will only do the full damage to a grounded
opponent, so make certain that it's timed right. Also, it has a tendency to
leave Ken extremely vulnerable at the end of it... this is pretty much its only
weakness. Be careful.

Shoryureppa (Quarter Circle Forward, Quarter Circle Forward + Punch)-
Ken's standard super, the Rising Dragon Wave consists of three Shoryuken's in
a row, each flying higher than the previous, and the last set aflame. It does
slightly (and I mean very very very slight) more damage than the Shippu Jinrai
Kyaku, but lacks in range. In fact, it only lasts until a little past a half
screen's distance. There are still invincibility frames and high priority.
This move also leaves Ken wide open if blocked, so be cautious with it. Make
certain he hits something.

D. Exceed Moves

Shinryuken (Quarter Circle Forward, Quarter Circle Forward + Both Kicks)-
This is Ken's famous Super turned MAX. Ken performs a spinning flaming high
flying Dragon Punch that annhiliates the opposition. Devastating damage (full
health bar) with high priority and a small window of invincibility. The vacuum
of the move has been toned down, so it's much easier to miss with this move.
Overall, it's probably better to stick with Supers unless you're absolutely,
positively certain that this thing will hit. Otherwise, it'll be a huge wasted
opportunity. The move does look damn cool, though. Mashing the buttons will
gather more hits and help Ken do more damage. Ken players are known for
mashing like mad while performing a Shinryuken. Get as many hits in as you can!

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IV. General Strategy
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SNK toned Ken down a bit in this game. His Shoryuken seems a little bit more
sluggish on the way down, easier to punish. His Shoryureppa has lost pretty
much all usefulness. They got rid of his roll (Zenpou Tenshin) and Ryusenkyaku!
Ack! His Rib Smasher (Forward + Strong Kick) is gone. Still, even with these
changes, Ken is a major contender in the tournament and can battle with the best
of them.

As a principle, Ken players should not use the Hadouken liberally. Not only is
it lame and uninteresting, it does not take advantage of Ken's versatility as a
fighter. Since it is his weakest move, it is also the easiest to exploit. His
best game is mid to close range (leaning more towards close range). This is
where he can do the most damage.

Basically, Ken should always be played aggressively. His "in-your-face"
fighting style is one that ensures the opponent never has time to breathe.
When he's not nailing hits and combos, he's chipping away and corner trapping.
Abuse his Weak Punch Shoryuken. Only use the Hadoken to give yourself some
breathing room or chip a waking up opponent. The Tatsumaki Sempuu Kyaku should
be used while jumping for greater mobility and faster movement. You can cross
up with the jumping Strong Kick. Ken's versatile arsenal of kicks allows him
to mix up opponents and confuse counters.

ALL of Ken's supers are extremely punishable if whiffed or blocked. They leave
him wide open and airborne. Bad news. SNK compensated by making his supers
also incredibly easy to combo into and connect with. Every one of them has
invincibility frames and high priority. Use this to your advantage.

Shoryureppa now sucks. To make up for this, SNK made the Shippu Jinrai Kyaku a
regular super combo. This hard hitting move should be the super of choice and
used to punish foot games and blocked/missed specials. It is also incredibly
easy to combo into it from any jumping attack. The Shinryuken is now the Exceed
move. Great to use as a wake up or dash in move and it does great damage. It
has been toned down somewhat in that it's "vacuum" effect" is not as strong
and whiffing the move is all the more dangerous.

Some interesting things to note include that Ken's Crouching or Standing Heavy
Punch can be canceled into any Special or Super Move (including the kick
variants). On the flip side, the Shoryuken can be comboed from the respective
strength punch (aerial and grounded). This helps string relatively simple, yet
devastating combinations. The Kurubushi Kick has an interesting property in
that it can be cancelled into the Shoryuken or Tatsumaki Sempuu Kyaku. This
means that by implementing simple knowledge, easy but hard hitting comboes can
be easily created on the spot. Taking all of the variables above, one could
jump in with a Strong Punch, combo into a Standing Strong Punch, cancel into
a Kurubushi Kick, and cancel into a Tatsumaki Sempuu Kyaku. A decent little
combo that can work wonders.

In Max mode, Ken's Geri kicks can all be cancelled into a Hurricane kick. The
Shoryuken can be cancelled into a Shoryureppa. This makes comboing incredibly
easy in Max mode. For example, Ken can perform a Jumping Strong Punch into a
Standing Strong Punch, Cancel into a Strong Shoryuken, and cancel into a
Shoryureppa. Every little bit counts and this combo does some tasty damage.

Strike hard and strike fast! This is Ken's specialty. Pummel the opponent into
a corner and trap them. Don't give them time to breathe. Their health bar
will be gone by the time you know it.

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V. Combos
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Coming soon! (work in progress)

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VI. Quotes
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Coming soon!

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VII. Miscellaneous Information/Rants
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1. Ken has blonde hair and black eyebrows. Its always been this way and I
have no idea what it means. There are some accounts that say that Ken is half
Japanese, his mother's side being so, but that still does not make any sort of
sense as to why Ken would have black eyebrows. *shrug*

2. Ken finally has a Dark version of himself! How long I've waited for this
moment! Ironically enough, it was SNK that did it and not Capcom. I REFUSE to
call him Violent Ken, although that's his real name. I don't even like "Evil
Ken." My preferred name for him is Dark Ken and I can't wait to learn to use
him. Whether he embraced the Dark Hadou, was somehow infused with Psycho power,
or obtained Orochi blood, is never really explained.

3. In Capcom vs. SNK 2 animations before the fight, Ken speaks Japanese to
Terry and English to Ryu. Little weird. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
(Yeah, I know Terry speaks Japanese and Ryu speaks English, but still)

4. Morrigan isn't in SNK vs. Capcom. This is a travesty. She's always been
one of my favorites and if Capcom's not going to make a new sprite for her, then
I was hoping SNK would.

5. When Demitri uses Midnight Bliss to turn Ken into a woman, he becomes a
blonde chick in a wedding dress? Either that or a white formal gown. Maybe
he's supposed to turn into an Eliza look-alike.

6. Ken's name actually means an upper body strike (hence hadouKEN and
shoryuKEN) in Japanese. Ryu's means Dragon (why Sho RYU KEN means Rising Dragon
Punch).

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VIII. Credits
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Thanks to SNK, Capcom, and Gamefaqs!
Thanks to you for reading this!
Thanks to Vincent/Willard!
MarimbaMadMike, Flashfire3296, Andwoo.