SFV KEN vol1 EnglishVER

At first this sentence is written about 2monthes ago.
This is just a "first impression" of SFV-KEN.
I already written the new one by Japanese with some movies.
Prease wait translation, soon!!
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ino_vs Ken

Translator's disclaimer:

I really want to thank Ino for the opportunity to translate his insightful articles into English. This is my first translation of Ino's SFV-articles. Even though this is not the first article he published, I personally chose this one as a starting point, mainly because I main Ken in this game. If given the opportunity I would also like to translate his preceding articles.

Since neither Japanese nor English are my mother tongue there might be some mistakes in this translation, even though Ino went above and beyond to explain Japanese fighting game concepts and terminology I struggled with. If you find anything that does not make sense or is wrong please feel free to contact me @hige_daimyo.

ーーーーーーーーーINTRODUCTIONーーーーーーーーーー

It’s been roughly 2 weeks (?) since SFV has been released. Are you enjoying the atmosphere of the chaos that comes along with a new release?

I really enjoy the feeling of a new game where by recklessly progressing with 8 characters at the same time I couldn't really get into deep matches.

Now, this mutual feeling of “I wanna beat you” and presenting competing ideas is a special kind of mash up only new games have.

On the other hand, I've been holding back on updates out of fear that it might be a little careless of me to spoil people's fun of exploring the game by carrying out those really long-term guides and by suddenly displaying crappy moves which are fun to explore and which I've been grinding out since the betas.

Still, after all, information came together, a foundation has been created to talk to some extend about long term game plans and different factors became present which brings me to updating this tutorial series once again.

With this, I close my introduction.

ーーーーーーーーーTOPICーーーーーーーーーー

Today I'm going to introduce a character which I feel has come a little too late.

Still, I want the content of this to not be too late, so I'm going to do a presentation based on data I gathered in the two weeks since the release.

I think that through the content I’m going to showcase, which will possibly be helpful and in which I take some pride, that SFV's core itself will be visible.

First, we have Ken

ーーーーーーーーーA FEW BRIEF WORDSーーーーーーーーーー

Ken is, in a word,
"a top-tier character without a script".

By “script” I mean that for example Birdie and others always have a script for all ranges they're standing in.

At long range you drink soda.

At mid range you mash far reaching moves.

In other words, rather than having a “clear win pattern”,

it’s more precisely about “approaching and dealing with the opponent without depending on him and having a strong movement in order to control the opponent“.

Ken doesn't have such a script.

To stretch it a little, when it comes to advancing with light fireball,to correctly move forward after the fireball one has to thoroughly practice.

This existence or nonexistence of a script is especially important at tournaments and immediately after release and determines whether I have to do the hard work or I’m going to force the opponent to do the work.

Still, as I said in the beginning: Ken may have lost his script but through this became even stronger.

He plays by the script of the opponent, accepts the choice made by the opponent and throws it back at him and despite all that stands even taller in the end.

This is Ken.

ーーーーーーーーーA DETAILED EXPLANATIONーーーーーーーーーー

The opponents script,

basically, how the opponent follows the supposed story of his expected win,and even succeeds.

This should of course not be the common story,
since Ken has a variety of possible moves
which he can choose from depending on the range

ーーーFAR RANGEーーー

The theory is that from this range you mainly spray projectiles on the screen.

Unlike SFIV, moves that absorb projectiles, like a focus attack, are few and also weak, so at first both players just spray projectiles.

Furthermore, when speaking of comparisons to SFIV,since dashes are fast, anti airs are strong and jumping is bad,

it is now possible to use a new moving pattern of “light hadouken -> go for a dash -> cut down a jumping opponent”

Since the opponent basically has no choice but to
nullify  the projectileblockgo through the projectile etc.,
this is one of the few situations where Ken can of his own accord force his script on to the opponent

Still, the level of difficulty on Ken’s side is pretty high

If Ken is doing a hadouken, he has to confirm (i.e. read), whether the opponent is going to go through the projectile.      
If Ken is going for a dash, he has to confirm the opponents counter measures.
If Ken is fishing for anti airs, he has to use ex tatsu against neutral jumps and shoryuken against forward jumps.On the ground he has to capitalize on the frame advantage
if the opponent destroys his fireball.If the opponent blocks, he has to make use of the opportunity to create a new plot.

This and other situations all demand instant judgment and reads.

Furthermore,
against characteristic moves of opponents

certain advantageous situations occur (eg. to accurately sting with an ex tatsu or go for a second dash through read) where you have to have knowledge or experience in order to capitalize.

ーーーMID RANGEーーー

This is a range where your projectiles can get avoided or where you eat a jump attack.

Since Ken’s fireballs are weaker than Ryu’s
it would be unreasonable to try to get by by aggressively using hadouken/shoryuken.

Also since his ground moves are not long enough to really force the opponent to do something, it's not possible to come up with a simple win pattern for Ken at this range.

If I’m forced to say something,

doing a backstep and create a space where Ken can use a lp.hadouken is a way to shift this story’s focus back to Ken,

but it is by no means a powerful move to make.

At this range Ken is required to put his all into ripping the opponents script apart head-on.

But even though I’m saying “head-on”,

there are a lot of “forbidden” things you can do but,
in the end those shenanigans are just shenanigans.

Since it is not possible to use what’s on the bargaining table if you don’t know the contents,

from this range too you have to be in possession of an understanding of what to do against the opponents script itself, knowledge of countermeasures and ways to play dirty tricks/shenanigans to wreck the opponent in order to be able to fight back.

Otherwise you can go by the script and die thinking
"the reach of his kicks is not far enough, his fireball is way too weak and his anti airs only cover the front“.

I’m going to list a few of the moves I think Ken should use at mid range:

・dash into lp
・air tatsu
・poke st/cr.mp
・anti air cr.hp
・lk.tatsu and cr.lk as punishes
・a simple/honest jump-in
・spam hadouken
・sweeppoke
・cr.mk buffered into tatsumk target combo

Basically tear apart the opponents script while combining all these things.

When it comes to (vertical) pokes, jumps and dashes
they don’t make much difference while anticipating/reading the opponent.

Still, Ken has some things where his characteristic strengths lie in, of which I want to showcase a few.

- DASH INTO LP -

His 19 frames rush move

which he can convert a combo from if hit at close range
and should be used even when blocked since it leaves him at an advantage.

If you think about it, shouldn’t you go for this?

- AIR TATSU -

SFV's forbidden dark technique

If a dp whiffs further away

You have a far reaching combo of crush counter st.hk into v-skill, followed by medium tatsu into ex shoryu.

On the other hand, even when dealing with normal anti airs you will send the opponent straight into hell.

I find it hard to comprehend what they thought while designing it.

Well, it’s too late now, I guess.

- AA NORMALS -

In general, strong anti airs knock you down after you get hit.

Because of the different quick rises okizeme is not possible

And the stun gauge also regenerates.

So if you’re doing a really bad jump and eat a shoryuken you’re not getting instantly killed.

In this game, where a stupidly high risk got administered to dps,

light and medium normal anti airs are especially important.

While the stun gauge is maintaining,

You’re advantageous at point blank and can attack from either left or right,

which is of immeasurable importance.

(Which is why Chun Li’s damage potential is higher than her basic numeral values indicate)

Still, since it’s light and medium moves all the way,

If the attacks after the knockdown get surpassed,

And in regards to the expected value of a simple jump

It happens quite often, that the jumping party excels

However, this is Ken.

With the ability of doing an anti air normal into v-skill dash,

Ken has the unique option of going for left/right mixup

after using a hard normal.

This is NOT after using a Shoryuken.

- SWEEP -

This is in case the opponent went for a short move with strong priority,

Or sniped a far reaching crush counter during the poking game.

Going for a cr.mp into a buffered tatsu as a whiff punish

or throwing a hadouken from outside are not at all bad options,

But I want to recommend using his sweep.

It has a unique ability since

Sweep canceled into V-Skill

And his forbidden/dark air tatsu

Are both options that exist

The basic rules for all characters’ sweeps are

You can score a knockdown with one buttonIt is possible to quick rise from it (some of those quick rises play out quickly and therefore are a little bit hard to do)It is not possible not do a quick rise from a crush counter sweep, but there is no exceptional okizeme you get from itIf it gets blocked it’s easy to confirm a punish

These rules are all out there,

But Ken violates one important rule:

By approaching via a sweep canceled into V-Skill,

He can go into a really strong point-blank okizeme even from the tip of his cr.hk,

And, in case of a crush counter or if the opponent doesn’t quick rise,

Follow up with his dark tatsu left/right mixup.

This is really dangerous.

To give an example:

After a sweep

Use V-skill twice into delayed cr.mp or st.mk (negates mashing after normal quick rise and hits meaty on back roll recovery)Go for V-skil into thunderkick (hk overhead) (combo starter that beats out mashing and is a meaty overhead)

And if you expect a crush counter or normal wake up:

After Sweep into v-skill do a backdash, walk just a little bit forward and do either a jump hp or a hk.tatsu just before you’d land

This creates a really gruesome tatsu crossup.

You can not see it and

Since it’s a quasi safe jump (translator's note: which means it’s safe only against some attacks) fuzzy guard is also difficult,

And even a frontal anti air shoryuken will not beat it.

However,

This is at best only a shenanigan

And a really stupid game of luck,

Where no matter how hard you try you will get fucked roughly 50% of the time.

Without resorting to the luck of shenanigans,

in case you’ve got the confidence that your okizeme reads will succeed more than 50% of the time,

or if the damage output isn’t enough to finish the opponent in one turn,

or if you want to have a match without any shenanigans,

What I want to suggest is:

Sweep, v-skill, v-skill, v-skill, v-skill

No, really! lol

See,

if the opponent eats a sweep on the spot as the round’s curtains rise

and misses his quick rise (or gets crush countered),

while putting the opponent immediately in the corner

you can do a meaty grab as the opponent stands up.

Furthermore, since this grab would transport the opponent perfectly into the corner,

A second grab would also be meaty

For Ken, against whom the corner equals imminent death,

this is an immeasurable return.

This advantage, from which you can maximize the usage of all your skills in reading the opponent,

Is an appeal his dark tatsu doesn’t have.

Be sure to make your opponent really regret his mistimed quick rise by killing his/her character!

- ST.MK TARGET COMBO -

Its reach isn’t as far as st.hk-2 on blockIf it hits you can score a damage output of 220~400         

400 dmg means

it can do as much damage as Zangief’s burial CA.

While it's already self explanatory

since you can hit with a delayed hk in the target combo even when mk gets blocked

It’s an attack that contains a dark element different to his tatsu.

Also, since the window for connecting the second part of the target combo is really strict,

You should not only try to hit confirm into it.

For example if you’re blocking Chun Li’s light or medium lightning legs,

By just mashing mk until you see it hit and then pressing hk,

An otherwise difficult punish becomes pretty easy.

(suggested by Ken player Riv)

There are still other options like poking with an assaulting ex tatsu

But I will pass this up for next time.

ーーーCLOSE RANGEーーー

The range where you kill the opponent.

Everything you can do here is fine so just go for the kill.

If the opponent gets hit, you’ll end his life.

So, how do you make death flicker before the opponent’s eyes?

This is about always wearing the shadow of death without running uncontrollably.

This is the part that is closest connected to controlled footsies.

There is nothing easier to deal with than an opponent who is already scared through footsies.

Is the opponent

A chimpanzee?

An noisy fly?

A primitive man?

A modern-age human?

Or even a demon?

(translator's note: from my understanding, these categories serve as a way of differentiating between different skill levels)

No matter the case, you are a death god.

Harvest them, harvest those souls.

This emotion is of utmost importance.

As a result of increasing the heart rate,

sharpening your reflexes,

and running alongside this shadow of death,

even if you let the opponent escape

If you can convey this message of “I came to finish you off!“ you’ll get 100 points.

Basically there is a well known way for hit confirming your combos:

Cr.mp, b.mp (followed by target combo canceled into hard tatsu)

Based on this,

if the first thing you do after a jump or during okizeme

is always doing a meaty cr.mp to st.mp hit confirming it,

it's 0 points, garbage.

People don’t die from this.

An offense that doesn’t kill is just stalling/killing time.

It’s not useful if you’re aiming for anything else but stalling.

While referring to my last article (translator's note: again, I hope will get to translating this eventually so please wait a little bit longer)

it's important to create a killing intent, totally different to....

I have to end this article here, since if I go on any further than this it would be too much.

But for all of my friends who reached their limits with Ken

and for all my friends who are just starting out with him

I'm going to leave a few notes:

grabst.lp into grabwalk back and punish a whiffed attackhit confirm a counter hit st.lp into cr.mk on the flyhit confirm st.lp into b.mpst.lp, walk back and punish a whiffed attackwalk backwards, then forward and grab

If you see the opponent whiffing: cr.mk xx tatsuIf you expect a whiffed attack: st.hp or mk-tc         



That’s it.

Next time I’m going over how to use this.

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