Help, I'm being mauled by an adorable Shiba Inu!

So, you've been playing Ultimax for a while. It's a fun game, sure. You've been Minazuki 4Aing your way to victory, or picking Elizabeth at the character select screen, and automatically losing. But you've heard that some Japanese player is coming to EVO this year. 'chou'? You look up his character, and realize "...Oh shit, no one plays Ken besides like four people in the US. WAT DO!?" Don't worry. I gotchyu.

Here are some basic things about Ken you should know ahead of time. (And keep in mind that I am talking about 1.0 Ken. Not 2.0, since from what we can tell, EVO is going to be on 1.0)

Specials and Supers (And what I call them);

236A/B: Spear Pull

236A/B xx A/B: Gigantic Impact (Follow-up to spear pull. You can do either A or B ender for any version of 236A/B)

214A/B: Mediarama (Heals Ken and dog a set amount. It's Ken's S-Hold Special, and thus gets a small amount of invuln when used in that way)

236C/D: Dog Spin (Koromaru spins horizontally across the ground. Causes recovery state for dog on block. More on this later under the Blockstring/Pressure section.)

214C/D: Dog Wheel (Koromaru jumps into the air, and becomes a hitbox similar to Aigis' Megido Fire. Distance varies depends on button used, and if all the hits aren't blocked, Koromaru lands and is free to act after doing the move. If all hits are blocked, he is forced into recovery state.)

5D: Recall (When Koromaru is on the field, desummoning him from the fight. He slowly regains health while on standby, and is fully invulnerable while he's jumping off screen)

5D: Return (When Koromaru is off the field, he returns from the top of the screen. He is fully invulnerable on the way down, and can act immediately after landing)

5C: Return (When Koromaru is off the field, he comes in from above Ken, on whatever side he is currently on. Hit acts like normal 5C, which forces dog into recovery. Does NOT hit overhead, despite looking like it should.)



Positives;
-Fantastic meterless damage off of even stray hits (can average 3.5k-4.4k easily with 2B starter, even on non-counter hit), as well as an ability to combo into knockdown for good mix-up and pressure.

-Big normals. At a glance, they're pretty large and imposing. jB especially is huge, and is basically the new vanilla Labrys j.5B. Other notable normals include jA (insanely active, great horizontal range. Mostly used as an air-to-air and mix-up tool), 2B (10 frame low/anti air that can lead to massive damage), 5B (Basically a slower Mitsuru 5A), and 5A (Extremely slow as a jab, but the range it covers makes up for it. This is Ken's go-to-pressure starter, as you can chain into 5B into a full confirm even at max range)

-Extremely vertical DP that can be combo'd off of when it counter hits. Also great for ending confirms into super. If said DP is blocked, you can also special cancel it on the way down into Maragidyne super (236236C/D), which can blow up would-be punishes if they aren't watching for it.

-Good left/right and IAD mix-up using dog and jA/j5B.

-An extremely fast special that can restore both his health and Koromaru's as well, even if dog is K.O'd.

-A super fluffy-wuffy adorable dog!

-No seriously, Koromaru is what makes this character really stand out. Essentially functioning as Ken's Persona, it's easy to make comparisons between this character, and Carl Clover from Blazblue. Offering an outstanding pressure tool with 2C, and an amazing mix-up tool with 5C, as well as meaty pressure using 214C/D and 236C/D. The SB versions of these specials also don't stop if Ken blocks/is hit like with the other version, which makes him an amazing defensive tool. Using this, you can use Koromaru to cover gaps in your pressure, or even bait punishes.

-Awakening super (Gattai Cross aka 214214A/B) has an INSANE vertical hitbox. Do NOT underestimate this move's ability to catch gimmicky aerial stuff. Mixed with a good amount of invulnerability, it's a pretty safe bet as a reversal for a lot of situations.

-Can easily bait bursts due to the nature of his combos/pressure.

-AoA/Sweep have massive hitboxes, meaning your opponent will have to constantly make sure they're ready to block correctly from far away. He can also call Koromaru to cover him during AoA, leading to situations where your opponent will be counter hit trying to punish it normally.

-The character naturally blows up the defensive OSes simply due to the fact that his pressure is extremely meaty. In other words, he can still force opponents to guess properly, and can blow up nearly any attempt to OS his pressure easily.


Negatives;
-Extremely low health at 8,500. If he gets touched once, it's generally easy to kill him for a lot of the more commonly used characters.

-Normals have slow start up across the board, with his fastest being 2A at 6 frames of start-up. Because of this, a fast character like Chie who is in his face will likely be able to stuff any button you press. 2B falls victim to this as well due to having having delayed invulnerability compared to other 2Bs in the game. Because of this, most anti-airs gotten from this move are usually pre-emptive.

-To top it off, his DP as a reversal is severely lacking due to it's lack of horizontal range on the ground. If blocked, there are characters who can pull out IK and kill you on the spot due to how bad it's recovery is. It CAN function as an anti air, but again, it comes with a risk due to it's poor horizontal hitbox and long recovery. To add to this, if his DP is blocked, and his opponent hits Koromaru, he will be unable to cancel into Maragidyne to make himself (somewhat safe). Even if he can get this out, you can DP him before the super comes out to beat it.

-Ken's gatlings are extremely one-dimensional and predictable (without dog). 5A goes into 2B (both hits), goes into 5B. Anything else (again, only without dog) has a gap that can be DP'd, or otherwise reversal supered out of. 2A doesn't even gatling into itself, so keep that in mind if it's being used in pressure.

-Hitting Koromaru (as in, just the dog) gives characters the ability to do things such as jump, normal, special, or even super cancel. This affords options that can't otherwise be granted to some characters. Mitsuru in particular is problematic for this, as her auto combo allows her to gain ground exceptionally well against him.

-Some moves in the game absolutely decimate Koromaru's health if Ken isn't blocking the move as well. Good examples of this are Marie jC and Elizabeth Garudyne. If done right, this can force Ken to block as well, and since his defensive options without Awakening are extremely bad, this can be used to easily get momentum for some characters. He still has options in situations like this, but they require him to take a risk other characters wouldn't have to worry about.

-Before awakening, it's extremely easy to bait his other super (236236C/D aka Thunder Reign). While it has some invuln at the start, the start-up is slow enough that nearly any character can react to super flash with DP.

-If Koromaru is down, his damage and pressure ability drops drastically. Most Kens want to revive dog asap, so it's easy to be very obvious about casting Mediarama (214A/B). Reading when they're going for this is a strong match-up specific tactic that can be used to make Ken scared to be reckless with his healing attempts.

-Against mobile characters, Ken has a hard time pinning them down. Especially those that can throw projectiles freely such as Yukari and Yosuke.

-Guard Cancel roll is EXTREMELY strong against Ken if timed right. His whiff recovery is absolute garbage, and he has to completely restructure his pressure if you learn when he's going to do Spear Pull (236A/B) in pressure.


General Blockstrings/Pressure;
Depending on distance, you have some options. The safest blockstring to go into though, from _____ with Koromaru out is...


Point Blank 5A/
5A>2B(2)>5B>5C xx 236A xx Gigantic Impact A

2A
2A>2B(2)>5B>5C xx 2A+B

Max Range 5A
5A>5B>5C xx 236A xx Gigantic Impact A

IAD jA
jA>2A>2B(2)>5B>5C xx 236A xx Gigantic Impact A

j5B

j5B>j2B>2A>2B(2)>5B>5C xx 236A xx Gigantic Impact A

These are true blockstrings, and also work from point blank, blocked 2B. THIS MEANS THAT ANY OTHER BLOCKSTRING THAT KEN DOES (including the ones posted below) HAVE HOLES THAT CAN BE DP'D, OR OTHERWISE DISRESPECTED. Also note that the 5C isn't actually what's being canceled; rather, it's the 5B that is being canceled into sweep/Spear Pull. riskier blockstrings that can frame trap/continue pressure (and lead to good damage if they work) are as follows;

For frame traps;
2A>2B(2)>236D+5B xx 236A xx Gigantic Impact B/SB

To continue pressure;
2A>2B(2)>5B>5C xx 2A+B xx 2A+C(Short Hop)>jA, repeat.

Other possibilities can be made using 5C and 2C, depending on what you're expecting your opponent to react to pressure with. 5C is generally if you're looking for mashing, 2C is if you want to keep up pressure.

So you might be wondering, why not just go for 5C over 2C every time in pressure? It's fast, easy to confirm off of, and has a good hitbox while keeping Ken safe. However, there's an important facet about this character to keep in mind. That is...

Koromaru Recovery;

There are two ways Koromaru will interact with a blocking opponent. He will either;

A.) Recover almost immediately and stand there. If he does this, he is free to act almost as soon as he touches the ground. This is however NOT instant, and can still be punished via 2A mash, or some 2Bs. If no input is given to Koromaru when he reaches the ground, he will immediately run back to Ken's side. This part is NOT player-controlled.

B.) Once the opponent blocks Koromaru's attack, he will do a backflip a sizable distance away. During this point, he is COMPLETELY invulnerable (as in Koromaru is, not Ken). However, no more dog moves can be inputted during this time, until he reaches the ground.

For reference, I am going to refer to Recovery A as Instant Recovery, and Recovery B as Flip Recovery.

Moves that enact Instant Recovery;

5D (On recall)
2C
214C/D (Dog Wheel) IF THE LAST HIT IS NOT BLOCKED AFTER BLOCKING THE REST
214C+D ALL HITS (SB Dog Wheel)
236C+D (SB Dog Spin)

Moves that enact Flip Recovery;

5C (Koromaru on the field)
5C (Koromaru being called back onto the field)
The last hit of 214C/D if the rest of the move hits
236C/D

Whether playing as Ken, or fighting Ken, this is absolutely necessary to look out for, especially when you consider the slow start-up on his normals and Spear Pull. If Koromaru is in Flip Recovery, Ken's pressure is susceptible to rolls, as whiffing anything can lead to him being Fatal Counter'd in a game where a fatal with resources can lead to 7k+. Keep in mind that doing so in reaction to 5B start-up is usually your best bet, though you can also guard cancel roll Koromaru's attack if it is in the middle of any version of Dog Spin that isn't SB. If you do it preemptively, the Ken player can read your roll with slightly delayed sweep, which is one of his better starters. General rule of thumb for both players; watch the dog. If he's in Flip Recovery, Ken has to make a read to keep up pressure.

These slow normals also add another layer of mix-up to his pressure game. Basically, his jump normals are slow enough that, if done close enough to the ground, they won't come out in time to be active, despite the animation showing him swinging. While not exclusive to Ken's character, this means he can time his normals in pressure to make blocking him a tad trickier.

Another option to look out for is baiting throw tech. If Ken inputs SB Dog Spin/Wheel while not being in the middle of a move, he will always (ALWAYS) throw. However, even if he's hit at this point, Koromaru's special will continue going, meaning that specific punishes are required if this happens. Because of this however, this makes Ken's throw game extremely tricky, and probably the main means for him to really screw with his opponent. Barring being hit by a fast, cinematic super, or a DP, Dog Spin in particular has insanely high priority; enough so to even clash with (and subsequently beat) Mitsuru's SB Droit. In order to stuff this set-up, the opponent needs a move that both has a good amount of invulnerability to not get hit by dog, while also hitting Ken. This can be achieved via super, or by preemptively DPing. Most DPs won't work on reaction however, as Ken will be able to block and punish in such a situation.

Examples of this include;
Gattai Cross (Ken)
Power Slash (Margaret)
Any of Sho's supers
Gears (Labrys)
Wings and Counter Super (Minazuki)

There are more supers that beat this set-up, but these options also cost meter. This is definitely a strong tool to look out for.

Another oki set-up to look out for is 214C/D oki at midscreen on knockdown after Gigantic Impact A. For more information on this set-up, you can watch VR-Raiden's tutorial video linked below (Twitter: @vrraiden);

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V47sbvNZsAo

So, suffice to say, this character has some scary pressure options. However, when he doesn't have access to Koromaru for whatever reason, his safe pressure options suddenly become extremely limited. In these situations, his best bet is to try to do a true blockstring into SB Spear Pull>A Gigantic Impact to buy himself enough time to get Koromaru back onto the field. While he can still do basic IAD mix-ups without dog, it's highly ill-advised in most situations, due to the character's low health and slow buttons.

Combos, Bursting, and You;
In fighting games, it can be tempting to go for the most damage you can muster with every hit. After all, making all of your hits count is an important part of fundamentals as well. However, with airdashers, Bursts make going for optimal confirms all the time tricky, as you may end up finding yourself in situations where autopiloting into your best stuff is being wasted. They get away, reset neutral, and you have to work towards getting another hit before they get Burst back. So sometimes, you have to take a gamble if you feel like your opponent is being too predictable about when they use it. This is a basic dynamic in FGs with Burst systems, which creates a mindgame within itself.

As for how this affects Ken, it's quite drastic in multiple ways actually! The main things to remember about Burst is that;

A.) You can not Burst during a super animation (Basically, watch the background. Once the super background breaks away, they can Burst.)

B.) You can not Burst if you are Persona broken. This is especially nasty for Ken due to his low health, so losing this vital defensive option is usually a quick way to eat massive damage.

C.) There are certain times where it's safe to burst combos, and certain times where it is not.

For the most part, A doesn't apply too much to Ken. He can utilize it for an early finish if his opponent is going to get their Burst back, but his main super for comboing (Thunder Reign) doesn't scale too well later on. What we're going to focus is on the last two. First, B.

At the end of Spear Pull, you can follow-up with Gigantic Impact, as stated before. However, while Ken himself is at advantage if they block it, his Persona is not. Reckless use of this in blockstrings while Koromaru is in Flip Recovery/otherwise not on the field will quickly lead to him losing his measly two Persona cards. While this lowers his damage a good amount, the main drawbacks are, again; loss of Burst, as well as the inability to heal himself and Koromaru. If he is hit, most characters can typically capitalize on these things through the use of smart movement and rolls to make Ken whiff something in particular.

As for how Bursts function in a way to benefit Ken's offense however, comes with fact that one of his biggest strengths is how easy it is for him to bait even good uses of them, while still being at advantage. Typical rule of thumb with Ken; it's typically only safe to burst Ken's combos is after the second hit of spear pull. However, timing it can be difficult, especially if the Ken player is expecting it. His options for baiting Burst after Spear Pull are, as follows...

1.) One More Cancel (A+B+C) and block. From here, he can sweep into another full confirm.

2.) Super cancel the Spear Pull without going into Gigantic Impact with Gattai Cross. The timing and version can vary depending on when they like to Burst; if it's when they're right next to Ken, A version is best. Despite whiffing, he will have enough time to punish for a normal confirm regardless.

The only other safe normal to burst would be 5B, due to his inability to jump cancel it at any point. However, doing so is still a risk, as he doesn't have to commit to it during combos. If he jump cancels the second hit of 2B specifically, he can block and punish accordingly (If they burst the first hit, there's not much Ken. Standard stuff, but what makes this special for him specifically is if Ken inputs 236D before 2B with Koromaru coming in just outside of range of the Burst behind him. If the opponent doesn't Burst, Ken can do j.2B, then use the hits from Dog Spin to continue his confirm with the right spacing, meaning he doesn't lose out on damage in case he makes a bad read.

As for One More Burst, he can make use of it to loop two supers into each other, or to confirm off of odd j.A air-to-airs. However, use of this tool is highly situational, and should really only be used to close out matches. It also has some uses as a means to help react to defensive AoAs, or Labrys DP due to the fact that you can jab>OMB to convert into a combo if you proc Guard Point with it.

Neutral;
There are two ways to approach neutral with Ken; Offensive and Defensive. For the sake of clarity, I'm only going to somewhat touch up on his zoning/runaway options, and what options might be used against them.

So, for Defense, the standard Ken tool is simply IAD back>5C/2C. 5C is for if they expect the other character to use some sort of grounded move to try and catch IAD back (Narukami Zio, Yukiko fans, Labrys Chain Knuckle). Usually dog will get hit by these unless they are mistimed, but Ken gets away. This general playstyle tailors to using dog to pressure from too far away for the opponent to do much about Ken. This playstyle is extremely effective against characters such as Kanji who lack good full screen options, while also having slow normals. However, it isn't fool-proof, and smart use of what tools even the 'bad' characters have can quickly KO dog, or make him a non-issue by making Ken block.

So how do you beat this style? Easy.

1.) Hit dog before he's able to approach you (if he goes for 2C, it's generally easier, but some characters like Minazuki can stuff both options fairly easy with 5A). However, this puts Ken into an interesting position depending on where he's located at the time. If he's just short of midscreen, he'll have enough time to run up> SB Spear Pull to punish with oki. However, using the previous example? Minazuki can punish this fairly easy by going into Wings super, or even doing counter super since hitting dog lets you do cancels as if you're hitting the player. Speaking of counter super, this is important; KOROMARU PROCS COUNTERS. SPECIFICALLY, MINAZUKI COUNTER (And Liz IK, but you can block that for some reason if you proc it-).

2.) Simply have superior air movement. Koromaru can do Dog Wheel (214C/D) to cover normal jump height, but characters like Yosuke and Yukari can easily maneuver around it via Feather Flip/Moonsault. Minazuki kind of falls into this category as well due to teleport, though it should be noted that Ken still doesn't have to commit to anything for this style of play if he doesn't want to

  a.) To close out matches where he has a massive lead
  b.) To force bursts
  c.) To bait the opponent to waste meter in an attempt to punish Ken.


Basically, it comes down to fundamentals. It's a low-risk way to pressure opponents, but has it's faults in some MUs. When used correctly though, this is a powerful way to play Ken that can force his opponents to make bad decisions in the middle of matches. It has it's time, and place. But it shouldn't be considered his de-facto gameplan.

On to offense! This is where Ken truly shines, and where he's at his most oppressive. As mentioned before, Ken has very large normals that are great for plenty of situations. To help understand this, I'm going to talk about each normal one by one, discuss their uses, and their faults. For the sake of this guide, please go into Training Mode if you can and test each input yourself to get an idea what each normal looks like. This will help you visualize the blockstrings I talk about later on.

-5A (Start-up: 8 frames, Frame Advantage: -3)

Pros: Big hitbox, can confirm easily into auto combo. Can anti-air in some situations vs certain tools.

Cons: Slow start up, can't combo into good damage unless it's CH (and even then, you'll probably break about 3k barely meterless). Can't gatling into 2A or into itself well for tick throw set-ups.

-2A (Start-up: 6 frames, Frame Advantage: +1)

Pros: Ken's fastest normal at 6 frames, has good frame advantage as well which makes it good for tick throw set-ups. Can be combo'd out of easily even on normal hit for decent damage. Good pressure starter.

Cons: Can't gatling into anything besides 2B, 5B, and Sweep (Only 2A>2B is a true blockstring however). Small hitbox, still not quite good enough to poke out of many pressure strings.

-5B (Start-up: 12 Frames, Frame Advantage: -25)

Pros: Ken's longest reaching standing normal. Punishing with it can lead to easy confirms even from max range. Staple pressure tool when canceled into from 2B. Gives him a second anti-air on whiff that's much better than his other normals dedicated to such a role.

Cons: Slow start-up. Has no airtight options to cancel into on block that will keep Ken safe without dog. Can be low-profiled extremely easily (Beware Narukami Lightning Car, and many characters who have long-reaching sweeps). Whiff 5B can not be canceled out of on hit with anything besides OMC or OMB.

-2B (Start-up: (First hit) 10 Frames (Second hit) 18 Frames; Frame Advantage: -19)

Pros: Offers the most gatlings out of all of Ken's normals (5B and Sweep). Two-hitting normal that offers Ken's only airtight cancel into 5B. First hit is a low which counts as Ken's best starter (A clean hit on a standing opponent leads to 4.2k or so meterless, even on normal hit). Second hit is Ken's universal anti-air; hits behind him as well as just above his head (ala Labrys 2B). Invuln on anti-air portion has delayed invuln, meaning it can beat some really deep jump-ins if read correctly.

Cons: If the first hit connects at all from max range, the second hit WILL whiff, making any cancel into 5B have a massive gap. Can only combo into sweep either via counter hit, or by using 5C to fill the game between the 5B>Sweep cancel. Due to the invuln on it being delayed, using it as a reactionary anti-air is ill-advised.

-jA (Start-up: 7 Frames; Frame Advantage: ??? Likely +, exact numbers unknown)

Pros: Multi-hit normal (3). Amazing horizontal hitbox with fast start-up which makes for an amazing air-to-air tool. All three hits come out even if blocked; allows for interesting air throw set-ups if used correctly. If used via IAD, it becomes Ken's best pressure starter, and can be converted from into further oki. Jump-cancel OK, can be canceled into j5B and j2B as well. Gives enough time to buffer 236D to allow for air-to-ground conversions.

Cons: No hitbox below the spear (Beware Chie/Minazuki/Narukami/Akihiko 5A anti-airs). Essentially offers a free Guard Cancel Roll for his opponent if blocked early.

-j5B (Start-up: 15 Frames; Frame Advantage: ??? Likely -, exact numbers unknown)

Pros: Gigantic hit box, active for quite a long time. Makes for a great pressure/safe way to approach if not being predictable. Can combo off of if used as a jump-in. If counter-hit while airborn, Ken's opponent falls to the ground no matter how high they are, allowing for easy air-to-ground combos if done while Ken is falling)

Cons: Extremely slow start-up (use as air-to-air only advised in some match ups such as Yosuke and Yukari where they typically want to create distance rather than go in, and only when jA simply won't reach). Susceptible to air throws for this very reason, and extremely easy to react to if done repetitively with the use of anti-airs or DPs.

-j2B (Start-up: 13 Frames; Frame Advantage: ??? Likely +, exact numbers unknown)

Pros: Great base damage (Does a whole 700 damage on a single hit! Stronger than many A/B normals in the game, and up there with Adachi 2B, Labrys charged Normals, Shadow Labrys 5B, uncharged Mitsuru 5B,. The only normals that outclass it damage wise are Mitsuru fully charged 5B+just frame 2B+jB and Shadow Labrys 2B+j2B.). Instantly brings opponents to the ground, allowing for both oki set ups using dog pressure, and combo extensions using Koromaru. Pretty good hitbox, and comes out rather fast for the reward he gets from it. Extremely good for forcing characters who like to stay in the air back to the ground (Yosuke, Yukari).

Cons: Not that great of a starter. If Koromaru isn't in play, there isn't much you can get off of it. Despite being faster than j.B, j.A is still your preferred air-to-air unless in specific MUs.

As I've already covered Koromaru, and what he does, I'll skip explaining those a second time.

The key to understanding Ken's offense is that he must essentially gamble on a few factors; can his opponent keep a close eye on dog? Can Ken reliably react to the answers to his pressure? Is the risk/reward for doing so skewed in his opponent's favor if he does attempt to read said answers? If the answer is No to all of these, he can essentially run his game the moment he gets them to block. However, there are some universal options to keep in mind.

1.) Guard Cancel Roll

2.) Furious Action (DP. Extremely character specific.)

3.) Invulnerable Supers (Again, character specific. Less so than DP however.)

Each option will vary on character, but the point of which it's generally safe for his opponent to attempt such an action while blocking against him from most ranges will be 5B. The reason being is that every option he has from that point either leaves a large enough gap to easily turn the tides against him, OR prevents him from confirming into much. Take for example, this blockstring.

2A>2B(2)>5B>5C xx 2A+B

This blockstring is completely airtight is airtight (unless the cancel into 5B is delayed. More than likely, it won't be unless the Ken player wants to check people). Completely so. However, what if we remove dog from the equation for whatever reason (He's off screen/K.O.'d)? Well, first things first, a few things would happen.

1.) 5B xx 2A+B won't actually connect for a confirm. This leaves Ken to be easily whiff punished if he does land any of the normals preceding it.

2.) If 2A+B is omitted, 5B is unable to be jump-canceled in any way. This means he's forced to wait for Koromaru to cover him, or he has to take a gamble on how his opponent will punish him by either canceling into DP, super, or simply doing OMC>block. All of these options are incredibly risky (Save for the last one, which still holds risk due to command grab supers being a thing that exists), as they both have fairly good answers to them (Blocking+punishing the former, DPing the latter).

Defense;
(I lied.)


I won't have a chance to finish this before EVO, so please tweet @dooplespls if you have any questions regarding content that I might have left out, or might have misinterpreted. Please keep in mind that this is just my own analysis, and other Ken players might view things differently from myself. Take what everyone says into account when studying MUs, and remember to think outside the box!