Ken (SSBU)

Ken in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Street Fighter
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Shippu Jinraikyaku / Shinryuken
Tier	B+ (38)

“	Ken Turns Up the Heat!	”
—Introduction tagline

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. While officially Ryu's Echo Fighter, and accordingly classified as Fighter #60^ε, Ken is actually a semi-clone.

Yūji Kishi, his voice actor since Street Fighter III: Third Strike, reprises his role exclusively in the Japanese version. Reuben Langdon, Ken's English voice actor from Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V, reprises his role in all other versions for the final time.

Ken is ranked 38th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the upper half of the B+ tier. Ken is known as the more aggressive shoto, being able to dish out huge amounts of damage from his multitude of combos and strings, finishing off his opponents with strong KO confirms into his Shoryuken. Like his fellow Street Fighter friend, Ken has a lot of good frame data on his moves and the distinction of having the auto-turnaround mechanic which allows him to perform his combos easier and more reliably. His Shoryuken in particular is great as an anti-air with high knockback growth when the last hit connects or when all hits on the ground connect with each other.

However, Ken shares nearly the same amount of weaknesses as Ryu, being fairly easy to combo reliably and easily edgeguarded if one reads his linear recovery route. In addition, unlike Ryu, Ken is vulnerable to some of his moves being able to be escaped via SDI, such as his Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, allowing his opponent to punish him for landing those moves. Finally, Ken is forced to approach in a lot of matchups with his limited amount of approach options, making him linear overall.

Overall, Ken is seen as a capable and viable fighter in the right hands with his strong advantage state and combo ability, and players can choose to play either Ken or Ryu, depending on the matchup or mood. For example, if the matchup requires an aggressive game plan, then Ken is the optimal choice. As such, many players who play Ken also play Ryu, although there are several successful players dedicated to just Ken, such as Jahzz0 and takera.

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 any character in his unlock tree, being the last character unlocked after Chrom.
• Have Ken join the player's party in World of Light.

Ken must then be defeated on Boxing Ring (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes

As the more aggressive "shoto" compared to Ryu, Ken shares most of his attributes with some slight tweaks. As a heavyweight with average 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 above 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 an increased hitlag multiplier, often of at least 1.5x, mimicking the impact of hits connecting in traditional fighter games. Consequently, this results in several of his attacks being easier to SDI, especially up tilt due to it also having an increased SDI multiplier, but it also grants the player more time to perform command inputs when Kara Canceling hit attacks.

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 follow-ups, 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 very fast and can cancel into his special moves, and up smash lowers Ken's hurtbox while charging and is quite powerful for its speed. Both tapped forward tilt and held jab are altered at close range, both becoming very potent at starting combos into his special moves. Tapped distant forward tilt is an extremely useful combo starter, leading into many options, most notably down aerial and neutral air. Additionally, Ken will automatically face his opponent when there is only one foe left (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 also reliably follows up into Shoryuken. Both up and down aerials 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 follow-ups, but the non-input version is unsafe on hit. 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 follow-ups. 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, distant tapped forward tilt, down smash, 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-distance 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 percentages 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 as Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, cannot be utilized. Focus Attack requires a brief charge before it can be canceled. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku's long duration and low damage make it vulnerable to being interrupted by long-ranged attacks, and he can only use it once without landing or being dealt 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 serious 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.

Although Ken has an overall good neutral game, it does suffer from noticeable flaws. Despite his good frame data (especially for his tapped tilts and neutral aerial) and decent running speed, his slow walking speed and short range hinder 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 by 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 smash directional influence, 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 fall out 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 potential, 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 lack of approach make him difficult to play optimally. His high learning curve, in particular, is perhaps his biggest issue; much practice is generally required for his input specials to use them reliably and consistently, rather than accidentally inputting the wrong move.

Differences from Ryu

Ken is considered the original "Echo Fighter" in fighting game history. Still, 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 widely regarded as the most distinctive Echo Fighter, being the only Echo Fighter that is a semi-clone. As such, he, much like fellow Echo Fighters Chrom and Lucina, is ranked separately from his base fighter on tier lists, and is allowed to be used with his base fighter in Squad Strike competitive tournaments.

Aesthetics

• As with all other Echo Fighters, Ken has unique taunts and victory animations.
• Unlike Ryu, Ken faces forward with a neutral expression instead of looking dejected or annoyed during his clapping animation.
• Ken is more vocal than Ryu.
  • 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.
  • Ken has more voice clips for taking light and middle knockback, similar to (and even more so than) Bayonetta.

Attributes

• Ken's walking (0.75 → 0.825), dashing (1.6 → 1.76), and initial dash (1.76 → 1.936) speeds are 1.1× faster than those of Ryu, with his initial dash and run speeds being identical to those of Mario.
  • Ken's shield jump height is marginally lower than Ryu's (45.5 → 44.1), resulting in him landing 1 frame sooner.

Ground Attacks

• Neutral attack
  • The third neutral attack has altered hitboxes and reduced hitlag (2 → 1.5).
  • Held neutral attack is Inazuma Kick, a double-hitting axe kick resembling up throw.
    • It hits twice instead of once.
    • It has a longer duration (9-10 → 9-12 (hit 1)/16 (hit 2)).
      • Its total duration remains unchanged (FAF 33), giving it less ending lag.
    • It deals significantly more damage (10% → 16% (total)).
    • The first hit has significantly less range than Ryu's held neutral attack. It is somewhat hard to land by itself, as its effective range tends to overlap with that of its close variant.
• Forward tilt
  • Ken's held forward tilt is his far-standing medium punch, a straight with his right arm, as opposed to Ryu's Collarbone Breaker.
    • It only hits once instead of twice.
    • It has less start-up (frame 14 → 10) and uninterrupted duration (15 (hit 1)/17-18 (hit 2) → 10-13).
      • However, its total duration is only one frame shorter (FAF 36 → 35), giving it more ending lag.
    • It does not deal consistent damage (9% (total) → 10% (fist)/5% (arm)).
    • It deals more knockback (60 base/90 scaling → 47/104) at a lower angle (46° → 34°).
    • It has less range and far less shield damage (20 → 0).
• Forward smash:
  • Ken's forward smash is based on his standing heavy kick introduced in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
  • It has less start-up (frame 15 → 13).
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged (FAF 46), giving it more ending lag.
  • It has less range and does not make Ken travel forwards.
  • It deals less damage (17.5% (foot)/16% (leg) → 16%/12%), making it slightly weaker despite its higher knockback growth (98 → 102).

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Ken's neutral aerial is based on his diagonal jumping medium kick in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, 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 more startup lag (frame 4 → 6).
  • Its duration is less than half (4-31 → 6-17), which also causes it to have significantly more ending lag despite the shorter total duration (FAF 36 → 28).
  • 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 on his neutral jumping light kick, a kick straight upwards.
  • It only hits once instead of twice.
  • It has less startup (frame 6 → 5).
  • It deals significantly less damage (11% (total) → 6.5%).
  • It deals considerably less knockback (0 base/172 scaling → 20/100), which hinders its KO potential, but makes it much better for combos.
  • 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, which can only be used with the attack button.
  • 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 (→ ↘ ↓ + Attack) that Ryu does not have. He can cancel 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 significantly less damage (9%/9.5%/10% → 4.5%/5%/5.5% (standard), 10.8%/11.4%/12% → 5.625%/6.25%/6.875% (input)), with even his strongest input Hadoken dealing less damage than Ryu's weakest standard Hadoken, despite a higher input multiplier (1.2× → 1.25×).
  • 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 (Light: 0.8 → 0.9, Medium: 1.3 → 1.2, Heavy: 1.8 → 1.5). This reduces his space control and approaching options.

• Tatsumaki Senpukyaku:
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku hits multiple times, as opposed to Ryu's single hit.
  • Aesthetically, Ken spins faster during Tatsumaki Senpukyaku; however, he moves at the same speed as Ryu.
  • Compared to Ryu's, Ken's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku does not lose its hitbox on hit due to its multi-hit nature. Ken can also reliably cross up shields with his version, making it safer on shield.
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku deals less damage than the late hit of Ryu's version, even if all hits connect.
  • 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.
  • Due to its weak knockback, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is less safe on hit than Ryu's, and Ken can be punished during the animation if all hits fail to connect.
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has less endlag, allowing for follow-ups after the move is complete.
  • Tatsumaki Senpukyaku deals significantly less knockback compared to Ryu's, removing its KO potential.
  • The grounded version does not grant intangibility to Ken's attacking leg.
  • The grounded version (both command input and normal input) travels a shorter distance than Ryu’s (5-9 training stage blocks, depending on charge → 4-7); however, the aerial version travels the same distance.

• Shoryuken:
  • Shoryuken deals less knockback than Ryu's equivalent and hits at a slightly more horizontal angle, making it more susceptible to DI.
  • Ken's medium Shoryuken hits two times, as opposed to only once.
  • Ken's heavy Shoryuken hits three times and has a flame effect.
  • Due to its multihit property, Ken's heavy Shoryuken is somewhat susceptible to SDI and can occasionally be escaped from.
  • Ken's heavy Shoryuken deals more damage and has powerful hitboxes throughout the move, in contrast to Ryu's Shoryuken losing strength the longer it is out. Heavy Shoryuken can also drag enemies upwards, letting it KO earlier when close to the top and KO earlier overall despite its weakened knockback.
  • Ken can travel more horizontally during his heavy Shoryuken. This makes certain combos possible and horizontal recoveries easier.
  • Ken's Shoryuken has less landing lag (frame 22 frames (standard)/15 (input) → 12/8/18/12), making it significantly safer when combined with its multihit property.

• Focus Attack:
  • Ken performs a spinning kick in his Focus Attack instead of a straight punch, much like in the various iterations of Street Fighter IV. The hitbox comes out 1 frame later for all variants, albeit with its total duration unchanged, allowing 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 follow-up 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).

• Final Smash:
  • Like Ryu, Ken has two unique Final Smashes, Shinryuken and Shippu Jinraikyaku, with the Final Smash activated depending on how far Ken is from his opponent(s). 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.

Misc.

• Palutena's Autoreticle aims lower when targeting Ken than Ryu (y offset: 1 → 0).
• Ken jumps slightly higher when escaping from Steve's Minecart (initial velocity: 2.5 → 2.55), slightly helping him to recover if sent off stage.

Update history

Like Ryu but to a much greater extent, Ken has been 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.

Update 7.0.0 buffed Ken even further. His overall shield is bigger, making it harder to shield-poke him. His down tilt angle change was a mixed bag; it is now easier to combo into his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, but it is now harder to combo into his Shoryuken. His pivoting leg is now invincible during his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, making moves like Ness's PK Fire no longer work. The Tatsumaki is also stronger overall. The biggest change, however, was to his down smash. It is now possible to cancel his down smash with a special move (at the expense of less shield damage), vastly improving his offense game. Another, albeit undocumented, buff to his down smash is that it is now possible to Kara Cancel the down smash charging animation. Kara Cancel was already possible, but it could only be done during the first four frames of the down smash. Because of this, Ken's combo game has been greatly improved. And finally, Update 9.0.0 made Shippu Jinraikyaku connect much more reliably by making it deal more knockback and having more horizontal hitboxes.

Overall, much like Ryu, Ken fares much better than he did at Ultimate's launch.

2.0.0

• Neutral attack launches opponents, making them easier to be hit.
• 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.
• Can no longer jump immediately after using down tilt.

3.0.0

• Edge attack deals less hitlag (1.5× → 1.1×).
• Shoryuken's animation has been slightly altered.
• Focus Attack sliding has been removed.

3.1.0

• Neutral attack 1 and 2 (light) can be canceled into a special move for a longer amount of time (1-7 → 1-11(jab 1)/1-12(jab 2)).
• 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 scaling not fully compensated (130 → 92).
• Forward tilt (light, close) can be canceled into a special move for a longer amount of time (8-14 → 8-24).
• Forward tilt (light, far)'s sourspot has less range (Z offset: 9u-5u → 6.5u-5u), effectively increasing the range of its sweetspot.
• 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 (0 → 1).
• 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 → 28/103-102).
• Down aerial can be canceled into a special move for a longer amount of time (1-12 → 1-17), 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 (120(normal)/121(input) → 126).
  • Shoryuken'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 (40 base/120 scaling → 41/103).
  • Inazuma Kick deals more damage (10% → 12%) with shield damage compensated (7 → 5).

4.0.0

• Ken now turns to face opponents after perfect shielding.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased by 1.125x.
• Held down tilt launches at a lower angle (64° → 55°) and has less base knockback (73 → 66). This makes it easier to combo into Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, but harder to combo into Shoryuken.
• Down smash can be canceled into special moves.
  • Kara Cancelling works even after charging down smash.
• Down smash has received negative shield damage (0 → -8/-6), preventing Ken from easily breaking shields by chaining it into special moves.