P4AU/Ken Amada/Strategy

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General Tactics

General Strategy

Ken's primary strategy is to maintain mid range and try to do 1 of 3 things:

1. Keep your opponent in mid range.

Use simple strings like 5B/2B > 236A/B, use follow ups if you want to push them to the corner. You can use 214C/D when follow up hits to lock down. 236D is a safe way to end your strings as well.

2. Force your opponent to block Koromaru.

Make your opponent block by using the dog in neutral, stay at mid range to capitalize on this.

3. Punish your opponents approaches.

Try to make your opponent eager and hit them for pushing buttons. 5B/2B/j.A/j.B are all good at stopping an advancing opponent. 5C is good at stuffing approaches. 2C is good for sniping up backers.

Ken's Throws and Input Reversal

Ken's throw has unique properties due to the fact that it forces Ken and his opponent to swap sides. His normal throws (5/6CD and j.CD) leave the opponent behind Ken, moving Ken to the opposite side and reversing his inputs for subsequent moves. However, for the duration of the throw's animation, the system considers Ken to be on the player one side, despite the visual switch occurring much earlier. Therefore, when performing a normal throw, any commands used during the throw should be inputted though Ken has not yet switched sides with the opponent. When performing a back throw (4CD or j.4CD), the opponent will land in front of Ken, but despite the animation and the lack of a side-swap, the system automatically reverses inputs for the duration of the throw. While Ken's backthrow functions as his forward throw, the system treats his backthrow like any other character's and assumes it causes a change in player position. In short:

  • Normal throw: inputs are not reversed until the throw has ended, despite the side-swap occurring early in the animation. As soon as the throw ends, the game registers the side-swap and inputs are subsequently adjusted.
  • Backthrow: inputs are reversed for the duration of the throw, then revert after the throw animation has completed.

Understanding when the system determines your position is crucial for using Ken's throws in combos and pressure. During corner pressure, Ken's normal throw will toss the opponent out of the corner, making his backthrow preferable for maintaining offense. However, because the game assigns player position at the start of the throw and again after its animation, being able to recognize the start and end of the input reversal is required for some throw combos and when using Ken's throw in high-pressure situations, throwing an opponent out of pressure, etc. While Ken can always combo off his throw with a One More! Cancel, he can turn his throw into a combo without meter by using his throw in conjunction with Koromaru's attacks or by buffering the next move in the combo. While many throw combos are unaffected by the system's decisions regarding player position, internalizing the input change allows you to capitalize off unexpected throw opportunities, such as a counter-hit throw on an opponent using Evasive Action.

Use training mode to learn the specific timing of input changes and to memorize the visual cues to avoid mishaps!

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Tips and Tricks

Use Koramoru while you are in the process of a combo as a secondary damaging source.



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