Ken Masters
| Ken Masters | |
|---|---|
| |
| Species | Human |
| First appearance | Street Fighter (1987, Street Fighter series) Super Mario Klemp-Won-Do: Muskeln sind nicht alles! (1992, Mario-related media) |
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Mario-related media) |
| Latest portrayal | Reuben Langdon (English, 2009-2023) Yūji Kishi (Japanese, 1999-present) |
- “Bring it on!”
- —Ken Masters, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Ken Masters is one of the central characters of Capcom's Street Fighter series. He is the best friend and rival to Ryu and uses improved Shoryuken ki techniques to fight. He has made crossover appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series.
History[edit]
Super Mario Klemp-Won-Do: Muskeln sind nicht alles![edit]
The German Club Nintendo magazine published a 1992 comic titled "Super Mario Klemp-Won-Do: Muskeln sind nicht alles!", which features various characters from the Street Fighter series. Among the characters Mario meets in the comic are E. Honda, Dhalsim, Chun-Li, Blanka, and Ken.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U[edit]
Ken makes his first appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, obtained upon downloading Ryu.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
 Ken |
|
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| Game appearance |
|---|
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (unlockable) |
| Special moves |
| Neutral: Hadoken Side: Tatsumaki Senpukyaku Up: Shoryuken Down: Focus Attack Final Smash: Shippu Jinraikyaku / Shinryuken |
| Battle entrance |
| Ken walks onto the stage from some mist in the background, then gets into a fighting stance while saying "I'm ready for ya! Bring it on!". |
- SmashWiki article: Ken (SSBU)
Ken appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as an unlockable character and an Echo Fighter to Ryu. He shares many similarities to Ryu, though he has multiple gameplay differences, including multiple entirely different moves (e.g. side smash attack, neutral air attack, up air attack, Final Smash etc.), and he moves slightly faster. His Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku can hit multiple times unlike Ryu's variants, and his Hadoken is shaped differently while also having a graphic of his hands displayed within. Additionally, he can perform two unique command-input moves that Ryu cannot perform, though Ken cannot perform the Shakunetsu Hadoken. He shares his debut trailer with Incineroar. In said trailer, Ken, on the Boxing Ring stage, successfully KOs Little Mac, before being knocked out himself by Incineroar. Some of Ken's standard moves have nicknames: standard attack is Inazuma Kick; tapped and held down tilts are Light Ankle Kick and Heavy Ankle Kick, respectively; and back throw is Hell Wheel.
As a somewhat heavy fighter, Ken's weight is equal to that of Ryu, while he is lighter than Link, Yoshi, Captain Falcon, Min Min, and Mii Gunner, but heavier than Mega Man.
Classic Mode route[edit]
| Red-Hot Rivalry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Opponent(s) | Stage | Song | |
| 1 | Dark Pit | Palutena's Temple (Battlefield) | Dark Pit's Theme | |
| 2 | Wolf | Venom | Star Wolf's Theme / Sector Z (for 3DS / Wii U) | |
| 3 | Dark Samus | Frigate Orpheon | Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | |
| 4 | Link (eighth costume) | Temple | Great Temple / Temple | |
| 5 | Luigi | Mario Bros. | Underground Theme - Super Mario Bros. | |
| 6 | Ryu | Suzaku Castle (Ω) | Ryu Stage | |
| Final | Crazy Hand Master Hand & Crazy Hand (intensity 7.0 or higher) |
Final Destination | Crazy Hand Master Hand / Crazy Hand (intensity 7.0 or higher) | |
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Palutena's Guidance[edit]
- Pit: Whoa! It's Ken!
- Palutena: He's the son of the Masters family and a U.S. martial arts tournament champion.
- Pit: I heard he's filthy rich!
- Palutena: Really, Pit?
- Viridi: Sounds like someone needs to up their angel's allowance.
- Palutena: Back to Ken - he's energetic, cheerful, and boisterous. Pretty much the opposite of Ryu, who has a much more serious personality.
- Pit: Uh...Why are their attacks so similar then?
- Palutena: Ken and Ryu are friends that trained in the same fighting style.
- Palutena: It's a martial art close to Karate that originates from Ansatsuken. They're known to use Hado as well.
- Pit: You know, Ken doesn't seem like such a bad guy.
- Palutena: Let's just hope he doesn't give in to the Dark Hado.
- Palutena: OK, gossip time! Did you know Ken's wife Eliza is also Julia's sister, and Julia is married to Guile?
- Pit: What?! So Ken is Guile's brother-in-law?!
Super Smash Blog bio[edit]
- Ken joins the battle as Ryu's Echo Fighter! Their differences are carried over from the original game: Ken's Hadoken is shaped differently, his strong Shoryuken has flames, and he moves a bit faster. He has two Final Smashes: Shinryuken and Shippu Jinraikyaku.
amiibo[edit]
- Originally from the Street Fighter™ series, Ken joined the Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate game as Ryu's Echo Fighter! Their differences are carried over from the original game: Ken's Hadoken is shaped differently, his strong Shoryuken has flames, and he moves a bit faster. He has two final smashes: Shinryuken and Shippu Jinraikyaku.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 肯[?] Kěn |
Ken | |
| German | Ken[?] | - | |
| Russian | Кен[?] Ken |
Ken |
