Ken Masters

"Bring it on!"

- Ken Masters

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.

Super Mario Klemp-Won-Do: Muskeln sind nicht alles!
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, Dhalsim, Chun-Li, Blanka, and Ken.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
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
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.

Hadoken


Hadoken is Ken's standard special move.


 * Names in other languages

Tatsumaki Senpukyaku


Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is Ken's side special move.


 * Names in other languages

Shoryuken


Shoryuken is Ken's up special move.


 * Names in other languages

Focus Attack


Focus Attack is Ken's down special move.


 * Names in other languages

Shinryuken


Shinryuken (神龍拳) is one of the variants for Ken's Final Smash, originally debuting as a Super Combo in the Street Fighter Alpha series. This version of the Final Smash appears if used when there are no opponents directly in front of Ken. Upon inputting the command, Ken shouts, "Take this! Shinryuken!" and jumps up into the air with a powerful uppercut, causing a large geyser of fire to erupt around him. The Shinryuken is also capable of hitting through soft platforms on the stage. If the Final Smash is activated when Ken is next to an opponent, the Final Smash becomes the Shippu Jinraikyaku instead.

Shippu Jinraikyaku


Shippu Jinraikyaku (疾風迅雷脚) is a move from the Street Fighter series debuting as Ken's third Super Art in Street Fighter III: New Generation and appears as one of his two Final Smash attacks. This attack is used when the player uses Ken's Final Smash with an opponent directly in front of him. Ken kicks his opponent on the ground several times, announcing the attack while kicking, before beginning to carry them upward with a rapid helicopter kick. The move ends with one final intense kick to the opponent. Similar to Shin Shoryuken, if the move has enough knockback to KO the opponent, an intense orange background from Street Fighter IV will cover the entire screen, while the final kick causes black ink to surround the opponent while violent action lines focus on the Final Smash's victim. This move will ignore edges entirely, continuing past them even during the grounded section. If Ken misses, he will instead simply perform the initial five hits of the attack. If there are no opponents directly in front of Ken, then the Final Smash becomes the Shinryuken instead.

Quotes

 * "I'm ready for ya! Bring it on!"
 * "There you go!"
 * "Take this! Shinryuken!"
 * "Gotcha! Shippu Jinraikyaku!"
 * "Get serious."
 * "Yeah!"
 * "Come on!"
 * "Uh-oh!"
 * "I did it!"
 * "I knew I'd win, ha!"
 * "Challenge me after some practice."
 * "So, you wanna fight fire with fire, huh?" (debut trailer)
 * "Hadoken!"
 * "Tatsumaki!"
 * "Tatsumaki Senpakyakyu!"
 * "Shoryuken!"

Palutena's Guidance

 * 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

 * 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

 * 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.

Trivia

 * Ken is the only fighting game-originating opponent in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate whose Classic Mode route does not consist entirely of Stamina battles.