Kensou is a zoning and poking character that aims to control space and zone the opponent out or lock them down with his good long ranged pokes and fireballs. Once he has the opponent locked down and blocking he can start pressuring them or mixing them up with a variety of tools. Kensous weaknesses are his floaty jumps that makes mixups less scary, easier anti airs for the opponent and making it more difficult for Kensou to escape using the air. he also suffers from a lack of high damage on his combos.
Changes from previous versions
98 to 98UM
Normals:
his taunt has a hitbox that is cancellable, allowing for some combos out of it
cl.D has 1 frame faster startup
st.C has 4 frames faster startup
f+A has 4 frames faster startup and 4 frames shorter recovery
f+B has 2 frames slower startup and 2 frames slower recovery
Specials:
j.qcb+Ps recovery is reduced
rdp+D now launches from 1st hit so it will always connect as a combo
hcf+P has 3 frames faster startup so you can combo it from lights
Supers:
qcf,hcb+K has 4 frames faster startup so you can combo it from lights
qcfx2+P is fully startup invincible.
98UM to 98UMFE
Normals:
cl/st.A doesn't whiff against crouching short characters anymore
cr.B easier to combo into itself
st.B - damage increased from 4 to 6
f+A now has less recovery
Specials;:
air QCB+P - Can be cancelled into other special attacks if the final hit connects
Normal Moves
Close
cl. A: the hitbox doesn't hit very high up so not great at dealing with hops. Good to throw out as a checking move in the close range. Chainable. Cancelable.
cl. B: a very unremarkable move that is generally outshined by his other close options. Chainable. Cancelable.
cl. C: has a lot of startup for a close normal and is heavily outshined by cl.D, so use that button instead. Cancelable.
cl. D: Kensous fastest heavy normal making it good for combos. Also a good meaty since it has a lot of active frames and is cancelable so you can combo from it or make it safe if they block it.
Stand
st. A: Same as cl.A
st. B: a fast button to stop hops with and catch the opponents forward movement, making it one of his main pokes. Whiffs on tiny crouchers. Not chainable. Not Chainable.
st. C: slow to start up and leaves Kensou pretty open. The second hit is cancelable on contact and whiff so you can cancel it into fireball to make it a bit safer. it's best to avoid intentionally using this move. Cancelable.
st. D: it's quite slow on startup and recovery but the hitbox is nice for anti airs, so it can make a good poke on reads. Not cancelable.
Crouch
cr. A: one of Kensous best close options for blockstrings and light chains since it has nice range and is + on block making it good for pressure. Chainable. Cancelable.
cr. B: Kensous only option for low starter combos making it a key tool, though it is fairly slow on startup. It is + on block so good to use in blockstrings. Chainable. Not cancelable.
cr. C: this move is decent but has fairly slow startup so Kensou has better tools for poking in cr.D + st.B and for combos in cl.D. Cancelable.
cr. D: this is an amazing sweep. it low profiles moves very easily. It can be used to catch roll recovery or badly spaced jumpins from people trying to avoid his fireball. It's cancelable on contact and on whiff so you can cancel it into fireballs for pressure and into rdp+K for anti airs.
Jump
j. A: can be used as an okay air to air or air to ground. Not terrible but not Kensous best option for either. Cancelable.
j. B: Good range for air to airs, the hitbox is very flat and long so it can work as a good crossup as well. Cancelable.
neutral j.B:a decent air to air option if you happen to be neutral jumping. Not good for much else. Not cancelable.
j. C: a decent jumpin that can crossup, though it is hard. His most damaging jumping button but otherwise not his best option. Not cancelable.
j. D: Kensous best jumpin and crossup tool. Not cancelable.
Blowback
st. CD: a horse stance palm strike. has fairly slow startup but has a decent hitbox once out. The startup looks very similar to his fireball startup so you can whiff cancel it into fireballs to change the timing of the fireball to throw people off.
j. CD: a great air to air as it comes out fast and has a nice hitbox. Can crossup but the window is fairly small. good to use from hop pressure as well.
Throws
Power Blast: b/f + C (close)
Regular throw, techable. Kensou sends the opponent flying away with a blast of energy making them land 1/2 screen away.
Psychic Slam: b/f + D (close)
Regular throw, techable. Kensou flips the opponent behind them with a kick making them land fullscreen away.
Command Moves
Reverse Mass Kick: f + B
Kensou does a hopping high kick.
invulnerable to low attacks
good to cancel into sometimes to move forward while having an active hitbox out.
Whiffs on low crouchers.
Cancelable.
Tiger Takedown Punch: f + A
a downwards chopping double palm strike
an overhead strike when done raw, and a cancelable mid when cancelled into
good to use in blockstrings as it pushes Kensou out and can be cancelled into fireball for pressure.
can be used in combos in specific conditions.
Special Moves
Super Bullet Attack: qcb + A/C
A ball shaped energy projectile. A version travels slower and C version travels faster. Both go full screen.
Faster than average startup speed for a fireball but slower recovery so it can be hit by superjumps from far away easier than other fireballs.
One of Kensous key moves for his zoning gameplan alongside moves to catch people trying to avoid the fireball like his rdp+K and cr.D
it can also be good for setting up his pressure game as blocked fireballs can provide frame advantage on block.
Kensou crouches down when throwing the fireball meaning that his hurtbox becomes pretty small. This means that the fireball can actually work as an anti air when it's close to Kensou.
Dragon Drubbing: dp + A/C (close)
Kensou does a series of punches with the final one launching the opponent into the air.
Proximity unblockable. One of Kensous best mixup tools.
has 9 startup frames with no invincibility so it can get beaten out or trade.
Launches on hit for a followup juggle meaning you can get a knockdown or a reset after it.
you can mash C during the C version to make it do 2 extra hits. A version always does 4 hits whether you mash or not.
Dragon Talon Tear: qcb + A/C (in the air)
Kensou pauses slightly in the air and then does a diving energy punch.
good to change up Kensous air trajectory and timing.
You can cancel into it from some of his air normals but it won't combo.
can be either safe or unsafe depending on how it hit and how many hits connected.
Earth Dragon Fang Nibble: hcf + A
a series of attacks leaping forward.
Kensous main combo ender when dp+P won't reach.
unsafe on whiff or block so it's best to limit it's use to inside combos.
Heaven Dragon Fang Nibble: hcf + C
a series of attacks leaping diagonally upwards.
has upper body auto guard at the first hit.
whiffs on low crouchers so not as good of a combo tool as hcf+A.
can be used as an anti air though it's not as consistent as rdp+K.
Dragon Uppercut: rdp + B/D
a spinning helicopter kick upwards.
B version has some startup invincibility but it ends before the active frames. Comes out faster than the D version so it can be good as an anti air.
D version has invincibility frames all throughout the startup frames and the first hit making this your reversal of choice. Can also be good as a late anti air using the invincibility to go through the opponents jumpin attack.
Unsafe on block or whiff.
Desperation Moves
Eat Meat Dumplings: qcb, qcb + A/C
Kensou pulls out a dumpling and eats it, this heals him.
This super takes a long time to finish so the opponent has plenty of time to hit Kensou and take of more health than he gained when using it.
It does have some uses though. You can use it at the end of a round to make sure you have more health than the opponent before time runs out.
You can use it fullscreen to make your fireballs unblockable which can be useful if you only need a little bit of damage to take down your opponent.
The max version takes longer to finish but Kensou recovers more health.
Hermit Power Blast: qcf, qcf + A/C (close)
Kensou sends a large amount of energy into the opponent up close hurting them.
Proximity unblockable.
Good mixup option when your opponent has been blocking your pokes and fireballs.
It can still trade after the super flash though since it's not invincible.
The max version does more damage and kensou flies backwards when it's finished.
Dragon God Kick: qcf, hcb + B
Kensou does a series of strikes leaping forwards, he then finishes it with a straight upwards helicopter kick.
good super for ending combos but not much else.
Dragon God Drubbing: qcf, hcb + D
Kensou does a series of strikes leaping diagonally upwards, he then finishes with a straight upwards helicopter kick:
not a good anti air since it has no invvincibility and not as good of a combo ender as the B version so this move is safe to avoid.
The max version does more damage and more hits and is a good combo ender.
Combos
General Notes
In any combo involving dp+P, you have multiple ender options: dp+P will juggle your opponent, afterwards, you can use:
- j.C for decent damage and an air reset
- j.CD for decent damage into a soft knockdown
- hcf+C at midscreen for better damage but worse oki
- rdp+D for maximum damage into soft knockdown. rdp+D can be done right out of dp+P at the corner but anywhere else, you'll need to run closer to the opponent for it to connect.
In any metered combo, you can replace qcfx2+P with qcfx2+AC or qcf,hcb+B with qcf,hcb+BD for more damage if you have 3 stocks in Advanced Mode.
Both of Kensou's regular supers do the same damage, qcfx2+P pushes your opponent a full screen away and lets you throw out a fireball before they recovery roll, while qcf,hcb+K has better corner carry.
Low
cr.Bx1~2, cr.A/st.A, qcfx2+P/qcf,hcb+K:
You can do this as cr.Bx1~2, qcf+A, qcf+A/hcb+K for an easier cancel.
Anywhere
(j.X), cl.D, qcfx2+P/qcf,hcb+K:
(cross-up), cl.D, f+A, qcf,hcb+B:
Cross-up combo into super. You can also start this combo from cl.D by itself.
With Quick Max
Anywhere
f+A, ABC, cr.D:
Overhead quick max combo.
Corner
cl.D, f+B, ABC, walk-up cl.D, qcf,hcb+K:
Only works on standing opponents, and can be done at midscreen if you exclude the jump-in.
