Hmm...nice topic. I'll focus on my strategies with Ryu/Ken (since they are interchangeable). Also this is assuming you are playing the computer (since I don't know that many ppl that like that game like I do).
Ken vs. Zangief:
Zangief will get priority on throws by default, so I try to keep my distance. Maybe throw a few fireballs, and then when he tries to get close jump straight up and roundhouse. This will get priority over anything that Zangief tries to do 90% of the time. In fact, if you want to be really cheap, you can just stand your ground and keep jumping up and down using roundhouse in the air (sometimes you can get perfects on him doing nothing but that :biggrin
Ken vs. Blanka:
When Blanka gets low on life, most of the time he'll start going nuts and start jumping around wildly. If you can manage to get one jumping roundhouse on him, you can just do this over and over until he's dead (because he'll try to jump as soon as he get's up). Just make sure you time your roundhouses right, because Blanka is fast in the air.
Ken vs. Chun Li:
Chun Li is simple to beat if you are Ryu or Ken. She jumps around constantly and is easily taken out with Dragon Punches. Not much else to it.
Ken vs. Dhalsim:
Since Dhalsim is so slow, your best bet is to try to trap him in the corner. However, since he has such long reach, that can be difficult sometimes. If you do a quick Dragon Punch when he's extending his arms, you'll more than likely get priority, giving you enough time to get in his face. Then a combination of jumping roundhouses and throws should do the trick.
Ken vs. E. Honda:
E. Honda's fierce punch works very well as an anti-air maneuver against most characters, so jumping against him can be somewhat difficult. However, if you can manage to get him with a jumping roundhouse, try jumping towards him again and immediately do another one (like right as you are leaving the ground). This seems to be the best way that I've found to catch him in the air, just attack on the way up.
Ken vs. Guile:
One of the hardest matches in the game, especially if he's the last opponent you face before Balrog (because the A.I. gets progressively more difficult). All he does the whole round is throw sonic booms, and if you try to jump over them, you'll get flash kicked (and of course Guile's flash kick gets priority over #### near anything). Plus, Guile's throws seem to get priority no matter what, so you can't get too close to him anyways. I haven't really found a good strategy against CPU Guile with Ken/Ryu.
Ken vs. Balrog:
One the easiest matches in the game, if you're cheap. Just try to knock him down with a jumping roundhouse/sweep combo, and then hurricane kick as soon as you can. After that, just keep using hurricane kicks on him. Like an idiot, he makes no attempt to block, and will be dead in no time.
Ken vs. Vega:
Try to chase him into the corner, but remain defensive at the same time, because CPU Vega is not only quick, but most of his moves get priority. Once you have him in the corner, he'll try to jump off of the wall like Chun Li does; as soon as you see him coming down, jump away from the corner and aim for his head with a roundhouse while still in the air. From here, you can just keep jumping and roundhousing, because the first thing he tries to do when he gets up is jump; so if you time it right, you shouldn't have any problems taking him down. Also, if he jumps on the fence, wait for him to yell out, then jump backwards and roundhouse. You should be able to avoid it most of the time.
Ken vs. Sagat:
Sagat seems difficult at first, but he's quite predictable. As soon as you see him get into his routine of high and low Tigers, block one of the high ones, and then immediately jump towards him and roundhouse (because he'll be throwing a low tiger at this point). If you're feeling lucky, you can go for the sweep as soon as you land, but sometimes Sagat will get back up immediately with a Tiger Uppercut. So for this reason, I always block and wait for him to whiff his uppercut and then nail him with an attack of my choice. As long as you pay close attention to Sagat's pattern, you shouldn't have any problems defeating him.
Ken vs. M. Bison:
Bison is fast and aggressive, and in my opinion, quite cheap. Don't even think about trying to throw him, his throws will get priority 90% of the time. I usually jump backwards a lot and roundhouse, sometimes you can catch him with it. If he traps you in the corner (which he more than likely will at some point), just keep blocking and wait for him to bounce off of your head, at which point he'll back off for a second, this is your cue to jump forward and roundhouse. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (depending on how cheap the A.I. feels like being, I guess). Also, if you see him on the other side of the screen and his fist is glowing, he's getting ready to do a Psycho Crusher on you. All you have to do here is throw a Hadouken.
And then there's the somewhat cheap strategy you can use to beat any player, just keep throwing fireballs, and when your opponent tries to jump over them, dragon punch them.
(Edited by Troy88 at 11:23 pm on May 23, 2002)