Notes on using the Ken/Ryu characters:

Preface:  I've been playing SFII for almost a year now, and have
recently switched from Ken to Ryu (there really is a speed
difference).  I'm fairly good at playing the computer, although I
haven't finished on level 7 without a continue (I'm down to just
one, though).  When I play against my friends, they play as Ryu,
Guile, Blanka, Chun Li, Honda and Ken.  

Equipment used:  Street Fighter II, Super Nintendo Entertainment
System, no Game Genie.  When playing the computer, I use the
clear Nintendo-made controller. 

General Notes:

1)   Here's a must-know-and-use combo:  straight jump, descending
     fierce kick, fireball.  If you can get off a fireball right
     as you land, and the kick did damage, you should have your
     opponent spinning.  Sometimes you can land both attacks but
     fail to get the opponent spinning.  Other times, you'll land
     just the kick or just the fireball.  If you land just the
     fireball, you've got a few seconds to land a fierce kick (or
     maybe a punch, I've never tried) and get your opponent
     spinning. I use this move against all of the characters
     except Vega, Chun Li and Dhalsim.  It works great against
     the computer, but any human opponent won't be fooled for
     long.

2)   The difference between all three fireballs is important, and
     each one has a good use.  Personally, I use the fierce and
     light fireballs only.  I have found two uses for the
     fireball:  close surprise attack, and distance attack.  The
     close surprise attack is most effective with the fastest, of
     course, and the fastest also works well when your opponent
     is spinning but on the other side of the screen.  The light
     fireball is good to keep your opponent on his or her toes. 
     A good strategy is to alternate the fireballs at random. 
     This really screws up a human opponent.  A lot of my
     strategy relies on the fire ball, and I use the move _a lot_
     when playing the computer.

3)   The easiest way to get Ken or Ryu to do a throw is to press
     R then L rapidly (as if you were attempting to recover from
     a spin) when you're near an opponent.  Why this works, I
     have no idea.  By using this, you don't have to be pushing
     up against your opponent.  You can't determine which throw
     will be used (it seems fairly random), but both do about the
     same damage.

4)   I really can't find a human opponent that falls for the
     Hurricane Kick.  Once in a while, you might hit a human
     opponent once, but rarely twice and never three times.  The
     computer however, is a sucker for this move when you're
     fighting Balrog and sometimes even Guile.  The only
     Hurricane Kick I do is using the fierce kick.  It helps to
     be fairly close to your opponent.  Like the Dragon Punch
     (see 5 below), the Hurricane Kick is a cool move to finish
     your opponent with.

5)   The Dragon Punch is worth knowing how to use, but is limited
     in it's implementation, IMO.  It is really cool to use it as
     your last move, particularly if your opponent is spinning
     and you know you'll hit him (or her).  I don't have it
     completely worked into my strategies yet, so I could be
     mistaken.

6)   Another cool combo:  if you land adjacent to your opponent
     after a jumping fierce kick, immediately press the L button
     (fierce punch).  Often, this will throw your opponent.

7)   The rapid-fire light kick is really cool, and I've found
     that it works great against a human opponent.  However, the
     computer blocks this move a lot of the time.  The solution I
     have found is to do a low fierce kick (leg sweep) or a fire
     ball as an alternative to the 4th or 5th light kick.  The
     fireball seems to work more often than the fierce sweep.  To
     make this work, you've got to have rhythm to your button
     presses.  Light-Light-Light-Light-Fierce/Fireball.

8)   The computer typically will do two punches as Blanka or
     Honda before they do their continuous attacks (electricity
     and 1000 Hands, respectively).  Chun Li will do two short
     kicks.  Observe this behavior, and toss a fireball when you
     see it.

9)   Notes on individual opponents:

          Blanka:  Blanka can be very difficult or very easy,
          depending on his (or your) mood.  When he starts to
          retreat or pause for a moment, toss a fireball because
          he will most likely do that silly spinning attack. 
          Blanka is also a _sucker_ for the jump/kick/fireball
          move mentioned above in (1) above.  Also, learn to
          catch him with a fireball when he jumps about 1/4th of
          the screen in front of you.  As he jumps, toss a slow
          fireball, and he'll catch it on the way down.  Note
          that if you catch him in that spinning attack with a
          fireball, it takes off _a lot_ of vitality.

          Chun Li:  I'm one of those wimps that just crouches and
          waits for her to try and jump on me.  When she does, I
          uppercut.  She will do this 6, maybe 7 times before she
          switches strategies.  Chun Li is also vulnerable to the
          same fireball attack after she jumps from the wall as
          Vega is (see his notes below).  Other than that, it's
          just straight fighting.

          Guile:  Guile gives me trouble a lot of time.  If I try
          to force him into making a move, he usually nails me. 
          If I'm cautious, I can get him when he makes a mistake. 
          Guile is fairly susceptible to the low fierce sweep,
          and the rapid-fire short kick.  He falls a lot for the
          surprise fireball at short range.  Don't be afraid of
          the Flash Kick, because if you can learn to jump a bit
          earlier than normal, you can nail him with a jumping
          fierce kick.  Note that to get this to work, you need
          to kick him at the very edge of your attack range.  If
          you land this move, follow up with another immediate
          fierce kick, this time a low sweep.  A light kick after
          that should get him spinning.
 
          Dhalsim:  Dhalsim is a tough cookie to fight.  Just as
          with Guile, patience is important.  You can expect
          another fireball after he throws one (jump the first
          and kick him while he tries the second).  Dhalsim is
          fairly susceptible to the uppercut and to the jumping
          fierce punch.  He will usually try his limb-extending
          attacks two or three times in a row.  If you're out of
          range for the first, throw a fire ball and it he will
          slap right into it.
     
          Honda:  Honda fights a lot like Blanka.  All of
          Blanka's moves can be applied to Honda.  Word of
          caution:  don't try to jump kick Honda unless he's
          doing his 1000 hands (he'll bash you with the
          slap/uppercut).  Honda likes to do his 1000 hands a
          lot, and that move is an excellent opportunity for you
          to toss a fireball and nail him.  Honda typically does
          the 1000 Hands in groups of two.

          Ken fighting Ryu:  Ryu is a complete wimp until he
          lands an attack.  It's pitiful, but if you can force
          him into the corner, you can repeatedly nail him with a
          fireball.  He'll block, of course, but eventually he'll
          be down to nothing.

          Ryu fighting Ken:  Ken is much more aggressive than
          Ryu, except when you're spinning.  Just like Dhalsim,
          when Ken throws a fireball, he will most likely throw
          one or two more.  Jump the first and jump kick him as
          he throws the second (Ryu does nearly the same thing). 
          Ken often starts of with the Hurricane Kick.  You can
          crouch and uppercut him when he's in range.  Also, Ken
          will sometimes do a Dragon Punch that's no where near
          you.  Wait in a crouch, and he'll walk closer and do it
          again.  Low sweep him as he comes down within range.

          Zangief:  I really don't bother doing anything other
          than the jump/kick/fireball move in (1) above.  I'll do
          that, get him spinning, toss him, and do it all again. 
          If Zangief jumps at you while you're jumping straight
          up, kick at the apex of the jump, and then throw a
          fierce fireball as you land.  This is just a modified
          version of (1) above.

          Balrog:  Balrog is fairly easy to beat.  I usually wear
          him down with fireballs (he usually blocks).  If he's a
          little out of your attack range, he might jump a
          fireball.  Fierce kick and jump at the same time, and
          you'll hit him.  Or, if he's still out _his_ attack
          range, you can get him with a sweep when he lands. 
          When you try to sweep him, he will usually try to jump
          attack you.  Perfect opportunity to uppercut him.  If
          Balrog retreats to the far end of the screen, start
          throwing fireballs because he will do that running
          slam, usually twice in a row.

          Vega:  Vega is the character that gives me the most
          trouble.  It took a while, but here's some helpful
          strategies.  As soon as the round starts, walk about a
          quarter of the screen towards Vega (he always retreats
          at the beginning).  Crouch down, he will walk back
          toward you, and as soon as he gets in range, fierce
          sweep him.  He'll usually jump up and back, then toward
          you.  As he lands, fierce sweep him again.  You might
          be able to repeat this procedure 4 or 5 times.  After
          this, the name of the game is avoidance.  Retreat and
          block (high then low).  Another useful move is to throw
          a slow fireball as he jumps from the wall and you're at
          the opposite edge of the screen.  He catches this one
          every time if executed correctly.  Also, if you toss a
          fireball, and he does that ridiculous loop thing, walk
          toward him as far as the screen scrolls and he'll
          probably catch the fireball.  My only other
          consistently successful move is to jump forward a
          second or two after he jumps from the wall and fierce
          kick in the air.  Jump forward again as he gets up and
          nail him again with the fierce kick.  You might be able
          to do this a third time and get him spinning.  If you
          try a leg sweep and Vega straight jumps to avoid, try
          the sweep again.  He will usually jump straight again,
          but if you repeat this process long enough, you can
          catch him.  Also, the retreating-jump fierce kick is
          effective against Vega when he jumps from the fence if
          you jump and kick as he makes his noise before his
          jump.

          Sagat:  Sagat uses his missile attack ruthlessly.  The
          only effective counter is to match him fireball for
          fireball.  I tend to use the fierce fireball
          exclusively against Sagat because it will get past his
          own Tiger fireball a lot of the time.  A move that he
          seems unable to counter (or the programmers didn't
          anticipate) is the straight jump-fierce kick.  A really
          neat trick is to jump forward while you're far enough
          back not to get caught by the Tiger Uppercut.  He'll do
          it anyway, and you can fierce sweep him when he lands. 
          Also, if Sagat does a high Tiger fireball, and you
          didn't block with a fireball of your own but were
          crouched, toss a fireball and you'll nail him.  (This
          is less complicated than it sounds).  Remember that
          Sagat will do the Tiger uppercut _every_ time if you
          try to jump attack him, unless he's just done a
          fireball.

          Mountie Bison:  Bison is fairly easy to beat as long as
          you maintain the initiative.  I use the combo described
          in (1) above a lot, as well as the fierce fireball. 
          Also, Bison will often jump as you jump, and the
          technique described in the Zangief section works well. 
          If you lose the initiative, block like crazy until he
          gives you a little breathing room.  Bison is fairly
          susceptible to the straight jump with fierce kick.  The
          best bet is to keep throwing fireballs until he's
          within range for the jump-kick-fireball combo.

That's really all the strategies that I use.  It may seem that I
use the fireball a lot, and I do.  Unmercifully, just like Sagat. 
If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to drop me
a note.

Troy Melhase
CIS 73360,36
     "I am your one night nightmare,
      Your pain is all you see,
      The blood is on your hands,
      I hope you're proud of me."  - Anthrax