The History of Violent Ken - A Street Fighter Character Documentary (1987 - 2021)

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

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[@devingiles6597]

Top Hat Gaming Man, would you mind doing a Street Fighter character documentary video on Dhalsim?

[@cedricgaming5106]

I believe ken half Japanese side was hidden in the orochi blood. In which the experiment in SVC unlocks the dormant blood in his body

[@donhokage]

I remember a game Ken could change suits and got things like air fireball in some of the suits one of them is purple with the same colour flames on his DP and has purple fireballs I thought it was the violent mode of him tbh

[@joshmcgootermier2301]

@@cedricgaming5106 yeah, walked away from this video when it was released thinking that everything I remembered was wrong. HOW DARE YOU THGM!

[@Iqzzy-KO]

Can you do one for Ryu please? :)

[@Invictus-Solaris]

SF6 might introduce violent Ken and I’m all for it. He’s lost everything, so he might as well say fuck it. 😢

[@deathspitterq1072]

I was thinking that i hope he can be added to the roster down the line i hope even as a DLC are dlc characters cannon?

[@Kinji_Hakari]

@@deathspitterq1072 imagine in Street Fighter 6, Ken does a hadouken and hadouken doesn't come out but his hands get lit on fire, and then if you do a hadouken it comes out or if we do a shoryuken Ken does a fire shoryuken That would be an awesome mechanic, and the reason for this would be what's happening to him in Street Fighter 6

[@kennethbryant5819]

The story kind of sounds like it. He was framed and he's gone into hiding. It could've been done by the New Shadaloo under JP to bring Ken to him so he could brainwash him into becoming Bison's new vessel.

[@Sheffdawg2305]

That's what I'm hoping. The drastic change they made to him has me hopeful for Violent Ken.

[@6SolCrossZero9]

I feel like Ken's story of being "framed" is not actually that but was actually him being brainwashed. Might not be Bison but there are other big bads out there who can get it done, plus Masters is a huge name, someone on the board might of manipulated the whole thing. It seems like an ideal place to reveal Violent Ken, it would also explain his whole redesign as Violent Ken might have the original red gi

[@ericfutrell6618]

Ken is a very popular character....I think the creators are afraid that violent ken will become more popular than evil ryu and Akuma....they don't want ken to outclass their golden boy ryu

[@anikarobinson4023]

Ken is definitely more fun to play imo. He doesn't need writers to shine :D

[@MrMannyhw]

Ken was always more cool than Ryu. Ryu is too typical.

[@zone_act_129]

wasn't that the point? he's supposed to be the cool shoto

[@yoshimitsu4176]

@@anikarobinson4023 *easier

[@robertgherghe8480]

Violent ken will never ever get as popular as someone who has been in the game since sf2 ( akuma )

[@danobra]

It's important to notice that back when Violent Ken was launched, there was a very known Mugen character called Evil Ken who had a standpose that looked a lot like Violent Ken's. It seems that SNK was heavily inspired by that Mugen version of Ken

[@jamirvillarosa7924]

R.i.p Rueben Kee. I love watching his Evil Ken against Evil Ryu in CPU battle.

[@niyastudios5086]

Kee legacy will be remembered. A cpu Evil Ryu vs Evil Ken is a site of awesomeness.

[@digispa]

Came to the comments just to ask what about the Mugen version of Evil Ken.

[@jeffmazziotta]

yea i always just assumed they took the idea from the Mugen version

[@maiastniki]

evil ken came from back when they used to call violent ken orochi ken in capcom vs snk chaos but still true i loved when evil n orochi homer n other joke characters

[@donteo508]

SF6 is screaming a comeback of violent ken

[@tuipulotulavaka1757]

Considering Ken's new design, I wonder if they plan on using Violent Ken in SF6 at some point

[@dolan-duk]

I couldn't continue the video the moment I heard "RAI-YOO".

[@silenthicks]

yeah cringe everytime

[@NekobibuVonBibu]

It's Râ-Yoo. Please show some respect. Otherwise, he will shoot haDOOkens at you.

[@h.m.5724]

Both Rai Yoo and Riyu are annoying af usually Americans pronounce it that way. The 90s pronunciation of Ruu is/was far much better if one can't say Ryu

[@SKaede]

Rai-yoo is a different character than Ryu, as he has Shoraiyooken in his moveset.

[@sonico.talons]

It's pronounced "RE-YUU"

[@chumorgan443]

It's not like he's an opposite of Ken. Ken isn't " Pacifist Ken".

[@321tiempo3]

I know a guy in fightcade, he is a Ken main and his nickname is "LovelyKen"

[@3WL2]

IMO the best possible route Capcom could go is to have Ken study under Oro. It's stated that over his long lifespan he's had many disciples but none could handle his training methods. Make Ken 'the one' that could succeed him, this could also give him a chance to branch off of the typical Shoto moveset as well as giving him a much needed canon powerup. Finally allowing him to catch up to Ryu and return to being a worthy rival to his best friend.

[@MegamanNG]

I know about Violent Ken thanks to SVC Chaos and he felt different compared to Evil Ryu. In fact, I can say he was pretty fun. Thanks SNK.

[@angelshadow3593]

Hey he was always a more cool character to have than all of the new characters that came from street fighter 3, 4 and 5 haha

[@bloodeagle6458]

Thank capcom when the anime movie came out they created violent ken

[@rockmenx8xx411]

It's honestly a miracle that SNK of all people pulled that off.

[@o_oro-q1k]

@@rockmenx8xx411 well they were capcom's first rival afterall

@@bloodeagle6458 That wasn't violent Ken per se

[@rugerREL07]

That Sf animated movie is probably the best animated movie of the 90s it goes that ghost in the shell and lion king

[@chenglengx6781]

In the movie. Violent Ken was created .

[@johnboats9075]

The lion king? OK if you say so. I personally would have said Akira but everybody's got opinions.

[@aznpikachu215]

Funny how SNK was the one that released Violent Ken, and not Capcom. Maybe they didn't want the golden American fighter to outclass their mascot of Ryu.

[@rockmenx8xx411]

That's exactly the reason why.

[@flexyourlucks8956]

Capcom obviously bought the rights to Violent Ken from SNK as Violent Ken is now apart of the Street Fighter games being in Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers.

[@aznpikachu215]

@@flexyourlucks8956 But, it didn't help much that it was only for the Switch.

[@rockmenx8xx411]

@@flexyourlucks8956 Did they buy the rights, or did they already own him from the animated movie?

[@flexyourlucks8956]

@@rockmenx8xx411 Well SNK the one that made Violent Ken for the SNK vs. Capcom Chaos game.

[@level3xfactor]

I love Violent Ken and wish he got more love. I play the Universus card game and my main deck is Ken, which uses artwork from the Udon Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers comic, which is Violent Ken. Appropriately he is a hyper aggressive deck that can attack a lot and deal lots of damage, but if you aren’t careful you can literally deck yourself out.

[@random_gamer_guy82]

Ken masters flaming shouyuken is just savage !!!

[@HotRodakaMadMax]

Evil Ryu and Violet Ken are heavily popular also on a underground fighting bootleg ring called Mugen. They first appeared on Mugen so SNK just wanted to capitalize on the idea.

[@TheBlueArcher]

Project x-zone 2... digging deep here! I love it! There's also a secret code colour pallette in Street Fighter III 3rd strike that is violent ken too. by selecting ken with jab, mk, and fierce.

[@eddylex4921]

Violent Ken's first video game appearance wasn't SVC Chaos it was Street Fighter Zero 3 where Ryu fights Ken as a mid boss before fighting Vega. As the game reenact's the events in the movie. Ryu notices Ken's eyes don't look right before they start fighting. Both Ryu & Ken take turns being possessed in that game.

[@ReeceHoward06]

True. They just didn't give him any design changes or call him that, so I guess it "technically" doesn't count. It could have at least been referenced though.

[@eddylex4921]

@@ReeceHoward06 Yeah he was kinda like a prototype for what we would latter see in SVC Chaos.

[@metalbondedforever]

You can always tell who didn't really play Svc chaos. Violent Ken from that game gets his powers from orochi, not psyco power. Spit on for everything else

[@joshualowe959]

Violent Ken so far has only been in two games: SVC CHAOS & Ultra Street Fighter 2

[@D.Jackpot]

I wish violent Ken makes a comeback. Cooler than Evil Ryu

[@dannytarver4533]

MY hat is off to you Top Hat. As far as I know you're the only tuber to do a backstory video on Violent Ken. Beautiful!!!

[@johnxsoG]

I didn’t even know there was a violent Ken that’s cool.

[@necrogenesis1981]

By the way, doesn’t Ken practice a variation of he same style as Ryu? Why hasn’t he ever dealt with the Satsui no Hadou? Given Ken’s personality he seems like he’d be vulnerable. Imagine his already aggressive style with that extra power.

[@Original_ROY]

Satsui no Hado isn't a power, but a state of concience to which a fighter reaches when at some point in his training "stuck"; both Ryu and Sagat reached a state in which they could not advance further in their training, but, all that training has an inherent approach to violence and desire of blood; when that need is not satisfied, then the "Satsui no Hadou" = "killer instinct" arises; Akuma allowed himself to be carried away by that thirst for violence to continue advancing in the construction of his power even if he left the principles and values that make him human. Ken is very strong, so much so that he can rival Ryu but Ken's life goal is NOT to become the best fighter, he has other interests like getting married and starting a family; The fight is only one of the facets of him, so he does not feel the desire to fight as fervently as Ryu, Sagat or Akuma.

[@rockmenx8xx411]

That's why evil Ryu is garbage. Because how is Ryu going through that but Ken isn't when they both did the exact same training? The writers just were trying anything to make Ryu more interesting than Ken even if it makes absolutely no sense.

[@VNSnake1999]

After watching SF Assassin's Fist I understand the situation like this. Every practitioner of Ansatsuken will experience Satsui no Hado at some point in their training, it is part of the martial art. The Satsui no Hado inside Ryu is simply stronger than Ken's. So although Ken stole and learnt a bit from the secret book of Satsui no Hado, at the end of the movie he has learnt to control his Satsui no Hado and turned it into the fire Shoryuken (Heavy DP). So Ken did have to deal with Satsui no Hado.

[@SuperSaiyanMoses]

@@Original_ROY Sagat never felt the satsui no hado, he just sensed kage.

[@765thatdude]

@russell because I believe Akuma Is Ryu Father not sure

[@UltraRage86]

I remember when Ken got turned evil in the Street Fighter 2 animated movie

[@riotfire2314]

I always thought 'Violent Ken' was as a result of the Manga Street Fighter II movie?

[@-zawarudo-2684]

Now that we know how he’s turned out in SF6, I’d say we have a good chance!

[@MegaManNeo]

I can't help it but despite the story for fighting games are usually lightweighted, I felt sorry for Ken when he was brainwashed by Bison in the anime.

[@arthurgadz646]

I died everytime i hear "RaYu".

[@vargethied2872]

I thought I was the only one 😂

[@neoforrester4401]

Heh, that was quite the video. As for me, I had a personal opinion of where the power came from. I know about Ken's history of being brainwashed or being affected by Psycho Power, but when I played SVC Chaos by the first time and confronted Violent Ken my first thought was "Wha..? When did Ken got affected by the power of Orochi?". In fact, my first nickname for him _was_ "Orochi Ken". Especially because of his EX atack that ended with the classical "skull pillar" we usually see from the likes of Rugal, Vice and Mature.

[@kengoku1766]

Go watch Street fighter Assassin's fist and see Ken experiment with the Dark Hado first 💯

[@SupportGamin2024]

Assassins fist isn't canon

[@zxadvent19]

Everything in Street Fighter 6 is hinting at Violent Ken, so we’ll see what happens!

[@Lenoh]

Violent Ken is essentially just Orochi Ken, down to the explosion after his Exceed move in the first game he appeared in. Basically it's SNK giving a nod to Capcom for God/Ultimate Rugal in their last crossover (having absorbed the Satsui No Hado from Akuma/Gouki) and Capcom going "Hey, that's a cool idea, can we use it?"

[@jblue88hoodgamer54]

If you think about it on Ryu Story mode on Street Fighter Alpha 3 when Bison takes control of Ken an you gotta fight him.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Yeay!!!! I'm glad your covering a character I've recommended ! Its still crazy he's been created by SNK before Capcom as a fighter! Kinda tells you out out of touch the company with their own IP!

[@cedricgaming5106]

Street fighter v or Capcom is pushing ken out for chun li, but personally I don't think it's necessary

[@UltraRage86]

Always hated the way Capcom has been treating some of the characters like Ken

[@TallSilentGuy]

"Violent Ken" sounds like something out of a Monty Python mockumentary.

[@joshmcgootermier2301]

Always thought part of his power came from Orochi in SvC.

[@maiastniki]

it is this guy got it way wrong

[@joshmcgootermier2301]

Oh, ok. Love THGM but always thought it was interesting that they had a character that combined lore of both companies by inserting the purple flames into Ken. Glad everything I remember about the game wasn't a lie. Thanks for clarifying this.

[@dubuyajay9964]

What is Orochi?

[@joshmcgootermier2301]

@@dubuyajay9964 A near diety level humanoid entity that was in the process of being resurrected in the KoF 95 and 97 storylines and served as the final boss of KoF 97.(energy and projectiles mainly purple similar to violent ken.) A number of the main cast descendants of his bloodline such as Iori and Leona and they in the past have had forms/ character versions where they are in a rage state from this. (Similar to Violent Ken.)

[@ramiyohay7286]

I pity Ken’s brain. All those brain washes. His brain is practically an omlet by now

[@picolete]

He has the cleanest brain

[@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski]

@@picolete FACT demolish these ken haters with facts and logic

[@ajaxjohnson7999]

Got the notification and switched immediately!!

[@mr.checkyourself4672]

Surprise Violent Ken wasn't in Street Fighter IV or V maybe he be VI.

[@joshualowe959]

6:33 Violent Ken being the result of Ken manipulated by Red Arremer is a scary theory!!!

[@cashordeals3672]

I wonder if they will bring him back in street fighter 6

[@rockmenx8xx411]

They won't. In fact, they may actually get rid of Ken altogether in street fighter 6.

[@archflamingo9156]

@@rockmenx8xx411 why would they get rid of ken

[@KasumiKenshirou]

@@archflamingo9156 So they can release him later as a paid DLC character?

[@rockmenx8xx411]

@@archflamingo9156 because they clearly don't like him. look at how many capcom crossovers they left him out of. the only time that ken makes it in any crossover game now is when the crossover is made by the other company. also take a look at the latest sf5 opening, they completely left ken out of it even though the opening suggests that it's going through ryu's thoughts.

[@UltraRage86]

​@KasumiKenshirou that's why I don't like about fighting games they take already established characters in turn into DLC characters

[@angelshadow3593]

Too bad we never got that CAPCOM VS SNK 3. Violent Ken would have totally been in there! Already had Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma. May as well right. God I still wish CAPCOM VS SNK 3 would happen since Marvel Vs Capcom continuing is more unlikely now with Disney.

[@rockmenx8xx411]

Personally, I'd rather see a Street Fighter vs Fatal Fury.

[@angelshadow3593]

@@rockmenx8xx411 lol maybe. I hope because of smash bros ultimate putting in Terry Bogard the new generation checks out the series. That and King of Fighters. It been forever since Mark of the Wolves. Was cool to see Rock Howard make a comeback in what was it KOF 14 or 15?

[@rockmenx8xx411]

@@angelshadow3593 Seeing Rock come back was kind of bitter sweet to me. Rock is cool, but you know that the story will say that he lost easily to kof nobodies like Kyo.

[@bizzareadventurer4521]

Idk why I laughed so hard the way you slid that surfshark vpn promo in there as well as got back into the video was smooth asf

[@abehemothbeast866]

Street Fighter 2 the Animated movie was soo good for a computer game film, Manga done really well with that movie

[@Creativemnds]

So Ken linkedin up with the red demon from Ghosts and Ghouls, in one of the most unexpected team ups in computer gaming history. Bizarre

[@TheBeird]

I can't help but hear Kenneth Kaniff's voice whenever Violent Ken is said.

[@thepaper888]

project x zone 2 You just taught me it exists, and I need it.

[@cramirez3855]

Top tier video by Tophat gaming man, who himself is a banned character in homeland security agency fighting game

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

ReeeYu not Rye-U!

[@MailMayne]

Lol he's gotta be doing this on purpose by now

[@ninjax1983]

Also name my green male budgerigar Riiiiyu( Ryu)

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

@@ninjax1983 Ryu is part of my Actual Japanese Spelling of my name Ando-ryu (Andoreee-U)!

[@DragoonMS]

@@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049 Top Hat's commented on this before; he's made it clear that he doesn't care how it's supposed to be pronounced, he's going to continue to do it as he has been. Largely because & in spite of all the folks who kept trying to correct him in the comments.

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

@@DragoonMS I forgot since I'm English by birth myself never that fond of it and I used to call him that but out of Respect at least I'll keep on saying ReeeYu! Not AndoRye-U I'm AndoReeeYu...

[@eligonzales186]

Violent Ken might come sooner thanks to his depression

[@shadow759]

6:28 Manga? Maybe it was not sure on that... I do have all the SVC Chaos graphic novels when they first came out but the game was long out and the books came out really late in mid 2000s.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

I hear the Mrs was acknowledged by a legit gaming legend.

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

She is!

[@Left4JokerRPG]

Aaaaaactually... when you fight Ken before Bison on SFA3, he IS beeing controlled by Bison, he just doesn't have different sprite or moveset.

[@stevensteviepryde5888]

Violent Ken *almost* made it into Street Fighter 4 in the form of an alternate costume. Like Evil Ryu, a concept art has shown his design would have changed as well, taking inspiration from Bison's attire.

[@mustafaciftci2976]

Violent Ken is the best character I have ever seen.

[@mryeetman411]

Finally… ya man got a video Thank you…

[@darkyussha]

I could be wrong, but I remember fighting violent ken in the first street fighter Alpha game. You fight him, then after I remember fighting M Bison? But this was so long ago.

[@chanonwisanmongkol2254]

The pronunciation Rai-yu take me back to the 90s.

[@KrypptikkSoulslayer]

The best Evil Ken out there is the one made by Reuben Kee for MUGEN.

[@F40LM]

If Akuma is Evil is there a Non Evil version of him somewhere?

[@NebuzaTrackz]

Thank yu im a major Violent Ken fan ever since svc chaos

[@ChazTheYouthful]

Regular Ken : I am weed Violent Ken : I ran out

[@SirArthurNightmare_E17]

Heard the USF2 violet ken theme remix... instant like

[@randomplushproductions]

I hope Guile gets a new evil form next, maybe Wrateful Guile

[@danielhaarjr1355]

Violent Ken vs Ryu infused by Dark Hado?

[@harpseal9234]

I was wondering about that for a bit >In streetfighter 2 the movie< If The inspiration for dark ken was The point were ken turned evil (thanks to bison) was the hole inspiration for evil ken in the games later on In the movie Theres even a point were ken shoots a purple haduken ( like akuma's) at ryu

[@vincentshadetree]

I feel like depending what version of Violent Ken's origin you're using would determine how much power he's packing. One version is mind controlled and the other has Psycho power imbued in him. The psycho power one I think would fight Evil Ryu to a stalemate. Edit: Lol, I just thought about this too, only the "power of friendship" keeps these two from rending the world asunder 😅

[@bernardorodrigues7048]

The "Raiu" is killing me XD

[@nonsugarnoki]

love when people dont pronounce ryu correctly

[@Bluelofi-2]

Violent Ken also makes a Cameo in SF4 in Ken's #10 Color. He's red with white hair with his NavyDarkBlue Gi

[@hi-tych]

I remember seeing violent ken in the 90s, but back then they was calling him elf ken before Violent ken.

[@bowshockgalaxy]

Thanks...always wondered.

[@bedwablackburn]

Great video as always... And are you saying that once you have a VPN you can say ... "I am INVEENCIBLE!"

[@theMenace985]

I hope they make Violent Ken canon in SF6.

[@Charion-50]

I hope Violent Ken shows up more often in official games rather than just M.U.G.E.N He doesn't even have to be in a future canon story like Evil Ryu, all they have to do is just treat him as a What-If character. For such a cool unhinged take of an evil Ken, he's too underutilized being shown in the movie, SvC and USF2.

[@admirosmanovic1368]

The violent ken costume is also in 3rd strike its looks more like a evil ryu costume tho but still bad ass

[@FuriousGunnerKat]

Pretty confident this character started in the anime...that's the 1st time I seen this Ken as a kid....Bison ate his brain and he bombarded Ryu 😂

[@fightinggamefanatic1948]

I like to see Violent Ken and Shadow Lady playable in a Street Fighter game I know Violent Ken in like a newer version of Street Fighter II but I'm talking about in a current Street Fighter game but that might only happen if the story involve Shadaloo.

[@floodred2904]

I thought violent ken was powered from orochi like wild iori and wild Leona ?

[@vision7694]

amazing thank you , we need vega

[@Atomic-Punk]

Why do I remember that Violent Ken from SVC had something to do with Orochi? Was that only in the SVC comic book?

[@IrishKyokushin]

That is the origin of Violent Ken in the crossovers. I believe it was stated in the games.

[@MrThe0o]

Sad to see no Evil Ken from MUGEN by Reuben Kee (2001). He pre-dates Violent Ken first in game appearance by 2 years.

[@29kalel]

Violent ken was insane

[@IncognitaEX]

3:15 in SVC Chaos Ken is using Orochi powers.

[@blackvenmo2273]

His actuall first appearance was in street fighter movie 2 anime so he is actually before evil Ryu just never been playable to game till svc

[@kumaquatro2406]

Whenever I see artwork of Violent Ken, I always wonder...is he violent because of a bad perm?

[@bastienlafleur5838]

You should do some videos for the other Darkstalkers. Like Rikuo or Sasquatch maybe (everybody always make documentary videos about Morrigan, Demitri and Jedah)

[@Flash_TV2186]

I think violent ken is snk adaption. He first appear in cvs:chaos.that game is more snk vibes.

[@bluelyon9927]

This situation actually reminds me Majin Vegeta

[@yoshimitsu4176]

I call my uncle Kenneth 'violent Ken' because he has a domestic abuse charge against his second wife.

[@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski]

Alright but what are his supers? Does he have shoryu reppa? Does he have a flaming HP shoryu?

[@TheSoCalledZoner1]

a tekken fan yo whats up

[@boxhead411]

Kinda feel like they could've really dragged out a possibility of bison's corruption still being an issue for ken later in the series

[@falconeshield]

Violent Ken feels like an afterthought now. Like, Evil Ryu is there right? Why not Ken too?

[@sridrawings4510]

Like a street fighter version of metal sonic right?

[@Darkstormsun9865]

Nah now i prefer the concept him getting overly violent to protect his family much better. Now he has a reason for more power and satsui no Hado can take advantage of that.

[@devingiles6597]

Top Hat Gaming Man, can you please do a Street Fighter character documentary video on Sakura Kasugano?

[@zeroglitch13]

I do hope as DLC Violent Ken is brought into SF6 instead of Evil Ryu. Would make sense for capcom since it seems they are embracing trying new things for SF6

[@b_is_alive]

"Violent Ken...IYEAAAAAAHHHH" 😂

[@rpgs6218]

I wouldnt mind evil ken on a sf6 if that ever happens

[@char_lizard8440]

I always thought he came directly from the Animated Movie

[@s-wo8781]

This isn't the 90s who still says Rye-u when there's been plenty of media including the games themselves that correctly say his name?

[@e.l.4409]

He's Ken, but violent.

[@toooop9]

I always thought this was a non canon mugen character

[@joandarc441]

Next Lori Yagami or Terry Bogard vid