The 'Street Fighter' Trap: Why Ken and Chun-Li Struggle in Fatal Fury

When SNK announced that Capcom legends Ken Masters and Chun-Li would be joining the roster of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (CotW), the hype was palpable. They are among the most recognizable faces in fighting game history, and unsurprisingly, they dominate character usage stats among casual players. Yet, a glance at the tournament scene reveals a stark paradox. These iconic world warriors are almost completely absent from competitive play.

In a recent deep dive video, top level competitor and content creator Diaphone analyzes the data and mechanics to explain why the Street Fighter duo is struggling to find their footing in the CotW meta. The answer lies not in what they lack, but in how faithfully they were recreated.

The Fatal Flaw: The "Street Fighter" Dash

According to Diaphone, the primary issue crippling both Ken and Chun-Li is their movement, specifically their dash.

SNK developers did an excellent job transposing the characters' Street Fighter 6 move sets into City of the Wolves. They possess their familiar normals, specials, and even their specific dash animations. However, this fidelity is their downfall.

In City of the Wolves, native characters possess dashes that are actionable and cancelable. A character like Marco can initiate a dash and immediately cancel it into a jab, a block, or another movement. This allows for micro spacing, safe pressure, and baiting opponents.

Ken and Chun-Li, however, are committed to their traditional, fixed duration Street Fighter dash. As Diaphone demonstrates, once they press forward forward, they are locked into that animation. They cannot cancel it to block a check hook or anti-air a jump in. In the high speed environment of CotW, this movement commitment makes approaching dangerous and predictable.

Trapped Behind "The Wall"

This mobility issue is exacerbated when considering the current competitive landscape defined by top Japanese pros. A recent analysis by legends like GO1 and Nemo identified "The Wall", a massive power gap separating top tier characters like Hotaru and Hokutomaru from the rest of the cast.

These top tier fighters excel at controlling space with powerful projectiles. Native Fatal Fury characters can navigate this "bullet hell" using mechanics like the "Super Jump" to alter their aerial trajectory over fireballs.

Crucially, Diaphone notes that Ken and Chun-Li do not have a Super Jump.

By lacking both a cancelable ground dash and the high flying Super Jump, the Street Fighter characters are often trapped on the ground, struggling to approach the very characters that currently define the meta.

Ken vs. Chun-Li: Bad vs. Hard

While both suffer from the same movement limitations, Diaphone draws a sharp distinction between their actual viability.

Ken Masters, Diaphone argues, is simply one of the weakest DLC characters in the game. His fireball game is outclassed by native zoners, and when he tries to skip neutral by dashing behind his own fireball, he is left at a frame disadvantage on block. Furthermore, his mix up potential is low, with an overhead that is difficult to convert into significant damage without spending Super resources.

Chun-Li, conversely, is described as actually quite strong, but locked behind an immense execution barrier. She possesses incredible tools that many native characters lack, including a high damage output with minimal meter usage and a powerful, cancelable crouching medium kick.

However, accessing her potential requires navigating extraordinarily difficult combo routes involving precise delays, stance cancels, and tight "stomp" loops. Diaphone notes that top tiers like Hokutomaru offer similar rewards for a fraction of the effort. Diaphone concludes that while Ken may need significant buffs, Chun-Li is a "sleeping giant" perched in the mid to high tier, waiting for specialists to master her demanding technicality.

Source: Diaphone YouTube Channel