Ryu's fellow Ansatsuken pupil and rival retains his trademark red gi, though his top is now hanging around his waist, and he grew his hair tied up in a topknot. He now wears a black training shirt with red linings, and he trades in his old gloves with new ones coupled with feet guards.
He retains his signature moves, some of which have new animations, and it's noticeable that his arsenal are now more based on kicks compared to his previous incarnations. His V-Trigger is called Heat Rush, adding flame properties and more forward movement to his attacks. Check out his gameplay trailer below.
Differences between started showing in Super SFII, where Ryu's Hadouken had a flaming version, the Shakunetsu Hadouken, while Ken received the flaming Shouryuuken. This difference was further supported by their backstory, explaining that wihle Ryu and Ken trained in the same martial arts discipline, Ryu was more versed on the "Hadou" principles of Ansatsuken while Ken discovered that his potential could be better harnessed with the "Shouryuu".
The two Ansatsuken fighters further differentiated from each other in future installments; while Ryu remained the precision hitter, Ken became the combo specialist. In SFV, it now seems that Ken will be more of a kicks guy while still relying on his trusty Shouryuuken.
Ken's gi was specifically colored red to symbolize the flashiness of his fighting style. Now, with his new look and heavily modified special moves, it can be said that Ken is truly no longer a mere palette swap to Ryu.
Click Read More to see the official artworks of the revealed cast of fighters thus far.
The hate, the rumors, and a new character?
(Not that it really matters to me.)
Meanwhile, online rumors have spread that Street Fighter ZERO's Karin Kanzuki and Rainbow Mika, along with Street Fighter III's Alex and Urien, will also be playable in the game, but until further updates are revealed, we shall be treating these as mere speculations.
Also, at the end of Ken's gameplay trailer, glimpses of who seems to be a newcomer to SFV could be seen.