I visited the SNK Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (hereafter Fatal Fury: CotW) demo booth at EVO Japan 2024, a fighting game festival held from April 27 to 29, 2024.
Speaking of Fatal Fury, it is a major IP that SNK is proud of and was a representative fighting game of the 1990s, but no new titles had been released since 1999.
With the protagonist Terry Bogard appearing in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and characters from the Fatal Fury series appearing in KOF XV, there is no doubt that it is a highly popular IP.
Here is a play review of the latest title in the series, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which is being released for the first time in approximately 26 years!
Systems Inherited From the Previous Title
Systems that were in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, such as Evasive Attack, Just Defense, Guard Cancel, and Breaking, are also alive and well.
Personally, Just Defense was difficult and I never used it intentionally, so I remember being very happy whenever I performed a Just Defense by accident.
Smart Style for Fighting Game Beginners to Play Enjoyably
Saiga NAKSpeaking of fighting games, the barrier to entry can feel high for those who are not good at command inputs, but in Fatal Fury: CotW, you can choose between two modes: Arcade Style and Smart Style. In Smart Style, you can easily perform combos by repeatedly pressing buttons and execute Hidden Gear with simple commands.
In SNK titles, it might be similar to the Rush in KOF, but by clearly separating the styles, there is the advantage that accidental inputs are less likely to occur.
Including the Fatal Rush in Koei Tecmo Games' Dead or Alive 6, many fighting game titles in recent years have designs that allow beginners and players who don't usually play fighting games to enjoy them, but since SNK has historically been tough on players, it feels like a relief that it was implemented in Fatal Fury as well.
Single-Line Like the Previous Title, and the Unique REV System Among New Systems
Fatal Fury is famous as a fighting game with multiple lines, but it was single-line in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special: Dominated Mind (I had RB Special and RB2 on Neo Geo CD, but I bought it because I wanted to use Alfred; I won't forgive White) and also single-line in the previous title, Garou: Mark of the Wolves (hereafter Garou: MOTW).
While it was a popular title, the characteristic multiple lines were abolished, and since SNK in particular releases various fighting game titles, unique systems that serve as the game's identity are required.
The highlight of Fatal Fury: CotW is the REV System.
The REV System allows you to use various actions by consuming the REV Gauge, such as REV Blow, REV Arts, REV Accel, and REV Guard.
To explain it simply, you can use the gauge to strengthen normal moves and special moves, use consecutive techniques that make it easier to connect combos, and use REV Guard, a powerful guard that even nullifies chip damage.
The management of the gauge is an important point in fighting game titles, but what personally caught my interest was REV Guard.
At the end of a match when the health gauge is low, there are surely scenes where a finishing blow is dealt via chip damage, but you can survive it if you use REV Guard.
One might think, "Then just use REV Guard every time," but if you overuse it, the REV Gauge will deplete rapidly and you will overheat.
Overheating is recovered not only by conventional means like landing attacks but also by the passage of time or moving toward the opponent, so I think it is easier to build up than a normal Power Gauge.
T.O.P. Becomes S.P.G
The system equivalent to T.O.P. (Tactical Offensive Power) that was in Garou: MOTW has had its name changed to S.P.G (Selective Potential Gear).
During S.P.G, you can use powerful special moves called Hidden Gear which also fully recover the REV Gauge upon hitting, but the command is actually a secret.
I thought, "Could Rock Howard's Hidden Gear be the Deadly Rave!?" and tried to test it, but the move name was Power Geyser typeR... I could not find it during the demo.
Damn, I wanted to see Rock's Power Geyser...
Searching for hidden commands while looking at the command list—it's already 2024, but what you're doing is so 90s, SNK! (I mean that as a compliment!)
American Comic-Style Animation That Likely Appeals Overseas
As you already know from the previously released videos, the graphics for the presentation before and after battles and the move effects in this new title are in an American comic style, and personally, I find it so cool it's become a topic of conversation.
There is no doubt it will be a series differentiated from both Samurai Shodown and KOF.
Expectations for New Characters as Well as Popular Ones
Currently, six participating characters have been announced. While it's natural for Rock and Terry to be announced at the same time as the title announcement, SNK really knows what they're doing by bringing Hotaru Futaba into the first wave of character announcements.
(Well, her big brother and Jenet are participating in KOF XV too.)
At EVO Japan 2024, the participation of Marco Rodriguez was also announced, and while I'm sure characters from the previous title will continue to appear, new characters like Joe Higashi's top student Preecha are also appearing, so I'm looking forward to future announcements of new participating characters.
By the way, today is the 26th birthday of Mana Ishami, the voice of Hotaru Futaba; she is the same age as Hotaru Futaba (based on the setting in Garou: MOTW)! Congratulations!
＼Happy Birthday🎉／
本日4月30日は、餓狼伝説CotWで双葉ほたる役の石見舞菜香（ @_manaka_430 ）さんのお誕生日です！
おめでとうございます！#SNK #餓狼伝説 #CotW #石見舞菜香 さん pic.twitter.com/BtLEoSO56I— SNKフリーク（旧SNKエンタテインメント公式） (@snk_enter) April 30, 2024
Extra: A Final Commemorative Photo With Terry
#CotW 試遊してきました！
記念にテリーとも2ショット👍 pic.twitter.com/H7zRJ2e9dG— Saiga NAK (@saiganak) April 29, 2024
After the demo, I took a commemorative photo with the life-sized Terry.
For those who couldn't play on the day, the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Play Guide for EVO Japan 2024 has been released, so please be sure to check that out!
That concludes the first play report for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves!
