Fatal Fury

nihongo|"Fatal Fury"|餓狼伝説|Garōu Densetsu|"Legend of the Hungry Wolf" is a fighting game series developed by SNK for the Neo Geo system.

Producers Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto, who were the producers of the series from "Fatal Fury 3" and onward were the planners of the original "Street Fighter" (where they're credited as Piston Takashi and Finish Hiroshi). Matsumoto is also the creator of the "Art of Fighting" series. [ [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=person&name=Piston+Takashi] ] [ [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=person&name=takashi+NISHIYAMA] ] [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1457532/] ] [ [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,150934/] ]

Gameplay

The main fighting game feature that the original "Fatal Fury" was known for was the two-plane system. Characters would fight from two different planes, and by stepping between the planes, attacks could be dodged with ease. Later games dropped the two-plane system, replacing it with a complex system of dodging including everything from simple half second dodges into the background to a three plane system. Characters often had moves that could attack across the two planes, attack both planes at once, or otherwise attack characters attempting to dodge.

Later "Fatal Fury" games experimented with various mechanic changes. "Ring-outs", where a character loses the round if the character is thrown into the edges of the fighting backdrop; single-plane backdrops, where the element of dodging is eliminated altogether causing moves that sent opponents to the opposite plane to do collateral damage. The most successful of these gimmicks were the "Deadly Rave" and "Just Defend". The "Deadly Rave" was a super combo used by several characters, where after execution, a player had to press a preset series of buttons with exact timing for the entire combo to execute. The "Just Defend" was a type of protected block in which players regain lost life, did not wear down the player's guard crush meter and removed all block stuns making combo interruptions smoother.

Plot

etting

"Fatal Fury" and its sister series, "Art of Fighting", are set in the same fictional universe, with the "Art of Fighting" series taking place at least ten years prior to the events of the first "Fatal Fury". This is established in "Art of Fighting 2", which features a younger long-haired Geese Howard as the game's secret final boss and the true mastermind behind the events of the first "Art of Fighting". The two series are also set primarily in the same fictional city of "South Town."

"Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition" likewise features the cast from both series that are featured in "The King of Fighters" ("KOF") series, with many of the more popular characters from "Fatal Fury" and "Art of Fighting" games transferred to "The King of Fighters" as they were introduced. It should be noted that the "KOF" series ignores the continuity established in the "Fatal Fury/Art of Fighting" games. This was done so that the characters from both series could be featured in the "KOF" games without having to age them.

Characters

As with most fighting game series, the "Fatal Fury" series has an extensive cast of character that has increased with each installment. The three main heroes from the original game (Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi) have remained constant in each installment, along with female ninja Mai Shiranui. Also, some characters have made appearances outside the series, particularly in "The King of Fighters" series and in "Art of Fighting 2" (where a young Geese Howard appears as a hidden opponent). Likewise, characters from outside the series have appeared in the "Fatal Fury" games. Ryo Sakazaki from the "Art of Fighting" series makes an appearance in a hidden "dream match" in "Fatal Fury Special", while his older self from "Buriki One" appears in "Fatal Fury: Wild Ambitions". "Garou: Mark of the Wolves" is the only "Fatal Fury" game not to feature any returning character with the exception of Terry Bogard himself, who was completely redesigned for the game.

tory

The "Fatal Fury" series chronicles the rise of the "Lone Wolf" Terry Bogard (hence the Japanese title, which translates to "Legend of the Hungry Wolf"), and the simultaneous fall of the criminal empire of Geese Howard. Like many other SNK titles of the time, the first installment takes place in a fictitious American city called South Town. Brimming with violence and corruption, South Town forms the ideal backdrop for the annual "King of Fighters" fighting tournament, organized by the notorious crimelord Geese Howard. No fighter has ever managed to beat his right-hand man and appointed champion, Billy Kane, until Terry arrives on the scene.

The second installment of the series features Geese's half-brother, Wolfgang Krauser, who internationalizes the formerly South Town-only tournament in a bid to take on the world's strongest combatants. The "King of Fighters" tournament is no longer a part of the storyline by the third game, having been spun off into its own series. Instead, the third installment centers around Terry Bogard's attempts to stop Geese from obtaining an ancient scroll that would give him the powers of a lost and dangerous martial art form.

After the third game, the series is renamed to "Real Bout Fatal Fury". In the first installment of this "new" series we see the final and decisive battle between Terry and Geese. Note that King of Fighters tournament also held in this game. The second installment, which is named "Real Bout Fatal Fury Special", features the return of Wolfgang.

Finally, "Garou: Mark of the Wolves" takes place a generation later. It focuses on Rock Howard, Terry's protégé and son of Geese, who makes a shocking discovery about his past when he enters the "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem" tournament.

Games

Two compilations have also been released:
* "Garou Densetsu: Battle Archives Vol 1" (Sony PlayStation 2, SNK Playmore, 2006):Compilation containing the original "Fatal Fury", "Fatal Fury 2", "Fatal Fury Special" and "Fatal Fury 3". Contains a language option for each game between Japanese and English. The game was released in the United States as of August 2007.

* "Garou Densetsu: Battle Archives Vol 2" (Sony PlayStation 2, SNK Playmore, 2007):Compilation containing "Real Bout Fatal Fury", "Real Bout Fatal Fury Special" and "Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers". Also contains a language option for each game between Japanese, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The game was released in the United States in April 2008.

Anime

The "Fatal Fury" series inspired a trilogy of animated movies produced by NAS with SNK, featuring character designs by Masami Ohbari. The first is a television special which aired in 1992 on Fuji TV titled ' ("Battle Fighters Garou Densetsu"), which adapts the plot of the . It was followed by a second TV special in 1993 titled ' ("Battle Fighters Garou Densetsu 2") based on the second game, which also aired on Fuji TV. The two TV specials were followed by a theatrically released film in 1994 titled "" ("Garou Densetsu: The Motion Picture"), which features an original plot and new characters. The first two TV specials were released on a single laserdisc and later on DVD.

VIZ Communications picked up the license for the trilogy and produced English dubbed versions of each movie, releasing them straight to VHS, and later on DVD. The movies were later released subtitled, with the first two "Fatal Fury" movies released in one video titled "Fatal Fury One-Two Punch". The subbed version of "Fatal Fury 2" features a scene involving a rematch between Joe Higashi and Big Bear (Raiden) that was cut from the dubbed version. The English DVD release of the TV specials, "Fatal Fury: Double Impact", features this same scene as a DVD extra.

References

*ALL ABOUT SNK対戦格闘ゲーム 1991-2000 (ISBN 4-88554-677-X)

External links

* [http://www.garou15th.com/ "Fatal Fury"] official website
* [http://www.personal.triticom.com/~erm/www.neogeo.co.jp/garou/ a mirror of the Garou Densetsu series homepage] by SNK
* [http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/online/garou_ba1/ "Garou Densetsu Battle Archive 1"] at SNK Playmore
* [http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/online/garou_ba2/ "Garou Densetsu Battle Archive 2"] at SNK Playmore
* [http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/nbc/museum/fatalfury/ "Garou Densetsu series"] at NBC Museum of SNK Playmore