Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior

Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior, originally released in Japan as Ryuuko no Ken Gaiden (龍虎の拳 外伝), is the 1996 third entry in the Art of Fighting series. The game cast is composed of new characters, save for Robert Garcia and Ryo Sakazaki; Yuri Sakazaki also appears in the game, but as a non-playable character.

One of the game's biggest selling points was the game's motion capturing system, allowing 2D sprites with fluid and believable animations. It is one of the few games that also doesn't have an arcade perfect transition for the Neo Geo CD, as it has slightly shrunken sprites and different shades of the color palette. However, it also featured voiced win quotes for each character and endings for Sinclair and Wyler.

This game is also the only one in the series to have a short CD drama.

Story
A translation of the official story given by SNK is as follows:

Half a year has passed since the events of the "King of Fighters" tournament. Robert Garcia worked on improving his will power and trained in the Kyokugenryo dojo everyday. On his way to his date with Ryo's sister, Yuri, Robert roars up his beloved AC Cobra and takes an easy cruise along the coastline with opposing traffic. Just at that time, a man throws himself on the road in front of him.

Robert whirled his steering wheel to stop the cutting car and shields the pedestrian from the impact. What flew from the man was a woman's traveling bag. A girl, who ran up to Robert short of breath, came to retrieve it. "(Gasp, gasp) My bag... you saved it, didn't you? Thank you so much."

"Oh, so this is your bag then? So that guy then must've been a pickpocket. It's good that you got it back in one piece."

"Yes. I really don't know how to thank... Oh? That pendant..."

The girl, who spotted Robert's old pendant, wore a matching one around her neck.

"The same one as mine. Why do you..."

"When I was a child, I received it from a wealthy friend of mine. Before he left for America, he gave it to me so that we would never forget one another."

"Huh, that must mean that you're..."

"Yes, it's me, Robert. Freia Lawrence. Have you forgotten me?"

"Of course I haven't. It's just that you're different, Freia. You used to bully me around a lot. Your father doing well?"

"My father... he's dead."

"Sorry... didn't mean to upset you..."

"No, it's all right. I'm actually heading to Glasshill Valley. Wyler, one of Father's friends, is waiting there for me."

"Hmm, and why is that?"

She explained to him the reason why she needed to go to Glasshill Valley. Her father was an archeologist who seemed to have made a rare discovery in South America. In order to properly examine it, he teamed up with Victoria, a biologist and Wyler's father. They soon became best friends during their time together. However, as the research delved farther into its experiments, Freia's father wanted to discontinue their studies. The reason was simple: it was too dangerous. Since his views conflicted with Victoria's insistence to proceed, he left the laboratory with the project data. At the same time, he felt that he betrayed Victoria and regretted it for the rest of his life.

"As it's my father's final wish, I am going to return this research data to Wyler."

"Looks like you've got quite a load on your hands. Yeah, I should go and see Wyler too. Thinking about it now, it might not be too bad to say hello for old time's sake. Even if Glasshill Valley is nowhere near as dangerous Southtown, there still might be trouble. I think this calls for a bodyguard and I'll gladly fill the spot for you!"

Thus, Robert and Freia head to Wyler's mansion in Glasshill Valley.

"Ah, crap. I should've phoned Yuri first..."

The story switched focus from the Sakazakis to Robert Garcia. Garcia disappears to search for an old childhood friend, Freia Lawrence, and he tracks her to Glasshill, Mexico. Freia is wanted by the game's boss character, Wyler, to complete a powerful elixir that was created by his and Freia's fathers. The drug affects users in a similar manner as the potion in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Characters
The new characters added to the roster are:
 * Kasumi Todoh, the daughter and sole heiress of Ryuhaku Todoh, grew up learning her father's style. Upon hearing that her father was defeated by Ryo Sakazaki, son of a rival school, the Kyokugenryu Karate, and that he has been missing since then, she seeks to seek him out and avenge him for his defeat;
 * Karman Cole, a long-time employee of Garcia family in a personal assistant-like role who has known Robert since he was a child. He is sent by Robert's parents to find their son after he disappeared to look for his old childhood friend Freia Lawrence, which has led him to Glasshill;
 * Rody Birts, a bounty hunter and partner of Lenny, who has been hired by her to find Freia;
 * Lenny Creston, a freelancer journalist, who is constantly looking for the "next big thing" to boost her career. She learned through her sources that Freia was searched by Wyler. Seeing this as the scoop she needed, she decides to personally track down Freia and get the information she needs for her article;
 * Jin Fun-Ha, a former disciple of Eiji Kisaragi, seeks revenge after his master betray him and left a scar in his chest and, for it, wants to defeat Ryo, the sworn enemy of Eiji;
 * Wang Koh-San, a Chinese artist entering a competition, coming to Glasshill for inspiration. Once he arrives there, he learns of Wyler's elixir and thinks that it will interest his friend, Lee Pai Long. He has the company of a pelican called Hoeh-Hoeh;
 * Freia Lawrence, a young woman, daughter of a reowned scientist and childhood friend of Robert and Wyler. Her father and Wyler's father were creating a powerful elixir. Her father, realizing the dangers of the potion, breaks off contact from his partner. Before he dies, he entrusts the missing components of the elixir to her;
 * Sinclair, the sub boss of the game, is Wyler's bodyguard. She is pretending to encourage him in his experiments, but secretly wants him to stop them;
 * Wyler, the final boss of the game. He is working on perfecting a powerful Elixir that was originally developed by his and Freia's fathers. But the essential data needed for completing it was taken by Freia's father when the two's partnership broke up. Wyler believes this action is the cause of his father becoming destitute and even the cause of his death. He now searches Freia, with the help of Rody and Lenny.

Returning Characters

 * Ryo Sakazaki
 * Robert Garcia

New Characters

 * Kasumi Todoh
 * Karman Cole
 * Rody Birts
 * Lenny Creston
 * Jin Fu-Ha
 * Wang Koh-San

NPC Characters

 * Yuri Sakazaki
 * Freia Lawrence

Sub-Boss

 * Sinclair

Final Boss

 * Wyler