Fatal Fury (series)



Fatal Fury (餓狼伝説, Garō Densetsu, "Legend of the Hungry Wolf") is a fighting game series developed by SNK for the Neo Geo system.

Game Mechanics
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 other gimmicks. "Ring-outs", where a character loses the round if the character is thrown into the edges of the fighting backdrop; single- air plane backdrops, where the element of dodging ball is eliminated altogether causing moves that sent opponents to the opposite air 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.

Story
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 Southtown. Brimming with violence and corruption, Southtown 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 Southtown-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.

The interconnecting plots
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.

Games
The first game of the Fatal Fury series allowed players to select one of three characters, Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi, as they battled a gauntlet of computer-controlled opponents ending with Billy Kane and Geese Howard. When two players were playing, players had the option of either playing cooperatively against a computer opponent or competitively against each other. This game was later ported to Genesis and SNES by Takara. On 10-07, 2007, this game was ported onto the Wii's Virtual Console service as one of the first three Neo Geo Games in the US.
 * Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (Neo-Geo, SNK 11-19-1991)

This game had the characters fight each other in locales around the world. There were eight selectable characters and four computer-controlled bosses. This game was later ported to the Genesis and SNES by Takara, and to PC Engine CD by Hudson Soft. Fatal Fury 2 was one of the first fighting games to include super moves, in this game's case when the player had low vitality, they could execute a Desperation Attack.
 * Fatal Fury 2 (Neo-Geo, SNK 12-10-1992)

An update of Fatal Fury 2 that adds three characters from the original Fatal Fury (as well as Ryo Sakazaki from Art of Fighting) into the mix, in addition to making the bosses into playable characters. This game was one of the most popular games in Japan in 1993. It has been said that, as a result of the popularity that ensued from Ryo being a hidden character in this game, The King of Fighters as a series was born. This game was later ported to the Game Gear and SNES by Takara, to the Sega CD by Victor Interactive Studios/JVC Digital Studios, and to PC Engine CD by Hudson Soft. SNK Playmore released an Xbox 360 port on September 5, 2007 on Xbox Live Arcade.
 * Fatal Fury Special (Neo-Geo, SNK 9-16-1993)

With the King of Fighters tournament spun off into its own series, this game focuses on the main characters as they try to stop the mysterious Ryuji Yamazaki and the Jin Twins: Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei. Basically Fatal Fury 3 is the story of the 3 Hidensho (secret scrolls) just prior to Geese obtaining all 3 of them. Various new characters are introduced, including fan-favorite Blue Mary.
 * Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory (Neo-Geo, SNK 3-27-1995)

Continuing the story of Fatal Fury 3, the cast of the previous game returns along with three returning characters (Kim Kaphwan, Duck King and Billy Kane), as they try to stop Geese Howard from claiming the mysterious Jin scrolls for himself, culminating with the ultimate demise of Geese. Basically this game is the story of the final battle against Geese (who now possesses all 3 secret scrolls. Ported to Japanese Sega Saturn and PlayStation by SNK and PAL PlayStation by SCEE.
 * Real Bout Fatal Fury (Neo-Geo, SNK 12-20-1995)

Like Fatal Fury Special before it, Real Bout Special reintroduced many of the characters from previous games, most notably Wolfgang Krauser. Ported to the Sega Saturn by SNK in Japan. Dominated Mind is based on
 * Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (Neo-Geo, SNK 1-28-1997)

A port of Real Bout Special which adds Alfred (the hidden boss in Real Bout 2) as a playable character, and includes an all new boss character named White, based upon Alexander de Large, a character from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange. The story of this game is the story of White's brainwashing of Billy Kane and attempted takeover of Southtown's underworld in the power vacuum left by the death of Geese in Real Bout Fatal Fury 1. An interested thing to note is that Geese Howard sports a halo over his head in this game, a reference to his passing in the original Real Bout. Dominated Mind also featured new moves, hidden unlockable super moves, super cancelling (known in the game as "Final Impacts"), and removed the line-sway system from the game.
 * Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind (PlayStation, SNK 6-25-1998)

Real Bout 2 is not part of the official storyline, but introduced two new characters, Li Xiangfei and Rick Strowd, the former of which would later appear in The King of Fighters series. The game also featured a new hidden boss named Alfred. In "ALL ABOUT SNK Taisen Kakutou Game 1991-2000" (ISBN 4-88554-677-X), the game is specifically stated to have no relevant story in the Fatal Fury universe, and the events depicted therein are not canon. Interestingly enough some super moves can be performed easily in this game such as Duck's grab super.
 * Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers (Neo-Geo, SNK 3-20-1998)

An adaptation of Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers. Featured exclusive character Lao, playable only in vs. mode.
 * Fatal Fury: First Contact (Neo Geo Pocket, SNK 5-27-1999)

A 3D fighting game that retells the story of Fatal Fury, but with many of its established characters. The story of this game does not replace Fatal Fury 1 because they both represent the same story and series of events. It's just that not all the events/characters of FF are depicted in FFWA, and vice versa. This game was later released in the US on the Sony PlayStation.
 * Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (Hyper Neo-Geo 64, SNK 1-28-1999)

The game was known for its graphical brilliance, being able to push the capabilities of the Neo-Geo to its limits, as well as for its highly technical gameplay. Some had considered Mark of the Wolves to be the "last great SNK game" as the production quality of SNK's later games began to take a nosedive as the company's financial woes increased. This game was later released in the US and in Japan on the Sega Dreamcast. A Playstation 2 version has also been released in Japan.
 * Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Neo-Geo, SNK 11-26-1999)

Compilations
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 1 (Sony PlayStation 2, SNK Playmore, 2006)

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 and English. The game is currently only available in Japan, but is slated for release in the United States sometime in 2008.
 * Garou Densetsu: Battle Archives Vol 2 (Sony PlayStation 2, SNK Playmore, 2007)

Related games
The Art of Fighting series is set in the same fictional universe as the Fatal Fury, although the Art of Fighting games themselves actually take place ten years before the events of the first Fatal Fury. Following Ryo Sakazaki's appearance in Fatal Fury Special, a younger Geese Howard appears in Art of Fighting 2. Unlike Ryo's appearance in Fatal Fury Special, which is only part of a "dream match", Geese's appearance in Art of Fighting 2 is actually part of the game's plot. An older Ryo Sakazaki also appears as a hidden character in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition.

Several Fatal Fury characters also appear in The King of Fighters games, with characters such as Terry Bogard and Kim Kaphwan making constant appearances thorough the series. It should be noted that The King of Fighters series is not set in the same continuity as the Fatal Fury series. This was done so in order to have characters from the Art of Fighting series without aging them.

Two pachinko games were released for the series in Japan; Garou Densetsu The Legend of Wild Wolf and Garou Densetsu Special. A mobile adventure game Garou Densetsu Southtown Adventure was also made. It explores the series's setting in more detail. Additionally, a mobile novel entitled Garou Densetsu: Stray Dog, Stray Wolf was made to tie together the events of Real Bout Fatal Fury with Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

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 except of Terry Bogard himself, who was completely redesigned for the game.

Introduced in the original Fatal Fury

 * Terry Bogard (テリー・ボガード)
 * Andy Bogard (アンディ・ボガード)
 * Joe Higashi (ジョー・ヒガシ)
 * Tung Fu Rue (タン・フー・ルー)
 * Duck King (ダック・キング)
 * Richard Meyer (リチャード・マイヤ)
 * Michael Max (マイケル・マックス)
 * Hwa Jai (ホア・ジャイ)
 * Raiden (ライデン)
 * Billy Kane (ビリー・カーン)
 * Geese Howard (ギース・ハワード)

Introduced in Fatal Fury 2

 * Kim Kaphwan (キム・カッファン)
 * Mai Shiranui (不知火 舞)
 * Cheng Sinzan (チン・シンザン)
 * Jubei Yamada (山田十平衛)
 * Big Bear (ビッグ・ベア)
 * Axel Hawk (アクセル・ホーク)
 * Laurence Blood (ローレンス・ブラッド)
 * Wolfgang Krauser (ヴォルフガング・クラウザー)

Introduced in Fatal Fury Special

 * Ryo Sakazaki (坂崎 亮)

Introduced in Fatal Fury 3

 * Blue Mary (ブルー・マリー)
 * Bob Wilson (ボブ・ウィルソン)
 * Franco Bash (フランコ・バッシュ)
 * Hon Fu (ホンフゥ)
 * Sokaku Mochizuki (望月双角)
 * Ryuji Yamazaki (山崎 竜二)
 * Jin Chonrei (秦崇雷)
 * Jin Chonshu (秦崇秀)

Introduced in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special: Dominated Mind

 * Alfred Airhawk (アルフレッド)
 * White (ホワイト)

Introduced in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

 * Li Xiangfei (李香緋)
 * Rick Strowd (リック・ストラウド)

Introduced in Fatal Fury: First Contact

 * Lao (ラオ)

Introduced in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition

 * Touji Sakata (坂田冬次)
 * Tsugumi Sendo (千堂鶫)

Introduced in Garou: Mark of the Wolves

 * Rock Howard (ロック・ハワード)
 * Bonne Jenet (B.ジェニー)
 * Gato (牙刀)
 * Hotaru Futaba (双葉ほたる)
 * Tizoc (グリフォンマスク, Griffon Mask)
 * Freeman (フリーマン)
 * Hokutomaru (北斗丸)
 * Kevin Rian (ケビン・ライアン)
 * Marco Rodriguez (マルコ・ロドリゲス)
 * Kim Dong Hwan (キム・ドンファン)
 * Kim Jae Hoon (キム・ジェイフン)
 * Grant (Abel Cameron) (グラント)
 * Kain R. Heinlein (カイン・R・ハインライン)

Introduced in Garou Densetsu Legend of the Wild Wolf (Pachinko)

 * Alice Garnet Nakata

NPCs

 * Jeff Bogard
 * Lilly Kane
 * Marky
 * Marie Heinlein
 * Ripper and Hopper
 * Ukee
 * Lillien Knights
 * Sausu

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 Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf (Battle Fighters Garou Densetsu), which adapts the plot of the first game. It was followed by a second TV special in 1993 titled Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle (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 Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (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.

While it is not exactly an animated feature, SNK-Playmore also created a movie clip for the series's 15th Anniversary entitled Garou Densetsu ~ Memories of Stray Wolves. It was first shown at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show and can be seen in the anniversary boxset on DVD format.

Manga

 * Bon Bon Garou
 * Garou Densetsu: Atanaru Tatakai
 * The Geese Howard Story - by Etsuya Amajishi
 * Geese in the Dark - by Etsuya Amajishi
 * Garou Densetsu: Senritsu no Maohmachi
 * Garou Densetsu Story - by Megumi Mondo, Tamon, and SNK
 * Garou Densetsu 3 - by Roushin Yami

Drama CDs

 * Fatal Fury (Dengeki)
 * Fatal Fury II (Dengeki)
 * Fatal Fury Special (Dengeki)
 * Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 ~ The Newcomers Drama CD
 * Fatal Fury - The Best Selected Characters
 * Fatal Fury 2 OVA drama