Fighting game fans are eating well these days. With the likes of Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat all bringing their A-game to the table, there hasn’t been a better time to be a fan of the genre. SNK is still in the fight with their very own King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown series doing very well; it is time to welcome (back) a new challenger as Fatal Fury is looking set to make its triumphant return to the fighting scene with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
Fatal Fury is a franchise that younger fans may not instantly recognise; it has been gone for over 25 years, after all. Many will instead be familiar with Terry Bogard from his appearance in the Super Smash Bros franchise, or even his cameo spots in the King of Fighters series. The last time a Fatal Fury game was released, SEGA was still in the console market with their ahead-of-its-time Dreamcast, and Will Smith was singing us out in the last days of the 90s.
I got the chance to try out a demo of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves at the SNK World Championships in LA, and I genuinely didn’t know what to expect from the game. At first glance, the teaser trailer from 2023 looked like the franchise was changing that sprite-based pixel look to something more timeless yet modern. The best comparison I could make was that this was SNK’s evolution from Street Fighter 3 to Street Fighter 4—and I was right.
Getting to sit down for a short time with the game, we got to pick either a PS5 DualSense controller or an arcade stick (for the purists). Being a control pad simpleton - I stuck to the DualSense; although I did also try out the stick, I definitely preferred using the controller. Now, while I like a good fighting game, I was not on the same level as some of those invited to try out Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves - being sat next to fighting game legend Justin Wong in the press room instantly made the cold chills of pre-emptive losses wash over me. Thankfully, his group was ahead of mine, so I managed to avoid a thrashing by a pro.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves not only looks great with its timeless art style but also controls well for players on any level. There were two control schemes available, smart style and arcade style, both with their advantages and disadvantages; in smart style, you could pull off more complex combos with ease by tapping one button; however, using this mode would also put up your Overheat meter quickly, locking you out of those special REV moves. I liked this balancing of the simplified control scheme as some other games give no incentives for seasoned players not to use this mode to decimate the competition. Regardless of which control scheme you pick, City of the Wolves has depth for days, thanks to its new REV system.
REV moves are the new hotness for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, all controlled by the REV gauge at the bottom of the screen. Pulling off these powerful offensive and defensive moves will burn some of the meter, pushing you to a risk of Overheat. You have REV arts that are powerful versions of special moves: REV blow - which allows you to create some distance by pulling one off, and REV guard, which again creates distance between you and your opponent after pulling off the block. There are combos for days to be strung together using REV accel which will keep fighting game fans locked on their button inputs for days. Just be sure not to push too much with the new REV system as it can lead to Overheat and change the tide of the match very quickly.
Let’s talk about Overheat for a minute - this feature pulls almost directly from Street Fighter 6’s Burnout mode where using too much Drive meter would leave your character weak, slow, and unable to defend themselves. In Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves the Overheat didn’t feel quite as punishing and still lets you feel like you can defend and fight back with a chance to get back in the game. The other stand-out mechanic, which we saw last in Garou: Mark of the Wolves (the last Fatal Fury game released), is the ability to choose where your SPG meter would kick in during the match.
Do you think coming out the gate swinging is best? Then, place the meter at the start of your health bar to come out swinging like a hurricane. Alternatively placing the SPG (Selective Potential Gear) mid bar or at the end changes up the dynamics of every match significantly, as it increases attack power, increases health recovery, lessens the REV gauge increases, and gives a boost to just about every system essential to your success, you may even find that different placement works for you best with each individual character - it's all up to how you play. I personally found a happy balance by dropping it in the middle of my health bar, meaning that mid-match, I could turn things around after sussing out an opponent - well, at least that was the plan.
I played some on-the-couch matches with the SNK rep as well as fellow journalists and for the most part, could hold my own when it came to battle. There was a very clear skill jump when it came to playing some of the more seasoned fighting game fans that were among us - safe to say I got thrashed. However, the motivation I felt after each loss to get better and learn more combos was very strong. Too often when playing a stronger opponent, you can feel like throwing in the towel. With Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, I wanted more and to get better. I could not grasp just defend or feints till later in the day, so I started mixing up the characters I was playing, and it opened an even deeper rabbit hole.
For the demo, we got to play as 5 characters from the roster - each hand-picked for their different styles and abilities. 4 of these were returning characters from previous titles, while one was brand new for this game. Terry, Rock, Tizoc, and Hotaru all returned while Preecha was brand new for the new game. Sure, playing as Terry or Rock feels similar to one another, but when it came to the rest - it was a whole different story.
Each character will need to be carefully studied and broken down to learn how to play them correctly, giving even more depth to an already deep fighter. Tizoc has some insane reach and, as a grappler, can’t be allowed to close, while the polar opposite, newbie Preecha, fights with a Muay Thai style with plenty of flourish. No matter how you like to fight, this roster will definitely cover all styles come release.
I didn’t get to try out the simplified smart style controls, and I was glad I didn’t, as learning the combos with everyone else became a huge part of the fun to be had during my time with City of the Wolves. Having the simple controls as an option means that anyone can play and feel like they can hold their own; something that did concern me coming into Fatal Fury was just how hardcore it was going to be - and while it didn’t disappoint on that level, it surprised and shocked me with how accessible the guys at SNK have attempted to make the game for newcomers.
After racking up some wins and losses (mostly losses) my time with the game was sadly over all too quickly; I had the opportunity to have a short Q&A session with Hayato Konya (game director) and put some of my thoughts to him via their wonderful translator Jonathan Campana :
It’s been 25 years since we last saw an entry to the Fatal Fury franchise, so why did it feel right to bring the series back now?
In 2016, SNK announced that we were making fighting games again, first KoF 14 and then Samurai Shodown. After KoF 15 was released we looked at our roster and said let’s make a new Fatal Fury, we just felt now was the right time!
With Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and even SNK's own KoF dominating the fighting scene, how do you see Fatal Fury fitting in with those games?
The thing that will make Fatal Fury stand out is the new REV system and mechanics as well as the heavier focus on characters and their motivations,
How have you balanced the game? Will Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves be aimed specifically at hardcore fighting game fans, or do you hope to capture a wider audience as well?
In the beginning, when we were developing Fatal Fury, we wanted to make a game for hardcore fans. We didn’t have a smart style, so if you weren’t good, you were going to get wrecked. We decided to add something to the gameplay to welcome newcomers, so we added the smart style and tweaked the REV system to make it more accessible so we could appeal to both hardcore players and new players.
Can you discuss the storyline? Will it be a more traditional arcade story, or is there a world tour mode where you can walk around?
Unfortunately, we can’t say exactly what offline modes we have today. If you play Mark of the Wolves, you will notice it is pretty story-driven; each character has their own motivations for fighting outside of the typical fighting game character just wanting to be strong; some fight for love, some fight for fun some fight for family. We want to explore each of those themes and take each character very seriously and hope fans look forward to seeing their storylines fleshed out
What were the biggest challenges you and the team faced with bringing Fatal Fury back two and a half decades later?
One of the challenges and fun things was the English voice narration. Each character is fully voiced by an English speaker, and fans can choose between Japanese or English. We had to wake up very early in the morning and get to work way earlier than we normally have to so we could do recording sessions overseas, and we had to be present for that to make sure everything was going well.
Fighting games these days love a good cameo or guest fighter. Many younger fans may even recognise Terry only thanks to Smash Bros. Do you have any crossover characters in the works?
Our track record shows that we had 4 guest characters in Samurai Shodown. We can’t say for certain about this game, but it isn’t something that would be completely out of the ordinary for us to do.
When will fans at home be able to try out Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves for themselves? Are there any betas planned?
We can’t say anything about playing at home just yet, but players will be able to get their hands on it and play it if they come to EVO Japan.
With that, my time in the City of Angels with the City of Wolves was over. I cannot wait to see what the team does in the time they have left to polish, as the game feels pretty complete already. It's definitely one for all fighting game fans to keep their eyes on!
No specific platforms have been revealed at the time of this writing; however, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is scheduled to release in early 2025.