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FATAL FURY- A Retrospective ....The (original) King of Fighters!

The main FF games I've put some big time into are RBFF 3 and RBFF Special, the latter in particular. Something about the atmosphere in those games just feels so well-realized, very creative characters (even if some are based on archetypes) and cool movesets and animations for them. It all just felt very cohesive and I would've loved a Real Bout anime series that featured more of the characters beyond the OVA films (which IMO are pretty cool, the 3rd one in particular is a favorite also got me quite interested in Mai ;) ).

I think there's a sense of charm and independence (WRT to universe worldbuilding and consistency of that) to fighters like this not really present anymore in most newer fighting games. Where it feels most new games have to do a bunch of multiverse crossover stuff or have guest characters from other fighting games (or other television shows altogether, in the case of Tekken 7) for...whatever reason. Like they're just feeding on social media and internet/pop culture trends where people mash everything together into some shared universe crap feels like they've played too much MUGEN.

The only fighters that feel like they've avoided this are SNK and Arc Sys games; Street Fighter V has kind of managed that as well to a smaller extent but they've seemed keen to throw in more Final Fight characters (which, fair enough, that and SF have always shared some continuity), and now the rumors of Luke being related to Captain Commando, I wouldn't be surprised if actual legit Darkstalker characters show up in SF6, too. That's not as much a pet peeve as the games wholesale pimping out characters from other fighting game/game IPs of other companies or characters from TV shows that have nothing to do with fighting, but it's still annoying and in SF's case gives Capcom more excuses to not move the SF canon forward where it probably needs to be (post-SF3).

...Sorry for the side rant :pie_sfwt: .
 

cireza

Banned
A great video looking back at all the main-line Fatal Fury games, despite being a precursor to Street-fighter 2, it could never quite take the world of videogames by storm like SF2 did...


I played this game so much on MegaDrive. It was my favorite fighting game, and I actually prefer it to Street Fighter 2 on the same console. Always felt like it was more fun, that there was more to it. With both lines, bigger sprites (it was actually a port that used the hardware capabilities, unlike Street Fighter 2 which was a port from the SNES version, running in lower res). And the characters had more appeal to me.

I will watch the video later this evening, thanks for sharing.
 

Holammer

Member
Good video. The series was ahead of its time by actually having lore and meaningful character relationships. Me and a buddy played most of the FF and KoF games and we always envisioned a prequel set in the 70's dealing with the conflict between a young Geese & Jeff Bogard. Such discussion never happened with Street Fighter.

Was never a fan of the line system, it was an evolutionary dead end in terms of game design. Same with Chain Combos in the later games.
 

stn

Member
Still got my boxed copy of Fatal Fury 2 for the SNES. I actually play Fatal Fury Special and I watch pro matches that are uploaded through Fightcade.
 

Georome

Member
I didn't really care much about Fatal Fury until Garou: Mark of the Wolves. To me, that game is the SF3: Third Strike of SNK, and still a blast to play today.
 

kunonabi

Member
The main FF games I've put some big time into are RBFF 3 and RBFF Special, the latter in particular. Something about the atmosphere in those games just feels so well-realized, very creative characters (even if some are based on archetypes) and cool movesets and animations for them. It all just felt very cohesive and I would've loved a Real Bout anime series that featured more of the characters beyond the OVA films (which IMO are pretty cool, the 3rd one in particular is a favorite also got me quite interested in Mai ;) ).

I think there's a sense of charm and independence (WRT to universe worldbuilding and consistency of that) to fighters like this not really present anymore in most newer fighting games. Where it feels most new games have to do a bunch of multiverse crossover stuff or have guest characters from other fighting games (or other television shows altogether, in the case of Tekken 7) for...whatever reason. Like they're just feeding on social media and internet/pop culture trends where people mash everything together into some shared universe crap feels like they've played too much MUGEN.

The only fighters that feel like they've avoided this are SNK and Arc Sys games; Street Fighter V has kind of managed that as well to a smaller extent but they've seemed keen to throw in more Final Fight characters (which, fair enough, that and SF have always shared some continuity), and now the rumors of Luke being related to Captain Commando, I wouldn't be surprised if actual legit Darkstalker characters show up in SF6, too. That's not as much a pet peeve as the games wholesale pimping out characters from other fighting game/game IPs of other companies or characters from TV shows that have nothing to do with fighting, but it's still annoying and in SF's case gives Capcom more excuses to not move the SF canon forward where it probably needs to be (post-SF3).

...Sorry for the side rant :pie_sfwt: .
Yeah RBFFS is still my favorite despite the balance issues and lackluster stages. The rest of the presentation and the feel of it is just aces. It's the game that encapsulates what my mind's image of Fatal Fury always was.
 
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yurinka

Member
A great video looking back at all the main-line Fatal Fury games, despite being a precursor to Street-fighter 2, it could never quite take the world of videogames by storm like SF2 did...


Fatal Fury isn't a precursor to SF2. SF2 was released in February 1991, and Fatal Fury in November 1991.

Back then games were developed in a few months. Before Fatal Fury, he did work on Ghost Pilots, released that same year.
 
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NeverYouMind

Gold Member
Was never a fan of the line system, it was an evolutionary dead end in terms of game design. Same with Chain Combos in the later games.
I still enjoy jumping between lines and hitting across them. It adds a layer of interactivity. Chain combos are fun. I miss the Ring Outs from Real Bout.

I still get a kick from playing Jubei in Fatal Fury Special and have yet to see a 2D fighter that beats Real Bout Special mechanically. Too bad the series is now irreversibly merged with The King of Fighters.
 

RAIDEN1

Member
Fatal Fury isn't a precursor to SF2. SF2 was released in February 1991, and Fatal Fury in November 1991.
Watch the video and he says "Fatal Fury was developed well before Capcom's blockbuster busted any blocks," and SNK nabbed some of the key developers from Capcom ie Takashi Nishiyama before Capcom threw their hat in the ring so to speak, ultimately it didn't work out that way for general public release but it seems SNK were already in it to win it much before Feb 1991...
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Third Strike is an inferior version of Second Impact in widescreen, so I suppose the analogy holds.
Sad Adult Swim GIF by Martin Mandela Morrow
 

yurinka

Member
Watch the video and he says "Fatal Fury was developed well before Capcom's blockbuster busted any blocks," and SNK nabbed some of the key developers from Capcom ie Takashi Nishiyama before Capcom threw their hat in the ring so to speak, ultimately it didn't work out that way for general public release but it seems SNK were already in it to win it much before Feb 1991...
Yes, I saw the video and the video is wrong. It's true that back then Nishiyama, the SF1 designer, left Capcom to join SNK.

But after SF1 (1987) his last game at Capcom was Led Storm (1988). Then he joined SNK were he did help in the NES game Mechanized Attack (1989), created the Neo·Geo system and the first game he directed for it was Mahjong Kyōretsuden (April 1990, Neo·Geo launch game), followed by Ghost Pilots (January 25th, 1991) and after it Fatal Fury (November 1991).

He was the main creator of Fatal Fury and previous to it was busy with other games so no, they didn't had it developed before the SF2 release. They basically started to develop Fatal Fury the month or week SF2 (February 6th, 1991) was released. Notice Nishiyama's previous game to Fatal Fury was released January 25th, 1991. Before Fatal Fury the other team members also did work in some other games games released during 1989, 1990 and 1991 like Cyber-Lip, Willow, Crystalis, Ikari III, Nam-1975, King of the Monsters and mostly Riding Hero, The Super Spy and Robo Army.

Fun fact: he and other key staff from these early NeoGeo fighters (some of who came from Capcom) later went to Dimps, where he's the CEO, and developed the SFIV and SFV series for Capcom.
 
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Kokoloko85

Member
I played this game so much on MegaDrive. It was my favorite fighting game, and I actually prefer it to Street Fighter 2 on the same console. Always felt like it was more fun, that there was more to it. With both lines, bigger sprites (it was actually a port that used the hardware capabilities, unlike Street Fighter 2 which was a port from the SNES version, running in lower res). And the characters had more appeal to me.

I will watch the video later this evening, thanks for sharing.

I played it alot on the Megadrive too. Me and my friends use to love it. Good times
 
Yeah RBFFS is still my favorite despite the balance issues and lackluster stages. The rest of the presentation and the feel of it is just aces. It's the game that encapsulates what my mind's image of Fatal Fury always was.

I'm itching to play it again, but I REALLY need a version with a training mode. Even if there's a hack for the arcade version that can basically make it a training mode option, like there is for 3S, tho I was hoping for a home release version with it that can be easily available.

Maybe there's an anthology collection for PS4 I can pick up? I hadn't considered that as an option but it's available. Just hope there would've been an English release.

Yes, I saw the video and the video is wrong. It's true that back then Nishiyama, the SF1 designer, left Capcom to join SNK.

But after SF1 (1987) his last game at Capcom was Led Storm (1988). Then he joined SNK were he did help in the NES game Mechanized Attack (1989), created the Neo·Geo system and the first game he directed for it was Mahjong Kyōretsuden (April 1990, Neo·Geo launch game), followed by Ghost Pilots (January 25th, 1991) and after it Fatal Fury (November 1991).

He was the main creator of Fatal Fury and previous to it was busy with other games so no, they didn't had it developed before the SF2 release. They basically started to develop Fatal Fury the month or week SF2 (February 6th, 1991) was released. Notice Nishiyama's previous game to Fatal Fury was released January 25th, 1991. Before Fatal Fury the other team members also did work in some other games games released during 1989, 1990 and 1991 like Cyber-Lip, Willow, Crystalis, Ikari III, Nam-1975, King of the Monsters and mostly Riding Hero, The Super Spy and Robo Army.

Fun fact: he and other key staff from these early NeoGeo fighters (some of who came from Capcom) later went to Dimps, where he's the CEO, and developed the SFIV and SFV series for Capcom.

Wasn't the Neo-Geo co-developed between SNK and ADK? There's even an earlier arcade board from ADK that is essentially the spiritual predecessor to the Neo-Geo in terms of architectural features and specs, it was one of the reasons SNK collabed with them.

Third Strike is an inferior version of Second Impact in widescreen, so I suppose the analogy holds.

It's a controversial opinion but I kinda agree with it TBH. 3S has a faster flow and better combos for most returning characters, but 2I easily has better stages, a better overall OST (3S has some standouts tho, mainly Akuma's theme, Makoto's theme and Akuma's ending theme IMO), and (IMO) a better air parry system.

Also 2I doesn't suffer from any obviously unfinished-looking characters (Hugo in 3S) so that's another plus.
 
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kunonabi

Member
Its on a ps2 anthology with a training mode, barebones but better than nothing, which i think has a digital release on ps4. Input lag is probably rough on there though.

Saturn version should have a training mode too.
 

NT80

Member
This was the first main alternative to SF2 that I saw in the arcade and I really got into it just because it was something different and it looked good. Fatal Fury 2 a much improved sequel was one of my favourite games in the arcade. The lead up to the final boss and his reveal with Mozart's Dies Irae played by an orchestra in the background was amazing. That was before you had everything spoiled by the internet.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
I didn't know there were fighting games better than (the pretty mediocre) Mortal Kombat II on the little machine that could. I wish I had some of SNK's back then.


King of Fighters 96, Fatal Fury Special and Samurai Shodown III seem to have pretty great sprites. Even the previous to these games which are more SD style do.​
 
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NeverYouMind

Gold Member
I had the privilege of playing the arcade version of Second Impact in native widescreen. Just imagine a fighting game designed for future tech trends and more than 3 characters being worth playing at the highest levels. Also throws don't need two buttons.
 
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yurinka

Member
Wasn't the Neo-Geo co-developed between SNK and ADK? There's even an earlier arcade board from ADK that is essentially the spiritual predecessor to the Neo-Geo in terms of architectural features and specs, it was one of the reasons SNK collabed with them.
Well, more ore less. It was SNK's response to Capcom's CP System released a few years before to reduce costs using a common board for many arcade games. It was an evolution of SNK's M68000 hardware based board they did use for games like P.O.W., which kept evolving from older M68000 SNK boards and not sure but the older one could be Time Soldiers (from 1987, co-developed with ADK).

But Takashi Nishiyama, credited as the father of Neo·Geo, back in 1987 was releasing SF1 at Capcom. So maybe he was who had the idea at SNK and led the project of making that common board for many easyly interchangeable games, plus later releasing a home version. Using a M68000 board similar to what Capcom was using in CPS and what SNK had back then in their recent games previous to Neo·Geo.

Edit: here's the confirmation of him having these ideas and leading the project:

"● OK, so in your SNK days, you're credited with a lot of games. Which did you specifically spend the most time on?

I was the head of development so I was involved with every title. I contributed to the initial concepts for the majority of them, like Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, and Samurai Shodown -- Metal Slug less so. But I was able to manage the development teams the way I wanted. I would discuss a game idea with one of the producers and hand off the development to them while checking in every so often to make sure it was heading in the direction I envisioned.

The first major project I was involved in was actually the Neo-Geo hardware. Until then, and I believe it was the same worldwide as it was in Japan, arcade operators would have to purchase a machine for each game. But Neo-Geo systems used ROM cassettes so, like with consoles, operators could purchase the hardware once and switch cheap ROM cassettes to run different games. I'm the one who proposed this idea at SNK, as well as the idea for the home console version.

The main reason I thought it was a good idea is it was very difficult to sell new arcade games in China, Central America, and South America because of piracy. By creating a hardware system with cheap software, we were able to sell a lot of games even in pirate-heavy markets, and I think that was one of the main factors that led to SNK's success."

https://www.culturaneogeo.com/imagenes/entrevistas/streeteng.htm
 
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RAIDEN1

Member
There should be a definitive collection released for the Xbox-1/PS4 but done on a better level than Capcom's recent Street fighter collection...
 
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