Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Review - The SNK Revival Continues
Fatal Fury. A name that means a lot to those who were a part of the arcade-going public of the early 90s. It was one of the first legitimate alternatives to Capcom’s all-conquering Street Fighter II, and in the process of competing, it found its own groove, its own crowd. It grew as a franchise, expanded, spun off into a new franchise, mixed it up with other SNK properties and even took the fight to Street Fighter itself with some epic crossovers, but despite all of this, things have been quiet on the core franchise for a while now. In fact, the last pure Fatal Fury game was in 1999. So with the release of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the question has to be asked, does Terry and co still have what it takes to keep up with the big boys in the genre? Luckily for fans, the answer is a resounding yes.
The story for City of Wolves is, well, not important. As is the case with almost all one-on-one fighting games, the reasons for the biffo are inconsequential, and all that matters is the biffo itself, and that remains true here. For those who have to know, the game’s events kick off after the death of Geese Howard and revolve around his legacy and who will claim it. Look, is it a riveting story filled with deep emotional turns? No. It is, however, a perfectly acceptable setup for a string of one v one battles, and that is what we are all here for, right?
There is the classic single-player arcade experience, but as an additional bonus for those who like to go solo, there is the “Tales of South Town” mode, which has a bit more depth to it. Player choose a fighter and play through a much larger, character-focused story as they take on a city map that is broken up into three parts, upgrading their character and unlocking new cosmetics along the way. This feels like a lighter, more streamlined version of what Street Fighter 6 offered, without the custom character, and it is a nice way to spend some time getting to know each of the fighters. It still doesn’t compare to the single-player features that Netherrealm offers in Mortal Kombat or Injustice, which is a shame, but it is a nice addition nonetheless.
Graphically, the game is sporting a very similar style to the other recent SNK revivals, namely King of the Fighters XV and Samurai Showdown, but considering how great both of those titles looked, it is hardly a bad thing. What impressed me was the character design. All of the new characters are fantastic, and the redesigns of the returning favourites show great respect for their old looks while at the same time updating them in a modern way. The most notable example of this is for Mai Shiranui, a character who has long been questionable in her design because of the emphasis placed on her breasts. Her redesign here is in much better taste and puts me in the mind of Cammy’s redesign in Street Fighter 6. It keeps her femme fatale feel, still looks attractive, but has done away with the overtly obvious ogling material of the old design. It took them a while, but it seems that SNK has realised that what was ok in the 90s sometimes isn’t the best in the modern day, and it is great to see.
But the real reason to turn up here is, of course, the fighting, and it is a blast. This is a robust system that will feel familiar, but still has plenty of nuance to the controls that advanced players will want to take advantage of. There is a handy tutorial that will guide players through the new systems, but as with any fighter, there is no substitute for practice, so the best way to learn is to dive into the single-player modes and get familiar with what each of the moves, counters and specials do. If you plan on jumping into multiplayer, it is doubly important that you have a good grip on your chosen character because there is no mercy online. The good news is the netcode is great and I never once experienced lag issues, a double-edged sword because I had no excuse when I got my ass absolutely whipped.
What was really exciting for me, an old arcade guy, was the return of the multi-plane battles. For those that remember, the original Fatal Fury featured multiple planes in the battle arena, creating a sort of 2.5D fighter that differentiated itself from Street Fighter by requiring characters to switch between planes. This is back, and while it doesn’t pop up often, it is certainly fun to play in versus mode and gives a nice nostalgia hit in the process. Knocking a player onto another plane, then following up with a massive punch never grows old, and I had a blast every time I got to do it.
There were some disappointments, however. Firstly, I have to say the game feels like it is missing some key characters. My main man, Joe Higashi, and Terry Bogard’s brother, Andy, both staples of the franchise, are not here. Sure, they are coming later as DLC, but it just doesn’t feel right to have a Fatal Fury game without them. Also, I feel like there could be better matchmaking online. One-on-One fighters are already daunting to get into, and as it is, City of the Wolves makes it even harder, often matching newbies up with far more experienced fighters. Finally, the sound design and music in the game were a little disappointing. Fine is about the best way to describe it, and it really failed to do anything but the bare minimum for the game.
What it all boils down to, though, is that Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a fantastic return for the venerable franchise and one that should keep fans of the property happy. The fighting system is solid, there are some great character designs, a nice effort at some single-player content and the netcode is tip top. It is hard to ask for more in a game like this. It is clear that SNK doesn’t have the budget of Capcom or Netherrealm, but that hasn’t stopped them from putting out a fighter that holds its own against the two biggest titles in the genre, and that is a massive achievement in itself.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves was reviewed on PS5 with code kindly supplied by the publisher.
