Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

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26 years is how long the SNK faithful have been waiting for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves to finally arrive, the follow-up to 1999’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Obviously, comparisons will be made but Fatal Fury has since become a staple that endures in a charming old-school way that contemporary Street Fighter and Tekken entries no longer possess. In essence, CotW serves as an honest return to SNK’s original premier fighting franchise almost to a fault, with plenty of modern polish sprinkled on top.

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Honestly, I never thought this game would even see the light of day, mainly because so much time has passed and SNK as a company has been through so many ups and downs. Thankfully, City of the Wolves manages to stand on its own as the next narrative chapter in the Fatal Fury franchise, continuing the storyline from where Mark of the Wolves ended. We finally get to see how protagonist Rock Howard, son of Geese, uncovers the events surrounding the supposed death of his beloved mom, his familial relationship with Terry Bogard, and the conflicted legacy his ruthless father posthumously left upon the city.

REV up those Gears

CotW doesn’t stray from its 90s predecessor as the combat is mostly grounded, retaining the traditional 2D perspective with wild, but not incredibly over-the-top action with a familiar moveset. This familiarity continues with the usual counter strikes, dodge attacks, move-specific Wild Punishes, feints, health-gain (perfect) Just Defense, and guard breaks will be the norm here. Even novices are accounted with Smart Style play, which simplifies complex moves and tactics to single or dual button combinations.

Also back is the S.P.G. (Selective Potential Gear) system, renamed from the prior T.O.P., that allows you select a portion of your health bar for a tactical offense advantage by unlocking punishable attacks and power boosting, some of which can counter and push through your opponent’s attacks.

One thing that’s new and beginner-friendly is the supplemental REV system and Heat meter, which enables two-button knockdown attacks while S.P.G. state (REV Blow), EX special moves (REV Arts), special move cancel combos (REV Accel), and defensive pushback (REV Guard) for every character at the cost of potentially overheating if spammed. Clearly intended for rushdown scenarios, most of the REV mechanics can be used at any time.

That Garou Vibe

The overall presentation of CotW is mostly fine, with the in-game visuals adopting a gritty combination of cel-shaded character graphics powered by the Unreal Engine and vivid colors with a layout and menu design primarily done with deep yellow/black contrasts. The style is loosely reminiscent of the recent Samurai Shodown, only now with a comic book aesthetic to match its American-inspired theme. The look also serves as a direct throwback originally used in the prior Garou: Mark of the Wolves promotional material, which is a cool touch once you notice the connection.

Music and sound is primarily a mix of jazz, electronic, and rock ballads similar to other Fatal Fury games, with the usual themes present and slightly modernized. It’s a decent soundtrack, though nothing particularly memorable. One thing that’s either hit or miss is the voice acting, there isn’t much to say other than you’ll either prefer English or Japanese with no middle ground.

Arcade and Beyond

Gameplay modes don’t rock the boat, and you can choose from Arcade, Online play, and Episodes of South Town (EOTS) – the latter serves as an expanded adventure mode (no spoilers!) with RPG elements thrown in. EOTS is mainly driven by selectable battles placed on a flat map of South Town map in the form of pins, and it’s here where you’ll level up your chosen character in order to advance the text-based story to its conclusion.

It’s not complicated since all you’re doing is gaining experience points (EXP) and enhanced ability perks from one fight to the next through endurance/survival modes, objective battles, or story missions. Beyond that, the entire EOTS experience is fun in a linear way and reminds me of a more polished World Tour mode I enjoyed many years ago in Street Fighter Alpha 3. Replay value is high as each character has their own story with competent writing and plenty of unlockable miscellaneous content and minigames inspired by Art of Fighting. Honestly, the presentation could be better, but the approach is still respectable if you’re emotionally invested in Fatal Fury lore.

Another oddity is the brief appearance of the Two-Lane battles where fighters can actively switch between foreground and background planes during fights, just like in the old Fatal Fury games your uncles used to play. However, only one stage has this feature at launch, mean indicates CotW couldn’t fully implement it likely due to developer crunch. It’s a neat Easter egg right now but this mechanic was intended to be standard across the board if they had more time, and a key indicator that SNK has plans for extra content and DLC.

Easily the biggest (and some would say controversial) addition are the guest characters EDM DJ Salvatore Ganacci and specifically pro-footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, whose inclusion was clearly rushed for marketing reasons and perhaps the soccer player wasn’t supposed to be on the roaster just yet. As a franchise that isn’t known for welcoming outsiders, especially outsiders based on real people, I’m not sure how longtime fans will react to the real world creeping into this one.

Online Play and AI Clones

Online play is another big component of CotW, naturally, and it also gets the job done. The lobby structure is less hub-oriented like other games and goes for an opponent search approach that’s more functional than group-oriented. The usual ranked and casual options are here with room matching if you want to be tinker with game rules and region preference. But the setup does feel dated, even going as far as search by nine-digit IDs. At least getting into matches is quick, including cross-platform play between PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles. You can also expect rollback networking for optimal performance. Another nod is the color edit which is surprisingly extensive and allows you to add your own stylistic flair to character outfits.

What is an interesting online feature though is the use of AI technology and training through Clone Mode. Here, a clone is generated using in-game data from yourself and opponents you’ve faced online which can take on other players and their clones, gradually soaking up strategies and bringing that collected data back to you for practice purposes. Whether this will be effective (or interesting) long-term is anyone’s guess, but it’s a novel concept that could be useful for those wanting another way to practice their strategies.

What’s Next for South Town?

After a quarter-century of waiting, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves has a lot of expectations riding on it. On that, it delivers as a meat-first, filler-last arcade style fighter that nails the absolute essentials dedicated SNK fans wanted. That said, in a field already crowded with several heavy hitting competitors that might not be enough for causal onlookers to sink their teeth into, especially at launch. Fortunately, everything else here remains solid and is a potential FGC evergreen that prioritizes strong gameplay and engaging story narrative over distracting gimmicks. The return of Fatal Fury is still a work-in-progress but definitely makes a good first impression.