Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves review - Street Fighter's greatest rival returns
As a new generation of consoles approaches it's interesting to think what their technical improvements might mean for various genres. That's assuming the next gen Xbox and PlayStation 6 are more powerful and don't instead focus on a new portable design, as seems possible from recent rumours. Whatever happens though, it's probably a good bet that it won't matter to fighting games.
The Fatal Fury series dates back to 1991 and was created by the original director of Street Fighter, Takashi Nishiyama, as a response to Street Fighter 2, which he wasn't involved with. The original was very well regarded, but because it was a Neo Geo game it ended up being much less well known. Subsequent games did make it onto other formats, but the series is probably best known today because of the cameo of frontman Terry Bogard in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
For such a long running series there have been surprisingly few entries over the years, but 1999's Garou: Mark Of The Wolves (the franchise's Japanese name is Garō Densetsu, meaning Hungry Wolf Legend) is widely regarded as one of the best 2D fighting games of all time and a close rival to contemporary Street Fighter 3. The subtitle to this belated sequel is clearly meant to be reminiscent of that and the best thing we can say about it, is that it doesn't betray that legacy.
Although it was released only a few months after Street Fighter 2, the original Fatal Fury was still remarkably similar to Capcom's game – despite Street Fighter 1 being very much a diamond in the rough. Right from the start, Fatal Fury had a greater emphasis on storytelling, with the travails of its main characters continuing through not just the sequels but sister series Art Of Fighting and crossover franchise King Of Fighters.
You don't need to know any background lore to enjoy City Of The Wolves but even the Arcade mode has a proper story, of sorts. It's not exactly The Last Of Us, but each character is given clear motivation and goals and, unlike most Capcom games, a non-joke ending. There's also a role-playing style single-player mode called Episodes of South Town, where you pick battles from a map and gain experience with each fight, that ups your stats and unlocks new abilities.
It still lives in the shadow of Soulcalibur 2's iconic single-player mode, complete with occasionally frustrating limitations on what moves you can use in each battle, but it's a reasonable effort for what is clearly a fairly low budget game, even if it pales next to Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode. If you're into SNK lore though it's an absolute treasure trove, almost turning into a visual novel at times.
Unlike with Street Fighter 2, SNK will have been well aware of Street Fighter 6 while making this and there are certainly many similarities. City Of The Wolves has a Rev Meter which works very similarly to Street Fighter 6's Drive Gauge , except you're building it up during a fight rather than starting with it full.
Just as with the Drive Gauge, this gives you access to special abilities, and more powerful blocks and attacks. However, if the meter overheats you can't use any Rev moves and your guard gauge will drop every time you block, until it's completely broken – which is the game's way of encouraging you to use the Rev Meter and not just let it go to waste.
This also sets up a neat risk vs. reward mechanic, where a particularly powerful combo can overheat you and leave you vulnerable immediately afterwards. A key way to avoid this, other than just being careful, is your SPG (selective potential gear), which activates when your health bar is at a certain point – as chosen by you before a match. For as long as your health bar is in the chosen zone you're considerably more powerful and can make full use of things like Rev Blows – the game's answer to Street Fighter 6's Drive Impacts.
If your eyes are already starting to glaze over at all that minutiae, we're afraid to say that City Of The Wolves' tutorials are not the best and don't even mention some of the more advanced techniques. Or if they do you're only shown how they work and not what they're used for, tactically speaking.
This is a very technical fighter and while you can have fun with it from the start it's not really the game we'd advise to anyone starting out in the genre – which is not a complaint, just a warning.
The game's roster has all the expected series regulars, including Terry, Mai, Hokutomaru, and Rock Howard. There are four new characters, with Muay Thai auctioneer Preecha being a good all-rounder for beginner players and Vox Reaper a more technical fighter focused on speed.
Those are very welcome additions but the other two are weird real-world celebrities, in the form of DJ Salvatore Ganacci and Cristiano Ronaldo. Yes, that Cristiano Ronaldo. They both feel exactly as gimmicky as they sound and not at all keeping with Fatal Fury's general aesthetic. Ronaldo's use of a football is funny for a bit, and Salvatore's moves are all based around reference to his music videos, but that all gets old very quickly.
Salvatore is clearly intended as a Dan from Street Fighter style joke character and yet Ronaldo is barely any better and, tellingly, isn't even part of the Arcade mode. More Trending
If that's what's needed to give Fatal Fury some extra visibility though it's a small price to pay, in what is a very well-rounded and enjoyable 2D fighter. In terms of online it does have rollback netcode and while we'll have to see how this works post-launch the biggest problem at the moment is merely the slow and ugly menu system.
It's a quarter of a century since Mark Of The Wolves and the games industry has changed enormously since then. SNK themselves went bust in 2001 and this new incarnation is owned by a Saudi Arabian organisation; that explains the two unwanted new guest characters, both of whom have ties to the country, but you'd never guess otherwise, based on City Of The Wolves' gameplay.
It's not doing anything new, but then few fighting games ever do and even with the obvious steals from Street Fighter 6 this is a distinctive and enjoyably complex fighter, that should ensure a very healthy future for the franchise going forward.
In Short: An excellent return to form for one of the most respected 2D fighters in the business, that makes a solid impact despite some gimmicky guest characters.
Pros: Great combat system with plenty of depth, but still relatively accessible if you play as the simpler characters. More plot than usual for a fighting game and a full suite of online options.
Cons: The tutorials are not very helpful, in a game that has a lot of esoteric elements. A very ugly and slow UI and menu system. Cristiano Ronaldo and Salvatore Ganacci are a waste of roster space.
Score: 8/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PCPrice: £49.99Publisher: SNKDeveloper: KOF StudioRelease Date: 24th April 2025
Age Rating: 18
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