''Fatal Fury Special'', known as in Japan, is a 1993
fighting game developed and published by
SNK
is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
and originally released for the
Neo Geo
Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES.
The Neo Geo MVS was ...
arcade and home platforms. It is an updated version of 1992's ''
Fatal Fury 2
''Fatal Fury 2'', known as in Japan, is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms, and later ported to several other home systems. It is the sequel to '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' (1991) and the ...
'', introducing several changes to the gameplay system while expanding the available character roster.
Gameplay
''Fatal Fury Special'' is an updated version of ''
Fatal Fury 2
''Fatal Fury 2'', known as in Japan, is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms, and later ported to several other home systems. It is the sequel to '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' (1991) and the ...
''. It features many of the same graphics and gameplay, although some slight changes were made to the system, including faster game speed and an all new
combo
Combo may refer to: Technology
*Combo television unit, a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit
* Combo drive, a type of optical drive that can read CDs and DVDs
*A guitar amplifier incorporating one or more loudsp ...
system. Unlike the previous ''
Fatal Fury
''Fatal Fury'', known as in Japan, is a fighting game series developed by SNK for the Neo Geo system.
Games
Canon
* '' Fatal Fury'' – The first game of the ''Fatal Fury'' series allowed players to select one of three characters, Terr ...
'' games, ''Special'' allows the player to combine their attacks. When an attack lands, the player will have a brief moment of invincibility. The number of Line Move Attacks have also increased; pressing the Light Punch or Light Kick button while the opponent is on an opposite line will perform a Low Line Jump Attack.
[''Fatal Fury Special'' user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US)]
The single-player mode has the player fighting all of the playable characters, beginning with the eight regular characters from the previous game, as well as
Tung and
Duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
, with the player given a choice in their first opponent. After the first ten opponents, the player will fight against
Billy,
Axel,
Laurence
Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...
,
Geese
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...
, and
Krauser, in that order. If the player wins every match in two rounds, then the player will be challenged by
Ryo in a special "Dream Match".
Characters
The character roster of ''Fatal Fury 2'' returns. The four
AI-only characters from the previous game (
Billy Kane
is a video game character created by SNK. He makes first appearance in the fighting game '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' as the sub-boss from the game. In the ''Fatal Fury'' series Billy is the right-hand man from Geese Howard, the crime lord ...
,
Axel Hawk,
Laurence Blood
The following is a list of video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury'', ''Fatal Fury 2'', ''Fatal Fury Special'', '' Fatal Fury 3'', ''Real Bout ...
, and
Wolfgang Krauser
The following is a list of player character, video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Fatal Fury'', ''Fatal Fury 2'', ''Fatal F ...
) can now be controlled by the player, and three characters from the original ''Fatal Fury'' (
Tung Fu Rue,
Duck King
The following is a list of player character, video game characters featured in the ''Fatal Fury'' fighting game series developed by SNK. The series consists of the original ''Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, Fatal Fury'', ''Fatal Fury 2'', ''Fatal F ...
, and
Geese Howard
is a fictional boss character and the main villain in SNK's '' Fatal Fury'' fighting game series. Debuting in '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'', Geese is the local crime boss of the fictional city of South Town. Geese created and hosts a fight ...
) return, increasing the number of playable characters to fifteen.
Ryo Sakazaki
is a video game character developed for the 1992 fighting game ''Art of Fighting'' from SNK. His name is most often written in kana, although in some games, kanji is used to write parts of his name. In the series, Ryo is a skilled martial arti ...
, the protagonist of ''
Art of Fighting
is a fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the ''Fatal Fury'' series and is set in the same fictional universe as a pr ...
'', appears as a hidden opponent at the end of the Single Player Mode and is playable in the home versions. This cross-over ultimately inspired SNK to create ''
The King of Fighters
''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of '' The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main p ...
'' series,
first of which was released a year after ''Fatal Fury Special''.
Release
Home versions
In addition to the home versions for the
Neo Geo
Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES.
The Neo Geo MVS was ...
and
Neo Geo CD
The is the second home video game console of SNK Corporation's Neo Geo family, released on September 9, 1994, four years after its cartridge-based equivalent. This is the same platform, converted to the cheaper CD format retailing at per t ...
, ports of ''Fatal Fury Special'' were produced for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System,
Sega CD
The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...
and
Game Gear
The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
, as well as the
PC Engine
The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...
game console (in Arcade
CD-ROM² format), and the
X68000
The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan.
The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 wi ...
and
FM Towns computer platforms in Japan between 1994 and 1996. The game is included in 2007's ''Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 1'' for the
PlayStation 2.
''Fatal Fury Special'' for the Neo Geo was later released on the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
in 2010. An emulation of the Neo Geo arcade game was also released for the
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
in 2007. Furthermore, mobile versions were released for
Android and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
based devices. It was later ported to
Nintendo Switch in July 2017 by a Japanese game publisher HAMSTER.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Fatal Fury Special'' on their October 15, 1993 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month. It went on to be Japan's third highest-grossing
arcade game of 1994, just below ''
Super Street Fighter II X'' and ''
Virtua Fighter
is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original '' Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' ga ...
''. In North America, ''RePlay'' reported that ''Fatal Fury Special'' was the seventh most-popular arcade game in December 1993. ''
Play Meter
''Play Meter'' (initially ''Coin Industry Play Meter'') was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. ...
'' also listed ''Fatal Fury Special'' to be the thirty-eighth most-popular arcade game at the time.
The Neo Geo version received positive reviews from critics. ''
GamePro'' praised the variety of characters, the addition of new moves for the older characters, the combos, the detailed graphics, and the humorous touches to the backgrounds, though they felt the ability to jump between the foreground and background tended to be an annoyance.
All four reviewers for ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
'' (''EGM'') referred to it as "one of the best tournament fighting games out there" (with insignificant changes in wording between each reviewer). They praised the new characters, the improved backgrounds and animations, and the music, and gave it a score of 34 out of 40 (average 8.5 out of 10).
''GamePro'' gave the Game Gear version a rave review, stating that though it has fewer characters and vastly inferior graphics and sounds compared to the Neo Geo version, it "is arguably the best handheld fighting game ever released" due to the responsive action and the inclusion of "extra elements you never thought you'd see in a handheld fighter". The magazine particularly applauded the presence of a combo system and the numerous special moves.
On release, ''
Famicom Tsūshin
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' scored the Mega-CD version of the game a 21 out of 40.
[NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: 餓狼伝説 SPECIAL. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.329. Pg.32. 7 April 1995.] ''GamePro'' declared it "yet another Neo Geo arcade game that's been poorly converted for a home system". Although they complimented the inclusion of all the characters, moves, and music of the arcade version, they felt that the removal of key animation frames and distinctive background elements would make the conversion a major disappointment to anyone used to the arcade game.
The four reviewers of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' instead judged it to be an overall solid conversion, remarking that the sound effects are weak and garbled, but the music, play controls, and graphics all replicate the original with reasonable accuracy. They scored it 29.5 out of 40 (an average of 7.375 out of 10).
All four reviewers of ''EGM'' complained of the severe echo effect in the audio of the SNES version, and two of them said that some of the moves are hard to pull off. However, they commented that the graphics, while a step down from the Neo Geo version, are still relatively sharp, and judged it an overall good conversion. They scored it 29.5 out of 40 (an average of 7.375 out of 10).
''GamePro'' was less pleased with the conversion, and remarked that the graphics and controls are vastly inferior to those of the Neo Geo version. They also criticized the special moves which are activated when a character is near death as a "cheesy way of evening things out between players of varying skill levels".
A reviewer for ''
Next Generation'' also gave it a negative review, though almost solely for its perceived lack of originality, commenting that "sprite-based 2D fighting games are a dime a dozen, and in spite of the impressive Dolby Surround, all this one really has going it is sheer size: 15 characters ... and five special moves apiece, some of which are slick, but none of which you haven't pulled off it some other game of its ilk".
Jeff Gerstmann
Jeff Gerstmann (born August 1, 1975) is an American video game journalist. Former editorial director of the gaming website ''GameSpot'' and the co-founder/editor of the gaming website ''Giant Bomb'', Gerstmann began working at ''GameSpot'' in t ...
of
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
gave the Xbox Live Arcade release a 6.5 out of 10. He remarked that the game is emulated well, and approved of the fact that it emulates the Neo Geo home version rather than the arcade version. He stated that the game itself is good compared to other Neo Geo fighters of its time, but would probably not appeal to modern players who are not already familiar with the ''Fatal Fury'' franchise.
In a 1996 retrospective review, ''Maximum'' commented that ''Fatal Fury Special'' "tweaked the gameplay of ''Fatal Fury 2'' overly very superficially, and the main selling point lay with the number of combatants". However, they praised the more hectic pace of the game, and gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
References
Bibliography
*''All About Garou Densetsu Special (ALL ABOUT 餓狼伝説スペシャル)'' (''All About Series'' Vol. 3), a guide book from Dempa Shimbunsha;
*''Garou Densetsu Special (餓狼伝説スペシャル)'' (''Gamest Extra'' No.106), a magazine-book from Shinseisha;
*''Garou Densetsu Special 4-Koma Ketteiban (餓狼伝説スペシャル 4コマ決定版)'' (''Gamest Comics'' 6) (), a
4-koma manga from Shinseisha;
*''Garou Densetsu Special Cancellation (餓狼伝説スペシャル キャンセレーション)'', a book from Hakosho;
*''Garou Densetsu Special Hisshō Kōryaku Hō (餓狼伝説スペシャル 必勝攻略法)'' (''NEO-GEO Kanpeki Koryaku Series'' 1) (), a guide book from
Futabasha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.[会社概要]
" Futabasha. R ...
;
*''Garou Densetsu Special Hisshō Kōryaku Hon (餓狼伝説スペシャル 必勝攻略本)'' (''Haoh Game Special'' 13) (), a guide book from
Kodansha;
*''Garou Densetsu Special Kanzen Kōryaku Hon (餓狼伝説スペシャル 完全攻略本)'', a SFC guide book from
Tokuma Shoten
is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
;
*''Garou Densetsu Special Super Guide (餓狼伝説スペシャル スーパーガイド)'' (), a SNES guide book from Kodansha.
Discography
*''Garou Densetsu Special (餓狼伝説スペシャル)'' (PCCB-00138), an original soundtrack by SNK Neo Sound Orchestra from
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...
;
*''Garou Densetsu Special Image Album Part 1 (餓狼伝説スペシャル イメージアルバム パート1)'' (PCCB-00152) and ''Garou Densetsu Special Image Album Part 2'' (PCCB-00155), a two-part arranged soundtrack from Pony Canyon.
Filmography
*''Garou Densetsu Special - Chōzetsu Butō Kai (餓狼伝説スペシャル 超絶武闘会)'' official VHS tape (PCVP-11355) and Laser Disc (PCLP-00494) from Pony Canyon.
External links
''Fatal Fury Special''at
GameFAQs
''Fatal Fury Special''at
Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by '' Time' ...
''Fatal Fury Special''at
Killer List of Videogames
Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pl ...
''Fatal Fury Special''at
MobyGames
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fatal Fury Special
1993 video games
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Android (operating system) games
Arcade video games
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Fatal Fury
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Magical Company games
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