Art of Fighting (Neo Geo and Super NES)
This game ruled my arcade years! No, seriously, it was this game and Street Fighter 2, for around 2 years. I played these almost every day at my local Aladdin's Castle in Des Moines, Iowa. There was even a tournament for Art of Fighting that I won! There was a grand total of 3 entrants, one being my 8 year old (at the time) brother.

The other entrant was what I would like to call a "wookie"... A 30-something man in a wife-beater that had a fur-covered back...

My brother totally kicked his ass!

In the end, I almost let my brother win, but I just couldn't. I won a Neo-Geo leather jacket, and he won a Neo Geo memory card.

I bought him the Super NES version of Art of Fighting later that year. Oh yes... The point to this story! Now writing my first multi-platform review!

Gameplay:
The gameplay of this is VERY reminiscint of Street Fighter. As a matter of fact, this game is in some ways superior to the might Street Fighter 2 that ruled the day in it's time. Unfortunately gameplay isn't one of them, so I'll talk more about it later.

I'll get this out of the way, right away... You can beat this game, even if you've never played it, no matter what system you play it on! How? Jumpkicks... Just use jumpkicks the ENTIRE game. I would be shocked if you were ever touched by the CPU opponent if you just time your jumpkicks right. You can even hit two jumpkicks in the same jump, sweet...

The game doesn't have all that many characters, and in one-player mode you're stuck with only Ken and Ry... Err... I mean Ryo and Robert. Ryo is basically Ryu with orange hair and an orange gi... Robert looks like a club monger... Both play like Ken/Ryu of Street Fighter.

The game follows the story that Yuri, Ryo's sister, has been kidnapped. Of course, it's up to you to rescue her as either Robert or Ryo. Along the way you'll fight a pretty diverse bunch of fighters, and you'll also have a couple chances at bonus rounds.

The bonus rounds give you three choices:
Ice Break: You control either Ryo or Robert. You'll see the hero staring down blocks of ice, and if you break the ice then you will gain a slightly bigger life bar, giving you a slightly better chance of winning the game. This one is about button-mashing, pound the buttons fast enough on the time-limit and you'll break the ice!
Bottle Break: Again, you see Robert of Ryo staring down a row of glass bottles, ready to chop them ala the Karate Kid. The power bar will variate during the time limit, and you must hit a button at the right time. Hitting a button when the power bar is full enough, and you'll gain a bigger spirit bar to pull off more special moves.
Super Death Blow: You must pull off the most powerful move in this game five times (alright, the most powerful not counting the desperation moves). If you pull off the move five times (it's almost the same as Street Fighter Dhalsim's yoga flame) then you gain the right to use this ultra move during the in-game fights.

Of course, this game uses to energy bars:
Strength bar: This is your basic "life" bar where when it's depleted your fighter is knocked out.
Spirit bar: you have to have enough spirit to pull off your special moves in this game. Of course, you can hold down the attack buttons and recharge your spirit bar, but this leaves you vulnerable to attack.While similar to the "Real Bout Fatal Fury" series, this is quite a departure from the Fatal Fury's and KOF's. The fighters move like people, and the game uses quite a physics (okay, it's collision detection, but follow me) engine that just "feels" right.

Imagine a cross between Street Fighter and KOF, that's about right!

Graphics:
True, it's been said, and there is some choppy animation in this game. Both the backgrounds and characters have this problem, but I don't think I ever would have noticed it if someone hadn't pointed it out. This is graphically better than the mighty Street Fighter 2, this is certain. Being the very first "100 Mega Shock" released in the states, this game had awesome graphics in the time of it's release.

Memorable characters abound in this game:
Lee: Chinese fighter wearing a kabuki mask, attacks much like Chun-Li in SF2.
Todo: Your first fight in story mode, has a powerful attack that is much like laying a wall of blue flame.
Ryo: Again, and orange Ryu. SNK, I'm sorry, this is an orange Ryu...
Robert: Stylin' fighter with a ponytail, leather vest, slacks... Just too cool and one of the most powerful fighters in the game. Just inches more useful than Ryo thanks to a longer reach.
Jack: "Get outta my way kid" - The first time I ever noticed a game character speaking! Never forgot it. Your typical over-weight bar-hopper with a killer drop-kick.
Mickey: A tall, lanky boxer. Plays MUCH like Sagat of SF2.
John: This is your Guile clone... Cool character though!
King: The bouncer, who steals away one of the most memorable gaming moments when you discover that she's a female.
Mr. Big: Seemingly original character with two wooden sticks that he attacks you with. This character seems an awful like a bald pimp...
Karate: The evil boss in this game, plays the same as Ryo/Robert, but is more powerful.

Sound/Music:
Umm... The music of this game is original and fresh, but is just lacking in the actual Neo Geo cartridge version. This game DEFINITELY has better music on the Super NES version, and the CD version is even better.

Memorable tunes include the opening and the Karate stage. To be honest though, the music in this game is never disappointing.

Sound effects in this game are certainly adequate, which in this reviewers opinion is all sound effects are. They don't really add anything to this game, and they take nothing away. Very nice indeed.

Like I'd ever forget... This game has vocals, and was one of the first SNK games to include actual voice effects for the characters. Also cool, the sound effect that occurs when charging your spirit meter!

Replay Value:
I played this game nearly every day for two years at my local arcade, and I've never gone more than a month without playing my SNES version. That says it all, friend. You should love this game... If you don't, you're now labeled in the Gamers' Glossary as a lamer!

But, which version to buy? The MVS and Neo homecart version are great and all, really good... But, I'll be honest, and this might be a controversial side to take... Takara's SNES version of Art of Fighting is superior to any other. It has better music, nearly perfect graphics, and an AMAZING ending! The ending in this game just ruled the day, and I was VERY disappointed to find out that it's nowhere to be found in the Neo Geo cartridge.

Oh yes, the original is still the best! Art of Fightings 2 and 3 are also good, but this is just the best.

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