Fatal Fury 2 (Neo-Geo, NGCD, Super NES, Genesis)

We all might as well face it, the quality of the first Fatal Fury game was just not up to par with Street Fighter 2. It was a great game, a classic, but put Fatal Fury side-by-side with Street Fighter 2, and we all know who wins the day.
Upon the release of this game, SNK finally had a fighter that could (almost) stand toe-to-toe with the mighty Street Fighter 2. True, the gameplay still hadn't quite come together perfectly... But the graphics and music were superb! Finally, SNK was taking in some of the tokens at the local arcade.

Gameplay:
The gameplay in the Fatal Fury series really took off with this game! If you've played any of the later Fatal Fury games, realize that the gameplay within really started with this version. The characters are balanced, you have as much chance of winning with Andy Bogard as you do with Kim Kaphwan. As in the first Fatal Fury, you can still hop back and forth, fighting in both the foreground and background. It works a little better this time around, but this gameplay system was always far from perfect.
Some of my favorite gaming moments are contained in this game. In Spain, fighting Lawrence Blood, you can knock eachother into charging bulls... You'll never forget fighting Lord Wolfgang Krauser for the first time... Of course, there are the bonus stages where things fall on your character...

Graphics:
I mentioned that Street Fighter 2 was STILL ruling the arcades when this was released... Well FINALLY a 2D fighter that looks prettier than the mighty SF2 was here! Not only that, but this one got some playtime from SNK fans!
This was one of the original "100-Mega Shocks", and it never disappoints in the graphics department. We get large character sprites, awesome backgrounds, superb animation... This is one of the games that really spear-headed the popularity of the Neo Geo. Notably the graphics are almost as good in the Super NES and Genesis versions.

Sound/Music:
The Fatal Fury series never had very good music, but it's not terrible.
Sound effects are standard SNK fare (damn I'm tired of writing that...)
Stick with the Neo versions if you're an audiophile, as the SNES and Genesis versions just don't stack up.

Replay Value:
I feel that you'll love this game as much as I did, but Fatal Fury Special is tons better. If given the choice, skip the first two Fatal Fury games and jump straight to FFS. Oh, and just for fun, here's the three games in the Fatal Fury series that everyone should be so lucky as to own:
Fatal Fury Special
Real Bout 2: The Newcomers
Mark of the Wolves

- Powered by Kyo2000 -