Fatal Fury Special

Review Introduction:

Few old-school fighters on the Neo Geo are held in higher esteem than the venerated Fatal Fury Special. As successor to 1992’s Fatal Fury 2, Special (hereafter referred to as FFS) built upon the foundation of that game to deliver something truly remarkable: an honest-to-goodness alternative to rival Capcom’s Street Fighter II series. While mostly a retread of Fatal Fury 2, FFS boasted enough gameplay enhancements to warrant all the attention and praise heaped upon it, and, in truth, goes so far as to make its prequel redundant, so if you’re interested in owning just one of these games, make it this one.

As with the previous titles in the series, fighting takes place on a pair of two-dimensional planes, one in the foreground, and another in the back. Moving between the planes is as simple as pressing a couple of buttons simultaneously or, if your opponent is already in the other plane, one single joystick or button input. The existence of a second plane makes it slightly difficult to pin your opponent down as it’s a valid escape route from pressure. In beginner play, this leads to players spending an inordinate amount of time chasing each other down, but fortunately this doesn’t carry over to more advanced play. To those who dislike it, the plane-switching can be a deal-breaker, but to its credit, it does help differentiate the game from others of its ilk.

Graphics, Sound: 👾 🔊

Visually, FFS still manages to impress. While the vast majority of its backgrounds are lifted from the previous game, a few more are included to accompany the new and returning characters. Some have neat little intros, too. Tung Fu Rue’s, for example, pans down from the sky whereas Geese’s is revealed behind sliding screen doors. These add just the right amount of visual oomph. The number of palette swaps in the backgrounds has also increased, some with little additions like the snowfall found during round 3 of Kim’s stage. With so much added yet nothing removed, one can’t help but feel this is a flat-out upgrade over Fatal Fury 2, and, in truth, this sensation carries over to the audio as well; new background themes were included alongside each of the prequel’s, so, overall, one simply gets more content out of this package.

Gameplay: 🕹️

All of the characters appearing in Fatal Fury 2 are now playable as well as returning cast members Tung Fu Rue, Duck King, and Geese Howard. In addition, Ryo Sakazaki from the Art of Fighting series is included as a hidden character, and this requires special mention for historical reasons. You see, prior to the release of FFS, it was unheard of for a fighting game character to appear in any franchise other than his or her own. There was no King of Fighters or Marvel vs. series back then, so having the opportunity to fight Art of Fighting’s protagonist within a Fatal Fury title must have been quite thrilling for fans of either series.

FFS also gained a much-needed combo system and increase in the game’s speed. These were obvious reactions to Capcom’s refinements of its Street Fighter II series and, fortunately, they performed just as well for SNK. There’s still no practice mode, and the moves with “Tiger Knee” motions remain, but with nearly twice the roster of the previous game and such profound refinements to the game system, it’s hard to complain.

It’s worth noting that all these improvements don’t change the age of the game and, honesty, there’s a good chance that FFS might not grab you at first. Opinion is divided on the value of the plane-switching, and this can have a considerable impact on your enjoyment of the game depending on where you fall in the debate. The several ho-hum character designs may also be a turnoff. On the flip-side, however, the solid graphics and audio, combined with the tight controls makes for quite the enticing experience. For a long time, I myself wrote FFS off as not-quite-good-enough, but after having put several hours into the game, I’ve come away with a much greater appreciation for what it has to offer. Does it have the immediate appeal of Street Fighter II Turbo? Perhaps not. But it may well be as deep.

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Conclusion: 📊

While better overall, FFS does still suffer from many of its predecessor’s minor shortcomings. This keeps it ever-so-slightly out of reach of SNK’s top-tier fighters, but don’t let that prevent you from checking this title out. Its vintage is good.