LINK TO PART 1

Ok, so on to part two. In this one I’m going to talk about Playstation game only in Japan, never seen on the US shores. The game is Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind.



If it had been brought to the US, we’d know it as Fatal Fury Real Bout Special: Dominated Mind. This Playstation port of RBS actually tweaked the gameplay and added some exclusive characters.

First of all, the game opens with (at the time) a pretty cool anime intro that you can see below.



Next, Krauser is no longer the final boss. The new final boss is named White, and apparently someone at SNK had recently seen A Clockwork Orange, because this guy is basically ripped from the movie. Here’s his anime intro when you get to him. He’s pretty freaky, mind controlling Billy Kane into working for him. I don’t think it’s canon but I read somewhere they might be half brothers.



Oh and you will more than likely lose to White the 1st time you fight him. Yes he has a small dose of SNK boss syndrome, but he can be beaten. Just……well I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you. If you buy this and play it and find out what I’m talking about, we can share a laugh about it.

The 2 line system we know and love in the Real Bout games is not in this one. In fact this game plays like a Real Bout version of Street Fighter II. So no switching lines.

In Real Bout Special some characters have EX versions of themselves with slightly altered movesets. In Dominated Mind, these characters have been merged into one character so even your favorites can play differently.

Finally, they added in what they call “Final Impacts”. This basically works like super cancelling, where you hit with a special move and then go right into your super.

Oh, and Geese has a Halo over his head. If you don’t know why, please leave. Now.

Since I got this off of PSN, the load times are reduced to about 5 seconds between fights. Yes, most of the screens and options are in Japanese, but that is what FAQs or for, or a little trial and error can get you.

So how does it play? Astoundingly well. It’s fast, the Real Bout combo system is intact, and the little anime cutscenes are fun (including anime endings) Plus, 21 characters to choose from extends the play time. Alfred, the new character featured in the intro as the pilot is a bit overpowered but then that's just good clean fun :D

So again, a Japanese PS1 game we'll never see? How would you like to get this (and a bunch of other titles) for $4.22 (give or take a bit?)

Final piece coming on how to do it.