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Destructoid review: Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 2 photo

While I am a big fighting game fan, I'll admit I know much more about the Capcom and Sega fighting titles than I do of SNK's Fatal Fury series. But what better way to learn than from a disc of some of what are supposed to be some of the best games in the series?

SNK keeps a good thing going with their steady flow of affordable, retro-friendly compilation discs. We recently saw the release of Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 2, a follow up to last fall's Battle Archives Volume 1. This disc rounds out the collection for series fans, adding three more titles to Volume 1's four.

How do these older 2D arcade classic fighters stack up now? Are they worth the price after about a decade? And how is Mai looking these days?

Hit the jump for the impressions of a relative newcomer to the Fatal Fury series. 

Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 2 (PS2)
Developed by SNK Playmore
Published by SNK Playmore
Released on April 8
, 2008

I'm not a total newb. Here's what I do know from my interactions with the series' various titles in arcades over the years: this SNK-developed Neo Geo title let fighters duke it out on two seperate planes, giving it a different strategy from your Street Fighters and such. It has ties to another SNK series, Art of Fighting. The Fatal Fury games have a pretty varied cast of characters, with the most popular being Joe Higashi, the American-looking Terry and Andy Bogard, and the ever-bouncy Mai Shiranui.

Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 2 continues the release timeline from Volume 1, adding Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers to the collection. They're all presented almost exactly as the would have been in arcades back in the mid 1990's, complete with the retro-yummy Neo Geo (MAX 330 MEGA PRO-GEAR SPEC) introduction.

Fatal Fury games are very straightforward as far as gameplay goes. Opponents face each other and fight, via punch, kick, and strong attack buttons. Move sets are similar to those of other fighters like Street Fighter II, though it seems that there is a greater focus on sweeping d-pad/joystick motions for some characters; my play-throughs for some of these characters gave me a half-circle workout! 

This action is complimented by some flashy super moves and "hidden abilities," both of which can be executed after building up a power gauge. There are also "ring outs," letting you boot an opponent from the playing field after clearing a path for them. Of course, these are in addition to  the previously mentioned multi-plane dynamic, though I didn't find this to be as useful for dodging as I originally thought.

It has to be said that each of these games are quite difficult, newcomer or not. Seasoned fans tell me that these games even pose a challenge for them, so I didn't feel as bad as a newcomer. In frustration, I tried to set the difficulty of one of these titles to its easiest setting. Unfortunately, it still took several "quarters" to succeed, and my thumbs were worn raw after the session. I do feel somewhat educated for the experience, and I now feel like I can hold my own playing Joe Higashi in a public setting. I went from having to flip through the manual at first to now feeling pretty comfortable with quick matches. Add another notch to my fighting game belt.

Much unlike Terry Bogard's fashion sense, all three of these titles have aged rather well. They all look great on the PS2, espeically for mid-1990s arcade fighters. I got a thrill seeing the original "attract modes" for each of these games; Real Bout Fatal Fury Special's introduction in particular is quite fantastic. The in-game visuals become increasingly better with each title, with Real Bout 2 looking the best of the bunch.

SNK isn't asking for much for this collection, so don't expect a lot of bonus content. The hexagon-happy menu looks exactly the same as it does in SNK's other fighting collections, like the first Battle Archives or World Heroes Collection. But there are a few extra goodies packed in. Aside from the three games, there is also a separate option for a practice mode, which I used extensively to prepare. In Character Setup, you can color your characters in whatever palette you fancy. And, I enjoyed being able to select between the original and arranged versions of each game's soundtrack.

Newcomer or not, the asking price of less than $20 is a fantastic value for three classic (and formerly expensive) arcade fighting titles. There's not a lot of variety or extra content here, but these three very solid and deep fighting games alone are well worth the asking price.

Score: 7.0 (Good. Replayable, fun, but nothing innovative or amazing.)









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Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools. Meet the rest of the team



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38 comments | showing # 1 to 38
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Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 14:42
Bob Muir
Just curious Dale: does it have an option to run in progressive scan (480p)?
Dale North's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 14:48
Dale North
Necros: No. For display, there's just position and zoom settings, as well as a focus (normal or soft) selection.
Rider Chop's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 14:52
Rider Chop
why they didnt include Garou I will never understand
nilcam's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:03
nilcam
The lack of progressive scan really hurts these releases. The slight lag makes the games much harder to play. I'll probably buy this once I see it in stores.
-PL-'s Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:12
-PL-
No Garou? No buy.
Messer's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:21
Messer
No Garou? No buy.
neveranything's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:21
neveranything
I remember getting a huge blister, then callous, on my left thumb playing the Fatal Fury series. Good times, good times.
JamnOnTheOne's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:22
JamnOnTheOne
I'm glad there's no Garou...Don't want my AES copy going down in price so that PS2 peasants can play.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:25
king3vbo
GEESE! ftw
PaperBowser0's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:41
PaperBowser0
Jeez.......
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:42
Shin Oni
what they need to do is just go ahead and release the PS2 port of Garou. I mean really SNK...

I probably won't buy. I've had more than enough FF with emulation and back in the days of the 90s. I'm waiting for the KoF bits to hit.
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:43
Shin Oni
oh..Nightmare Geese FTW.
KidKobun's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:43
KidKobun
I think that Garou has a different story line. I don're really remember. Anyhow I totally agree with JamOnTheOne I don't want my DC copy to lose its value or potency. Besides I have two lovely DC arcade sticks that get a lot of use out Garou and I don't want that to change. :3
Regardless, I'm picking this up for the price alone!
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 15:54
Shin Oni
technically, the FF series is the original King of Fighters. wasn't till they released KoF94 was it kinda you know...feeling left out.

Garou technically is a KoF too. Obviously set ahead since Rock is grown and Kim's sons are older. But since SNK kinda stopped going by the years (and the Garou timeline/KoF timelines were pretty much hitting plot twist/loophole with Geese still alive and Rock still well...looking 8 years old.) I couldn't tell you. Though with Garou characters making an appearance in latest KoF, it shows the connection is somewhat still there.
Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 16:17
Bob Muir
Damn, I was really hoping to find a copy of these games that won't look like ass on my HDTV. I guess the only other option is buying them all separately on VC. :(
CronosBlade's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 16:24
CronosBlade
Considering we've still got the Sam Sho Anthology to come, and we just got the SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1, it is possible to see MotW, but it would be a standalone release just as in Japan.

I'm hoping for it.
fetusmilk's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 17:22
fetusmilk
also noticed no versus mode, only 1 player with 2 player joining in. so whomever wins stays who they were. if i remember correctly.
animateria's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 18:01
animateria
SNK is probably the only company I ignore when it comes to fighting games nowadays. I hate their graphics and animations, and Playmore has made it worst every year.

Then again... Non-KOF games always looked better for SNK.

I wonder if the upcoming KOF can change my opinion?

Samurai Showdown and Last Blade are still FTW!
Maurice Tan's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 18:02
Maurice Tan
Power wave!
KidKobun's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 18:45
KidKobun
Animateria, your Troll-Fu is weak.
Shin Oni's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 18:52
Shin Oni
@Animateria

I don't see why KOFXII wouldn't. the game looks damn good with a actual sprite update (finally.)

My only big gripe with them right now is that they never ever updated their sprites until recently. I mean seriously...Iori had the same outfit since his appearance and his sprite has only changed just about alittle bit.
LongDeth's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 18:59
LongDeth
Garou is awesome. Importing that took like 65 dollars out of my wallet though.
AlucardX24's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 19:07
AlucardX24
AH YU OKEEEEEEI? BUSTA WOOOOORLF! HEY, CMON CMON.
Brian Szabelski's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 19:36
Brian Szabelski
NEeds more Garou.
Tim Sheehy's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 20:09
Tim Sheehy
Garou, if it gets released here, will likely be stand alone like it was in Japan. Not part of the collections.
Detry's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 20:17
Detry
I want a Fatal Fury trucker hat!

Dammit...
OhJAM's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 20:44
OhJAM
A Fatal Fury "Battle Archive" sans Garou: MOTW is more akin to a Fatal Fury "Battle Footnote."

Epic fail on SNK Playmore's part. Even the Metal Slug Collection got all of the games - but yet, the best Fatal Fury game ever made gets nothing but ignored. For shame.
shouryuuken's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 22:47
shouryuuken
i agree that mark of the wolves (i dont like calling it garou simply because thats technically the title for all of them in japan) is hands down the best ff ever, but i still love me some real bout. while MotW is like street fighter III, real bout is comparable to alpha. alpha was technically a weaker fighter, but still a fun, visually appealing game, especially at its time. so yeah, i picked this game up day one, in fact i had a store order it for me because i couldnt find it at any local game stop or even the store i work at (gamecrazy).
OhJAM's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/12/2008 23:58
OhJAM
I feel you, but I really think that not releasing MOTW on the PS2 here in the States is about the dumbest move they've ade in recent memory. It's totally worth playing, and I hate asking "Have you ever played Mark Of The Wolves?" only to have it followed up with "Huh? Is that like Bloody Roar?"

Sad. And unfortunate.
animateria's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/13/2008 04:47
animateria
@KIDKOBUN Of course my troll-fu is weak, I wasn't trolling.

@Shin Oni Yeah, my biggest gripes with the series was how it always looked the worst of all fighters (And how the new illustrator sucks ass). But the graphical updates are welcome, I enjoyed KOF98 and KOF99 a lot back in the day, but the series really took a nose dive starting with 2001 (Which I wholeheartedly blame on Playmore or whatever).



Mark of the Wolves is probably the only FF game I don't have on my emulator. That would have been a good choice indeed.
Hitogoroshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/13/2008 11:29
Hitogoroshi
Nice review! I won't be picking it up as I still have the games for my Neo Geo.

.....Based on the comments I might have to do a blog about the Southtown storyline. There are alot of misconceptions here.
OhJAM's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/19/2008 17:45
OhJAM
It's SNK. Their storylines are riddled with more retcons than actual plot holes.
michiyoyoshiku's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/25/2008 16:34
michiyoyoshiku
I just picked this mofo up and I enjoy it but I wish they included more games. (NGPC games maybe?)
Teen Idol's Avatar - Comment posted on 05/25/2008 22:45
Teen Idol
Power Wave..Buster Wolf!!
tocarhaehe47's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/14/2011 17:44
tocarhaehe47
leave them as the criminal on the scaffold longs for the axe to buy rhinocort online
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