Garou: Mark of the Wolves was the first SNK game I ever played and still maintains a special place in my fighting game-loving heart. And somehow, the current SNK team ensured the upcoming sequel Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves captures that magic and then some.
During the SNK World Championship 2023, I got more than two hours of hands-on time with an early version of City of the Wolves (CotW) ahead of the first gameplay and character trailers dropping on March 17. During that demo, I was able to spend an extended amount of time with all five of the currently revealed playable fighters, testing out the various control schemes and new systems that take from Mark of the Wolves (MotW) and various other Fatal Fury or King of Fighters games.
A testament to Garou’s greatness
We already knew that SNK was going to put a focus on characters and lore for this sequel, working to live up to the original’s legacy more than 24 years after it was originally released in Japanese arcades. And while I did not get to experience any story content, the characterizations of Rock Howard and Terry Bogard, from their animations to their movesets, give me confidence the team is going to handle that element well when we do get to see it.
Visually, the game is a stunning blend of modern SNK games and something closer to a Marvel vs. Capcom 3-shaded aesthetic that, for me, makes it the best-looking title the team has put out since the 2D era of King of Fighters ended. All of the effects, hard ink lines, and flashy moves pull together for a stunning look that accentuates the hard-hitting gameplay and flow of battle perfectly.
There’s also a distinct focus on making the game feel like its own beast, distancing itself from KoF and returning to the grittier, heavy style for characters and gameplay that Fatal Fury was known for before vanishing with MotW.
“There is a very different energy even for the same character in how they act in KoF and how they act in Fatal Fury, it is a clear distinction going back to the original games,” producer Yasuyuki Oda told Dot Esports. “It’s almost like they’re coming home this time. [Some fighters] are more like guest characters in KoF. So they’re not going to be as serious about the story in those games compared to an actual KoF character like Iori or Kyo. But coming back to the Fatal Fury series, Terry and everybody had to be kind of different sort of characters and less smiley [laughs.]”
I spent part of my time playing alone and testing out each character, spending most of my time with Preecha since she’s a newcomer to the Fatal Fury series—with Oda-san confirming she’s a reworked version of Joe Higashi’s apprentice from the leaked Garou 2 game that was never made in the early 2000s.
You can’t help but REV it up
Plenty of classic returning mechanics such as Just Defense, Braking, Dodge Attacks, and Feints are back too with some twists, but the star of the show is the all-new REV system that essentially lets you dictate how aggressive you want to be right as the battle starts.
Unlike with normal fighting game gauges and meters, the REV system gives you immediate access to a bevy of new mechanics like REV Arts and REV Accel, along with REV Blows to pair with the Selective Potential Gear (S.P.G.), which is an evolution of the original MotW’s Tactical Offense Position (T.O.P.) system. Here’s a breakdown of what each of these REV mechanics does—just be sure you don’t overheat like I did in nearly every early match because that puts you in a disadvantageous state like Street Fighter 6’s burnout.
| REV Feature | REV Function |
| REV Arts | A combination of face buttons you can hit that will alter the properties of special moves when you use them. |
| REV Accel | A way to combo REV Arts into other REV Arts. REV Blows can be used, too. |
| REV Blows | Armored special moves only available while the S.P.G. is active that can deal massive damage and provide good counter options. |
| REV Guard | A new defensive mechanic you can use while holding a button. Used to put more space between your character and the opponent compared to a basic guard. |
| Overheat | Using too many REV actions or blocking for extended periods of time can max out your REV Meter. This means you can’t use REV actions until you cool down and you can be pressured into a Guard Crush state. |
With the inclusion of the REV system, the S.P.G selection—where you pick a portion of your health bar and, when in that area, you get bonuses such as boosted attack power, decreased REV Meter build-up, and gradual health recovery—becomes even more important. I spent a lot of time experimenting with the different combinations during my playtime and I never felt like I was scratching the surface of its potential.
This is a game that’s going to please Fatal Fury diehards who have been begging for this sequel, while also still offering an approachable entry for newer players.
A fatal balance between legacy and approachability
Adding new systems and reworking older mechanics into a modern format is something most fighting game sequels do. But given that more than 20 years have passed since MotW was released, SNK also has to deal with making CotW approachable to a new age of players—while still keeping true to the legacy of its predecessor.
In terms of gameplay, the REV Meter is easy to grasp and brings a level of instant gratification to pulling off specific combos without needing to build up a gauge during a match. This is amplified by the new Smart Style controls, which simplify the classic, arcade-style button inputs into easy-to-execute move strings much like Street Fighter 6’s Modern Controls.
“We were specifically thinking about new users who maybe have never played the series before a lot during development,” director Hayato Konya said. “We think the Smart Style controls are a good kind of entry point for them, especially with the very complicated systems that are in these games. It kind of allows you to see what’s possible, just automatically, and then you can go in and change it back to the Arcade Style to start learning the more technical details for deep mechanics like Braking and stuff like that.”
When I jumped out of playing the CPU and actually played against some other people at the preview, Smart Style felt great as we all tried to dig into CotW’s systems and learn about how they naturally dictated the flow of battle, and going back to Arcade Style let me carry those discoveries over.
Overall, I came out of my time speaking with the SNK team and playing Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves more excited for the game than I was back when it was first announced at Evo 2022. Now, I will just have to jump back into MotW or KoF15 to scratch that Fatal Fury itch as we wait for CotW to launch in 2025.
Published: Mar 18, 2024 02:33 pm