Fatal
Fury Special
STORY:
Geese
Howard: a man feared by the world as the dark ruler of South Town. He shocked
the land with his violent techniques and was confident that no one could ever
top him. To rid himself of the man, Geese took the life the street champ, Jeff
Bogard. However, several years later, three men arose to stop Geese's ambition.
They were the sons of the dead Jeff, Terry and Andy Bogard, and Muay Thai champ,
Joe Higashi. After Geese was defeated by them, he was
believed to be dead. However, as time passed, a disturbing rumor began to float
around the world. Geese is alive...
His elder half-brother, Wolfgang Krauser, took the reigns of the underworld
after his younger brother's passing. However, the resurrected Geese deprives
Krauser his seat of glory and the Bogard brothers burn with the flames of
revenge. Terry and Andy hear where Geese is located."We're coming for
you, Geese!" A new legend is about
to begin.
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Fatal Fury Special character selection screen.
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REVIEW:
Fatal Fury Special is a minor upgrade and sequel to
Fatal
Fury 2. Special makes previously CPU-only characters now playable
by default, those being: Billy Kane, Axel
Hawk, Laurence Blood, and Wolfgang Krauser. Several classic characters from the
original Fatal Fury who went
missing in Fatal Fury 2 also make their return, including: Duck King, Tung Fu Rue, and the
mighty Geese
Howard. In addition, Ryo Sakazaki from SNK's Art
Of Fighting series also makes an iconic crossover appearance as a bonus playable character.
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Duck King didn't duck Mai Shiranui's foot!
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The mechanics of Fatal Fury Special slightly expand upon those
from Fatal Fury 2, adding a new combo system and a faster game speed.
Unlike the previous Fatal Fury games, Special allows players to
combine attacks. When an attack lands, the player will have a brief moment of
invincibility. The number of Line Move Attacks have also increased, pressing the
Light Punch or Light Kick button while the opponent is on an opposite line will
perform a Low Line Jump Attack.
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Fighting
on top of a train at Mount Rushmore? okaaaay!
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In general, Fatal Fury Special still feels much slower and
less-responsive than other fighting games at the time. The jumping in and out of
the background element still feels unrefined, unnatural, and perhaps a bit
unnecessary. (The overall gameplay system of Fatal Fury evolved and was later tightened up in the Real Bout series.)
FUN FACT:
The popularity
and positive fan-response from Ryo Sakazaki appearing in Fatal Fury Special
was a part of the reason The King of Fighters series
began (about 1 year
later). SNK later ran with the idea of including characters from different SNK
franchises in the same fighting game.
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| Page Updated: |
January
11th, 2023
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| Developer(s): |
SNK
NeoGeo
Takara
SNES/Sega CD/Game Gear
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| Publisher(s): |
SNK |
| Platform(s): |
Neo
Geo, Neo Geo CD, Super Nintendo, Game Gear, Sega CD, Wii Virtual Console, Xbox 360
XBLA
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| Designer(s): |
Takashi Tsukamoto
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| Artwork By: |
Shinkiro, Eiji Shiroi, Ayumi Tsuzaki, Higashi Pon,
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
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| Release Date(s): |
Sept. 16th, 1993
 Arcade
Dec. 22nd, 1993 NeoGeo
July 29th, 1994 SNES
Sept. 9th, 1994 NeoGeo CD
Nov. 4th, 2009 Wii VC
Mar. 1st, 2010  Wii VC
Mar. 26th, 2010
 Wii VC |
| Characters: |
Terry
Bogard,
Andy Bogard,
Joe Higashi,
Big
Bear, Jubei Yamada, Cheng Sinzan,
Kim Kap Hwan,
Mai Shiranui,
Duck
King, Tung Fu Rue, Billy
Kane, Axel Hawk, Laurence
Blood, Wolfgang Krauser,
Geese Howard,
Ryo Sakazaki |
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Featured Video:
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| Related Games: |
Fatal Fury 2, Fatal
Fury 3, Fatal
Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout
Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout
Special: Dominated Mind, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition,
Fatal
Fury: 1st Contact, Garou: Mark of The Wolves, Art
Of Fighting, Art of Fighting 2, Eternal Champions, Fighters
History, Virtua Fighter, Mortal
Kombat 2, Samurai Shodown, Super
Street Fighter 2, World Heroes 2,
Fighter's History,
Fighter's History Dynamite |
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Gameplay
Engine
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6.5 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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6.5 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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7.0 / 10
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Animation
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6.5 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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6.0 / 10
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Innovation
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6.5 / 10
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Art Direction
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6.5 / 10
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Customization
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5.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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6.0 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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6.0 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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6.0 / 10
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Characters
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6.5 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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6.5
/
10
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Review based on Arcade
version
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| Final
Words: |
SNK was trying their best to keep up with Capcom's runaway competitive smash hit, Street
Fighter 2: The World Warrior, and its many sequels. Fatal Fury Special was
a decent attempt and a far more playable fighting game than previous Fatal Fury
titles, but definitely
wasn't on the same technical level of Street Fighter 2.
In my opinion, Fatal Fury Special wasn't even one of SNK's
"best" fighting games at the time. Even so, Fatal Fury Special
was a step forward for the series and refreshed many of the character designs.
Colorful artwork by Shinkiro and Eiji Shiroi also helped define the SNK art style
and direction into the (soon to be booming) mid 90s fighting genre.
~TFG
Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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