Hardcore Gaming 101: Fatal Fury

Table of Contents

Page 1 - Intro/Character Roster
Page 2 - Fatal Fury
Page 3 - Fatal Fury 2
Page 4 - Fatal Fury Special
Page 5 - Fatal Fury 3
Page 6 - Real Bout Fatal Fury
Page 7 - Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Page 8 - Real Bout Dominated Mind
Page 9 - Real Bout Fatal Fury Special 2 / First Contact
Page 10 - Wild Ambition
Page 11 - Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Page 12 - Anime

Garou: Mark of the Wolves / Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves - Neo Geo / Dreamcast / Playstation 2 / Xbox 360 (1999)

American Neo Geo Cover

Japanese Dreamcast Cover

Japanese PS2 Cover

Garou: Mark of the Wolves is often compared to Street Fighter 3 for a number of reasons. For starters, both have some of the most gorgeously smooth animation ever seen in a 2D fighting game. Both greatly overhauled the play mechanics and also introduces a completely new character roster, resulting a game that feels significantly detached from its predecessors. And both represent the pinnacle of 2D fighting game design for both companies.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves takes place in the then-slightly-more-distant future of 2008. The intro recounts how Geese denied Terry's aid and fell to his death from the top of his tower. Overwhelmed with guilty, Terry raises Geese's son Rock, hoping to save him from following in his father's footsteps. The plot begins when a man named Kain R. Heinlein, who has risen to power as crime boss of post-Geese Howard Southtown. Several years earlier, Geese had been romantically involved Kain's sister, Marie. Kain resented Geese and forced Marie out of his estate. He later found out that Marie and Geese had a child together, Rock Howard, and he organized the King of Fighters Maximum Mayhem tournament to bring both Rock and Terry to him.
Only Terry Bogard is back for this installment, so the rest of the cast are completely original, albeit with several of them being based on previously existing SNK characters. There are a mere fourteen playable characters, an extremely small roster for its time, but it's such a great game that this can easily be overlooked. The rest of the characters are all contestants who have entered the tournament with their own motivations. Both boss characters are playable via a cheat code only (Put the cursor on Dong, hold Start, push Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Down, and release Start for Grant. Put the cursor on Jae, hold Start, push Down, Down, Up, Up, Down, Up, and release Start for Kain.)
While the feel is still very similar to prior Fatal Fury installments, the combo system and overall feel of the game more closely resembles King of Fighters than anything else. It takes several things from Fatal Fury and KoF, improves several of them, and introduces a multitude of other elements that work to give players as many, if not more, options at any given time than in any other 2D fighter. So yeah, it's absurdly complex, but it's still less intimidating in that respect than Virtua Fighter or Street Fighter III
To begin with, the control scheme of the Real Bout games has been abandoned in favor of the standard four attack buttons - two for punches, and two for kicks - and plane switching has been entirely removed. You can still back hop, short jump, and long jump. Eight of the characters can dash, and the remaining six can all run. You can still execute a quick recovery after a knockdown, but this time can move left or right, and either a short or far distance, after recovering. Desperation moves have been removed, and H. Power no longer applies, but S. Power Supers and P. Power Supers are still present. Your super meter works more like in KoF, where you build up permanent stocks, rather than gradually depleting after it maxes out like in the Real Bouts, except you are limited to two stocks. P. Power Supers require two stocks to execute, and S. Power Supers require a lone stock. Lastly, you can no longer normally air block.
Several other changes have been made to Garou's fighting system. By pushing both the A and C buttons at once while holding the joystick in either the Forward or Down positions, you can perform Feint Moves - versions of your regular specials that abruptly end after the first few frames. Feint Moves have quicker recovery, so they can lead to combos that aren't otherwise possible. You can escape from a throw by pushing the joystick either forward or back along with either the C or D buttons just after your opponent's animation to throw you begins. Pushing both the A and B buttons at once will counter low attacks with an overhead attack of your own. If this same command is combined with pushing the joystick down it will perform a high attack that can be canceled into specials or supers. Each character has a breakable move (or moves) that can have its animation completely halted - allowing you to recover quicker if it's whiffed, or to set up other moves easier. If you block too often, you'll get guard crushed. How close you are exactly to guard crush is not actually displayed on screen, but when you get really close your character will begin to flash. There is also a Survival Mode that is accessed by holding all four buttons as you push Start to begin a game.
Garou is also compared to SFIII because of the presence of an advanced blocking technique. A Just Defend, as it is called here, is performed by executing a block during the EXACT same frame of animation that an opponent's attack hits your character. If this is performed successfully, the words "Just Defend" will flash on screen and you will regain a small amount of health. Exactly how much health is regained is determined by the strength of the attack that you Just Defended. Just Defending has quicker recovery time that blocking does, and does not contribute to guard crush. You also have the ability to guard cancel a Just Defend into a super, and to Just Defend while airborne. You can even Just Defend multiple hits in a combo by releasing the joystick after a hit is blocked. This method of executing the move arguably makes Just Defending the closest to perfected of any form of advanced blocking. SFIII requires you to perform a Parry by pushing forward, which leaves absolutely no room for error whatsoever. Performing the technique by pushing back allows you to still block if you're early. So it's a much safer, and more accessible, technique and can be a more relevant part of gameplay.
Another complex element to Garou is its T.O.P. (Tactical Offensive Positioning) system. After selecting your character you are asked to choose a position on you life bar. When your health is in that portion the T.O.P. system will take effect and grant access to multiple abilities. You can also adjust the size of the T.O.P. bar -- the smaller it is, the more powerful youlll be, but itls easier to get knocked out of if you take damage. Your attacks are stronger during this period and you will regain health very slowly. You also gain access to a T.O.P. attack, which can only be performed while in this mode. T.O.P. attacks are each character specific, but are always performed by pushing C & D together.
SNK games almost always had amazing graphics, and Garou's rank up there with any sprite art based game ever made. The graphical style is similar to that of KoF, and every background has more going on in it than I could possibly describe. The birds in the bell tower stage, and the Last Blade and KoF cameos in the traffic jam stage are especially nice details. Terry Bogard's stage resembles his level in FF2 and FFS, with its moving train car setting, and is easily the best looking level in the game. You get a much more extensive look at Southtown than any previous game provides. Stages are set all over - from docks, to alleyways, to casinos - and make Southtown seem like an expansive, lively, busy place. Pushing your character's Start button will perform a taunt and cause something in the background to animate (this is most noticeable in the bell tower stage). Every character has two hidden win animations that can be viewed by holding the joystick to the left or right and pushing the Start button. Its number of frames is probably the highest for any sprite based fighter other than SFIII. Each character animates so fluidly that the precise timing required for Just Defending is much easier. This absurdly high framerate also allows you to react to your opponent's attacks with the most exact possible timing, and makes the timing for canceling and comboing a bit easier.
Garou is arguably among the best fighters ever made, and without question among the most refined. Not only does it play as well as anything else, but its Just Defend technique and others give players as many options at any given time as any other entries in the genre. It's often said to be SNK's best fighter, and it tends to have the most fans among those who normally do not like their entries in the genre.
Three ports of Garou were released. The Dreamcast version is almost perfect, but has lagging sounding effects and some minor issues that are all but unnoticeable unless you've been playing the Neo Geo versions for hours on end. It was brought to America by Agetec under the title Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, although the title screen still uses the original name. The Playstation 2 version, released in Japan in 2006 as part of the Neo Geo Online Collection, fixes these issues and adds online play, but only in Japan. Both versions feature an arranged soundtrack created specifically for the home releases, but the quality of these songs are somewhat questionable compared to other SNK soundtracks. Instead of using live instruments like many of their other CDs, it seems like they ran the original Neo Geo soundtrack through a cheesy MIDI sequencer, which makes it sound pretty cheap. It's definitely cleaner than the original music, but it's also lost a lot of its edge. Both versions also allow both bosses to be played without having to enter a cheat code, and the Dreamcast version has an art gallery. The Xbox 360 version is only available on the Xbox Live Arcade. It's basically the same as the PS2 port, meaning it plays perfectly, although it's missing the arranged tracks. Naturally, it allows for online play, although the netcode quality is iffy.
MP3s Download here
Wolf's Bane - Intro
Spread The Wings - Rock Howard
Spread The Wings - Rock Howard (Arrange)
Too Honest - Kim Jae Hoon
Loose Genius - Kim Dong Hwan
Fullmoon - Heartfull - Hotaru Futaba

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Characters

Terry Bogard
Terry is the only returning Fatal Fury character in Mark of the Wolves. Since over a decade has passed, he's now a bit older, and has ditched his old red ensemble for a leather jacket and a new hairdo. Otherwise, he's pretty much about the same as you remember him from the previous games.

Rock Howard
Rock Howard is first introduced in Terry's ending for Fatal Fury 3, but is first made playable in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. His father was Geese Howard and his mother was a woman named Marie Heinlein. After Marie passes away, and Geese kills himself at the end of Real Bout, Rock is raised by Terry, who is overwhelmed with guilt about being involved with the death of his father. With Terry as his mentor, Rock becomes a very skilled fighter. His moveset is essentially a combination of Terry's and Geese's. He is the nephew of Kain R. Heinlein, the secret boss of Garou. His head is essentially identical to that of Kaede from Last Blade.

Kim Dong Hwan
Kim Kaphwan has apparently disappeared during the time of Mark of Wolves, although it's never mentioned as to whether he's dead or alive. And so, both of his sons begin to search for him. Kim Dong Hwan shares a similar look and fighting style with his father. He first appears earlier in the series along with his brother, but both are playable for the first time in Garou. He is an adult by this time, but as Garou takes place several years after the rest of Fatal Fury he was a child in each of his non-playable appearances. Despite his father's strict discipline, he is a goof-off and is much lazier than his brother.

Kim Jae Hoon
Kim Jae Hoon is the more skilled, disciplined, serious, and reserved of the two Kim brothers, which makes him much more like his father. He shares his father's sense of justice and most of his moveset, and even has the same intro animation against opponents that he believes to be evil. He is constantly scolding Kim Dong Hwan for being lazy and arrogant, but the two must get along pretty well because Dong Hwan can be seen in Jae Hoon's level background.

Hotaru Futaba
Hotaru Futaba is an easy-going young martial artist who moves very gracefully. She has no interest in fighting and only does so because she is looking for her brother, Gato, who has disappeared. Her first name means firefly in Japanese, which explains a few of her animations. She has a pet ferret named Itokatsu that shows up in her intro and win animations.

Marco Rodriguez / Khushnood Butt
Marco Rodriguez hails from Brazil, and was taught Kyokugenryu Karate by Ryo Sakazaki.. So as would be expected, his moveset is very similair to that of Ryo, Robert Garcia, and Mr. Karate. Some moron decided to rename him Khushnood Butt for the English release of Mark of the Wolves.

Hokutomaru
Hokutomaru is a young ninja who is being trained by Andy Bogard. He enters the KoF Maximum Mayhem tournament after Andy suggests he does so to test his skills. He is highly energetic and something of a goof-off. He shares a move with Andy, but is otherwise pretty different from any other SNK fighters. He cameos in Mai's ending in SVC Chaos.

Kevin Rian
Kevin Rian is a S.W.A.T. team member whose partner was killed by Freeman. He is looking for Freeman to arrest him, and travels with a kid named Marky. That his characterization is limited to the cliched "cop out to get revenge" theme sort of makes him SNK's equivalent of Kevin Striker from Mortal Kombat.

Griffon Mask / Tizoc
Griffon Mask is a former priest and current wrestler who is based on Fray Tormenta, a real world luchadore with the same background. By the time that Mark of the Wolves occurs, his wrestling career has pretty much ended. At the request of Terry Bogard, he decides to enter the tournament to motivate himself to get back in the ring. A few of his moves suggest that he is also partially based on the Japanese pro wrestler Tiger Mask.

Gato
Gato is a martial arts master who is introduced in Mark of the Wolves and who later appears in King of Fighters 2003. He has no memory of his past, but does not seemed even slightly concerned about this. Instead he wanders Southtown looking for challengers to fight. There are three parallel scars across his back, so I would assume he was attacked by some kind of large animal in the past.

B. Jenet
Bonne Jenet is the leader of a group of pirates called The Lillian Knights. Her portrayal is overtly feminine and her demeanor is excessively flirtatious. She isn't strictly a fan-service character by any means, and she is actually played for light humor more than being a vamp. Being a pirate, when she heard that the very wealthy Kain R. Heinlein was holding a King of Fighters tournament, she joined the tournament looking for treasure. First introduced in Mark of the Wolves, B. Jenet later appears in King of Fighters XI and KoF 2006.

Freeman
Freeman is a serial killer whose moveset seems to be based on Iori from KoF. I guess that the KoF tournament must not be very public because this serial killer enters the tournament without hesitation. Though the police do eventually find out and, after being shot by a sniper, he disappears. Like Vice and Mature, most of his moves are named after Heavy Metal groups. During his intro animation, he wears a costume that could be a homage to Halloween villain Michael Myers.

Grant
Grant is a huge guy in a mask and the boss of Garou. He is a long time companion of Kain R. Heinlein. Grant followed him and became his enforcer during his rise to power as the crime boss of post-Geese Southtown. Other mobsters attempted to have Grant killed and shot him in the chest. He survived, but the bullet was too close to his heart to be removed. So it remains there to this day, threatening to end his life. He is playable via a cheat in the arcade version of Garou. His real name is Abel Cameron.

Kain R. Heinlein
Kain R. Heinlein is named after novelist Robert A. Heinlein. He is the current crime boss of Southtown by the time that Garou takes place. When he and Grant were younger, they witnessed a boy being attacked and did nothing to intervene, hoping that the attackers would relent. After the boy was beat to death, they buried the child at the beach and Kain became determined to gain power and influence so that he may avoid falling victim to other's violence. He is the only character in Mark of the Wolves with any charge moves and he has merely three specials rather than four like every other character. He is a secret boss who can only be reached by meeting specific conditions, but he is playable in the arcade version via a cheat. He is also among the few SNK bosses who does not suffer from SNK Boss Syndrome.

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	Terry Bogard Terry is the only returning Fatal Fury character in Mark of the Wolves. Since over a decade has passed, he's now a bit older, and has ditched his old red ensemble for a leather jacket and a new hairdo. Otherwise, he's pretty much about the same as you remember him from the previous games.
	Rock Howard Rock Howard is first introduced in Terry's ending for Fatal Fury 3, but is first made playable in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. His father was Geese Howard and his mother was a woman named Marie Heinlein. After Marie passes away, and Geese kills himself at the end of Real Bout, Rock is raised by Terry, who is overwhelmed with guilt about being involved with the death of his father. With Terry as his mentor, Rock becomes a very skilled fighter. His moveset is essentially a combination of Terry's and Geese's. He is the nephew of Kain R. Heinlein, the secret boss of Garou. His head is essentially identical to that of Kaede from Last Blade.
	Kim Dong Hwan Kim Kaphwan has apparently disappeared during the time of Mark of Wolves, although it's never mentioned as to whether he's dead or alive. And so, both of his sons begin to search for him. Kim Dong Hwan shares a similar look and fighting style with his father. He first appears earlier in the series along with his brother, but both are playable for the first time in Garou. He is an adult by this time, but as Garou takes place several years after the rest of Fatal Fury he was a child in each of his non-playable appearances. Despite his father's strict discipline, he is a goof-off and is much lazier than his brother.
	Kim Jae Hoon Kim Jae Hoon is the more skilled, disciplined, serious, and reserved of the two Kim brothers, which makes him much more like his father. He shares his father's sense of justice and most of his moveset, and even has the same intro animation against opponents that he believes to be evil. He is constantly scolding Kim Dong Hwan for being lazy and arrogant, but the two must get along pretty well because Dong Hwan can be seen in Jae Hoon's level background.
	Hotaru Futaba Hotaru Futaba is an easy-going young martial artist who moves very gracefully. She has no interest in fighting and only does so because she is looking for her brother, Gato, who has disappeared. Her first name means firefly in Japanese, which explains a few of her animations. She has a pet ferret named Itokatsu that shows up in her intro and win animations.
	Marco Rodriguez / Khushnood Butt Marco Rodriguez hails from Brazil, and was taught Kyokugenryu Karate by Ryo Sakazaki.. So as would be expected, his moveset is very similair to that of Ryo, Robert Garcia, and Mr. Karate. Some moron decided to rename him Khushnood Butt for the English release of Mark of the Wolves.
	Hokutomaru Hokutomaru is a young ninja who is being trained by Andy Bogard. He enters the KoF Maximum Mayhem tournament after Andy suggests he does so to test his skills. He is highly energetic and something of a goof-off. He shares a move with Andy, but is otherwise pretty different from any other SNK fighters. He cameos in Mai's ending in SVC Chaos.
	Kevin Rian Kevin Rian is a S.W.A.T. team member whose partner was killed by Freeman. He is looking for Freeman to arrest him, and travels with a kid named Marky. That his characterization is limited to the cliched "cop out to get revenge" theme sort of makes him SNK's equivalent of Kevin Striker from Mortal Kombat.
	Griffon Mask / Tizoc Griffon Mask is a former priest and current wrestler who is based on Fray Tormenta, a real world luchadore with the same background. By the time that Mark of the Wolves occurs, his wrestling career has pretty much ended. At the request of Terry Bogard, he decides to enter the tournament to motivate himself to get back in the ring. A few of his moves suggest that he is also partially based on the Japanese pro wrestler Tiger Mask.
	Gato Gato is a martial arts master who is introduced in Mark of the Wolves and who later appears in King of Fighters 2003. He has no memory of his past, but does not seemed even slightly concerned about this. Instead he wanders Southtown looking for challengers to fight. There are three parallel scars across his back, so I would assume he was attacked by some kind of large animal in the past.
	B. Jenet Bonne Jenet is the leader of a group of pirates called The Lillian Knights. Her portrayal is overtly feminine and her demeanor is excessively flirtatious. She isn't strictly a fan-service character by any means, and she is actually played for light humor more than being a vamp. Being a pirate, when she heard that the very wealthy Kain R. Heinlein was holding a King of Fighters tournament, she joined the tournament looking for treasure. First introduced in Mark of the Wolves, B. Jenet later appears in King of Fighters XI and KoF 2006.
	Freeman Freeman is a serial killer whose moveset seems to be based on Iori from KoF. I guess that the KoF tournament must not be very public because this serial killer enters the tournament without hesitation. Though the police do eventually find out and, after being shot by a sniper, he disappears. Like Vice and Mature, most of his moves are named after Heavy Metal groups. During his intro animation, he wears a costume that could be a homage to Halloween villain Michael Myers.
	Grant Grant is a huge guy in a mask and the boss of Garou. He is a long time companion of Kain R. Heinlein. Grant followed him and became his enforcer during his rise to power as the crime boss of post-Geese Southtown. Other mobsters attempted to have Grant killed and shot him in the chest. He survived, but the bullet was too close to his heart to be removed. So it remains there to this day, threatening to end his life. He is playable via a cheat in the arcade version of Garou. His real name is Abel Cameron.
	Kain R. Heinlein Kain R. Heinlein is named after novelist Robert A. Heinlein. He is the current crime boss of Southtown by the time that Garou takes place. When he and Grant were younger, they witnessed a boy being attacked and did nothing to intervene, hoping that the attackers would relent. After the boy was beat to death, they buried the child at the beach and Kain became determined to gain power and influence so that he may avoid falling victim to other's violence. He is the only character in Mark of the Wolves with any charge moves and he has merely three specials rather than four like every other character. He is a secret boss who can only be reached by meeting specific conditions, but he is playable in the arcade version via a cheat. He is also among the few SNK bosses who does not suffer from SNK Boss Syndrome.