The Retrospective 06.07.07: Garou Densetsu/Fatal Fury (Part 3 of 3)
Posted by Sean McCabe on 06.07.2007
Let’s break into the month of June with a Wolf-flavoured bang!
Well, I'm writing this as I'm fresh off of my Fire Pro Returns review, and I've been getting quite a lot of emails asking about how to obtain and play the game. So basically, and for the sake of all PS2 players everywhere, if you wish to play imported games and do not want to use a mod chip, because I do know that technically those are illegal in the US, if not in Europe, and plus they void your warranty the moment the PS2 is opened, there is a another option, and that is Swap magic.
Swap Magic isn't perfect, it's not 100% compatible with every game, and still requires an external modification to be made to the PS2 tray/lid, depending on what model you're using, but that's neither illegal nor voids your warranty. It is one of the better ways to play imported games on the PS2, and is something you will want to look into if Fire Pro Returns looks as enticing to you as it was to me.
As for picking up the game itself, that's not an issue, it's actually quite easily available from Ebay or any stockists that specialise in Asian games.
The Introspective
A story doing the rounds lately is Activision accusing Harmonix's Rock Band of being an imitation of Guitar Hero, despite the fact that Harmonix created Guitar Hero in the first place. Dick-ish to be sure, but a necessary PR jab from them in many ways. They bought that name, they'll be making money off of it, so they need to do what they can to bury the competition. Of course, it's pathetic really, but hey, that's capitalism for you.
To break things up, Guitar Hero 2 for me had very few good songs, and what it did have good were covered quite poorly. Now it has been quite common practice lately for people to mod the game with new songs, and here is a mod of a song from on of my favourite bands. Yes, I mentioned their song The Fourth Legacy in the top 5 this week, but hell, The Black Halo goes damn good to.
We are also into the build up to this year's E3, which is going to be a whole lot duller then previous E3's. Ah well. There are many games lined up to be shown, and it'll be interesting to see if there's any new game announcements. Personally I think Nintendo have something huge up their sleeve, as the time is coming where they should be presenting their second gen Wii titles now that Metroid Prime 3, Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Galaxy are all due in the next six months or so. As for Sony, well Folklore and Ninja Gaiden Sigma head up my interest on the PS3. Yep, believe it or not, I feel the PS3 finally has a couple of decent games worth caring about in recent weeks. And on Microsoft? Well no doubt people will be blabbering endlessly on about Halo 3… I just want some news on Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom.
And speaking of Kingdom Under Fire, it's time for my weekly shill.
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders/Heroes
When someone states the Xbox had no decent games besides Halo, I want to give them the mother of all bitchslaps. Ninja Gaiden and Breakdown are two reasons why, but these are another reason. Kingdom Under Fire is an RTS for people who think Starcraft is fucking boring. Yeah, I said it. I'm a console player through and through, I grew up on reflexive playing, not clicking a mouse on some miniscule units and sending them to do some repetitive task. In these games, you are thrust into battle at the head of several units, you can take control of a unit at any time and directly control it. The game requires very fast micromanagement to fight effectively, but once you have your units all doing what you want, you can then take direct control of your general and start laying in Dynasty Warriors style. Now you see, that is how it's done. Dynasty Warriors is too shallow tactically, but Kingdom Under Fire meshes the adrenaline of beating the living crap out of hundreds of enemies on your own, and fighting a tactical battle. You can command units such as Infantry, Sappers, Archers, Mortars, Calvary, Ballistae, Catapults, Bombers, and that's just the human side. It's all meshed into a pretty interesting fantasy world, which exudes a lot of style. Definitely two of the coolest games on the Xbox.
VG Babe of the Week: Ayane
I can't recall if I've featured her before, which is strange, as she is my favourite fighter to use in DOA. Because she's cheap as heck, of course.
The Breakdown
Garou Densetsu/Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
Developer: SNK
Format: Hyper Neo Geo 64/PSX
Release: 1999
Notes: The first, and to date, only 3D game in the Garou series.
The Hyper Neo Geo 64 was a very short-lived arcade board that saw about four games being made for it, of which Wild Ambition was one. It was also one of SNK's first attempts ever at a 3D game, and unfortunately, didn't turn out well. While it came at a time when SNK's art work was really coming into it's own and generally surpassing most other company's fighters in that department, the game itself generally left a lot to be desired. SNK were just too new to the art of making 3D games and as a result, this game was clunky and very unresponsive. It was a sort of remake of the original Fatal Fury with a slightly modified roster (basically an excuse to include the more popular characters from later games such as Mai and Kim).
In Retrospect: Unfortunately the weakest entry in the series by some margin, SNK would do a bit better with the three other games released on the Hyper Neo Geo 64 board, two of which I'll be covering when I get to Samurai Showdown, but ultimately as this was the first game, and first impressions always count, it was a poor showcase of an ambitious arcade board, that was a huge nail in it's coffin.
Garou Densetsu/Fatal Fury: First Contact
Developer: SNK
Format: Neo Geo Pocket
Release: 1999
Notes: The second fighter for the system.
Ah, whereas SNK never had too much success with the 3D hardware they tried to make, their Pocket system was considerably more successful. Sure, the Neo Geo pocket never threatened the Game Boy's dominance, but then neither did the Neo Geo threaten any console. They simply forged their own cult success, on the back of solid efforts like this. What was interesting about many of SNK's pocket fighting games is they actually used "Chibi" art, and they did this before Capcom basically stole the idea for the Puzzle and Pocket Fighter games. A very cool theme, which SNK kept up consistently with the system.
This game is basically a port of Real Bout Fatal Fury 2. The roster was cut down but that was generally always par for the course with portable fighters due to limited memory constraints. Still, I have a soft spot for these games because they just operated on a different level from the more serious fair on the home console and arcade board. A very entertaining game this, well executed.
In Retrospect: SNK generally were the best at making fighters for portable systems, and would eventually make SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium, widely regarded as the greatest portable fighter ever made. First Contact was their second portable fighter, and a good showing for the quality that was to come.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Developer: SNK
Format: Neo Geo/Dreamcast/PS2
Release: 1999/2000/2006
Notes: This game was SNK's answer to Streetfighter 3. It was a worthy counterblow.
Fatal Fury was, although a good series, I need to make it clear, it never really was as good as Streetfighter. Not a lot was though, and there's no shame in that. However, SNK had been spending their time developing so many fighting games, perfecting their craft, and every once in a while, they hit big, and when they hit big, they hit nuclear. This game… this game just fucking owns. Damn it. I know for a fact any self respecting SNK fan would give all their teeth for a Garou 2, such is the greatness of this game, and indeed, Garou 2 is definitely the most demanded name for SNK's future plans. One hopes they get their eventually, as just because KoF has been going so strongly lately, that's no reason not to revisit some of their other series especially as Samurai Showdown is still receiving new entries. But back to Garou. Garou was the new generation of Fatal Fury, much as was Streetfighter 3 for that series. As such, only one old character was remained for this entry, and it's not hard to guess who. Although, he has a new look, and no longer sports his trademark cap. But he still cries "Bustah Wolf!", and tears still form in one's eyes at the proclamation.
Garou's roster was quite small, sporting just 12 default characters and 3 hidden, but as a result, all these characters were very unique both in design style and in how they play. Bonne Jenet, everybody's favourite (well, I know she sure as hell is mine, anyway) pirate gal makes her debut, alongside Gato and Hotaru Futaba, and the son of Geese, Rock Howard. I also consider it as one of the few SNK games to not suffer from atrociously cheap or unbalanced AI, as the final Boss Kain R. Heinlien, uncle to Rock and Brother in Law to Geese, is a challenge but a reasonable one. This game offers fast paced gameplay that SNK would become known for after the somewhat slow pace of many of their earlier games, and to date is still one of the true fighters that separates the boys from the men.
In Retrospect: Garou Densetsu has bowed out for several years as a series, but it's last entry is truly one of the greatest in the genre, and living proof that even in this 3D dominated world, 2D can still get it done just as well, if not better. This also happens to be one of my favourite all time games. So I'm not biased, honest.
This brings us to the end of the Legend of the Hungry Wolf, but next week we look at a somewhat less successful series, that nonetheless with Garou laid the foundation for the dynasty that was to come, Ryouko No Ken, or Art of Fighting. I'll see you next week, and keep things in perspective… it's a good way to avoid being sucker punched.
