One of the best things about the gaming industry is that, so long as there is interest, a gaming franchise will never truly die. Sure, they might go “dormant” for a while, or the “right team is needed” to bring it back, but it can always come back. We’re seeing a revival happening right now with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which is the first new entry in the beloved fighting game franchise in 25 years! That’s right, the series’ last entry came out in 1999! Fans have gotten to see characters like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui in other places, but not in their own franchise. However, that’s about to change.
On the PlayStation Blog, director Hayato Konya and art director Yoichiro Soeda discussed the various elements of bringing the game back and how they worked hard to ensure that this return to the franchise was meaningful. For example, you’ll notice that the art style is incredibly colorful and stands out from other fighting series. That was by design to attract all kinds of gamers:
“We wanted the characters to really ‘pop’ and be striking. We thought American comic books do that well, and we wanted to emulate that,” Soeda said. “Fatal Fury traditionally has an anime style to it. We felt that, for the modern audience, the blending of those two things would work well for the game. Now we have it, and it looks great.”
It’s not just the art style that’s getting improvements; the gameplay is, too. One of the new systems is the “Rev Gauge,” which will allow for “explosive” attacks and combos when used. However, if you do it too much, too quickly, you will pay the price. The idea actually came from a past entry in the franchise:
“We want to give people the ability to use super moves, but not limit them to a single gauge,” revealed Konya. “So, we have two different bars, making it a lot easier. Originally, there was no Rev Gauge–just a power gauge. The idea came from Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, where you had a Heat gauge. We modernized and made it more flashy and easier to use.”
Konya also noted that the franchise’s history will be on full display in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. It’s not just about bringing the characters back but finding out what’s happened to them and to South Town in time between entries. It won’t be a full-on revamp of everything you know, but it will have changed some things to highlight the time jump.
