We have two good news and one really bad news for SNK fans. Starting with the positive, the first gameplay of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a delight that evokes the successes of one of the best fighting games ever made. Without Pixel Art, yes. What’s even better is that in the process, one of Garou’s most interesting discarded additions has been rescued: Mark of the Wolves. The bad? It will take us a whole year to get our hands on the game and the fighter.
On the occasion of the grand final of the SNK World Championship 2023the Osaka-based company offered a new preview of the highly anticipated sequel to Garow: Mark of the Wolves in which the game mechanics and the visual section are broken down, which is above what was seen in The King of Fighters XV but in a different league than Street Fighter 6 or Tekken 8. Needless to say, the graphics are not everything in a fighting game. However, the new star bursts in giving Muay Thai style elbows and kicks.
Who is Preecha and who did she get those moves from?
Officially, it has been announced that Preecha He joins the now iconic Rock Howard and Terry Bogard. A new face with a familiar fighting style since it is about Joe Higashi’s star student, who along with the Bogard brothers are part of the trio of heroes of the original saga. Finally fulfilling that generational change of the three protagonists through their pupils. Something that, everything is said, SNK raised 26 years ago and couldn’t do it.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves was going to have a sequel shortly after its release. This is not news to us, mind you, since it is enough to finish the arcade mode with practically half of the characters, especially with the protagonist duo, to see how SNK was paving the way to unfold a greater story with Rock Howard, son of Geese and disciple of Terry, as the main protagonist. The unique thing here is that this promise that was in the air for decades was more than founded.
Preecha’s combat style is somewhat different from Joe’s. She can make whirlwinds with uppercuts and close distances with powerful stride kicks, but she seems to have much better control of attacks at very short distances. Something that makes sense to her, since her limbs are shorter and her height is that of a girl her age. However, it must be admitted that her hair is quite different and her outfit is more detailed than hers. the originally planned.
In 2015 the medium 4Gamer.net showed the designs of the fighters that would have been part of the sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Including the return of all the original characters and the inclusion of new ones, highlighting the original design of Preecha which, in essence, was that of a not very tall young woman, with short hair, long pants and a covered chest. Which brings us to the other big question: does she have the same personality as Joe? Rather the opposite.
According to her official biography, Preecha is not only muscle, but also brain: she is a scientist who (like Dragon Ball’s own Son Gohan) is dedicated to the study of the spiritual energy of fighters. Which gives her a curious background: unlike her teacher Joe Higashi, Preecha’s motivation is fundamentally academic and not so much because of her recognition as a martial artist. Of course, even Joe admits that her star student has plenty of talent.
Preecha is not the only novelty: this is the new Fatal Fury REV system
The key to evolving a 2D fighting game is through its main game system. As far as we know, the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves focuses on the use of REV mechanics and how they add layers of excitement to each round. And yes, everything will be managed through its own indicator called REV Meter.
To these new systems we must add the return of Super Attacks and improved versions of them. However, since no health bars are shown, we do not know if the Tactical Offense Position (or TOP) that allowed us to choose at which point in our game to unleash the greatest potential of our fighter.
Logically, Preecha’s fighting system has been designed to make the most of these mechanics and be on par with fighters who in Garou: Mark of the Wolves They managed to successfully combine the essence of SNK with ideas, rhythms and rounds more typical of the Street Fighter saga. A winning combination, all things considered. Which opens up the big pending question: who is back?
Which fighters will join Preecha launch
As far as we know, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will mark the debut of Preecha and the return of four fighters who were present in Garou: Mark of the Wolves and the latest installments of The King of Fighters. Someone with a different mask, things as they are.
Since the announcement we had the return of the Fatal Fury saga that the cast of fighters would once again be led by Rock Howard and Terry Bogard, showing an appearance and shading very typical of Western comics. Now we also know that we will be able to fight with Hotaru Futuba, who recovers his original repertoire of attacks, and a Tizoc whose keys and holds gain nuances after the jump to 3D of the saga.
It is worth making two points: judging by what has been shown, the models from previous deliveries of The King of Fighters. Now, something that is unusual for SNK is that, like Capcom or Arc System Works games, each fighter will have voice actors in English and Japanese. A declaration of intentions.
We do not know if SNK will recover the 12 original fighters (and the two bosses) from Garou: Mark of the Wolves, but both Kim Kaphwan’s children and Andy and Mai Shiranui’s disciple left unfinished business in the previous installment. And we are not going to deny it, Marco Rodriguez, the apprentice of the Karate style of Art of Fightingshould have a semi-guaranteed place.
In any case, SNK has practically an entire year to dose the announcements at its complete convenience: despite the fact that Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves It seems to be in a fairly polished phase, its release is scheduled for early 2025. What’s more, we are not clear on which system it will appear: are you waiting for the announcement of Nintendo Switch 2?
And although we do not have the number of fighters equal to The King of Fighters, offering the same number of characters as the 1999 game would not be a success. At least, we already know that, at least, there will be one more: a Preecha that claims the generational replacement of SNK’s superstars with kicks.
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