Title:Fatal Fury 2 (SNES) By: Takara Released by: Takara Released on: Rating (out of 10): 8 Date: 07/18/2002
Me Bouncy
If you read my review on the first Fatal Fury for the SNES, you know I had some rather mixed reactions. While it was a decent port of the Neo Geo original, it needed some serious work. The sound was mediocre, the control needed work, and it was missing the plain shifting found in the original. Thankfully, it looks like Takara has learned from its port off the first game. Several of the issues have been resolved in this game, and there are many worthwhile additions.
Fatal Fury 2 takes place a year after the original King of Fighters tournament in the first game. Terry, Andy, and Joe have overthrown the evil Geese Howard. Another tournament is now beginning. Again, several competitors from around the world have come to South Town to compete in the new KOF tournament.
Aside from the original three playable characters of the first game, a slew of new characters have been added. Some of these new faces include an ultra-cool Tai Know Do master called "Kim Kaphwan," the female ninja "Mai Shiranui," the Judo master "Jubei" and a tubby Chinese guy called "Cheng Sin Zan." The pro Wrestler "Raiden" has also returned from the first game as well. This time he's been unmasked and called "Big Bear." He's also fully playable from the start, unlike the last game.
Aside from the initial eight playable characters, there are four boss characters (playable only by using a special code) as well. The bosses include the staff wielding "Billy Kane" from the first game, the bullfighter "Lawrence Blood," a boxer called "Axel Hawk," and the final boss "Wolfgang Krauser."
(One thing I found rather amusing was that Lawrence Blood's name was deemed too offensive by Nintendo's censors at the time. His name in the SNES version has been edited to Lawrence B. Smart move, Nintendo; we can't let anyone here the B word. It may give people nightmares.)
The actual gameplay is pretty much the same as the first Fatal Fury. This time though, it just feels much more polished and complete. The character collision feels much better, moves have been edited slightly, and the plain shifting that was missing from the last game has been restored. Like the first game, you won't find any massive 50 hit combos or air raves, just plain, good fighting action.
Finally, one major new addition was added to the gameplay: Super Moves. Unlike most games today, characters do not have Super bars that fill up. Instead, Super Moves can only be done when your characters life gauge is nearly empty and flashing red. Once the meter's flashing red, you can use Super Moves as often as you like.
My only real complaints about the gameplay are the damage and the final boss. The damage setting is just simply too high. There's no way to set it manually either. Now this can be either good or bad, depending on if you like faster matches or not. Whatever you preference, Takara should have given players an option for it. Even the damage in the original Neo Geo version didn't seem quite this high.
As for the final boss, he seems to be missing his Tomahawk kick move. Why? It was in both the Neo Geo and Genesis versions. Maybe it had to be cut from the SNES version, due to the lower meg count. The SNES version is only a 20-megabit game, while the Genesis version had 24. Whatever it is, it's a shame the move was cut from the game.
There's nothing really much for play modes here. You simply get a single player Arcade Mode, a 2 player Vs and a Team Elimination Match Mode. In Team Elimination, each player selects eight characters. After picking your characters, you fight until someone loses all his fighters.
Graphics 9
The graphics are a definite step up from the port of the original game on SNES. The animation is a bit choppy in some areas but is totally acceptable and looks much better then in the first. The backgrounds are a definite improvement as well. Locations include a bullring, a Japanese dojo and on top of a moving train. The coolest background perhaps is the final boss level; the screen scrolls down from the top of the screen to reveal an orchestra playing the level's music. While this level doesn't quite look as good as it does in the Neo Geo or Genesis versions, it's still a very impressive site in the SNES game.
Sound 8
While not perfect, the sound is also a definite step up from the original. The whole thing still has a slightly muffled sound to it, but it doesn't seem quite as bad as in the first game. Thankfully that 3 Stooges-like sound when you beat your opponent in the first game on SNES is all just a bad memory.
The actual music itself is pretty damned good. It's mostly a mixture or rock, classical, and a little country. One rather strange thing is that many of the songs sounded better in the Genesis version of the game. This is a definite change of pace; it's usually the other way around. Anyway, good job here.
Control 9 Thankfully, Takara realized the control in the first game sucked. Things are much better here. There have also been a few changes in the actual button set up as well. The throw button has all but vanished and there are now four attack buttons, as opposed to the two in the first game. This really helps to deepen the gameplay a little. The whole setup just seemed a little too simplistic in the first game.
Overall, I really enjoyed Fatal Fury 2 on the SNES. While not quite as good as the original Neo Geo or the Genesis versions, it's a very solid 2D fighter. I would highly recommend this title if you're either a fan of the series or if you've played Super Street Fighter 2 to death on the SNES. A great port of a great game. Good work, Takara.
