ACA NEOGEO Fatal Fury Special

Genre: Fighting Game

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Fatal Fury Special, not to be confused with Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (that’s a later game in the series), is a Fighting Game originally released in 1993 in arcades and the NEOGEO home console, and in the years since it has been brought to numerous other consoles (including as a launch title for the NEOGEO CD), with this ACA NEOGEO version releasing on Nintendo Switch in 2017.

Much as Capcom released iterative versions of Street Fighter II with new features and expanded character rosters, Fatal Fury Special is an iterative version of Fatal Fury 2, reusing that game’s core gameplay and visuals, but adding in a few gameplay tweaks such as a new combo system, as well as expanding the roster to a respectable 15 characters. Its original release happened to be a week after Super Street Fighter II and its roster of 16 characters, but at least this time it’s in the ballpark of Capcom’s series.

Graphically, Fatal Fury Special is pretty close to what we had in Fatal Fury 2, which is to say it looks good, and in many ways it is graphically even more ambitious than its contemporaries, with stages set on moving trains or a raft floating down a roaring river. I would still argue it’s not quite as polished as Street Fighter II, but the game nevertheless features some excellent 2D pixel art character designs along with the imaginative stages. The game also features brief voice clips, and the chiptune music is decent, albeit not especially memorable.

The expanded roster makes a big difference here, but I still feel like this game isn’t anywhere near the quality of Street Fighter II’s gameplay, let alone what we see in more modern games in the genre. The gameplay still feels stiff and clunky (though an improvement over the first game), and the two-lane gameplay system, while interesting, still ultimately seemed to me to be more annoying than practical.

When it comes to the specific features of this port, players are given a decent array of options and features. The game features the Japanese original release, the English original release, and Caravan Mode, a 5 minute score challenge with Online leaderboards. Furthermore, in-game players can access display settings, save states, game settings, and a digital manual. It’s a decent selection of features, though sadly what’s missing is online play, and there’s no art or making-of content to speak of.

I know Fatal Fury Special has its fans, but as far as I’m concerned, this series still has a ways to go before it can boast a level of quality comparable to the Street Fighter series it has constantly been chasing, even if the size of the roster is much more acceptable this time. Also, once again, I think $8 is too pricey for a game this old (over 30 years at this point), and I would encourage players to aim for a later game in the series.

tl;dr – Fatal Fury Special is a Fighting Game that is an iterative sequel to Fatal Fury 2, adding a few gameplay tweaks and almost doubling the playable roster of characters. Again, a huge improvement over prior games in the franchise, though the gameplay is still a bit stiff by today’s standards and the $8 price seems a bit steep. I would argue this is only a game for series fans – everyone else is better off going for a more recent game in the franchise.

Grade: C-

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