Fatal Fury and its sequels, created by fighting game specialists SNK, was considered always amongst the most accomplished games out of the several that attempted to steal Street Fighter's thunder back in the early 90's. However, as far as the mainstream audience was concerned, the series was always treated as that awkward cousin everybody pretends to like yet refuses to talk to at family reunions.
As Street Fighter's (and 2D gaming's in general) mainstream appeal dwindled over the years, so did that of its competitors, Fatal Fury being no exception. When Capcom decided to give Street Fighter a makeover with its Street Fighter III series, SNK decided to follow suit in 1999 and the result was this game, Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
The most obvious change came in the form of a completely overhauled graphics engine, that incredibly still run on the 16-bit Neo Geo hardware, with the most incredible 2D animation seen in an SNK game yet, easily rivaling that of SFIII: 3rd Strike.
Other changes included a completely new cast aside from FF's main character Terry Bogard, and an all-new combat system, which included an answer to the parry system in the form of "Just Defend", where basically defending at the last possible minute gave you a counter-attack advantage as well as returning a little bit of health.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves was considered a success for its time, and with the returned interest in fighting games following Street Fighter IV's release it seems like a good time for a comeback, but how does it stack up a whole decade after its first release?
Read on for the answer...
Things Garou: MotW does right:
- This latest XBLA version of the game is a straight-up port of the previously released Playstation 2 port, and that is a good thing since it means this is a perfect port of the arcade original, with an added training mode that is actually really deep.
- MotW's gameplay is still as solid as ever, and it's still one of the easiest games for a newcomer to the genre to pick up and be decent at.
- Great cast of amiable and balanced characters, with several different fightstyles (even though a few of them are based on character styles from previous FF games).
- Online play exclusive to the XBLA version.
- Interesting achievements that actually require skill to unlock, rather than mindless grinding.
Things about Garou: MotW that aren’t that hot:
- Aside from online play (more on that in a bit), this version of MotW doesn't really bring anything new to the table. Hardly a crime, but this is a game that's essentially ten years old.
- The learning curve from the intermediate level of play and onwards is pretty steep* (though not prohibiting) and that might scare a few people off.
- The online part of the game isn't that hot. Input lag can get really bad at times, even in games with a ping of 130ms or lower. If you don't have a lot of local competition, be prepared for some frustrating times. This is quite disappointing, and may hurt the game's longevity in the long run.
Things I don’t get:
- Why didn't the game ever get big in the tournament scene? It seems to have the fundamentals down, great battle system, balanced cast, just plain fun to play. I wasn't really following the scene at the time, so if you have the answer, please enlighten me.
The Final Verdict is:
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
CLOSE BUT NO CIGARTL;DR version:
While Garou: Mark of the Wolves is still a brilliant game, easily one of the best 2D fighting games in the market even ten years after its release, and this latest version is an excellent bargain at 800 Microsoft points(*2), it does feel as a missed opportunity of sorts with its disappointing online mode.
If Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix can get it right, there's no reason why one of SNK's finest games couldn't either. Still, if you've never played it before you should consider investing the time now, you'll most likely find it worth the trouble.
While Garou: Mark of the Wolves is still a brilliant game, easily one of the best 2D fighting games in the market even ten years after its release, and this latest version is an excellent bargain at 800 Microsoft points(*2), it does feel as a missed opportunity of sorts with its disappointing online mode.
If Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix can get it right, there's no reason why one of SNK's finest games couldn't either. Still, if you've never played it before you should consider investing the time now, you'll most likely find it worth the trouble.
* Just take a look at the Game Mechanics list from the Shoryuken.com Wiki.
*2 A steal, even.
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