This new demo removed two characters from the previous hands-on--sorry, Hotaru and Tizoc fans. However, replacing them in this demo's roster were two characters who have been confirmed since that first preview session: Marco Rodrigues, who was announced in April, and Vox Reaper, one of two new characters confirmed during Summer Game Fest Live. The other, B. Jenet, was not present in our demo.
"If you look at what other game companies are doing, you can already see games at the pinnacle of realistic graphics and even anime graphics," Kuroki said. "We were trying to find a niche that nobody else has used, and then tried to perfect it and make it our own." When asked which character revealed so far is the best example of what the team has achieved, he quickly responded with "all of them," before eventually choosing Tizoc as the most visually impressive so far.
During our hands-on, we focused on using Marco and Vox Reaper. We tried out Vox first, who is evocative of the sub-boss Grant from Garou: Mark Of The Wolves. Vox thrives in the neutral game; his powerful one-off strikes pay dividends as a match progresses. His game is more of a patient one, where we'd be biding time and waiting for an opening to strike before moving in.
His command throw is a major part of his arsenal, as he can immediately follow it up with his uppercut special move or another big move as soon as the animation ends. He also takes a few special moves straight out of Grant's Garou kit, which will give longtime Grant players an edge from the jump. Of the two new characters in this build, Vox is the one we wish we had more time to figure out.
Marco's kit includes both the Kouken fireball and the Kohou uppercut, as well as the Hien Shippuu Kyaku jumping-kick combo. His powerful Haoh Sho Kouken fireball super move fills the screen with fire, as well, providing one of the martial artist's flashiest moves. Where Vox requires some more time on the sticks after this demo, we feel we could hold our own against anyone right now.
This new hands-on wasn't the only SNK update of the weekend, however: One of the more groundbreaking announcements of Summer Game Fest was the addition of Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui to Street Fighter 6. The inclusion makes Terry and Mai the first-ever guest characters in the core Street Fighter franchise, despite Capcom and SNK partnering up in the past.
Fatal Fury producer Yasuyuki Oda says that those discussions began back in 2022, when Evo returned to Las Vegas for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. "At Evo in 2022, we had SNK- and Capcom-themed posters that we collaborated on," Oda said, and those kicked off further talks during the same event.
"There were a couple of dinners during that time, and that's basically when the talks began," Oda said, adding that the two teams "are on very great terms nowadays; I know [Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki] Nakayama is a huge SNK fan, and we're all big Street Fighter fans as well."
Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves is not only a reinvention of the classic fighting franchise; it's a sign of SNK's renaissance as a whole. With more games and partnerships coming down the pipeline, the company may find itself in a new age of glory before long, and based on how City Of The Wolves has played in two preview sessions, we're looking forward to what's next.
Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves will launch in early 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
