Update: May 29, 2008
«©NCSX» Relive the early years of the brothers Bogard as they sought revenge for the murder of their father, Jeff Bogard. Joining the siblings was one Joe Higashi who kicked up a storm with his Thai boxing discipline. Together, the three formidable young men would show the underworld of Southtown their collective Fatal Fury... «cue corny music» To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the series, SNK Playmore reaches back in time and collects four Garou Densetsu games and stamps them onto one DVD. Since this is volume one of the Battle Archives, the second volume should contain the Real Bout games and perhaps Wild Ambition. The games in vol. 1 in the order of release are:
» Garou Densetsu aka Fatal Fury
» Garou Densetsu 2 aka Fatal Fury 2
» Garou Densetsu Special aka Fatal Fury Special
» Garou Densetsu 3 aka Fatal Fury 3
GDBA features near 1:1 conversion quality, online multi-matching mode, and character color mods to change Andy from trademark red to nouveau blue.
View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS Game Notes
» This game is also known as Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 1
» The title screen shows the back of Andy Bogard with ponytail swishing to the right as his right arm reaches up to touch the bill of his cap. In the background, portraits of fighters are featured in black and white sketch-style and the game logo is mounted on the lower right. Leave it alone and the introduction to Garou Densetsu plays, complete with hollow-sounding voice. Leave it alone longer and the intro for Garou Densetsu 2 and so on and so forth.
» Press START and the four Fatal Fury games are lined up on the top row along with the Online Multi-Matching BB Mode. On the bottom row, the following selections are available:
● LOAD / SAVE / AUTOSAVE TOGGLE
● CONTROLLER CONFIGURATION [Default: PUNCH: □ | KICK: X | THROW: Δ]
● SCREEN SETTINGS
● SOUND SETTINGS
● CHARACTER COLOR EDIT
» Either the D-pad or L-Analog may be used for movement.
Fatal Fury I
» The graphics and animation are on par with the Neo Geo original but the voices are hollow sounding and flat. It's almost as if SNK sampled a sample of the original. Thankfully, this misstep is corrected in Garou 2, Garou 3, and Garou Special. The music is also on par with the Neo original with the bold blaring intro music.
» Press START and a level select screen appears where players may select EASY / NORMAL / HARD / MVS. Press the SQUARE button to proceed.
» Battle old school bruisers such as Richard Meyer and Tue Fung Rue in settings such as Pao Pao Cafe, West Subway, and other locales. Choose Joe, Andy, or Terry and the first battle takes place at Pao Pao Cafe where a lively shirtless band plays tribal music in the background and everyone shakes an instrument. Every once in a while they'll wail.
» After beating Richard bloody, its off to Sound Beach where Michael Max throws boxing punches and a gnarly surfer crowd watches in the background.
» There's a slight sluggishness in the game where the player's fighter doesn't move as quickly as the original. It's a lag that's in the milliseconds. Then again, we might be imagining things and hunting for flaws after the voice problem.
Fatal Fury II
» Rich music, correct sounding voices, and accurate chimes down to the jingle from the 100 Mega Shock animation.
» Mai's bounce is intact.
» Big Bear animates well despite his largesse.
» The shadows flicker something fierce on the ground like the original.
» We tried a match with Jubei Yamada vs Kim Kaphwan. Why is the mother and her two kids standing to the right of the screen watching a tae kwon do expert beat up on an old man? The mother also shakes her shoulders as if dancing while the kids are similarly jittery. In round two which is nearly dusk, the family of three is still there... What do they want?
Fatal Fury Special
» Press START and the following level selects pop up: [Beginner, Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, MVS]
» Near perfect conversion with sharp music, voices, and crisp controls.
» Fifteen fighters are selectable including Geese Howard and Wolfgang Krauser. The rowdy Duck King, Billy Kane, and Cheng Sinzan add color to the cast.
Fatal Fury III
» An animated intro starts off FF3 where Geese asserts his power once again.
» A new option menu is added to the game where the following options may be set:
LEVEL / Choose settings from 1 to 8 as follows [Very Easy, Easy, Normal, MVS, Hard, Very Hard, Hyper Hard, Strong Hard]
GAME TIME [45, 60, 90, Infinite]
LANGUAGE [Japanese, English, Spanish]
» Little SD versions of Fatal Fury characters and assorted animals dash around the border of the option menu.
» 10 characters may be chosen where they hang out in a lounge. Newcomer Blue Mary relaxes on the floor next to Sokaku.
» Despite being the most "modern" and technically demanding Fatal Fury game in the group, the conversion is near 1:1 with vibrant music, responsive controls, and all the nuances and little touches that make a Neo Geo game what it is.
» When your fighter is defeated, the announcer says, "Sokaku, LOST" with strong emphasis on the word LOST.
» At the Pao Pao Cafe 2, the theme is more chic but the shirtless band members are still there although their numbers have been thinned. The music is also new type instead of tribal.
» The blood runs red.
Conclusion
With the exception of the voice mishap in Fatal Fury, the rest of the games are near perfect conversions of the MVS/Neo originals. While we won't be getting rid of our Neo cartridges in favor of the PS2 compilation, we'll be reaching for this game DVD whenever we feel like reliving the early years of the Garou series. The Neo carts are staying in storage however...
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