Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Interview – Returning to a Legendary IP

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Interview – Returning to a Legendary IP

As a gamer with a heart full of nostalgia and a wallet that’s taken quite a beating over the years, I can hardly contain my excitement for the return of the iconic Fatal Fury series after an absence of 26 years! It’s like reuniting with a long-lost friend who’s come back better than ever.


Approximately two decades have passed since the last installment of the Fatal Fury series, but with SNK, the original developers, returning to the gaming scene with notable new releases in recent times, it’s now ready for a grand comeback. The upcoming game, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, is set for release in 2025. As more details about the game have been unveiled, anticipation has been building steadily among fans. To get insights into the franchise’s resurgence and what exactly City of the Wolves will offer, we recently interviewed chief producer Yasuyuki Oda. You can find our full interview below.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Interview – Returning to a Legendary IP

Instead of creating a sequel to “Mark of the Wolves”, we’re designing this game as a crossover battle, featuring popular characters from the “FATAL FURY” series.

How come the developers decided to bring back the Fatal Fury series, which hasn’t been around for 26 years?

Ever since I parted ways with SNK, I’ve harbored a deep desire to create a fresh installment in the legendary FATAL FURY series. If circumstances had allowed it, I would have started this journey much sooner, but now, at long last, the opportunity has finally come my way.

Regarding the break between installments of Fatal Fury, can you tell me why it lasted over 15 years?

From 2000 to 2014, I, along with my dedicated team, took a break from SNK. After our return in 2014, we found ourselves short-staffed within the company, focusing on projects like KOF, SNK Heroines, and Samurai Shodown. This prolonged our journey back to the Fatal Fury series, which we were eager to revisit.

Did the extended gap between releases influence any choices regarding the game’s content? For instance, this game features a cast of returning characters from earlier installments alongside fresh faces, unlike Mark of the Wolves which mostly introduced new characters. Was this approach taken to cater to both long-time fans and potential newcomers since it’s been such a while since the last release in the series?

Indeed, you’re spot on! Instead of being a follow-up to “Mark of the Wolves”, we’re designing this game more like a showdown featuring characters from the “FATAL FURY” series.

Given that the upcoming game is intended as a sequel to Mark of the Wolves, will it include a summary or recap of sorts to assist both fresh and returning players in understanding the storyline’s progression?

We’re only able to express our anticipation for any upcoming updates about “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves”.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Interview – Returning to a Legendary IP

As an enthusiast, I’d express it like this: “I’ve always admired how the FATAL FURY series blends diverse game mechanics seamlessly. So, when creating the REV System, my goal was to encapsulate that harmony. To make it even more engaging, I aimed to design the action as flashy and intuitive as possible, ensuring players could easily grasp what’s happening during a match.”

It seems intriguing that The Rev System has been incorporated into the game’s mechanisms. Can you share some insights about the thought process behind its creation and implementation?

The REV System was designed with the concept of integrating various gameplay elements seen throughout the FATAL FURY series. Our primary goal was to ensure the action appeared dynamic and straightforward, enabling players to easily comprehend the situation during a battle.

In other words, could you discuss the Smart Style control system design? How do you plan to balance creating an intuitive layout for novice gamers, while maintaining complexity and richness that will keep seasoned players engaged and challenged?

In previous games, similar control mechanisms have been attempted, but our design is focusing on customizable key mapping, potentially establishing it as a primary control method for future gameplay experiences.

Everyone was taken aback when they discovered that the new SNK game featured an English voiceover, marking the first time in more than a decade and a half that such a feature had been included. Was the choice to incorporate the voiceover made at an early stage of development?

Indeed, there’s been an overwhelming demand for English voice acting, and at last, we’ve managed to turn this into a tangible feature. However, the execution proved to be far more challenging than we had initially anticipated.

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2024-08-16 15:41