Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves vs. Garou: Mark of the Wolves – 15 Differences You Need to Know

Back in the day, it seemed like just a fantasy that SNK would create a successor to the beloved fighting game Garou: Mark of the Wolves. However, dreams do come true as Fatal Fury: City of the Wolf is set to release on April 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. This is indeed a sequel in essence, retaining many mechanics and characters while also moving the story forward.

Nevertheless, quite a bit has evolved. Let’s take a look at 15 key changes distinguishing Garou from City of the Wolves prior to its release.

Story Changes

As a gamer, I can’t help but notice the drastic transformations that South Town and its inhabitants have undergone since the Maximum Mayhem edition of King of Fighters. Recently, I stumbled upon an astonishing revelation: my sister, Rock’s mother, is alive! Together with my nephew, we embark on a daring rescue mission. But who’s organizing this tournament now? What secrets are they hiding? The anticipation is killing me!

New and Returning Fighters

Initially debuting with 14 playable characters, Garou: Mark of the Wolves stood out due to its combination of brand new combatants alongside Terry Bogard, the lone veteran from both Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters. In contrast, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves introduces 17 playable characters and brings about substantial changes. Characters like Billy Kane and Mai Shiranui are carried over from different games, while many characters from Garou, including Kim Dong-Hwan, Marco Rodrigues, Tizoc, Hotaru Futaba, and others, make a return. Additionally, fresh faces such as Vox Reaper and Preecha join the roster for the first time.

Playable Boss

Beyond just making an appearance, Kain, who was once confined to such roles and served as the ultimate final boss in Garou, has now been made playable within City of the Wolves. Although his personality remains a puzzle, his fiery attacks and mastery continue to be as lethal (and stylish) as before.

2D vs. 3D Graphics

A significant change in the series is evident in the graphical approach. Unlike its predecessor, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, which features 2D character sprites and backgrounds that still look stunning today, City of the Wolves adopts a fully 3D art style for characters and settings, drawing inspiration from The King of Fighters 15. Despite this shift, it manages to preserve the distinctive Garou aesthetic with some dynamic animations.

Episodes From South Town

In Garou’s Story Mode, you primarily battle opponents sequentially, aiming to defeat them with at least an AAA rank. This sequence eventually leads to Kain as the final boss and a unique ending upon his defeat. Conversely, City of the Wolves presents episodes from South Town, allowing free exploration of the map and challenging multiple fighters. By winning battles, you gain experience points, new abilities, and cosmetic choices, creating an adventure reminiscent of a World Tour. However, for those seeking a classic gaming experience, Arcade Mode remains accessible.

Improved Cosmetic Customization

In contrast to Garou: Mark of the Wolves, where you could only change the color of a character’s base outfit from a few pre-set options, City of the Wolves provides various outfits for characters such as Terry and Mai. Additionally, it offers more intricate color customization features. You can individually modify the colors for individual clothing items, choose patterns, adjust the size of textures, and many other enhancements. Essentially, it’s a significant improvement in all the right areas.

T.O.P. and S.P.G.

In the novel “City of the Wolves,” the T.O.P. System reappears and operates similarly as before. When your character’s health falls within a particular threshold, it becomes active, providing stronger attacks, health regeneration up to that specific level, an extra special move, and more. The key change is that it’s now known as the S.P.G. System, enabling users to perform the new REV Blows.

REV Combat System

As a gamer diving into the world of “City of the Wolves”, I’ve found myself grappling with its fresh combat system known as REV. When I unleash powerful special moves, they’re referred to as REV Arts. To string attacks together seamlessly, I use REV Accel. In tight spots, I can use REV Blows to create some breathing room, and when timed perfectly, REV Guard offers a moment of respite. Comparing this system to the more straightforward one in “Garou” leaves me with plenty of new skills to master!

Overheat and More Aggression

In contrast to Garou, which maintains a relatively even balance between attacks and defenses, City of the Wolves tends to favor an aggressive gameplay approach thanks to its REV System. This is primarily due to Overheat, an effect that kicks in when the REV Gauge reaches full capacity, restricting the use of REV moves. Although you could simply let it diminish over time, attacking your opponent consistently is the quickest method to deplete it. This resembles Street Fighter 6’s Drive system, and I’m eager to discover how significantly it impacts a fight’s overall tempo.

Just Defense and Hyper Defense

For a Garou player, Just Defend is an essential move for defensive strategies, offering a bit of health restoration and a retaliatory counterattack. In the City of the Wolves, this skill recurs as it does, but with the addition of REV Guard, there’s also Hyper Defense at your disposal. This extra ability can be used against multiple strikes, enhancing your defensive capabilities even more.

Smart Style Controls

In the vein of Tekken 8’s Special Style and Street Fighter 6’s Modern Style, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves introduces a user-friendly Smart Style for beginners. Perform simple combos by pressing Circle on PlayStation, or execute close-range Combination Attacks with Square. However, you’ll be unable to access advanced features exclusive to Arcade Style, such as feints – a feature that was not available in Garou, which has always adhered to the traditional control setup.

Cross-Platform Play

Initially released for arcades in 1999 and later on home consoles starting from 2001, the online play feature in Garou might have limited its popularity. However, it has been improved over time with updates that even include cross-platform play. On the positive side, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves provides cross-play compatibility right from its launch, enabling PC and console players to compete against each other immediately.

Launching With Rollback Netcode

Despite Garou’s enduring fame within the Fighting Game Community (FGC), it wasn’t until January 2020 that it would receive rollback netcode, a feature made possible by Code Mystics who had previously implemented it in The King of Fighters ’97, KOF ’98 Ultimate Match, and KOF 2002 Unlimited Match. Fortunately for City of the Wolves players, they won’t have to wait long as this feature will be available at launch.

Playable Street Fighter Characters

In Street Fighter 6, Terry and Mai join the roster as DLC characters. This move suggests that Capcom might be sending its top fighters to South Town. For the first time ever, Ken and Chun-Li are guest characters in Fatal Fury’s City of the Wolves. Ken is set to debut this Summer, while fans can expect Chun-Li in Winter.

Post-Launch Support

Back in the day, it would have been a dream come true to see Garou getting extensive post-launch updates and new characters. Luckily, SNK is already working on City of the Wolves, and its first Season Pass is included with the Special Edition, priced at $59.99 – which is the only edition available currently. Additionally, you can anticipate at least three years of post-launch support, bringing more characters, new features, and balance adjustments to the game.

2025-03-25 16:12

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