Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special[lower-alpha 1] is a 1997 fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo platform. It is the sixth installment in the Fatal Fury series and the second game in the Real Bout sub-series, following the original Real Bout Fatal Fury. Real Bout Fatal Fury Special features all new graphics and returns to the two-level plane system from Fatal Fury 2. The game was later included in Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 2, a compilation released for the PlayStation 2. In March 2017, this compilation was re-released in the PlayStation Store on the PlayStation 4.[1]

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Developer(s)SNK
Gaibrain (GB)
Yumekobo (SS, PS)
Publisher(s)
SNK
Producer(s)Hiroshi Matsumoto
Seigo Ito
Takashi Nishiyama
Designer(s)Takahisa Yariyama
Takashi Tsukamoto
Programmer(s)Naoyan Apchiba
Artist(s)N. Kuroki
Takehiro Isaji
Y. Ashizawa
Composer(s)Akihiro Uchida
Kazuhiro Nishida
Kyoko Naka
SeriesFatal Fury
Platform(s)
Release
1997
  • Arcade
    • WW: 28 January 1997
    Neo Geo AES
    • WW: 28 February 1997
    Neo Geo CD
    • WW: 30 March 1997
    Saturn
    • JP: 23 December 1997
    Game Boy
    • JP: 27 March 1998
    PlayStation
    • JP: 25 June 1998
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)
Arcade systemNeo Geo MVS

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Terry Bogard and Blue Mary.

Though gameplay is two-dimensional, characters can move between two different planes during battle.[2] Breaking an opponent through one of the barriers located on either side of a stage causes them to become stunned.[2]

Characters

The game retains the cast of the original Real Bout, with the addition of Tung Fu Rue, Cheng Sinzan, Laurence Blood, and Wolfgang Krauser from Fatal Fury Special, with Krauser serving as the new final boss. Geese Howard, who was canonically killed off in his own KOF tournament during the previous game, appears in this game as a hidden final boss in a special "Nightmare Match" and as an unlockable playable character in the home versions, Geese’s alive appearance is because of his own ending from the original Real Bout where it takes place after he reigns victorious in his own tournament. The game also features hidden "extra" versions of Andy Bogard, Billy Kane, Blue Mary, and Tung Fu Rue for a total of 23 characters (24 if counting Geese).

Release

The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD with several additions such as a Versus mode and a music video starring Blue Mary that is shown to the player after completing the Arcade mode following the credits. This port also saw a release for the Sega Saturn, using the 1MB RAM cartridge expansion of the system in order to retain sprite animations.

A port of Real Bout Special titled Real Bout Fatal Fury Special: Dominated Mind was released for the PlayStation in 1998 only in Japan, which adds Alfred from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 (which had been released three months prior on the Neo Geo) as a playable character, and includes an all new boss character named White (modeled after the character Alexander "Alex" DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange). This port adds animated videos for game's intro and character's endings. These cut scenes were produced by Sunrise. The story of this version centers around White's brainwashing of Billy Kane and attempted takeover of Southtown's underworld in the power vacuum left by Geese Howard's death in the original Real Bout. In this version, Geese sports a halo over his head, a reference to his passing in the original Real Bout. Dominated Mind also features new moves, hidden unlockable super moves, super cancelling (known in the game as "Final Impacts"), and removed the two line battle system from the game. The extra versions of Andy, Billy, Mary, and Tung are removed.

The Game Boy version, titled Nettou Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special (熱闘リアルバウト餓狼伝説SPECIAL), was released only in Japan on March 27, 1998, featuring simplified graphics and two-button gameplay. This version features only 12 playable characters: a roster which consists of Terry, Andy, Joe, Mai, Blue Mary, Duck King, Kim, Jin Chonrei, Billy, Yamazaki, Laurence, and Krauser. Geese Howard appears as a hidden character, as well as Iori Yagami from The King of Fighters series.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Real Bout Fatal Fury Special on their March 1, 1997 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month.[3] The game was a success in the arcades.[4] According to Famitsu, both the AES and Neo Geo CD versions sold over 9,169 and 20,246 copies in their first week on the market respectively.[5]

Notes
  1. Known in Japan as Real Bout Garō Densetsu Special (Japanese: リアルバウト餓狼伝説SPECIAL, Hepburn: Rearu Bauto Garō Densetsu Special, lit. Real Bout Hungry Wolf Legend Special).

References
  1. "FATAL FURY™ BATTLE ARCHIVES VOL.2 PlayStation Store". Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  2. "Real Bout Fatal Fury Special: The Furious Legend Continues...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 94. Ziff Davis. May 1997. p. 111.
  3. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 536. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 March 1997. p. 37.
  4. "Real Bout Special". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 19. Emap International Limited. May 1997. p. 95. It's been out for quite a while now, but is still doing very well in the arcade game charts. In third place, after VF3 and Virtual On, the considerably enhanced Real Bout Special continues to go from strength to strength.
  5. "Game Search". Game Data Library. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
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