Game:

Fatal Fury 2 (1992)

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Fatal Fury Special (Garou Densetsu Special in Japan) is a updated version of Fatal Fury 2. It was released in 1993, featuring an expanded roster with three new characters in addition to making the previously CPU only bosses playable this time around. It also brings a secret hidden character that can only be fought by beating every opponent without losing a round, and guess who that mysterious challenger is?

Yes, it's Ryo Sakazaki from Art of Fighting! This special dream match marked the legendary crossover of our favorite SNK characters jump starting The King of Fighters series. Although you could argue, the first Fatal Fury may have been The King of Fighters '91 or maybe '92... but not really an official beginning until after FF Special's release.

Like Fatal Fury 2, the story remains the same so no explanations are needed, except now Geese Howard has
mysteriously returned from the dead and is now joining this brawl. Also, we have Duck King and Tung Fu Rue in the mix - and of course we now get to play as Billy Kane, Axel Hawk, Laurence Blood and Wolfgang Krauser.

So what sets this apart from Fatal Fury 2? Other than the most obvious differences I've already mentioned, there are a few. A new intro sequence, fighters having new dialogue between and after matches, some stages having some changes (notably Big Bear and Jubei's stages), and the removal of the in-game cutscenes and bonus stages.

As far as I can tell and know, Ryo can't be played as in the ACA version of this game, largely due to the fact you can also really use him in versus mode (1P vs 2P), and can't be picked for arcade mode in anyway.

A personal view on FF Special, it hardly feels no less difficult compared to FF2. I still had some difficulty with certain characters like Terry, Billy, and Big Bear, but I didn't want to waste too much time getting cheaped out by the CPU and turn the playthrough into a two-parter again, so I had to make use of a few save states. Knowing the standard when it comes to any SNK fighting game, I'm always forced to resort to cheap tactics (I practically had to mostly rely on zoning and throws to beat the AI since its input reading also makes using any other special move pointless.) I started with the intention of fighting Ryo but I pretty much knew trying to get through the entire game without losing a single round was impossible, and I'm pretty sure constantly making save states throughout the playthrough would've gotten annoying to see.

That's all for now... see you next game!