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Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers (1998)

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Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers (Real Bout Garou Densetsu 2: The Newcomers in Japan) was released in 1998. The seventh episode (and the fifth game canon-wise), and ushers in a few new characters, but retaining the same graphics from the past two games and keeping the two-lane system from the first Real Bout game.

SNK was practically all over the place and couldn't really stick with one form of a gameplay style, but this would be the final time we'd see the two-plane lane system, at least until several years later when Fatal Fury: City of Wolves was released in 2025. As for the new fighters, we have Li Xiangfei, a Chinese-American waitress, and Rick Strowd, a Native-American show boxer.

All the returning combatants from the previous two games are all here as well, including a third secret character named Alfred, who you can fight as a special boss when meeting certain conditions. Alfred was included in the PS1 port of RBFF Special: Dominated Mind. No EX characters here, though! Sorry to disappoint!

A small fun fact to include here is that Yasuyuki Oda, a chief-producer at SNK, had mentioned in an interview that Real Bout 2 is considered canonical - which he didn't reveal until FF: City of the Wolves was released. So you can go either way if you consider this to be a part of the series or not - but I'd say so considering that Li Xiangfei quickly made her return in King of Fighters' 99. So hey, if it's canon, it's canon, right?

There's probably not much to say here, but Real Bout 2 is another solid feeling entry. Although the graphics are the same, we have new colorful stages to fight in, and a much faster in-game transition between matches speeding up the overall pacing of matches. The power guage system returns but remains the same. Although yet again the endings aren't much to write home about, since the traditional text-based endings were dropped for mere short visual endings somewhat similar to Real Bout FF Special. Short and to the point and the next thing you know, you're looking at the credits.

We still have one more game in the Fatal Fury series to cover, so see you when we get there real soon. Take care, until then.