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Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves devs talk new twists on fan favorite fighters & systems

City of the Wolves Director Hayato Konya & Artist Yoichiro Soeda sat down with us at EVO 2024 to talk about the past, present, and future of Fatal Fury.

TJ Denzer

August 12, 2024 12:00 PM

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More than 30 years ago, Fatal Fury came home to the Sega Genesis where I played it as a toddler. Joe Higashi was always my favorite, so much so that I still play him today and was able to qualify out of The King of Fighters XV with him in EVO 2022. So, when I finally got a chance to sit down with an early build of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and met Preecha at EVO 2024, I was instantly won over by the character’s reminiscent style. She has her own tricks, but Preecha is unabashedly a spinoff of Joe’s tornado-infused style.

Sure enough, there’s a reason for that, and in a conversation with Director Hayato Konya & Artist Yoichiro Soeda, I learned how the team is modernizing Fatal Fury while keeping fan-favorite elements intact. Simply put, every part of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves feels like a blend of past nostalgia and modern sensibilities. The SPG system is very much an evolution of the TOP system, giving players the opportunity to have access to better strengths and attack at the front, middle, or back of their health bar.

It's more than that this time. The REV system joins SPG, giving players unique attacks that can turn the tide of battle if used effectively. The team wants City of the Wolves to appeal to new players, which is why auto combos and simple inputs have also been included, but it also wants returning players to feel like SNK never missed a beat on making Fatal Fury. It truly does hit those notes, but that past-meets-present vibe isn’t just in the systems.

The characters are also a blend of new and old sensibilities. Terry, Rock, Marco Rodriguez, Tizoc, B. Jenet, and more represent themselves well as fan-favorite fighters, but characters like Preecha and Vox Reaper are also highly interesting. I learned that Preecha is actually a disciple of Joe Higashi, which explains so much about her style. I also saw that Vox Reaper has a fragment of Grant’s mask (the sub-boss in Garou: Mark of the Wolves), but I don’t know how they’re connected just yet. It’s going to be interesting to see how that story plays out.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is currently on track for an early 2025 release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Be sure to follow the City of the Wolves topic for our latest coverage. If you want more videos, be sure to check out our YouTube channels at Shacknews, Shacknews Interviews, and ShacknewsVODs for the latest video gameplay, reviews, unboxings, and more on the newest video games, technology, and toys.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.