Editing Fatal Fury (universe)

{{Title|''Fatal Fury'' (universe)}}

|caption = [[File:FatalFurySymbol.svg|50px|class=invert-dark]]

|developer = [[SNK]]<br>Various

|publisher = SNK<br>Various

|latestinstallment = ''{{s|wikipedia|Garou: Mark of the Wolves}}'' (1999)

While the ''Art of Fighting'' storyline is confirmed to share the same timeline depicted in the ''Fatal Fury'' storyline, the video games series ''The Last Blade'' ({{ja|幕末浪漫|Bakumatsu Roman}}, ''Bakumatsu Romance''), and ''Fūun'' ({{ja|風雲}}) (the latter consisting of its two released video games, ''Savage Reign'' and ''Kizuna Encounter'') are in question, due to their possible connection within this timeline.<ref>[http://meh.brpxqzme.net/timeline.html]</ref>

After creating and directing the original {{uv|Street Fighter}}, Takashi Nishiyama left [[Capcom]] and ended up working for [[SNK]]. The company was developing the Neo-Geo family of arcade and home console hardware at the time, and wanted a tentpole fighting game to compete with Capcom. This initiative eventually resulted in 1991 with the release of ''Fatal Fury'', designed as a spiritual successor to Nishiyama's previous work and developed around the same time as ''Street Fighter II''. To help differentiate this new game from the competition, the developers implemented several fundamental changes. The six button control scheme Capcom created and adopted was condensed into four buttons: light punch (A), light kick (B), heavy punch (C), and heavy kick (D). The game also introduced a two-plane fighting system, letting players dodge attacks by moving between the foreground and background. The game also has a greater emphasis on story. After selecting from a roster of only three playable characters—[[Terry Bogard]], his brother Andy, and their friend Joe Higashi—the player is tasked with going through the titular King of Fighters tournament taking place in the city of South Town against various foes to avenge the murder of Terry's adoptive father, Jeff, by the tournament's criminal organizer, Geese Howard. Short cutscenes play between each match, and the game also supports two-player co-op.

This was followed up by ''Real Bout Fatal Fury Special'' in 1997, which returned to the standard two planes and replaced ring-outs with breakable walls, and ''Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers'' in 1998, which removed breakable walls and simplified the system into a "main" line and a "sway" line used only for dodging, as well as serving as a direct After Story-based sequel to original ''Real Bout'' storyline. A 3D spinoff retelling the story of the first game, ''Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition'', released in early 1999 for SNK's Hyper Neo Geo 64, their only 3D arcade board. The game uses a similar gameplay system to ''Real Bout Fatal Fury 2'', albeit with the ability to move on a second plane using a feature called the Axis Shift.

The sixth mainline game in the ''Fatal Fury'' series after ''Real Bout 2'', ''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'', was released in late 1999 and serves as a ten year time-skip from the events of ''Real Bout'', greatly revamping the gameplay and removing the two-plane system in favor of expanded defensive options. Terry is the only returning character in this installment, with the rest of the cast being newcomers (although some of them have some relationship to veteran characters); the game focuses on Geese's son, Rock Howard, whom Terry adopted at the end of ''Real Bout''. The main antagonist is Rock's uncle, Kain R. Heinlein, who hosts a new King of Fighters tournament in South Town's neighboring city of Second South Town in an effort to locate Rock and lure him into his control. While this game marked the end of the ''Fatal Fury'' series for 26 years, the characters continued to make regular appearances in other SNK games, including ''The King of Fighters'' and other guest appearances. However, it was announced at [[EVO]] 2022 that a new entry had been green-lit, later revealed at the following EVO to be called ''Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves''. Some elements from a cancelled 2D counterpart of ''City of the Wolves'' (tentatively known as ''Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2'') found its way to its eventual released 2.5D counterpart, such as Terry's diagonal Rising Tackle move. Ahead of the game's launch date, it was announced at Summer Game Fest 2024 that ''Fatal Fury'' protagonists Terry and Mai will be guest fighters in Capcom's {{uv|Street Fighter|Street Fighter 6}} via the Season 2 Pass in exchange for one of the ''Street Fighter'' protagonists [[Ken Masters]] and Chun-Li to appear in ''City of the Wolves'' Season 1 Pass, whereas collaborations with real life celebrities will occur in the series like ''The King of Fighters'' series did in the past, such as {{iw|wikipedia|Christiano Ronaldo}} in ''City of the Wolves''.

*'''Andy Bogard''': Terry Bogard's younger brother and recurring teammate in ''The King of Fighters'' tournament. Instead of training under his adoptive father like Terry, Andy trained himself under ninja master Hanzo Shiranui, the Grandfather of Mai Shiranui.

*'''Rock Howard''': Geese Howard's son, whom Terry took in as his protégé after his father's demise. While he makes brief appearances in character endings, his first playable appearance is in ''Garou: Mark of the Wolves''.

*'''Kim Kaphwan''': A Taekwondo master with a strong sense of justice, who befriended Terry after they met and fought during the events of ''Fatal Fury 2''. One of the veteran fighters of ''The King of Fighters'' series, where he leads his own team based in Korea (with the exception of ''The King of Fighters XI'', where he is Terry’s teammate; and ''The King of Fighters XV'' is the first game where he is absent from the tournament, although he is featured as downloadable content for the latter).

*'''{{SSBUMusicLink|Fatal Fury|Yappari ESAKA - KOF XIV}}''' ([[DLC]]): Japan team theme from ''The King of Fighters XIV''.

**Unlike ''Banjo-Kazooie'', however, series related to ''Fatal Fury'' do have Mii Fighter costumes such as ''Art of Fighting''{{'}}s Ryo Sakazaki and ''The King of Fighters''{{'}}s Iori Yagami. These characters would appear later in a ''Fatal Fury'' game as secret guests; Ryo in ''Fatal Fury Special'', and Iori in the Game Boy version of ''Real Bout Fatal Fury Special''.

*While she makes no appearance in the game itself, Mai Shiranui is mentioned by Masahiro Sakurai in Terry's presentation video, stating that she had to be excluded from the game in order to maintain ''Ultimate{{'}}''s A rating (all ages) from the Japanese ratings board CERO. In the overseas versions, this is translated as "''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is for good boys and girls of many different ages", which has since became a running joke in the community.