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PS2
Garou Densetsu Battle Archives Vol. 1
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NCS Game Synopsis
«©NCSX»
Relive the early years of the brothers Bogard as
they sought revenge for the murder of their father,
Jeff Bogard. Joining the siblings was one Joe
Higashi who kicked up a storm with his Thai boxing
discipline. Together, the three formidable young men
would show the underworld of Southtown their
collective Fatal Fury... «cue
corny music»
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the series, SNK Playmore
reaches back in time and collects four Garou
Densetsu games and stamps them onto one DVD. Since
this is volume one of the Battle Archives, the
second volume should contain the Real Bout games and
perhaps Wild Ambition. The games in vol. 1 in the
order of release are:
» Garou Densetsu
aka Fatal Fury
» Garou Densetsu 2
aka Fatal Fury 2
» Garou Densetsu
Special aka
Fatal Fury Special
» Garou Densetsu 3
aka Fatal Fury 3
GDBA features near 1:1 conversion quality, online
multi-matching mode, and character color mods to
change Andy from trademark red to nouveau blue.
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NCS Game Notes
»
This game is also known as Fatal Fury Battle
Archives Vol. 1
» The title screen shows the back of Andy Bogard
with ponytail swishing to the right as his right arm
reaches up to touch the bill of his cap. In the
background, portraits of fighters are featured in
black and white sketch-style and the game logo is
mounted on the lower right. Leave it alone and the
introduction to Garou Densetsu plays, complete with
hollow-sounding voice. Leave it alone longer and the
intro for Garou Densetsu 2 and so on and so forth.
» Press START and the four Fatal Fury games are
lined up on the top row along with the Online
Multi-Matching BB Mode. On the bottom row, the
following selections are available:
● LOAD / SAVE / AUTOSAVE TOGGLE
● CONTROLLER CONFIGURATION [Default: PUNCH: □ |
KICK: X | THROW: Δ]
● SCREEN SETTINGS
● SOUND SETTINGS
● CHARACTER COLOR EDIT
» Either the D-pad or L-Analog may be used for
movement.
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Fatal Fury I
» The graphics and animation are on par with the Neo
Geo original but the voices are hollow sounding and
flat. It's almost as if SNK sampled a sample of the
original. Thankfully, this misstep is corrected in
Garou 2, Garou 3, and Garou Special. The music is
also on par with the Neo original with the bold
blaring intro music.
» Press START and a level select screen appears
where players may select EASY / NORMAL / HARD / MVS.
Press the SQUARE button to proceed.
» Battle old school bruisers such as Richard Meyer
and Tue Fung Rue in settings such as Pao Pao Cafe,
West Subway, and other locales. Choose Joe, Andy, or
Terry and the first battle takes place at Pao Pao
Cafe where a lively shirtless band plays tribal
music in the background and everyone shakes an
instrument. Every once in a while they'll wail.
» After beating Richard bloody, its off to Sound
Beach where Michael Max throws boxing punches and a
gnarly surfer crowd watches in the background.
» There's a slight sluggishness in the game where
the player's fighter doesn't move as quickly as the
original. It's a lag that's in the milliseconds.
Then again, we might be imagining things and hunting
for flaws after the voice problem.
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Fatal Fury II
» Rich music, correct sounding voices, and
accurate chimes down to the jingle from the 100 Mega Shock
animation.
» Mai's bounce is intact.
» Big Bear animates well despite his largesse.
» The shadows flicker something fierce on the ground
like the original.
» We tried a match with Jubei Yamada vs Kim Kaphwan.
Why is the mother and her two kids standing to the
right of the screen watching a tae kwon do expert
beat up on an old man? The mother also shakes her
shoulders as if dancing while the kids are similarly
jittery. In round two which is nearly dusk, the
family of three is still there... What do they want?
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Fatal Fury Special
» Press START and the following level selects
pop up: [Beginner, Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, MVS]
» Near perfect conversion with sharp music, voices,
and crisp controls.
» Fifteen fighters are selectable including Geese
Howard and Wolfgang Krauser. The rowdy Duck King,
Billy Kane, and Cheng Sinzan add color to the cast.
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Fatal Fury III
» An animated intro starts off FF3 where Geese
asserts his power once again.
» A new option menu is added to the game where the
following options may be set:
LEVEL / Choose settings from 1 to 8 as
follows [Very Easy, Easy, Normal, MVS, Hard, Very
Hard, Hyper Hard, Strong Hard]
GAME TIME [45, 60, 90, Infinite]
LANGUAGE [Japanese, English, Spanish]
» Little SD versions of Fatal Fury characters and
assorted animals dash around the border of the
option menu.
» 10 characters may be chosen where they hang out in
a lounge. Newcomer Blue Mary relaxes on the floor
next to Sokaku.
» Despite being the most "modern" and technically
demanding Fatal Fury game in the group, the
conversion is near 1:1 with vibrant music,
responsive controls, and all the nuances and little
touches that make a Neo Geo game what it is.
» When your fighter is defeated, the announcer says,
"Sokaku, LOST" with strong emphasis on the word
LOST.
» At the Pao Pao Cafe 2, the theme is more chic but
the shirtless band members are still there although
their numbers have been thinned. The music is also
new type instead of tribal.
» The blood runs red.
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Conclusion
With the exception of the voice
mishap in Fatal Fury, the rest of the games are near
perfect conversions of the MVS/Neo originals. While
we won't be getting rid of our Neo cartridges in
favor of the PS2 compilation, we'll be reaching for
this game DVD whenever we feel like reliving the
early years of the Garou series. The Neo carts are
staying in storage however...
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This document and photos are ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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