Fatal Fury - King of Fighters / Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai (NGM-033 ~ NGH-033) - MAME machine

SNK Neo-Geo MVS cart. published 33 years ago:

餓狼伝説 宿命の闘い © 1991 SNK Corporation.
(Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai)

Terry Bogard & Andy Bogard enter in a tournament called the King of Fighters where they must face dangerous fighters in order to find their father's murderer, none other than the tournament's sponsor & supreme champion: Geese Howard. Joe Higashi also enters the tournament in search of the championship title. Who will come out victorious? The main features in this story-driven fighter are backgrounds that feature two battle planes for pseudo 3-D action, & excellent music!

TECHNICAL
Runs on the SNK "Neo-Geo MVS" hardware.
Game ID: NGM-033

[SNK MVS Neo-Geo Controls]
2 players - 4 buttons per player (3 usables)
[JOYSTICK] 8-way [A] Punch [B] Kick [C] Skill

TRIVIA
Garou Densetsu was released in November 1991 in Japan.

The title of this game translates from Japanese as 'Legend of Hungry Wolf - Battle of Destiny'.

This game is known outside Japan as 'Fatal Fury - King of Fighters'.

Originally called 'Real Bout', SNK opted to change the title to 'Fatal Fury'. You can see the game's original title on the banner of a store in the background of Hwa Jai's stage ('Real Bout Shop').

According to the USA flyer, the name of the game is 'Fatal Fury - The Battle of Fury'. On the ingame titlescreen, however, it's called 'Fatal Fury - King of Fighters'.

The official name of the tournament is 'The King of Fighters'. This can be verified if you look closely the promo poster seen in the name rankings. Later SNK would use this name for a popular game series of its own.

The music in a 2-player battle is taken from the first stage of "Street Smart".

This is the very first game that featured one of SNK's most famous fighters: Terry Bogard! Over the years, Terry Bogard has appeared in many games, usually in his familiar jacket with a star on his back and a cap on his head. However, what is on his cap is different (probably because he tosses so many of them, but that's a different story). Some games have him wear a blank cap, some have his cap say 'Running Wild', some have the Neo-Geo logo on them, but the commonly accepted cap is the one that says 'Fatal Fury' on it.

Terry Bogard appears in "Quiz King of Fighters" as selectable character.

This game was such a hit in Japan that an animated movie was released featuring character designs by Masami Ohbari. This movie's plot is fairly true to the game's main plot and all the characters in the game are featured. The movie was released on the USA by courtesy of Viz Video, a division of Viz Comics.

Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Garou Densetsu, Last Resort - PCCB-00087) on 21/05/1992.

UPDATES
The Japanese version features quite different move list sets for the three main characters (In the Fatal Fury sequels as well as the King of Fighters, Terry, Andy & Joe's move list sets are clearly based on the Japanese release of this particular game). All other versions feature very simplified joystick commands for each move.

TIPS AND TRICKS
As the game sometimes says on the continuation screen, you can tell some opponents' weak points by watching their moves carefully, which can help you figure out how to beat them. Here are a few examples:

-- If you've knocked down an opponent, you can damage them some more by charging at them with a 'dash attack' just as they're getting up, until they've been fully beaten. This may work best when playing with Andy Bogard.

-- When Tung Fu Rue changes into a hefty beast Incredible Hulk-style, he'll be briefly intangible as he beats his chest. Wait until the right moment and then dash at him (or, if you're playing with Joe Higashi, you can use his rapid punch). He won't actually fall on the ground in this form, but he'll be easier to beat until he turns back to normal as long as you can keep dash-attacking him.

-- When you're facing Hwa Jai, he'll be thrown a bottle of some kind of drink by an agent of Geese standing within the crowd of spectators, and after drinking it (during which time he'll be briefly intangible too), that's when he really lets loose with damaging attacks. If you feel Hwa Jai's too hard to deal with this way, you can try to cause him damage by a small amount, and if your lifebar is still higher than his, you can then step back on defense. He'll try hitting you with standard punches and kicks, but will not throw you, and this way, you can keep on the defensive until the timer runs out, winning simply by having more life energy left than he does.

-- When facing Billy Kane, if his pole falls away (he can either throw it at you or it can fall when he's thrown to the ground), he'll go on the defensive until another agent of Geese's tosses him another pole from within the crowd on the bridge. When he jumps up to grab hold of it, that's when you can move in and try to grab and throw him to the ground, or ram him with a dash attack.

Finally, when facing Geese Howard in the showdown match, you can move towards him as the round begins and then grab and throw him to the ground, then, by timing your attacks correctly, you can grab him in a body slam again when he gets up, eventually beating him by body-slamming him repeatedly. It's a tricky strategy, but it can work!

SERIES

• Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai [Model NGM-033] (1991, MVS)
• Garou Densetsu 2 - Arata-Naru Tatakai [Model NGM-047] (1992, MVS)
• Garou Densetsu Special [Model NGM-058] (1993, MVS)
• Garou Densetsu 3 - Harukanaru Tatakai [Model NGM-069] (1995, MVS)
• Real Bout Garou Densetsu [Model NGM-095] (1995, MVS)
• Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special [Model NGM-223] (1997, MVS)
• Real Bout Garou Densetsu 2 - The Newcomers [Model NGM-240] (1998, MVS)
• Fatal Fury - Wild Ambition (1999, ARC)
• Garou - Mark of the Wolves [Model NGM-253] (1999, MVS)
• Fatal Fury First Contact [Model NEOP00111] (1999, NGPC)

STAFF
Producer: Eikichi Kawasaki
Planners: Tsukamichi, Deru-Deru
Character designers: Ponsuke, Tsuzakingyo, Deru Deru, Moriyan, Somatoreeno, Lucky Okkiy, Boko Pyon, Soe Soe
Chr. back up!: Sakita Kakaree, Kama Kama, Kimuryaer, Madarian, Batayan, Tabui Chang, Ochiai Shunin, Takepy, Simachang
Programmers: Yamatan, Kura
Prg. back up!: Konchang, Nakamuura
Sound: Konny, Yokochang, Muraisan, Tarkun, Tate&Bunnyboys, Finish Hiroshi, Michael Beard, Goodam kararee
Game assistants: Miyagami T.Ioo, S.Akutagama, Tome, Popyu Natchu 3, Tarou, Mukai

• Voice Actors:

Terry Bogard: Satoshi Hashimoto
Andy Bogard: Keiichi Nanba
Joe Higashi: Nobuyuki Hiyama
Michael Max: ???
Hwa Jai: ???
Tung Fu Rue: Shigehumi Nakai
Cheng Sinzan: Nakai Shigehumi
Duck King: Kong Kuwata
Richard Myer: Kong Kuwata
Raiden: ???
Billy Kane: Atsushi Yamanishi
Geese Howard: Kong Kuwata

PORTS

• CONSOLES:

[JP] SNK Neo-Geo AES (Dec. 20, 1991) "Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai [Model NGH-033]"
[JP] Nintendo Super Famicom (Nov. 27, 1992) "Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai [Model SHVC-GN]"
[JP] Sega Mega Drive (Apr. 23, 1993) "Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai [Model G-4100]"
[JP] SNK Neo-Geo CD (Sep. 9, 1994) "Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai [Model NGCD-033]"
[JP] Sony PS2 (jul.20, 2006) "Garou Densetsu Battle Archives 1 [NeoGeo Online Collection Vol.5] [Model SLPS-25664]"
[US] [EU] Sony PlayStation 2 (2006) "Fatal Fury Collection"
Nintendo Wii (2007) "Virtual Console"
[JP] Sony PS2 (may.29, 2008) "Garou Densetsu Battle Archives 1 [NeoGeo Online Collection The Best] [Model SLPS-25863]"
[US] Sony PS2 (may.05, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model SLUS-21724]"
[US] Sony PSP (may.05, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model ULUS-10338]"
[KO] Sony PS2 (may.29, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model SLKA-25424]"
[US] Nintendo Wii (jul.29, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model RVL-P-RNCE]"
[EU] Sony PSP (Oct. 17, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model ULES-01105]"
[EU] Nintendo Wii (Oct. 31, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model RVL-P-RJZP]"
[EU] Sony PS2 (Nov. 21, 2008) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model SLES-55232]"
[JP] Sony PSP (May. 21, 2009) "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1 [Model ULJS-193]"
Sony PlayStation Store (Dec.2010)

• COMPUTERS:

[JP] Sharp X68000 (may.21, 1993) "Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai [Model HDX-5001]"

CONTRIBUTE
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