Seeing Kain menacingly threaten your character or watching the post-credits scene is a joy, even after your fifth or sixth playthrough.
#GAROU MARK OF THE WOLVES 2 FULL#
Sure, they’re directed in traditional fighting game fashion – full of quick camera changes and dramatic angles, but they’re still fantastically drawn (especially for the time). The presentational package is capped off with the cutscenes, which – as you might have guessed from everything else I’ve been saying – are beautiful.
In a nice twist, the areas you fight in will change between the rounds – for example the first bout may take place at sundown and the second at night, allowing the animators to go even further with their creativity. As previously mentioned they’re incredibly varied – you might be fighting in front of a waterfall or on a military airbase and each has unique animations that you’ll want to look at but never feel distracted by. This feeling is helped by the backgrounds which are universally gorgeous.
Flashy special attacks will make up the rest of the combat and it’s all a joy to watch, often like a hypnotic dance on screen. They’ve all got a bespoke moveset that involves pulling off personality-specific moves – so while Tizoc may lumber around and strike harder, Freeman will leap across the arenas slashing with his claws. You’ve got a full fighting game gambit here – from Japanese ninjas to Mexican wrestlers and everything in between (including a very smartly-dressed female pirate). Speaking of sprites, the actual characters themselves – in terms of both design and animation – are absolutely top notch. It’s all slick and very cool, leaving a good first impression. Every little sub-menu has character artwork while the character select has big pictures of each of the cast, alongside a sprite of the character themselves which animates while you’re browsing. The first thing you’ll notice upon booting up is how nifty the menus are – you’re greeted by a bright yellow start screen with plenty of options. Everything about the title has a level of detail and polish that just makes it a joy to look at, especially amplified by Vita’s sharp screen. With some of the most gorgeous sprite-work in the industry, Garou is a gem that looks as good now as it did more than 15 years ago. From the way the loading screen for fights features a map which slowly zooms in on the places you’ll be battling to the actual arenas which run the gambit from dockland to city streets in the aftermath of a car crash, everything is remarkably detailed and immersive for a 2D title. It’s the world-building that’s key here – for a Neo Geo game it does a fantastic job of making Southtown feel like a living, real place. What I would consider to be the main story thread follows Rock Howard (Geese’s son) on his journey for answers and the revelations he finds upon reaching the final boss – it’s interesting enough, although let down by terrible translations that make it somewhat difficult to decipher the true meaning at times. The actual plot itself is fairly standard for the fighting genre – each character has their own personal plot ranging from finding a relative to avenging the death of a friend, told through a handful of cutscenes and conversation scenes. With this said, I didn’t have to do half as much digging around on the internet to understand Garou‘s story as I did with The Last Blade 2, making it a much more accessible title. The setting – Southtown – is brought back and although Terry is the only returning character, plenty of others like Rock Howard and Hokatomaru have links to franchise veterans. Yet in spite of this soft reboot, the game’s plot is still rooted in Fatal Fury lore. For a newcomer like myself it acts as a perfect gateway in – and while I’m mostly unaware what the old casts were like, the new characters are a colourful and eclectic bunch with distinct mannerisms and personalities. SNK took the decision to re-invent the franchise with Garou, introducing a brand new set of characters aside from fan favourite Terry Bogard – which was a common theme among fighting games at the time with Street Fighter and Tekken opting for the same route. From here, old relationships and rivalries begin to surface as the true intentions behind the tournament unravel. Set 10 years after the end of the last Fatal Fury game, Garou follows a new cast of characters drawn to the ‘King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem’ tournament in the now peaceful Second Southtown which has been freed from Geese Howard’s iron grip.