The Fatal Fury franchise kicked off with Fatal Fury: King of Fighters in 1991 on the SNK Neo Geo, and it quickly became one of the decade’s best fighting franchises. As each new sequel dropped, the game’s format improved, establishing several of the tropes common in ‘90s games. Between 1991 and 1999, 11 Fatal Fury games found their way onto the Neo Geo and other systems, but it went dark after Garou: Mark of the Wolves in 1999. That game is considered to be one of the franchise’s best, but it’s not the last.
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After more than 25 years, Fatal Fury returned with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves in 2025, and it’s an homage to ‘90s fighting games unlike any other new fighting game on the market. While the game boasts impressive graphics, excellent combos, and fight mechanics, it’s truly a ‘90s fighter on modern systems. It retains the franchise’s 2D movement plane, with one stage using the two-lane system found in earlier titles. The Tactical Offensive Position system from Mark of the Wolves is included, though it’s now called “Selective Potential Gear,” while other mechanics firmly entrench City of the Wolves in its ‘90s roots.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Is a ‘90s Fighting Game on Modern Tech
When you first fire up City of the Wolves, you’ll be immediately hit with nostalgia … so long as you played fighting games in the 1990s. To drive that aesthetic home, the game includes none other than Ken and Chun-Li from Street Fighter as DLC, bringing Capcom’s classics into SNK’s biggest fighting game franchise. On top of those two imports, Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star is also included, and you can’t get more ‘90s than those characters. The game’s base roster at launch included 17 characters, most of which are familiar, while four are entirely new.
These are Cristiano Ronaldo, Preecha, Salvatore Ganacci, and Vox Reaper. Mr. Big from Art of Fighting, which is a prequel to the Fatal Fury franchise, is a new addition via DLC, so there are plenty of great options in choosing your fighters. One of the most fascinating aspects of City of the Wolves is its development, which actually began in or before 2005. SNK teased artwork and provided scant updates over the next two decades before finally revealing in 2022 that City of the Wolves was officially in development. More news trickled out of SNK before it finally arrived on April 24, 2025.
When it hit the market, City of the Wolves sold incredibly well, pulling in rave reviews from critics and plenty of praise from retro gamers who grew up with the franchise. It went on to win Best Fighting Game at the 2025 Game Awards, which many felt was well-deserved. Since its release, SNK has kept updates and DLC coming, with the second DLC season announced in January 2026. This received widespread condemnation following accusations of using generative AI. That’s a big no-no in creative industries like gaming, but it appears to be limited to the trailer, not the game’s assets.
City of the Wolves Lives up to the Hype
These days, nostalgia is a driving force in the video game industry. You can see this in indie titles that produce pixellated worlds reminiscent of early Super Nintendo titles. In terms of fighting games, most are incredibly advanced and cinematic, like 2023’s Mortal Kombat 1. A fantastic-looking fighting game, to be sure, but it doesn’t look much like the original Mortal Kombat it rebooted. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves took an entirely different approach by embracing what fans loved about the franchise’s offerings from the 1990s. The game keeps those aesthetics while providing something entirely new, and it would be amazing if more developers followed suit.
Which character is your favorite from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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