At Evo 2022, SNK teases that the newest Fatal Fury/Garou title is in development.
The game will be a sequel to the 1999 arcade title Garou: Mark of the Wolves from SNK. It’ll also serve as the newest title in the Fatal Fury franchise.
Returning After 23 Years
Fatal Fury first began in 1991, pre-dating The King Of Fighters in 1994. It is one of the SNK series that crosses over in KOF alongside the Art of Fighting franchise. Popular characters such as Terry Bogard originates as the series protagonist.
Unlike its sibling series The King of Fighters, Fatal Fury focuses more on 1v1 fights, and different mechanics.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves is the eighth title in Fatal Fury from 1999. While there have been multiple re-releases for different generations of consoles, the Fatal Fury series hasn’t seen a new release since Garou.
The teaser was very short and brief, only showing new artwork by artist Aki Senno, better known as Tonko. The artwork shows an alleyway with characters from the series including Garou: Mark of the Wolves protagonist Rock Howard. Other characters in the background are antagonists Billy Kane and Kain R. Heinlein.
Tag-lines reading “The City of Legend Still Breathes,” and “Hungry Wolves Back On the Prowl” were enough to bring attention to fans.
There was a plan to develop a Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2, however, it faced cancellation in 2002 after developmental issues.
SNK director Nobuyuki Kuroki did express interest in a Garou revival in an interview with Forbes in 2020. Kuroki also has a statement on Twitter regarding his joy for the announcement. “I’m very happy I can make a new Garou!” Kuroki said.
Roster Speculation
No gameplay or in-game screenshots were shown in the teaser. The only confirmation includes Rock Howard, Billy Kane, and Kain R. Heinlein will likely return. However, through speculation characters from Fatal Fury and Garou: Mark of the Wolves will return.
Popular characters like Terry Bogard, B.Jenet, and Gato will likely return. New characters that were meant to debut in the canceled sequel may finally come to fruition as well.
Tizoc is another character who will likely return. He’s been prominently in the King of Fighters series, in KOF XI as Tizoc and KOF XIV and XV under the alias King of Dinosaurs.
It may still be some time until we get to see any new information regarding the untitled Fatal Fury/Garou sequel. However, fans look forward to the return of the Fatal Fury series.
Despite its absence for nearly 23 years, there are a handful of re-releases on modern platforms, including PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Garou: Mark of the Wolves is available on PS4 and PC via Steam. The re-release features modern features such as rollback netcode for a better online experience.
Why A New Garou Is A Big Deal
A big reason why many fans didn’t see the announcement coming is the exact reason why the game never saw a release. SNK despite the annual releases, the company has a history of facing financial issues, becoming a subsidiary of other companies, and applying for bankruptcy multiple times. However, with moderate success with King of Fighters XIV, Samurai Shodown 2019, and even more success with KOFXV, SNK is in a better position than before.
The elephant in the room, however, is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia purchasing 96% of SNK. Now with better financial backing, SNK likely won’t face bankruptcy again any time soon, however, fans may not be happy with the decision. Primarily due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights decisions, for example, homosexuality is punishable with death.
Regardless of the decision, Saudi Arabia owns a stake in many major companies and there’s little a fan can do if they wish to continue supporting their favorite developers like SNK, Capcom, and Take-Two Interactive.
It is still exciting to be an SNK fan, while the series was always popular in Latin and Asian countries, it’s been much milder in other regions. The recent success allows for the community to grow for new casual fans and the competitive scene.
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