Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
Director
Masami Obari
Production
Fuji TV, NAS
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
75 mins
Year
1993
Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle
By John Huxley
28th Apr 04  Merely a year after the original Fatal Fury film in 1992 the sequel redeems itself to be one of the best martial arts anime, and finally does SNK's Fatal Fury videogame series the justice it deserves. Things start out looking very familiar - the same director, production company and art style, voice artists and even the same colour pallette (hey - continuity!). As soon as Kim challenged Terry to a fight at the bayside, I realized things were very, very different this time around. The combat is now focused on hand-to-hand (or foot-to-hand in this particular fight) with the special moves that were over exposed in the original now taking a back-burner for fight winning blows and special occasions. The animation is mostly unique and the fight scenes are choreographed with expertise and flair - it's all extremely easy on the eye and the viewers should never find themselves lost or confused with the action. Fatal Fury 2 again concentrates on Terry and Andy, the Bogard brothers, and their fighting adventures around the globe. Wolfgang Krauser, a German noble and all-round nasty piece of work seeks a match with Terry merely for the sport of battle. After easily defeating the weakened hero after his fight with Kim, Krauser invites Terry to a re-match in his castle home in Germany. Instead of training hard and trying to become the best, Terry takes the easy way out and drowns his sorrows, eventually becoming a drunk homeless, reclusive and weaker than ever. However, during a fight with several street punks Terry stirs up some commotion and catches the eye of his former 'disciple', the young Tony. Together they can gain revenge on the evil Krauser, while Andy and his new girl friend Mai (YES!) work their way to towards the evil noble for their own reasons. The plot is every bit as focused as the original and the new bad guy, Krauser seems more appealing to me, with his massive gold amour, purple hair and nasty demeanor. Krauser is also more integral to the plot and the background of the original nemesis, Geese, while Terry's new drunk attitude keeps his character fresh, and his relationship with his new disciple Tony is an interesting additive (although I'm not too sure about his trousers - one leg shorts, the other leg full-length). Mai also makes her triumphant debut, and is every bit as 'appealing' and 'bouncy' as her videogame counterpart. As with it's predecessor Fatal Fury 2 makes for interesting viewing for fans of the videogames simply because you get to see your favorite characters in more depth and doing what they do best - kicking bad-guy butt! The only factor preventing this from getting a higher rating is the presence of the Street Fighter anime, an even better piece of work which really has set a standard for martial arts anime that has yet to be broken. However, disregarding that, Fatal Fury 2 is an excellent achievement and one which I highly recommend, especially for fans of the series (or just SNK fans, like me!).
-- John Huxley 28th Apr 04
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