Neo*Geo - Garou: Mark of the Wolves Highly recommended

Format
Neo*Geo
Publisher
SNK
Developer
SNK
Country of origin
Japan
Genre
1 on 1 Fighter

Garou: Mark of the Wolves XL-R8 roundtable review

By XL-R8 crew
21st May 06

Huxley: SNK may be more well known for their long running (10 years and counting!) King of Fighters series, but it’s with the Fatal Fury games that many fans really started to take interest in their output. I’d be lying if I said I was amongst them, as personally I didn’t really fully appreciate the Fatal Fury games until I played Real Bout, which is about the fifth or sixth incarnation of the series. The first four games, which become increasingly defined as the years go by, encompass Fatal Fury 1, 2, 3 and Fatal Fury Special, while the three Real Bout games (1, 2 and another ‘Special’...confusing, huh?) take the formula even further. By now the series had far surpassed its (somewhat unfair) reputation as a poor Street Fighter clone, yet its future was uncertain given the popularity of the all-encompassing (it took out the Art of Fighting games, too) King of Fighters. Far from turning their back on the series, SNK decided to give it a complete overhaul and released Garou: Mark of the Wolves (using the Japanese name for Fatal Fury, further compounding the game’s confusing timeline) in 1999 to an appreciative fanbase...

Marq: I’ve been a fan of the Fatal Fury series since the very first game myself, but I unfortunately missed the arcade release of Garou in ’99. If only I could go back and feel what it was like to first experience this game in the environment it was designed to be played in. Despite missing out on that feeling, I have since come to consider Garou one of the finest fighting games ever made. When old fans of the Fatal Fury series pick this game up, they will probably be surprised by the roster available. SNK’s flagship fighter Terry Bogard is the only returning character in the series here, and all the rest of the characters are new. While some of them resemble other fighters in the SNK universe, they are uniquely original, and the character design is nothing short of a knock-out.

Ron Trey: And by knock out I'm sure he's not just referring to B. Jenet's......crew. When I look at this game it's like looking at a piece of art at a big museum exhibit, except said pieces are moving sprites. But the sprites are not the only thing that looks beautiful here as the backgrounds themselves are some of the best bg's I've ever seen and to make it even better they change from round to round be it as something like it changing from day to night or from pulling out of a train station to the open road along the train tracks. But again not to be out shined by what's going on in the background the characters themselves have either as much as or more life then their respective bg's. While the Kim boys may share their sense of battle gear with their father their attitudes are diffrent from both him( well except for Jae Hoon ) and each other and Grant is so big and imposing one would assume he's the main bad guy but one gander at Kain and it is very easy to see why he's playing the right hand man. Of course with slick character and level designs another feature that also adds on the charm to this beauty is the control set up and the handy dandy feature called the "Just Defend".

Stephen Lerch: I’m glad Trey brought up the Just Defend option available in the game, as for me this is a part of what sets this game a step above others in the series and in other SNK properties. The only thing you can compare it to is the parry option in the Last Blade series. For those that aren’t aware, Just Defend is what occurs when, just as you are receiving an attack, you pull back to defend. The defender then has an opening in the defense of his opponent. This can add to the sometimes frantic pacing in the game, can eliminate turtling to an extent and when playing with a good human opponent this pacing can’t be beaten. One would think, given the timing involved in defending just as the opponent’s attack hits would be difficult that the CPU controlled characters would take major advantage of this, but this is not the case. At most the main bosses will over use it, but not so for the normal characters. As with all SNK games, the only characters that feel “cheap” in their attacks are the bosses.

Huxley: To be honest I’ve not had Mark of the Wolves long enough to really make much use of the Just Defend system. To an inexperienced player like myself, it doesn’t seem half as intuitive or useful as The Last Blade’s dedicated parry button. I’m sure it’s just an issue of timing on my behalf though, so I’d pay more attention to Trey and Slerch! Despite my cack-handedness it is a surprisingly accessible fighter, with simplified, intuitive controls that make even the most powerful of special moves an absolute cinch. You’ll rarely find yourself disadvantaged because your opponent knows how to pull off some awesome super death move you’ve never even seen before. That doesn’t mean you won’t get your ass kicked, but at least it’s a relatively level playing field. Simplifying the control scheme (but not to the point where reactions and skill don’t play a part - it still relies on the good old QCF motions) also helps shift the focus squarely on tactics, which is really the heart of any good 2D fighter.

Marq: I find the Just Defend much more intuitive than say, Street Fighter III’s parrying system. Since the JD relies on blocking an attack at the last second, you are still moving in the same direction that you normally would to block an attack, you’re just doing it a bit later than you are used to. I just think of it as a bonus for blocking a bit more precisely. Besides the JD though, Garou is chock-full of incredible game play features. The “Guard Cancel”, coming out of a JD with a special move before the animation ends, can be a real game breaker. Also, the “breaking” techniques in the game are incredible, they allow for a real advantage in “Guard Crushing” while rushing an opponent down. Since an opponent can only block for so long without their guard breaking, the ability to chain regular attacks together via “breaking” makes for some sick pressure games in Garou. Using A+B quickly enough to “break” attacks together takes some real getting used to, but really takes your game to the next level when you get comfortable with it, much like “Guard Cancelling”. I also like that the Dms (Desperation Moves) are all done the same way for the most part, giving new players a better chance to compete with veterans. Game play wise I find Garou to be the most solid fighter ever made, even more so than Street Fighter III: Third Strike, which would be a close second. Not to mention, the characters in Garou make up one of the most solid line ups in a fighting game, period.

Ron Trey: Marq is right about the character line up as everyone will have "THE" fighter that they just feel comfortable with even if they've never touched a Garou or SNK fighter before, add in that each character is easy to understand and use you could be on your way to a #1 ranked player in no time. The computer A.I. is great as while it won't bust out with an insane combo that you know you never have any hopes to learn it will bust out moves that you could do and is not a cheap player. By that I mean it will not do the same moves over and over as it seems to be playing off however you attack it, for example while I may have handed Tizoc's butt to him in the match before, B. Janet may come in and actually give me a run for my money even though the last time I fought her I didn't have as much trouble with her. Only problem that will come up is the typical cheap SNK boss fight, which is not a shock to long time SNK fans as by now this is expected( and cause for worry if it's not there ). Kain R. Heinlein seems to switch between holding a grude against you for one match( meaning he will effortlessly kill you )and willingly lay down for you during the next, then switches back to beating you silly. Although turns out the trick about this is that as you try and figure how to put this guy down you get deeper in it as like some great tactician you start getting that combo section working while at the same time reviewing your last match to see where you wnet wrong or what you could have done during a move.

Stephen Lerch: One thing Trey touches on is the final boss, Kain. During the matches that lead up to you are rated on how well you perform in each battle, ranging from a C to S to Miracle. I’m not entirely sure, but the rating seems to be based more on speed of the kill and how you finish the character rather than simply being a rating based on getting through without being hit. In order to fight with Kain, you have to have a AAA average throughout, something not everyone is capable of. I’m certainly not a wonderful player and generally find I finish the game on Grant and never seeing a real character ending. So don’t pay too much attention to my abilities, Huxley!

I don’t know that I agree with Marq when he says Garou is the most solid fighter ever made, but it is in the top percentile. I also am not so certain the characters are all that great, there are some rather forgettable characters in the bunch, such as Kushnood Butt (what the Hell was SNK thinking with that name in English… why not keep Marco Rodriguez?). Garou: Mark of the Wolves is a solid fighter with a damn near perfect balance in game play, a good single player experience, great graphics and most importantly, fun when played with others.

Huxley: Any game with a character called Butt gets bonus points in my book! But I do agree that some of the characters are less than memorable, which is especially disappointing given the relatively small selection available. Still, the game does have a great sense of style throughout, and it’s this that’ll leave a lasting impression more than any slightly dodgy character designs. And the same goes for almost any criticism you could level at Mark of the Wolves; when the overall package is so gosh darn great, a few minor imperfections here and there don’t detract from the experience at all.

It’s a pity SNK never made a sequel. There were whispers some years back, but nothing came of them. And with SNK’s demise and subsequent rebirth shifting the focus squarely on 3D games, it seems increasingly unlikely that we’ll ever see a true sequel to Mark of the Wolves.

Marq: That may be for the best though. As of right now, there is only one Garou, and in some fans opinions, there could never be another. While some of us disagree on points and issues regarding the game, I think that it is evident that the game holds a special place for all of us amongst not only SNK’s storied stable of games, but among the vast variety of fighting games that have been released over the last two decades. If SNK never deems Garou worthy of a proper sequel, I for one am just thankful for the years of enjoyment that this infallible gem of a game has given me, and I am sure I’m not alone. If you have never played Garou, do yourself a favor and hunt a copy down, you won’t regret it.

-- XL-R8 crew 21st May 06

Neo*Geo Garou: Mark of the Wolves Images