Overview
When people mention Art of Fighting, normally you would get answers pointing it to Street Fighter II. Whether people say it is a nice substitute or a lame flat out rip-off, you can bet someone knows something about it. Spanning only to three seasons, the game was not the most admired series in the SNK fighting library. It did however give us some unforgettable fighters and elements that are seen today in SNKP’s current lineup of dream matches.
The sudden announcement of a stateside release for a collection of all “Art of Fighting” games, for the Playstation 2, caught everybody off guard. In a few months, it was release to the public, however, was not as trouble-free to find. After obtaining a copy at a Toys R’ Us, I sat in my living room, pop it in my PS2, and was ready to reminisce what I was about to play for plenty of hours. Did this old recollection of memories help me appreciate what this series offered to the SNK fans of the world back then and now?
Graphics 7/10
I will start by mentioning the loading times lengths. They are all totally quick, in terms of getting into a new game. There are no little breaks happening from one scene to the next. By playing them for start to finish, you can sense the rights and the wrongs very well. Who knows what could had been, had they gain more sequels. The animation was developing better with more fluid and cleaner colors, amazing those who may never know that Art of Fighting 3 came out in 1996 and still look so present years after. There is nothing short with this version for the PS2. Camera zooming, slapping ultimate combos, bruising to the face, and burning attire off people stayed true to their roots from which they came. Wyler still comes off as a guy who just does not remotely seem interesting or qualified to be assign as a final boss.
The select menu has been seen before and still works fine for simple navigation. It is quite cool to pause and either restart or return back to the original menu in a breeze. The focus option, which softens the roughness of the game graphics, was in the middle for me. Using it during the first two did not sit right with me for some reason, while the third installment barely got me to notice the change at all, since the engine in the last chapter was good on its own. Like the other SNKP collections that came out, it includes the color edit options. This time, it did give a little jump in playing these classics with edited details toyed around with. I had fun putting gray hair back on Takuma’s head to match his look in Art of Fighting 1 as Mr. Karate.
Gameplay/Controls 6/10
Any gamer that has taken on the “Art of Fighting” series long enough, would advise any newcomers that these games were tough eggs to crack. Giving people false hope on difficulty might turn some people off on the first try. It sucks that the level chooser is a bold face lie, as MVS and Easy are not what they said to be. Your coordination had to be right on the money, otherwise you are screwed. Some players to this day cannot even get pass the first computer opponent. Do not think, just because it is on the PS2 means it is going to be easy street. Those games came out with fierce tenacity and, to this day, are still willing to humiliate you when you make an error that you thought was minor. At least with the third game, you had the likelihood of beating two people up before getting mauled into the same typical defeat or even make it to Sinclair or Wyler.
I will admit I was skeptical about playing Art of Fighting 2 and 3 in a different form, seeing as how I never played them both on a hand held controller before until this release. It felt a lot better performing specials and supers in number one. The second was even more responsive and could perform any move almost without hesitation. The third still suffers from the bizarre executions for specials and the great possibilities of setting up combos that could wipe out a person’s life bar with precise timing. The bonus rounds are still a pain to do and it is better off not to tap the button as quickly to build up power crushing chucks of ice. The muscles in your fingers will thank you.
There are players who still have dilemmas about having one punch, one kick, taunting, and such for the games and the configuration, which can be switch, but is still limited. I can honestly it never occurred to me to tap the shoulder buttons during the fighting. It just never clicked in my head, even after multiple plays. Anybody old or new school will see themselves missing an opportunity during fights thinking the desired attack came out was right, but turn out wrong. I really wish SNKP gave more options to lay out choices of separating the weak and strong commands. It could not hurt, since these games are not played that much as it is.
Sound/Music 6/10
The English voice overs are still as over the top when they first came up. I notice Robert’s audio speech is the clearest out of the entire crew in the Art of Fighting series. Why is that? I was crossing my figures in able to change the announcer’s voice in the first one. You can always bet you will get a laugh hearing the totally unneeded audio inclusion of Yuri screaming Ryo not finish their father on the intro to Art of Fighting 2. Man, it still funny after all these years. I will say the hitting thrust still sounds cool when an attack makes contact. The reaction from a crowd watching a fight, echoes of a passing parade or Ryo’s horse concern about his master are cool and fine to listen to.
The arrange soundtrack improves the games’ atmosphere by a good wide margin. The first one has that corny 80s action movie vibe, but it is all good. The second part really does feel like music I would dance to. Art of Fighting 3 takes a different approach in the arrange music mode, pushing more bass booming in each song. It made Art of Fighting 3 feel livelier since the original hearings were a little boring to begin with, sort of giving a hip hop kind of rhythm. One of the strong points of this collection of old games.
Replay Value 6/10
The games are pretty much what you expect, nearly perfect in translation, though still outdated by today’s standards. The folks in SNKP even give you the option of selecting most boss characters during story and versus mode, with Mr. Big and Mr. Karate in the original, Sinclair and Wyler in the third. Sadly, Geese in his younger and faster form, is not open to play, which stinks. The only things that can be of irritation is the lack of a practice mode, going back and forth singles to two player versus modes, and not able to cancel the timers on most portions of the games like picking someone or the countdown clock in battles.
Like the graphics, playfulness, systems, and controls, the replaying aspects of this anthology are just how you feel with each passing section. The value can also take into account the actual starting price of being fifteen or twenty dollars, new. It depends what store you get it form. This makes it a great bargain for any fighting game fan in general in the high price gaming world we live in. Rather pay cheap for something you recall back in the day, instead of a new sixty dollar game, you find out is total crap, no? In the end, this particular release will be gobbled up by most of the hardcore fans who have enjoy Art of Fighting, even to go as far as predicting a few casual players will want to try it and buy it, too.
Overall 6/10
After nearly picking my brain as what to say towards this collection that brought us the super move trend, connection to other SNK games, and Temjin, I want to say this return trip was a pleasant lane to stroll down again. At a very cheap and accepting price for any fighting game consumer, Art of Fighting Anthology plainly deserves to be remembered in all its glory. Even though it was not that beautiful to view, it is a decent buy.
It will undoubtedly never get the limelight it should get recognize for and will be largely ignored by most. As long as a few people applauds the efforts for what this series gave to the fighting game community after it demise, the value of this game can no longer be labeled fifteen or twenty dollars. To some, it will not be worth it. For others, it will be priceless.
- by Boombada
