Terry Bogard’s Bringing Fatal Fury to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Director Masahiro Sakurai and the Super Smash Bros. development team surprised fans when they confirmed that Terry Bogard from SNK’s Fatal Fury and King of Fighters franchises was coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in an early-September Nintendo Direct. He wasn’t a highly requested character from the Smash Bros. universe, outside those who also happen to be big fighting game fans. But he was soon anticipated by even those who weren’t thanks to the immense potential for fanservice from the development team — the tasteful kind, mind you. The already fanservice-laden reveal trailer showed how Terry would retain his iconic look from most of the aforementioned franchises and similarly iconic techniques like the Power Wave and Burn Knuckle. Sakurai took the time to fully display his potential with today’s lengthy presentation.

Sakurai explained that Terry was included thanks to his nostalgia for the Neo Geo, just as perceptive fans thought upon reading the Guardian’s interview with him from last year. In this presentation, he recommended playing Fatal Fury Special, The King of Fighters ’95 and ’98, all great games to experience from SNK’s history. I could imagine this segment having younger fans and non-fighting game fans rolling their eyes unless they’re very into Sakurai’s history; but trust me, it was necessary. These particular games, and many others, happen to be discounted on the eShop today.

Terry’s appearance in Smash Ultimate brings all the fanservice you might have expected. When he faces Ryu (and presumably Ken) in a solo battle, they’ll always face each other like in a fighting game. This both ends the debate about whether Smash Bros. is a fighting game (an argument that was always bad) and shows how this really is the closest we’ll get to a new Capcom vs. SNK game.

Terry himself has all of his key techniques from the Fatal Fury and KoF series, specifically the Power Wave, Burn Knuckle, Crack Shoot, Rising Tackle, Power Dunk and the Power Charge. Traditional fighting game commands for all of them are included, though the Burn Knuckle command has been changed to a quarter-circle forward motion compared to the original quarter-circle backward one thanks to the Smash Bros. multiplayer party style. Notably, the Power Tackle is still done with a charge motion, the first such one for Smash Bros. — further proof that it’s a real fighting game. He also has special move cancels from the fighting games, though this isn’t possible with every attack. As another bonus, one of his normal attacks is from the more-obscure 3D title Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition for Neo Geo 64 (and later PSOne), meaning the team did their homework.

They couldn’t go without including super moves like the Power Geyser and the Buster Wolf, which Terry can perform if his damage jumps to over 100%. The Power Geyser in particular does ridiculous damage, given that it can kill if the opponent’s damage is over 60%. His Final Smash is a chain combination of the Triple Geyser, Power Dunk, and (BIG ONE) Buster Wolf. It’s enough to satisfy every big Terry fan.

Well, almost every big fan. A dizzying array of colors have been included with their own nods, which reference Terry’s slightly altered designs from Fatal Fury and KoF games over the years, and even the former’s anime adaptation. But it’s a real shame his Mark of the Wolves outfit (which he also donned in two KoF games) wasn’t included as an option. The team would have needed to create special animations around it, since he doesn’t wear the hat with this outfit, but it still hurts to see it left out. The Fatal Cutie female Terry from SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy also isn’t included, though this one’s less of a surprise considering the fanservice she comes with. It ain’t the tasteful kind.

Coming with Terry will be the King of Fighters Stadium stage, also packed with nods to both key SNK franchises Terry represents. Several cameos are involved, including (but not limited to) Andy Bogard, Joe Higashi, Kim Kap-Hwan, Blue Mary, Billy Kane, Geese Howard, Ryuji Yamazaki, and Rock Howard from the Fatal Fury series. Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Ryo and Yuri Sakazaki, King, and Ralf and Clark are included from the KoF series. (A note that Ryo, Yuri, and King all originate from Art of Fighting, but are more known for their KoF appearances nowadays.) The stage itself has wall bounce properties like stages in several other KoF titles, and the wall has to be broken for characters to fly off the stage.

Mai Shiranui is sadly absent from the lineup, because Smash players are innocent boys and girls, and Smash itself is pure. But she’s popular enough that the Fatal Fury lineup feels incomplete without her. I’m also personally sad that Leona wasn’t included from KoF, though I’m sure at least two others feel the same way.

As another bonus: Terry’s Classic Mode run features him fighting teams of three across a variety of stages, all for logical reasons. He fights Pit and Palutena as a reference to SNK’s Goddess Athena, fights Sonic because both characters came into existence in 1991, and fights Ryu, Ken, and a mirrored Terry in the final match because don’t you dare say Smash Bros. isn’t a real fighting game again.

As further proof of how they didn’t spare the fanservice: This game will include 50 tracks from SNK games. Sakurai and the Smash team sent SNK a list of 50 tracks they wanted to or could use, only for the latter to let them use all of them. This isn’t too surprising given how SNK likes lending their content to other companies. It’s enough to, as Sakurai mentioned, make the $6 price for all this content a bargain. Remixed tracks are included with the classic tracks, including a new mix of Athena Asamiya’s Psycho Soldier theme — also in English for the first time.

New Mii fighters are coming with the update, including for Nakoruru from Samurai Shodown, and the aforementioned Ryo Sakazaki and Iori Yagami. The Aikra and Jacky Mii Fighters from Sega’s sadly-forgotten Virtua Fighter series are also coming after being announced a while ago. Other updates will include the option for an “Elite Only” Battle Arena mode online, easier ways to find Arenas made by fans, the ability for hosts to change the rules in an Arena without having to shut it down, and the ability to send messages from the arena.

Terry Bogard and all the above content will arrive later today, so no one will have to wait long to go hands-on with him. Online mode will be full of Buster Wolfs soon enough, if there’s any justice.