Developer: Takara Publisher: Takara Release: 12/93 Genre: Fighting
Art of Fighting has always occupied a weird spot in SNK’s fighting roster. Not quite Fatal Fury but also not analogous to Street Fighter it brought many unique systems to the genre. Whether those systems made the game better is up for debate but it certainly made the game unique. Takara’s SNES port of Art of Fighting is better than it has any right to be considering the gap in hardware between the SNES and Neo Geo. I would still rather play TMNT: Tournament Fighters but this is a respectable game.
Art of Fighting stood out in the arcade for a variety of reasons. The sprites were massive; these were the largest sprites in a fighting game at the time. They were so big in fact that the screen would scale in and out to keep everything in perspective. Of the various 16-bit ports the SNES version keeps the scaling intact. The sprites are smaller to compensate but it is admirable that they were able to retain one of the game’s biggest features.
The “in depth” story mode only allows you to choose Ryo or Robert Garcia. It makes sense within the context of the game. But it really is not much of a choice as they are basically Ken and Ryu with slight differences. I appreciate the game’s attempt at making me invested in the story but the reasons you are fighting each opponent are flimsy at best. They were better off not even trying.
Speaking of the cast Art of Fighting is disappointing in this area. If you like cool characters you won’t find any here. The cast is full of Street Fighter stand ins. Lee Pai Long is the Chinese version of Vega. King is your Chun-Li although in a twist it isn’t immediately obvious. Mickey is less mobile Balrog but no less deadly. And John not only looks like Guile he almost has the same backstory! Honestly the cast feels like extras from Double Dragon, especially Jack. That isn’t entirely a bad thing mind you but in a genre with time traveling ninjas, ancient demons, and martial arts masters the down to earth cast feels….quaint.
Art of Fighting introduces a few choice mechanics to the genre, most prominently the spirit gauge. Special moves use spirit at different amounts, preventing you from spamming them constantly. Spirit slowly refills during a round and can be refilled manually by holding punch or kick. But doing so leaves you open to attack. Taunting an opponent will deplete their spirit but the same applies to you. The reasoning behind tying special moves to spirit is their strength. In some cases a well-placed special such as Todo’s triple fire wave can drain 40% of your life bar. By forcing you to consider the spirit cost as well as how long you it will take to recharge the spirit gauge makes each match more tactical.
The spirit gauge could have made this a slower paced game. Instead Art of Fighting has a few mechanics that have since become standard for fighting games. Dashing prevents turtling while quick back steps help evade attacks. Some characters can wall jump, which is not only a gap closer but can be used to avoid a corner trap. When low on health you can perform a desperation attack which can completely change the momentum in a match. Anyone familiar with SNK fighting games will also know the button combinations for these are complete gibberish. In the near thirty years since the game’s release I’ve probably seen a desperation move three times. Take that as you will.
I have issues with the game’s controls. In the arcade Art of Fighting used a four button setup of punch, kick, throw, and taunt. Heavy attacks were performed by pressing throw after a punch or kick. You can see how idiotic it is. Unfortunately the SNES version mimics this same setup even though there are six buttons. World Heroes smartly allowed you to remap the buttons as such; it would have done wonders for the game as a whole. The AI can be brutal at times and the finicky move inputs don’t help. Art of Fighting does not have a combo engine because rounds are usually short. Attacks inflict massive damage, with rounds ending in four or five hits. A better control setup would have helped but I digress.
In Closing
Regardless of how well the port has turned out Art of Fighting was never one of SNK’s better fighting games. It has a few unique ideas but as a whole is pretty low on the totem pole in SNK’s catalog. The SNES version of Art of Fighting is good but I would still recommend any of the numerous better titles in the genre first.
