MARK OF THE WOLVES
About 12 years ago, I was reading a gaming magazine that shan’t be named, and in it was an article called something along the lines of “Top 50 Fighting Games Ever”.
It was an excellent article; each game and its position in the list were well-argued and justified. Then I get to the top three — Street Fighter III: Third Strike, “fair enough, an outstanding game”, says I. Second was Virtua Fighter 2; “Snap, an outstanding game “, I continue. Third was Garou: Mark of the Wolves: “never bloody heard of it”, I utter in a befuddled voice.
“But Arron, you pulchritudinous exemplar whose gaming knowledge is second to none,” I hear you cry. How could this have possibly slipped you by”? Well, I asked myself that exact
AARON DAVIS MAKES HIS MARK PLAYING WHAT HE CONSIDERS THE BEST 2D FIGHTING GAME EVER MADE
question, in those words, and set about tracking down what was soon to become my favourite 2D fighting game of all time. After a bit of research, I quickly discovered why I'd never heard of the February 2000 release of SNK's final entry in the Fatal Fury series, and it can be broken down like this.
First, it was initially a Neo Geo only release. Having never come across the MVS arcade version, with the home AES system being prohibitively expensive to a skint, council house dwelling, narcotic saturated teenager. It may as well have been an exclusive release for the Mir space station's navigation computer. Secondly, subsequent PS2 and Dreamcast ports were only released in countries with unhealthy relationships with underage cartoon girls with massive eyes or unhealthy relationships with guns, cheeseburgers and monotheism — you know where I'm on about. Lastly, it's ridiculously technical and hard to master, so it probably doesn't have the same broad appeal as other fighters. In other words, I suck at it.
Plot and dialogue wise, Garou follows the standard fighting game hackneyed formula. Writing quality so low it could limbo under a closed door with contrived or nonexistent reasons to fight everyone on the roster to fulfil an overarching metanarrative. At best, it is semi amusing on an ironic level, and at its worst grating to the point of making you want to power dunk your TV Also, with a back story so convoluted, it's about as penetrable to newcomers as a nun in a suit of armour. However, bemoaning one on one fighters for their storytelling is like having a go at Steven Hawking for being crap at break-dancing. I'll do my best to bring you up to speed with the plot, such as it is, as quickly and concisely as I can, then I'll have put in about as much effort as the game's
story writers.
Set ten years after the death of Fatal Fury’s main antagonist, Geese Howard, Terry Bogard feels sorry for sort of murdering him, so adopts and raise Geese's newly orphaned son, who then grows up to be a spoiled angsty bellend with the powers and training of his two dads. Also, there are some other fighters; one has a bird's head, one is called Dong, and one is called Butt (don't ask).
The soundtrack is nice enough, and graphically it is stunning, with so many frames of animation that the waterfalls look so real they make you need the toilet and characters movement is some of the smoothest on the system. It is a tour de force from a gameplay perspective, seldom equalled before or in the 20 years since. It pioneered the “TOP” (Tactical Offensive Position) and “Just Defend” systems. Once you've selected your combatant, you're given the option to adjust the TOP and place it at a point of your choosing across part of your character's life meter. When your life meter reaches the white TOP section, your character will flash. At this point, you will gain increased damage output, slow health regeneration and the ability to perform a new special move
Once your fighter's life meter falls out of the TOP range, you lose these benefits. The ‘Just Defend' mechanic adds an extra layer of strategy to blocking. Rather than hold the away position on your pad or stick and turtle in the corner, you can choose to wait to the last moment before you're attacked, then just tap away from your attacker. If executed correctly, you will gain a tiny bit of life energy back and gain an advantage for a potential counterattack. If you fail, well, you'll get kicked in the gob.
Newcomers to Garou and veterans of other fighters, particularly Street Fighter, may find it tricky to pull off moves or combos. This is due
to Garou's ruthlessly unforgiving input requirements. Most people don't realise SF is quite lenient; Zangief's 360 degree pile drive will let you get away with a 270-degree input. Ken's dragon punch can be shortcut by spamming down and forward twice. You'll find no such short cuts in Garou.
Make no mistake, Garou isn't here to impress you; you're here to impress Garou.
Also, if you think you can lazily rock your stick around from one move to another and have your combos fly out, you can think again. Garou is a prissy mistress and demands you send your joystick back to a neutral position between moves. The only criticism one might lay at Garou’s gold plated and diamond encrusted door is something I've never personally considered a negative. By today's standards, at least, its playable character selection is practically anaemic. The original Arcade release had just thirteen immediately selectable fighters, with one boss and one secret fighter, which were automatically unlocked in subsequent releases. But, like the wrinkled face of Rose West, this lineup is all killer and no filler.
Each fighter is quite unique, with the essential pickup and playability coupled with depth that makes all truly great fighters great. There's a grappler, charge characters, counter fighters, rush down fighters, the lot. A previously hard to find title, Garou is now thankfully available to play on almost as many electronic devices as the original Doom, so there's no excuse not to try it, as it is without doubt the greatest 2D fighter ever made.