~ FATAL FURY 2 ~
SNK / Hudson Soft
Arcade CD-ROM
1994
It must be said right away that this fighter has some awfully nice graphics.
Its music also has some quality moments, with the catchy tune in Terry Bogard's stage being a highlight. And while I'd heard a lot about how horrible the load times are, I don't find them particularly annoying except for when the occasional brief hiccup
occurs on the CONQER THE WORLD match-up screen.
Unfortunately, as far as the actual fighting goes, FF2 is just okay. It's more challenging than most PCE fighters, but the higher level of difficulty is due more to the game not playing as smoothly as its alluded-to peers (titles such as Street Fighter II'
CE and Kabuki Ittouryoudan) than to the ferociousness of the opposition.
And there isn't really anything all that interesting about the action except that the fighters can fight on two separate planes in each area (which is pretty stupid and inconsequential if you ask me).
The characters are a so-so lot overall, with famous folks like Terry and Mai Shiranui flanked by forgettable also-rans.
I'm by no means a fighting-game connoisseur, so my comments here might be even "more worthless" than usual. But as far as SF2 knock-offs go, I'd rather play something with its own distinct flavor, like the aforementioned Kabuki title.
