Getting into fighting games is a massive time investment: getting good enough for competitive play takes months of hard work. The issue is exacerbated in 2D fighting games, many of which assume you’ve already played previous entries and do a poor job of explaining their mechanics. That isn’t the case inFatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
With 25 years gone sincethe last entry, this game knows that a new generation of fans will get their first taste of Fatal Fury. To that end, the game has an extensive tutorial and a Smart Style if you just want to enjoy the story. If you truly want to get good, though, you need to pick the right main. Here are the best characters you should try out as a beginner.
8Gato
Fighting Style: Hard Kung Fu
Gato was part of the new generation of fighters introduced in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and he’s a character made for newcomers. If you’re coming off of other fighting games and are used to aggressive play, Gato is a safe bet.
With Gato, you caneasily chain combosand smother opponents. Many of his moves have plus frames, giving you an edge even if you get blocked. However, his moveset is overall limited, and whiffing with him will lead to costly punishment.
7Mai Shiranui
Fighting Style: Shiranui Ninjutsu
Mai is a fan favourite who’s second only to Terry Bogard in cameo appearances. This means that, while she can be challenging to a complete fighting newcomer, she’ll be intuitive to use if you’ve played as her in any of the other series she features in, whether it’s Street Fighter 6 or Dead or Alive.
This character represents the heart of Fatal Fury’s defensive play: if you’re looking to button mash, Mai isn’t the character to do it with. However, her counter hits and punishes are rewarding.
Due to Mai’s special attacks being easy to read, you should avoid using them in neutral. Try to bait your opponent into attacking first so you can counter-hit, and make use of Mai’s chip damage in the meantime.
6Cristiano Ronaldo
Fighting Style: Football
Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t need any introduction: the real-life football star’s inclusion in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves was one of the game’s biggest sources of word-of-mouth. Given that SNK was counting on newcomers to buy the game for him, it makes sense that he’s abeginner-friendly character.
Most of Ronaldo’s moves rely on his football, and his ranged attacks are heavily telegraphed, but he has fast kicks of his own to offset that. Ronaldo is a character that’s easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Don’t expect to start winning online matches with him instantly, but against the CPU you’ll do just fine.
5Terry Bogard
Fighting Style: Martial Arts
Terry Bogard’s made lots of cameos in the years since Fatal Fury left the spotlight, but he still plays the same. Playing as Terry is like coming back home: you can throw out the same moves you’ve always known.
Even if you’ve never played as Terry before, though, he’seasy to pick up. He has a versatile command list, and you can streamline his playstyle according to your needs. His strength lies in range and mixups, your only issue is that your opponents are just as likely to be familiar with him as you are.
While Terry has a better neutral game than most characters in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, this comes at the cost of sluggish movement. Make sure you don’t get spaced out by experienced opponents.
4Hotaru Futaba
Fighting Style: Tai Chi, Baguazhang
Hotaru made her debut in Garou: Mark of the Wolves. In the 25 years since, her playstyle hasn’t changed much: she still relies on quick strikes to pressure your opponents.
While Hotaru has a minor learning curve, she’s a character you’re able to get good at quickly. Her projectiles and command grabs mean there’s more versatility in her move list than some of the other characters. However, her normals leave something to be desired - Hotaru is a character designed to make you master movement.
3Salvatore Ganacci
Fighting Stye: Salvatore Ganacci
Yes, you read that correctly: SNK’sofficial character indexlists Salvatore Ganacci’s fighting style as Salvatore Ganacci. It’s just one of many surreal aspects of this character - he’s a real-life DJ, and composed several of the stage tracks for Fatal Frame: City of the Wolves. In-game, he also has much more fluid animation than the other characters, leading to a mildly disorienting effect.
All in all,Ganacci is a wildcard. It’s difficult for opponents to anticipate his attacks, not just because he’s the most unexpected character to appear in a video game roster, but because he doesn’t seem to follow the game’s rules. His potential for mixups and anti-air attacks is off the charts, however, so he’s a good choice for a beginner.
Ganacci’s standing throw takes an incredibly long time, so you can use it as a last resort to run out the timer.
2Preecha
Fighting Style: Muay Thai
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is Preecha’s debut. Accordingly, she’s been designed as a beginner character: aggression-focused, with a useful playstyle that tests opponents' game knowledge, as well as luck.
Due to her lack of a strong projectile, Preecha isn’t meant for ranged play. She’s a character meant to get up close and personal, and her moveset is fairly easy to learn, which makes her a great candidate for those new to the game.
1Rock Howard
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves' tutorial level has you play as Rock Howard. If that isn’t an indication that he is a beginner-friendly character, nothing is. Rock’s playstyle is downright easy, and he’s a well-rounded character for any scenario.
Rock’s playstyle revolves around playing keep-away with pokes, and then punishing your opponent with moves like Rising Tackle when they try to close the distance. The character has no major flaws, though if you want to unlock his true potential, you’ll need to master feinting.
