Fatal Fury andTekkenshare a lot of parallels: both series started in the early ’90s, maintained their popularity even as arcades died out, and have rich lore. Yet as Tekken went on to become a commercial darling, outsold only by Super Smash Bros. and Mortal Kombat in its genre, Fatal Fury bid fans a triumphant farewell with 1999’s Garou.
2025’sFatal Fury: City of the Wolvesmarks a long-awaited return for the fighting game series. Meanwhile, Tekken 8 has solidified its series' place in the fighting game community for another decade. So does Tekken still rule with an iron fist, or does Fatal Fury reclaim its place as the king of fighters? Let’s find out.
8Graphics
Winner - Tekken 8
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is a very pretty game, but that’s mostly down to its vibrant art style - colours pop right off the screen. The graphical fidelity on offer isn’t all that impressive, though: even on Ultra settings, you can make out the seams between polygons very easily, and hair physics weren’t given much importance. Terry Bogard’s hair clips into his shoulders in press materials and the game itself.
Tekken, on the other hand, is a visually stunning game. It’s hard to tell what’s a pre-rendered cutscene and what’s actual gameplay. There are water physics, environmental effects, and all sorts of little touches that make ita believable worldbeyond just having good character models.
7Balance
Winner - Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves
Tekken 8 is focused on aggression, with fans fearing that subtle moves like sidesteps are being tossed out of the game completely; season 2doubled down on aggressive play. Many characters also carry ranged weapons or occupy large portions of the screen during certain moves. There’s a gulf between the low-tier and high-tier characters that has yet to narrow down.
In contrast, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is quite balanced, and you can generally pick up any character and start playing without worrying too much about the meta. Every decision is made for balance’s sake, and defensive play is very much in the cards.
6Characters
Tekken 8 hasalmost 40 playable characters; Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves launched with 17, with more being planned as DLC. There’s a lot more variety of playstyle in Tekken 8: some characters are stance-based, while others are straightforward, and still others incorporate gauges and bars.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves' smaller roster will, of course, be amended as the game gets more DLC, but it’s surprising that fan favourites were left out in favour of wildcard picks like Cristiano Ronaldo and Salvatore Ganacci. For veteran fans, Tekken 8’s roster is currently richer.
Cristiano Ronaldo does not have an Arcade Mode story and is unusable in Episodes of South Town, meaning he is only accessible in versus battles.
5Accessibility
Tie
A few decades prior, Tekken would have been the clear winner when it came to accessibility. The series was founded on a simple concept: one button, one limb. This playstyle made it appealing to newcomers playing with their console’s default controller. Yet as the years went on, Tekken became increasingly complex. Tekken 8 incorporates a Heat gauge, character-specific gauges, and various stances.
In contrast, Fatal Fury was always complex, but City of the Wolves makes great strides to be accessible to newcomers. Input windows are lax by the standards of a 2D fighter, and the game starts off with a detailed tutorial that teaches you all you need to know to excel.
Both games incorporate a simple control scheme if you want to execute combos at the press of a button: Special Style in Tekken 8, and Smart Style in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
4Online
Tekken 8 has a thriving online community, yet its online implementation leaves something to be desired. Expect frequent slowdowns during casual matchmaking; community-run tournaments vet competitors' connections extensively to avoid issues. There are also no penalties for misbehaviour like disconnecting mid-match, leading to a rampant plugger problem.
SNK knew Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves would appeal mostly to the hardcore audience, so the developer went to great lengths to ensure the online was up to snuff. The rollback netcode is well-implemented, with matches being largely stable, and a Fair Play score deters would-be cheaters.
3Presentation
Though Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves drew a positive response on launch, the UI was treated with mild disdain. The comic-book presentation of the main menu is hard to navigate, and the static cutscenes don’t signify high production values. When the menus do have clarity, they feel bare-bones.
In contrast, Tekken 8 has a much cleaner presentation that’s both easy to navigate and beautiful to look at. Command lists are just a couple of button presses away, and it’s easy to go from match to match without getting sidetracked.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves requires you to edit your entire online profile in order to change your character in quick matchmaking.
2Story
Both Fatal Fury and Tekken have rich lore that far outstrips other mainstream fighting titles. Both of them received feature-length anime films in the ’90s, and each character has a well-established backstory.
Yet for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, there’s no dedicated story mode. Each character has a story in Arcade mode, but it feels like an afterthought, and Episodes of South Town doesn’t feel focused on storytelling so much as RPG elements. In contrast, Tekken 8 hasan extensive storyand character episodes that provide a round dozen hours of entertainment.
1Verdict
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is not the game that will put SNK at the top. It would be too much to ask for Fatal Fury to overtake Tekken after 25 years out of the mainstream spotlight. But itisa triumphant welcome back, especially for the hardcore fan base.
In contrast, Tekken 8’s dominance of both the fighting game scene and the casual market is ironclad. The title manages to appeal to everyone, whether you’re a newcomer, a veteran, a contender for the competitive scene, or just want to follow the story. If you can only pick one, Tekken 8 will serve you better. But if you’re big on fighting games, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves also deserves a spot in your library.
