Generally speaking, when discussing re-releases of classic games of virtually any genre, you’re weighing the cost of admission against the experience of playing the same game emulated. SNK bosses are notorious for being vicious, punishing quarter-devourers. Although generally safer than 3rd Strike’s parry mechanic, and more rewarding in the sense that it restores a sliver of health for every attack covered, “Just Defense” is a timing-based reward for blocking attacks the instant they land, and serves as Garou’s only way to defend while airborne.

Why Should I Care?Īt the time of its 1999 release, Mark of the Wolves was celebrated not just as a technical breakthrough for the NeoGeo hardware with its amazing level of animation, but a legitimate alternative to Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike as a technical marvel among the rest of the genre at the time.

Including Rock, the rest of the cast is comprised of newcomers, and history has shown this decision to be to Garou‘s benefit. Where Street Fighter III brought back Ryu and Ken right away, and eventually Chun-Li in 3rd Strike, after vehement backlash from the fans, Mark of the Wolves only carries main series protagonist Terry Bogard to its roster, replacing him at the same time as main character with his adopted son, Rock Howard. Garou also aligns well with Street Fighter III in its cast of almost-exclusively new characters. Rock Howard may be nothing like his father, but he carries the same intimidation factor when it counts. These changes would also replace what had previously been Fatal Fury’s trademark mechanic, which had been multiplanar stages that would see players jump as needed from the foreground to the background, and vice versa. This would prove interesting as the two games shared very similar sensibilities, that advanced defensive systems should be put in place to eschew traditional mechanics like blockstun and chip damage, and that players should have certain ways to tweak and fine-tune their characters to suit their own particular tastes. Garou: Mark of the Wolves is SNK’s 1999 reinvention of the Fatal Fury series, which coincidentally released around the same time as Capcom’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Now, it’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves’ turn. The King of Fighters 2000, both Last Blade titles, Baseball Stars 2, Twinkle Star Sprites, Samurai Shodown: Tenkaichi Kenkyakuden, and both Shock Troopers titles have benefitted from re-releases in 2016 alone. SNK’s recent revitalization has been a very successful one, not just due to the brilliance of their comeback game, The King of Fighters XIV, but in their ability to open their back catalogue to new and old fans alike on modern platforms.

Garou mark of the wolves platforms