Garou: Mark of the Wolves

"This is one of the best fighing games released by Snk!"

One of Snk’s popular franchise that they released to compete with Street fighter was Fatal Fury. Fatal Fury wasn’t that popular but for me it was the start of something big. Although the Fatal Fury series have been overshadowed by the Street Fighter series which was probably because of the graphics the Fatal Fury games always required patience on when to attack and tactics. Now with Snk’s latest in the Fatal Fury franchise, which has also been, given the Japanese name Garou Mark Of The Wolves prove that Snk can make some of the best fighting games.


Gameplay: 10/10
The classic gameplay is back. The previous Fatal Fury series gave you two life bars but now in Garou Motw you only have one. What this means is that you have to be careful when you attack otherwise you could end up dead really quick. This makes two player matches very intense as each person thinks how to attack and when to defend instead of going out with all offense. Snk has given Garou Motw 14 characters, which may only seem like a little bit compared to other characters but they are all cool. Terry Bogard is the only character returning and he is not the main character any more. Rock Howard is now the main character who is Geese Howard’s son. Kim Kaphnwan is gone but his two sons are gone. Butt is Ryo’s disciple and plays somewhat similar to Takuma from the Kof series. All the characters have their own strengths and weaknesses like other fighting games but the moves are all pretty much balanced.
Also new to Garou Motw is the top system and just defence and guard crush. The top system lets you recover your energy slowly, do more damage and use the top attack (it’s like the hard attack in the Kof series performed by pressing CD together) but the catch is you have a life bar for that and once it’s gone you lose it. When you select your character you get to choose where it goes at the start of your life bar, the middle or the end. Each obviously has their advantages such as putting it at the start which can give you an advantage because when you take damage it will recover slowly if you don’t get hit while your life is recovering. However place it at the very end and it can mean a difference between a win or lost. It can allow you to do extra damage and charge your energy out of the danger zone. It all depends on your liking on where you want to put it.
The Just Defence system occurs when you block a move at the very last second and allows you to gain energy. It’s an interesting idea and when mastered can prove to be very valuable in the game.
The Guard Crush is like in Kof 99 and this occurs when you block to much in a row without retaliating which then makes your character vulnerable for 1 or 2 seconds which can allow your opponent to perform a combo or super.
Speaking of supers in Garou Motw the super bar can charge up to only a certain level, which is P, and then it can’t charge any more. If you perform your super before its P it won’t be as strong.

Sound: 9/10
I’m surprised that the music in Garou Motw wasn’t on par with previous Snk fighting games but there is some very good music in the game. Take for instance Kim Jae Hoon’s theme it starts out peaceful and then gets a bit faster and is one of the most memorable theme’s I’ve heard in a while. Other good music is Kim Dong Hwan and Rock Howard’s theme as they are a mixture of rock and roll and other sorts. The sound effects and the voices in the game are very nice especially with the opening intro where it has a narrator telling about the story of good and evil. The character voices are really cool. I particularly like Terry Bogard’s power wave when he says it. In fact Terry doesn’t say his moves instead he says other stuff. For instance when you do crack shot he saids kickslash I think because it’s hard to make out what they say. Overall the music is pretty good for most characters and the voice and sound effect is top notch.

Graphics: 10/10
This is one of the best looking 2d fighting games I have seen. Snk obviously put in a lot of effort with all of the animation. Take for instance Rock Howard. When he performs a successful move and you let him stand there he will immediately brush his hair, which is way cool. Also the backgrounds are detailed and they change every round with something happening like extra characters appearing or something happening. Like in Terry Bogard’s stage it starts on a boat and after the next round it starts moving. It’s like his stage in Fatal Fury 2 how it was on a train. The supers look colorful and when you beat them with it you get a massive KO. The Griffin Mask’s super is simply spectacular as the background is all blue with lines blurring. And it shows the Griffin Mask grabbing his opponent and him flying diagonally up and then finally dropping them to the ground while stepping on them. Also Terry’s Buster Wolf is insanely beautiful as Terry hits his opponent with his arm while holding his arm like a gun with recoil. Also Rock Howard’s Raging Storm is very fast with colors of blue as the storm and flying out fast.
I would have to say that Snk are improving their graphics for their fighting games now and it just goes to show in Garou Motw which is their best looking game yet.


Control:10/10
Classic Snk feel here same four buttons we’re all used to which is ABCD. The moves come out perfect and I can find no fault with them.


Overall:10/10
Man and I fought Fatal Fury couldn’t get any better. This just goes to show that Snk an are force to be reckon with in the fighting games market. Even if you don’t like their games I recommend you strongly try it. If you see this at the local arcades don’t hesitate play one of the best fighting games released by Snk which is up their with their own Kof series.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/00, Updated 09/19/00