"Despite a Plethora of Improvements and Innovations, the Sequel Loses the Charm of It's Predecessor"

Garou Densetsu 2 was released in the the Arcades on December 10th, 1992 in Japan. This review is based on the Japanese version.

After being utterly amazed and hypnotized by SNK's entry into the fighting game universe, Garou Densetsu, I was shocked to hear of a sequel of my second favorite fighting game of all time. Unfortunately, the sequel failed to live up to the standards set by its predecessor on any level.

Graphics: 7

The graphics in Garou Densetsu 2 are very nice looking. They are not as nice as the graphics in Street Fighter II (nor are they as good as the graphics in the original Garou Densetsu ), but they are solid overall and are above average. I am unsure if the graphics were done by a different artist, but I really prefer the art style of the original Garou Densetsu. Thankfully, SNK kept the changes of atmosphere between rounds that was introduced in Garou Densetsu intact. It really is a dramatic effect to witness the environment change from dusk to nightfall, or clear skies to a torrential thunderstorm between rounds. However, there are inconsistencies as far as the quality of the character's backgrounds are concerned. Mai, Jubei Yamada, Lawrence Blood, Terry, and Andy have truly beautiful and exceptional fighting stages, while Joe, Billy Kane, Axel Hawk, Cheng, Big Bear and Kim have rather boring and mediocre backgrounds. The character sprites are very large and colorful. However, one graphical aspect that bothers me is that the plane switching isn't that smooth this time around. Watching the characters travel from the background to the foreground (and vice versa) looks really awkward.

On a side note, the character portraits are absolutely HORRIBLE. Truly disgusting. They are actually WORSE than the character portraits in Garou: Mark of the Wolves (but not as bad as Street Fighter Zero 3).

Sounds Effects and Music: 5

The sound effects are mediocre. The soundtrack is pretty much average, with one exception: Wolfgang Krauser's theme. Krauser actually has a digitized orchestral symphony playing for his BGM......truly awesome. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Terry Bogard's theme is extremely LAME. His BGM is fitting for a pitiful joke character, not a main character of a fighting game.

The voices are all brand new, with a brand new cast of voice actors giving depth to the characters in this sequel. The voice samples are lot clearer this time around, and they lend more personality to the fighters.

Control: 5

The control is tighter than the original, yet not as tight as Street Fighter II. It's hard to explain (you must play the first and second GD in order to understand the comparison). The regular special moves can be done pretty consistently, although the controller motions for the Desperation Moves are completely ludicrous. SNK seemed to have chosen the directional pad motions completely at random. In my opinion, it would have made a hell of a lot more sense if SNK would have given the DMs a simple command at the expense of only being used once per round. Instead, they allow the player to execute an infinite amount of DMs at the expense of having a completely absurd controller motion. This can cause problems if you are playing against an SNK nerd that has no life and has actually mastered the DM motions for all the characters. They can sit back and cheese you infinitely with attacks that inflict gross amounts of damage. In conclusion, the controls and response are pretty tight, but the ridiculous controller motions for the Desperation Moves lowers the score considerably.

Gameplay: 7

The gameplay has changed a bit from the original. Whereas in the original Garou you only used three buttons and had attacks of one strength (one strength punch, one strength kick, and a separate button for throwing), GD2 now plays more along the lines of Street Fighter. All characters have doubled their offensive options by possessing a Light Punch, a Heavy Punch, a Light Kick, and a Heavy Kick. What this means is that the gameplay engine has been refined, and that Combos are now possible! Instead of bouts degenerating into slapfests and endless special moves, Garou players can now execute combos in a similar fashion to the Street Fighter II engine. It is possible to cancel normal attacks into special moves and to link normal moves together. Even though the variety of combos seems limited when compared to SFII (Garou Densetsu 2 only has 4 attack buttons while SFII has 6) the gameplay engine has been seriously overhauled. Throwing is now done Street Fighter II style (when standing close to your opponent, press Toward or Away on the joystick while pressing Heavy Punch or Heavy Kick). Garou 2 improves by allowing the player to initiate the line switch technique (in Garou only the CPU could initiate the line switch). Unfortunately, the line switch gets abused way too often by the CPU. Good luck trying to land a special on Krauser......the CPU line switches the instant it reads input for a special move being entered. Garou 2 also introduces to the fighting game world the use of Desperation Moves, which can be done infinitely until the opponent is dead. The DMs can be abused by players that have mastered the motions, making the game unbalanced. Garou Densetsu 2 also adds a new basic technique, an advancing crouch. Advanced players can stealthily sneak up on their opponents in a crouching position.

Unfortunately, the characters (both old and new) have special moves and character traits that are too similar to established characters from Street Fighter II. Kim possesses a special that is a rip off of Guile's Flash Kick, Cheng has a special that is a rip off of Blanka's Rolling Attack, and Mai has a special that are reminiscent of Balrog (Spain). GD2 also follows SFII's format and has four unselectable boss characters (with sub bosses that include a gritty American boxer and a blood thirsty matador from Spain). LAME. GD2 effectively takes 5 steps backwards in terms of innovation and originality with these uninspired copycat moves. GD2 seems more like a lackluster SFII clone than the innovative game that it was 1 year ago.

Character Design: 1

Unfortunately, there aren't as many interesting character designs in GD2 when compared to the first game. Mai Shiranui has something in common with Chun Li, even though she shows much more T&A. Kim Kap Kwan is a generic Tae Kwon Do fighter with no personality or distinguishing traits to separate him from the hundreds of other dedicated and serious martial artists that populate the fighting game universe. Lawrence Blood is really pathetic (do we really need ANOTHER blood thirsty Spanish matador that is a sub boss? Come on SNK, show a little effort). A blatant Balrog (JP) clone is what he is. Axel Hawk is another boring design, a rip off of M.Bison (JP) from Street Fighter II (again, do we really need ANOTHER brutish American Boxer that is a sub boss? Can we say M.Bison?). Even Michael Max from GD1 was better than this punk. Raiden returns without his mask, and changes to his alter ego Big Bear (yawn). Cheng is just a big fat obnoxious joke. The only exceptional designs in this game are Wolfgang Krauser and Jubei Yamada. It is very unfortunate that SNK followed the lazy man's path and just ripped off of Capcom's designs in Street Fighter II. It is extremely disappointing to see the original and fresh character designs of Garou Densetsu be replaced by unimaginative, uninspired, and banal characters in GD2. Unfortunately this wasn't the first instance of SNK ripping off of Capcom's designs, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.......

Replay Value: 8

With two players Garou Densetsu 2 is a blast. You'll be playing for hours on end experimenting with the different characters. The one player game versus the CPU gives a solid challenge, but it's beatable. Playing against someone who can perform the Desperation Moves with ease, however, is a pain in the ass.

Overall: 4

The original Garou Densetsu was a stellar game that left all of those who witnessed it in awe. It featured amazing graphics, a killer soundtrack, exceptionally original character designs, and an excellent story. GD2 keeps most of the core elements that made the original so good, and they managed to add numerous innovations and fine tune the gameplay. Unfortunately they also added a lot of garbage. Mediocre music, insanely frustrating controller motions for the Desperation Moves, DMs that can be abused indefinitely, and lazy and uninspired character designs make this game look like a poor man's SFII. SNK followed up a truly great game with substandard sequel. Garou Densetsu was a game that was so brilliant that it didn't need a sequel. I wish SNK would have kept that in mind.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/04