"Nostalgia ain't shiny..."

Best Features: 3 classic NeoGeo games on one PS2 disc, Art of Fighting 3 is decent, each game offers a deep storyline and dialogue exchanges, value-priced

Worst Features: Nothing on this collection has aged well, broken controls

You may not like what's lying ahead, especially if you have a thing for nostalgia. I don't generally look down upon games from previous years but sadly, Art of Fighting Anthology is not something that just works in the here and now despite being budget priced at $14.99. Out of 3 games, the only one that's even remotely playable for any length of time is the 3rd title (and even that one has a lot to answer for in the present). Back in the day, this was SNK's answer to Capcom's Street Fighter II (the first AoF game launched in 1992, the same year as SF2). Maybe it was the magic of the era but I'm not quite sure why this series was so successful (and this is coming from a guy who says 2D fighting is the hallmark of the fighting genre).

Graphics: 8
Large sprites and deep, colorful backgrounds highlight each of the 3 Art of Fighting titles included in this collection. The first game is notable for having such large sprites for such an old title and the scaling screen (an SNK signature) keeps the sprites from hogging the entire playing area when the fighters gather towards the center. The 3rd game was probably the nicest looking 2D fighter in the pre-Street Fighter III era (the game launched in 1996, a year before SF3 hit). All the characters are highly animated and the locales are creative and also animated to go with the fight. An innovative touch is the visible damage over the fighters' faces as the battle takes its toll (something that is unique to the Art of Fighting series). However, the first two games suffer from terrible animation (especially the first game). Nothing moves with any purpose and it all feels stunted. For its large sprites, SF2 has the first two games in this collection beat in the animation department. At least AoF3 is polished visually and well-animated.

Sound/Music: 7
Old-school NeoGeo music accents each battle. Its not pretty but anyone playing this game probably wouldn't expect it to be. If the arcade-true music isn't doing it for you, each game's music can be Arranged with more modern-sounding instruments (as is true for all the SNK collection games). The sounds do have a very faded sense to them and even AoF3's sound isn't that great (none of the strikes sound convincing). In the grand scheme of things, its very traditional but today it lacks its "punch".

Control: 3
Painfully bad control is found here. Slow and unresponsive, the first two Art of Fighting titles are just a mess to control. Special moves do not happen with any sense of timing and nothing in either game has a solid sense of weight (light punches can send opponents flying backwards, knocked down in the first game; this is slightly improved in the second game but not by much). The third game is somewhat better but even then, the super moves don't come out as expected. This is probably the worst thing this collection has to offer. SNK did nothing to touch up the controls from the arcade originals (and the original NeoGeo games were equally as stiff and stilted) and it shows in spades. Even with my best gamepad this game just doesn't deliver as well as it could.

Gameplay: 5
Old-school gameplay can mean two things: classic feel and nostalgia or poorly-aged gameplay from an era gone by. Art of Fighting Anthology only serves up the latter. I try to look at most classic collections through rose-tinted glasses, trying to accept them from the period as they were and not judging by today's standards. However, even if try to consider as much; it just doesn't work with this game. The collision detection is all wrong in the first two games and the jumping is terrible. Dizzies seem almost random and jumping attacks frequently miss their mark due to the poor animation and wonky collision detection. The AI fighters are rote and unintelligent; preferring to rely on high-priority basic moves that cancel anything thrown at them. From a technical standpoint, Art of Fighting 1 and 2 just fail in many departments as competent fighting games. The 3rd game irons out as many of these problems as it can and as a whole; feels more like a 2D fighter should but there was still room for growth and sadly the 3rd game is the last one to come out of this series. At least the engine and the mechanics of the game are deeper in the 3rd game as the previous two so it does offer some saving grace to this crippled collection. As a whole, the only major innovation the Art of Fighting series offers is the Spirit Meter (which manages the special moves of a fighter; restricting the player from consistently using special moves for the whole match and forcing the player to conserve their resources) and up until the 3rd game; the meter lacks logic (its tough to figure out how much each move will use and the meter is difficult-at-best to recharge). The 3rd game handles the Spirit Meter more logically (each of your character's specials puts a consistent amount of strain on the meter and it recharges itself over time) and in turn makes the fighting somewhat more enjoyable and strategic. In all, while the 3rd game is competent; the other two simply fall terribly short.

Replay Value: 6
This collection, despite being a collection of 2D fighting games, offers scant replay value. All 3 games feature a rather deep storyline (a rarity for the time) that does reward a little exploration for each of the available characters with a lot of dialogue between the fighters before and after the matches. The first game only allows you to play as Ryo Sakazaki or Robert Garcia in the single-player game (but allows you to select any of the eight characters in VS. Mode with the boss characters opening up after you complete the game once), severely cutting into the playtime; which isn't helped by the faulty gameplay. The second game is better (letting the player select from any of the available characters for the single-player game) for replay but the gameplay is still fairly broken here (slightly better than the first game but falling very short of the 3rd). If this were all the collection offered; it wouldn't even be passable. However, the third Art of Fighting game at least gives nostalgics to pick up this game for a quick run. The gameplay, while far from perfect, is good enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. Coupled with the story that all the AoF titles offer as well as the vastly improved animation, it keeps this collection's head barely above the water of total mediocrity and at least gives some reason to play it a few times.

Overall: 6
Art of Fighting Anthology is about a raw as a collection can get. You have here 3 NeoGeo classics that are untouched in more ways than they should be wrapped together in a cheaply-priced value pack. Anyone who grew up knowing names such as "Jack Turner" or "Mr. Big" might want to peek into this collection but I can't recommend this to anyone but the strictest of collectors due to its busted controls and unsatisfying fighting gameplay. While Art of Fighting 3 isn't the worst 2D fighter I've ever played, the first two games hover dangerously close to that title. Because of this; its very difficult to actually enjoy this collection since Art of Fighting 3 lacks what it takes to make the package as a whole worthwhile (it only works as a compliment to a collection of better titles). I can only hope that SNK Playmore desires to bring over more of their collections (such as The King of Fighters Orochi or NEST Collection or Fatal Fury Battle Archive Vol. 1 or Vol. 2) because this collection doesn't fill my 2D fighting hunger. Sorry to be harsh on classic gamers but I'm just telling it like it is and the Art of Fighting series is just a blurry mess of unplugged holes and gameplay flaws that are only barely resolved in its 3rd iteration.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/07