Ryuuko no Ken (Art of Fighting)

~ ART OF FIGHTING ~

SNK / Hudson Soft

Arcade CD-ROM

1994

Maybe this is just an example of what low expectations can do for a game that, in reality, isn't so hot. See, my expectations for AoF were VERY low, as I'd always thought its characters seemed terribly generic. Also, the fact that I wasn't all that happy with Fatal Fury 2 (which was the first of the ACD SNK conversions I'd played) made me all the more skeptical of the purported quality of its Neo-Geo kin. But while AoF's graphics aren't as impressive as FF2's, and its characters aren't as cool, I have a real preference for its actual fisticuffs, and I get a kick out of its goofy Story Mode. In fact, it plays well enough and proves amusing enough to rank among my favorite fighters for the PCE.

Story Mode has you choose one of these two dudes to ride around town and batter people with.

The combatants are pretty large to begin with...

...but they become gigantic once they approach each other and the game "zooms in" on them. It's a gimmick, but a very cool one, and the Duo pulls it off pretty darn well.

There's nothing too exciting about the bonus rounds. Hit the button at the right moment, or mash said button as rapidly as you can.

These loading screens appear between matches and remain up for what seems like an eternity--the only real downer in an otherwise extremely enjoyable fighting game.