Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, PC, Wii
Virtual Console, PS2, PSN
Release Date(s):
September 24th, 1992 (/
Arcade) May
11th, 2006 (
PS2 - in Art of Fighting: Anthology) May
15th, 2007 (
PS2 - in Art of Fighting: Anthology)
October 8th, 2007 (Wii Virtual Console)
December 21st, 2010 (PSN)
Like
many "arcade rats" of 1992, I was a big fan of Street Fighter 2.
At the least, Art
of Fighting was a great alternative to play if an arcade didn't
have SF2. Many people might look back at AOF and scoff at its
flaws, but for a 2D fighting game in 1992, this was top stuff. AOF
debuted some of the boldest 2D sprites to ever appear in a video game, and it
was actually a pretty fun game if you gave it a chance.
I actually became fairly decent at AOF in the early 90's, and enjoyed
mopping up the occasional "competition" that came by. After they
were all out of tokens, I could finally get back to the story mode (only to
get my ass kicked by the retardedly-tough boss... Mr. Big ). lol.
Even though I was just a kid back then, I still knew SF2
was a much better fighting game when it came to gameplay, but I enjoyed AOF for
it's diversity and unique spin on things. ~TFG
Webmaster
.
.
STORY:
The storyline of Art of Fighting takes
place in 1978. Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia set out to find Ryo's sister, Yuri, who was
kidnapped by Mr. Big. Mr. Big took Yuri to entice Takuma Sakazaki, Ryo's father
and originator of Kyokugen Karate, and also because Ryo refused to work for Big.
After Ryo & Robert defeat Mr. Big, they face the enigmatic Mr. Karate. Art
of Fighting's story ends with a cliff-hanger; Yuri is about to disclose the true
identity of Mr. Karate as their father Takuma.
REVIEW: Art
of Fighting is well known to be SNK's answer to Capcom's smash
hit arcade fighting game in 1991, Street Fighter 2. Art of
Fighting offered a very similar gameplay style to SF2, and brought a long a
unique cast of characters of its own. AOF also introduced a unique graphical
"distance scrolling" effect, where characters and backgrounds became smaller as
the fighters moved apart (pretty cool looking in 1992). AOF was one of
the games that put SNK on the map, and
introduced a few personalities that would later become "icons" in the
fighting game universe.
While not nearly as popular as the headlining Street Fighter 2 series, AOF
at least offered something unique in the young fighting genre. Even though SNK
was, in some ways, riding the coattails of Capcom's success, they were at least
trying something different by having an actual story unfold through the 1-player
experience of Art of Fighting. Only the 2 main protagonists (Ryo and Robert)
are selectable in the Arcade /Story Mode, which enables the story of Yuri's
kidnapping and rescue to unfold. Thankfully, once your opponent inserted their
coin, all characters became selectable for versus battles.
Drunk Biker = punching bag
for a martial artist.
The character sprites of AOF are colorful,
and notably large
when compared with those from SF2. Although they're definitely "beefier" than
their Street Fighter 2 counterparts, they also appear to be a bit more stiff... not
only in terms of animation but in actual gameplay as well. This was probably the biggest
flaw of AOF (especially in the opinion of fans of SF2), because this feeling of
stiffness contrasted the silky smooth gameplay that gamers were
getting over at Capcom's end of the arcade. Speaking of a stiff, a few
of AOF's character designs were also lacking in the originality department...
to say the least.
Sonic...... hey,
waaait a
minute.
The visuals of Art of Fighting were
unmistakably impressive in 1992 (and many years after). Character faces actually become bruised as the fight progresses, and
backgrounds are large, colorful, and moody. One of the most notable aspects of
the visuals is the background scrolling
effect, which soon became a trademark of SNK fighting games (later used in Samurai
Shodown). This effect also gives players a wider view of the battleground,
an original visual element in the fighting game realm at the time. Hit effects and fireballs were also memorable in this game,
even though many of them were clearly rip-offs of SF2's effects. AOF
also "one-upped" Street Fighter 2's bonus games by allowing
players to choose between 3 different bonus challenges, including: Bottle Smash, Ice Smash, &
Initiate Super Death Blow... all of which were cool looking, fun, and helped AOF
"stand out" at arcades.
Initiate Super Death
Blow!!!
Overall,
AOF was an
attractive arcade game, especially when considering other games out in 1992. AOF had a decent story for a video game, interesting characters, catchy music, cool super
moves and bonus stages. The original arcade version was great, but unfortunately the home ports
really didn't live up to the original in terms of graphics. The SNES and Genesis versions
featured much smaller 2D sprites, and the characters & stages were
missing details & animations. The cool scrolling effect also didn't translate very well
in the home ports. Needless to say, make sure you're playing the arcade version
to get the full experience!
/
Arcade)
). lol.
Even though I was just a kid back then, I still knew SF2
was a much better fighting game when it came to gameplay, but I enjoyed AOF for
it's diversity and unique spin on things. 
.
AOF was one of
the games that put SNK on the map, and
introduced a few personalities that would later become "icons" in the
fighting game universe.
