Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves represents the long-awaited return of a classic 90s franchise. Fighting games have been having somewhat of a renaissance in the last few years, so it's no surprise that Fatal Fury would join the fray sooner or later. Although some may already associate the series with The King of Fighters, fans of Street Fighter 6 should pay especially close attention to Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
The King of Fighters's 30th anniversary is coming up, but it should first be noted that Fatal Fury predates KoF by a few years. In fact, KoF can be accurately described as a spin-off of Fatal Fury, with both series taking place in a shared universe with other SNK games. Likewise, a recent round of DLC seems to have confirmed that Street Fighter itself occupies its own corner of the Fatal Fury universe.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Might Be Featuring the Most Unexpected Guest Character in Fighting Game History
Fighting game players are familiar with surprise crossover events, but Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves could be escaping the bounds of fiction itself.
Why Street Fighter 6 Fans Shouldn't Sleep On Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Street Fighter 6 DLC Established a Fatal Fury Crossover
Street Fighter 6 has enjoyed a successful run since its release in June 2023. Although balance patches and other updates are relatively infrequent, the game seems likely to receive ongoing support well into the future. Of course, Street Fighter 6's Year 2 DLC is by far the biggest piece of the puzzle.
While the first wave of DLC was relatively standard, Street Fighter 6 kicked off its second season with a much bigger bang. All four characters were revealed at once, although this became relatively standard thanks to Street Fighter 5's DLC announcements. However, the inclusions themselves sent shocks through the community, with Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui serving as the first-ever full-scale crossover characters to guest star in Street Fighter.
Street Fighter and Fatal Fury Have a Long History
Terry and Mai both originally hail from Fatal Fury, and are two of the series' main protagonists. In this way, Terry and Mai aren't dissimilar to the roles Ryu and Chun-Li play in Street Fighter. After the surface-level protagonist comparison, Terry actually shares much more in common with Ken than he does with Ryu. These characters have shared the screen before thanks to crossover fighters such as SNK vs. Capcom, which have been sure to reference these connections.
Considering there is a crossover fighter that shares the names of both developers, one would be correct to assume that Capcom and SNK share a great deal of history. Although this relationship began as a fierce rivalry, it was quickly shaped by the admiration developers in each studio held for one another. Characters continued to reference one another, and games even began to lift certain mechanics wholesale.
With this lengthy history in mind, Terry and Mai's inclusion in Street Fighter 6 almost starts to seem like a no-brainer. However, this notion is quickly countered by the fact that it took more than 30 years to get to this point. Although it's an obvious choice now, that doesn't make it any less historic. More importantly, it's a choice that is more than worth returning the favor.
Street Fighter 6's King of Fighters Crossover DLC Explained
After finally concluding its first season of DLC, Street Fighter 6 has announced its second season of DLC, along with some unprecedented characters.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is Ready to Return the Favor to Street Fighter 6 DLC
Fatal Fury making a comeback is already historic enough on its own, considering the series has been dormant for well over 20 years. Many assumed this radio silence would go on forever, and that the torch had been firmly passed to The King of Fighters. Now that the odds are firmly stacked against it, Fatal Fury needs a strong head start to keep up with the current saturation of great fighting games.
Thankfully, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves appears ready to do just that. Not only is its current DLC lineup a bombshell announcement in its own right, but it is also the perfect way to return the favor to Street Fighter 6. Although it is not set to release until 2025, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves released a teaser trailer that revealed none other than Chun-Li and Ken Masters for its DLC roster.
Due to its nature as a teaser trailer, not much official information has been revealed about the nature of this inclusion. However, fans of Street Fighter 6 can take a look at its Fatal Fury DLC in order to make a few educated guesses. Mai has yet to be revealed or released, but Terry Bogard's Street Fighter 6 design has plenty of lessons to teach. First and foremost, Terry adapted many features unique to the Fatal Fury series into his Street Fighter 6 moveset, so it's fair to assume that the same will be true in reverse.
Ken and Chun-Li's inclusion in Fatal Fury's DLC has a lot of potential, especially considering the mutual respect between both series. On a similar note, they could bring mechanics like the Drive Gauge along with them. Whatever shape this DLC eventually takes, Street Fighter 6 fans should be sure to keep a close eye on Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Language, Violence, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- SNK
- Publisher(s)
- SNK
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
WHERE TO PLAY
After 26 years, FATAL FURY is back! SNK’s beloved Fatal Fury series first hit the market in 1991, spearheading the fighting game boom of the 1990s that swept the industry thereafter.
GAROU: MARK OF THE WOLVES (released in 1999) has, for some time, served as the franchise’s most recent installment. But that is all about to change: 26 years on, a brand-new entry—FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves—is set to arrive on the scene!
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves features a unique art style that stimulates the senses, an innovative REV system that supercharges the excitement, plus a host of other battle systems even more robust than before. The game also breathes new life into the series by introducing two distinct control schemes (ensuring fun and excitement for newcomers and veterans alike) as well as other fresh features and elements.
The streets of South Town are a hotbed of action, wild dreams, and even wilder ambition. Here, at long last, a new legend is about to unfold...
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Fatal Fury
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
