Art of Fighting on Neo Geo – Tiger & Dragon

Now that this series is back in the spotlight thanks to the release of the three-game compilation for PS2, it’s a great time to look back at the impact the first Ryuko no Ken—that is, this Art of Fighting—had when it launched. This was a very special fighting game for SNK for several reasons. For one, it was the first to break the symbolic 100 Mb barrier, something completely new at the time.

This technical leap made it truly revolutionary, leaving other contemporary games several steps behind, especially in the graphics department. It also featured a solid story, introducing a cast of characters who would go on to play major roles in SNK’s games—though more in other series (especially King of Fighters) than in Art of Fighting itself. Despite its huge potential, the AoF series only got three entries, with this first one being the most successful and the most ported.

Table

Story
The Game
Graphics
Gameplay

Story

As I mentioned, the story revolves around a dark tale of heroes and gangsters. The setting is Southtown, a city (surprise, surprise) ruled by crime, corruption, and organized gangs. A girl named Yuri Sakazaki (yep, our Yuri :P) has been kidnapped by the city’s most powerful gang, led by a dangerous man who calls himself Mr. Big. But kidnapping her was a terrible mistake because two powerful fighters—her brother Ryo Sakazaki and his "friend" Robert Garcia—are ready to clean up the city and take on anyone who stands in their way to rescue Yuri. The battlefield? The streets of Southtown.

This engaging story mode was a double-edged sword for the game. On one hand, it’s undeniably fun for players to uncover the plot, beat up different gangsters, and explore the city’s most dangerous spots.

The Game

But this also became Art of Fighting’s biggest weakness when competing against other fighting games, especially the reigning champion, Street Fighter II. As you might guess from the story, you can only pick two characters in single-player mode: Ryo and Robert. Sure, if you play in versus mode, the entire roster (except the mysterious final boss) is available, but once the two-player matches are over, you’re back to choosing between the two heroes.

This was a major drawback, as the game could get repetitive fast—especially since both characters shared nearly all their moves. Putting that aside and focusing on the cartridge itself, Art of Fighting might have been Neo Geo’s first big showcase of its superiority over other systems. While the first Fatal Fury was on par with its competitors, this game, with its whopping 102 Mb, was a technical slap in the face to everything else on the market.

It was also innovative in other ways. For the first time in a fighting game, alongside the health bar, there was a power gauge that drained when using special moves… or when the opponent taunted you. Yeah, stuff that’s standard today but was groundbreaking back then.

It was also the first fighting game to feature a zoom effect, which was a welcome addition here since it let you distance yourself from the opponent. However, this mechanic never really caught on in the genre, except in a few SNK titles like Samurai Shodown. And, as mentioned earlier, it marked the debut of now-iconic characters like Ryo, Robert, King, Takuma, and even Yuri.

Graphics

Visually, the game is stunning—both in broad strokes and small details. The character sprites are huge, but the zoom effect kept their size from becoming a gameplay obstacle. That said, their animation was a bit stiff compared to other games of the time, even slightly choppy.

But one thing that really stood out (even if it was just a neat detail) was the facial damage effect. As characters took hits, you could see their faces swell up and bleed—a shockingly realistic touch that sadly hasn’t been used much since. The stages were also graphically impressive, as were the animated cutscenes between fights. Easily the game’s strongest aspect.

If the graphics were great, the sound design matched them. The music was intense, perfectly complementing the fights and giving off that Van Damme revenge-movie vibe. The sound effects were also a step above what was common at the time, like Robert’s iconic "Rats!!" yell as he speeds off in his Ferrari.

Gameplay

The gameplay—arguably the most important part of any fighting game—was what kept Art of Fighting from being the massive success it could have been. Being limited to just two playable characters was a huge drawback, especially in the long run, since it lacked the variety to justify buying it over other fighters.

This could have been fixed by adding a separate tournament mode (something the sequel improved by making the whole roster selectable). Otherwise, the game is fun, with simple controls (like the first Fatal Fury, just three buttons) but a wide range of special moves. A shame—it had the potential but fell short.

In summary, a technically impressive game with a genuinely interesting story mode, but its replay value suffers due to the lack of playable characters.

At Launch (1992)
In 1992, the fighting game market wasn’t as crowded as it would later become. The Street Fighter II boom had just exploded, and while it dominated, there was still room for other fighters. Art of Fighting leveraged its strengths to carve out a solid place in arcades, trailing only SFII and Fatal Fury 2.

THE GOOD:

Brilliant graphics, no joke.
Story mode is really well done.
Plays smoothly.
Introduced cool innovations.

THE BAD:

Only two playable characters—a huge misstep.
Sometimes unfairly difficult.

Today
Its two sequels didn’t achieve the same success, so the series faded away too soon. Focusing on this game, you can still find it in some arcades. Despite its age, it has enough unique charm to stand out as one of Neo Geo’s all-time classics.

STILL HOLDS UP: