Art of Fighting

When huge, intricately animated fighter characters first appeared on the Neo Geo screen, players couldn't believe their eyes. Art of Fighting arrived with a visual spectacle without parallel in early-nineties fighting games, and added to it several ideas that pushed the genre further.

The game was created by SNK for the Neo Geo system and set in the same world as the Fatal Fury series, in the city of South Town. The story follows young fighters Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, who are searching for Ryo's kidnapped sister. This connection later resulted in one of SNK's best crossover details, since the characters from Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury share a common history.

Art of Fighting brought several pioneering elements. Famous were the giant, impressively scaled character sprites that grew larger as the camera zoomed in, and the spirit gauge system for special attacks, which drained as they were used and could be recharged. The game also introduced facial damage to characters during a match and bonus challenges for improving skills, showing its ambition to push the genre's presentation forward.

The cultural significance of Art of Fighting lies mainly in its influence on later SNK titles. Mr. Karate, Ryo and Robert became fixtures of the universe, and the connection to the Fatal Fury world laid the groundwork for the later big crossovers in the King of Fighters series. The game is now seen as an important link in the evolution of SNK fighters.

Art of Fighting is thus a fascinating stop for anyone who wants to see how developers experimented with the presentation and mechanics of fighting games in the early nineties. It's a title full of ambition that was ahead of its time in its emphasis on visual impact.

Why play: A visually pioneering fighter with giant sprites and an innovative spirit gauge that significantly shaped the SNK fighting universe.