Fatal Fury

Fatal Fury launched in 1991 in arcades and on the Neo Geo from SNK, with Takashi Nishiyama, the earlier creator of Street Fighter, as its lead architect. The game followed brothers Terry and Andy Bogard and their friend Joe Higashi avenging their father's death, and it became known for a unique two-plane fighting system that let fighters dodge into the background. Set in the fictional South Town, it leaned from the start on more distinctive character personalities and a more cinematic presentation than its contemporaries, which helped it establish itself as the main counterweight to Street Fighter in the fighting-game space.

The sequels Fatal Fury 2 (1992) and Fatal Fury Special (1993) refined the system and added characters, while the Real Bout line from the mid-nineties onward (Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2) dropped the two-plane setup in favor of a more classic single fighting line and offered faster, more technical bouts closer to the genre's prevailing standard. The series' popularity was further boosted by the 1992 anime adaptation Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, and portable entries also appeared on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, such as Fatal Fury: First Contact.

The series' high point is generally considered Garou: Mark of the Wolves (1999), which introduced a new generation of fighters built around Terry's protégé Rock Howard and a technically polished, more balanced system. Although no direct sequel followed, its characters, including Terry Bogard, became mainstays of the crossover King of Fighters series, and Fatal Fury remains one of the most influential names in SNK's history.