Art of Fighting

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ArtofFighting Title.png

Art of Fighting
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Peripherals supported: Six button pad
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP 		¥8,8008,800 G-4113
Sega Mega Drive
US 		1146
Sega Mega Drive
EU 		1146
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
KR 		GM93037JG

Art of Fighting, known as Ryuuko no Ken (龍虎の拳) in Japan (and South Korea), is a fighting game by SNK, originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade and AES home console in 1992. It was ported to, among other consoles, the Sega Mega Drive in 1994.

Art of Fighting is the second fighting game to be developed by SNK, following Fatal Fury (which co-exists in the same fictional universe).

Gameplay

Art of Fighting is a story-driven fighting game where players control fighters Ryo Sakazaki or Robert Garcia, travelling around the fictional city of South Town in search of Ryo's captured sister, Yuri. The player has to defeat eight other fighters with their own unique fighting styles to finish the game. Unlike later entries, only Ryo and Robert are selectable, though if playing in the two player versus mode, all characters can be controlled.


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The game features the original control scheme with one punch button, one kick button, one throw/strong attack button (will be a kick or punch, depending on the attack that was executed before) and one taunt button to deplete the enemy's spriti gauge (more on thislater on).

It's also possible to have a standardtized layout, with X and Y being strong and weak punch & A and B being weak kick and strong kick.

Similar to the later released Eternal Champions, the execution of special moves consumes a so called spirit gauge. With low spirit, special attacks become weaker and slower.

After every second fight it's possible to level up the character:

  • Beer bottle challenge: Press a button at the right time to cut beer bottles with a karate strike. Increases spirit gauge
  • Ice pillar smash: rapidly push a button to collect strength and destroy an ice pilar. Increases character health
  • Initiate super death blow: perform a special attack 10 times to unlock it for single player mode

Enemy AI is very different from the Neogeo original, and generally easier. Spirit gauge depletes slower than in the original

Characters

ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Ryo Sakazaki
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Robert Garcia
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Ryuhaku Todoh (Todo)
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Jack Turner
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Lee Pai Long
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 King
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Mickey Rogers
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 John Crawley
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Mr. Big
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Mr. Karate (?)

History

Legacy

Art of Fighting was a significant release for SNK, receving two sequels in Art of Fighting 2 and Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior in 1994 and 1996, respectively. Neither of these games were released for Sega consoles, however Art of Fighting's influence can still be seen across numerous 2D fighting games to this day.

Characters from Art of Fighting appear in the The King of Fighters series, as well as Capcom vs. SNK and its sequels. Ryo Sakazaki also features as a secret character in Fatal Fury Special.

Versions

Art of Fighting was designed in part to take advantage of the relatively high technical specifications of the Neo Geo hardware, demonstrating very large sprites and a unique camera system which appears to zoom in and out of play (in a similar manner to what most 3D fighting games achieved some years later). The game also features (some) narration from the chosen fighter in between stages.

On the Mega Drive, all of these features are paired back, with the zooming effect removed entirely. Character and background sprites are noticeably smaller and much of the sampled speech is removed, however unlike the original arcade game, the actions can be spread to six buttons.

Enemy AI differs between the Japanese and Western versions, with the latter seeing generally stronger opponents. The difficulty in both is paired back from the Neo Geo versions, however. Mr. Big and Mr. Karate are also available in the two player versus mode from the outset in the Mega Drive version.

A raster scrolling effect was added for the layer of dust and smoke found in Mickey's stage in the Western version. This was not present in the Japanese release or the Neo Geo original.

While lacking the graphical and audio fidelity of its Neo Geo AES counterpart, the Mega Drive version of Art of Fighting, like most Neo Geo conversions of the era, retailed at a much lower price point.

Production credits

  • Producer: Eikichi Kawasaki
  • Programmers: Cross Moon D.S.K, 68 Freak BBS Kenchan
  • Technical Support: Mr. Yuki 29, Asami Don, Speaker.R
  • Designer: M.Mioshi, SSS, SK, Shodown, X.X.X
  • Sound: Jojou ha Kitapy, Yamapy I
  • Planner: K.Chan MK2
  • Special Thanks: Y.O, Ya Shu!, Ken Kimra, Tabei Chan, Kamata San, Sanjyou, Yamatan GT X, Vow Wow John Kawai, 68 Freak BBS Z'N, EP82Boy, Atsushi, Sekotch, Stg.Oyaji, Yuritan, Sasa, Nakata 21, Kei Fukunaga, Kura San, Oh!Buchi, Jaro, Hirotan, 'Art of Fighting' Team All Staff, and... All SNK Staff!
  • Presented by: SNK

Magazine articles

Main article: Art of Fighting/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
89 №30, p136/137
59 №148, p33[2]
57 №19, p41
65 №28, p56/57
63
24 №18, p78-80[3]
58 №54, p38/39
67 №31, p46/47
75 №30, p10
Sega Mega Drive
 62
Based on
9 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[4]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
68
[5]
Console Mania (IT) NTSC-J
82
[6]
Consoles + (FR)
89
[7]
Cool Gamer (RU)
50
[8]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
59
[2]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
50
[9]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
58
[10]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
90
[11]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
48
[12]
Gamer (GR)
89
[13]
Gamers (DE)
33
[14]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
50
[15]
Joypad (FR) PAL
82
[16]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
63
[17]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) NTSC-J
52
[18]
Mega (UK) NTSC-J
57
[19]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J
61
[20]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
73
[21]
MegaTech (UK) NTSC-U
65
[22]
Magazina Igrushek (RU)
5
[23]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J
24
[3]
Play Time (DE) PAL
63
[24]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J
58
[25]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
67
[26]
Sega Zone (UK) NTSC-J
69
[27]
SuperGamePower (BR)
76
[28]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
65
[29]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
75
[30]
Super Juegos (ES)
87
[31]
The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU)
62
[32]
Todo Sega (ES)
79
[33]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
50
[34]
Video Games (DE) PAL
74
[35]
VideoGames (US)
70
[36]
Sega Mega Drive
 62
Based on
35 reviews

Art of Fighting

Mega Drive, US
ArtofFighting MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Artoffighting md us cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, EU
ArtofFighting MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
ArtofFighting MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, JP
ArtofFighting MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
ArtofFighting MD JP CartTop.jpg
ArtofFighting MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Artoffighting md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, KR
ArtofFighting MD KR Box.jpg
Cover
ArtofFighting MD KR Cart Back.jpgArtofFighting MD KR Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 c9a57e07
MD5 3b878b854302596cb197602878d0cf07
SHA-1 7603f33a98994e8145c942e1ed28e6b072332324
2MB 1994-07 Cartridge (US)
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 9970c422
MD5 e81c004b80d1b39690ecf301dc24e0dc
SHA-1 a58b1efbbdfa8c4ee6f3d06d474c3771ebe36ca4
2MB 1994-01 Cartridge (EU)
Sega Mega Drive
✔
CRC32 054cf5f6
MD5 05dc6075c0fa4dc5779b575b594d2947
SHA-1 c4adc3fc6e1130f64440c7dc2673b239f1523626
2MB 1993-12 Cartridge (JP)

References

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NEC Retro has more information related to Ryuuko no Ken
  1. ↑ File:SonicTimes US 1994-10.pdf, page 8
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 File:CVG UK 148.pdf, page 33 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CVG UK 148.pdf_p33" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 File:MeanMachinesSega18UK.pdf, page 78 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega18UK.pdf_p78" defined multiple times with different content
  4. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 39
  5. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-08), page 20
  6. ↑ Console Mania, "Marzo 1994" (IT; 1994-0x-xx), page 30
  7. ↑ Consoles +, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 136
  8. ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 18
  9. ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "September 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 78
  10. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "August 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 34
  11. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 2, Issue 4: March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 14
  12. ↑ GamePro, "September 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 62
  13. ↑ Gamer, "Noémvrios 1994" (GR; 1994-xx-xx), page 1
  14. ↑ Gamers, "Juli/August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-01), page 46
  15. ↑ Hippon Super, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-06), page 43
  16. ↑ Joypad, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 100
  17. ↑ MAN!AC, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 57
  18. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-xx-xx), page 36
  19. ↑ Mega, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-17), page 41
  20. ↑ Mega Fun, "04/94" (DE; 1994-03-23), page 109
  21. ↑ Mega Play, "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 60
  22. ↑ MegaTech, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-18), page 20
  23. ↑ Magazina Igrushek, "1/1996" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 55
  24. ↑ Play Time, "4/94" (DE; 1994-03-09), page 155
  25. ↑ Sega Power, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-03-31), page 32
  26. ↑ Sega Pro, "Easter 1994" (UK; 1994-03-24), page 46
  27. ↑ Sega Zone, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-24), page 50
  28. ↑ SuperGamePower, "Abril 1994" (BR; 1994-0x-xx), page 24
  29. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  30. ↑ Sonic the Comic, "July 22nd 1994" (UK; 1994-07-09), page 10
  31. ↑ Super Juegos, "Abril 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 32
  32. ↑ The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU) "Season 1, episode 4" (1994-05-21, ) (+0:00)
  33. ↑ Todo Sega, "Marzo 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 58
  34. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 15
  35. ↑ Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 96
  36. ↑ VideoGames, "September 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 73
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