Art of Fighting

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ArtofFighting Title.png

Art of Fighting
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Original system(s): Neo Geo
Sound driver: SMPS Z80
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control 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
PT 		MDJ1146
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
KR 		GM93037JG

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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.

Similar to many games of the genre, there are special attacks in Art of Fighting, called "Death Blows" and "Super Death Blows" — the latter being unlocked through bonus stages. Their execution consume a so called spirit gauge, which when low make the special attacks weaker and slower. The spirit gauge can be refilled by holding either A, B or C.

By default, using any sort of controllers, Up jumps, Down crouches, holding Left/Down-left can block, LeftLeft/RightRight can be used to advance or retreat faster, A punches, B kicks and A+B low kick.

Playing with a three-button controller C provokes the opponent, which depletes their spirit gauge. Pressing and holding B briefly causes a stronger kick; pressing and holding A briefly will normally cause a stronger punch, though if done close to the opponent, while also holding Right, performs a body throw. If close to one of the edges, C midair performs a triangle jump.

Using a six-button controller both X, Y and Z provoke, stronger punches are done with A+C, and stronger kicks with B, then C. To throw the opponent, hold Right close to the enemy and press C. The triangle jump is done with one of the provoke buttons.

The use of a six-button controller allows the player to assign A and B for normal and strong kicks, X and Y for normal and strong punches, plus C and Z to provoke, by changing the controller setup to "Type-D" in the options settings, which makes it easier for playing.

In single player mode, after every second fight the player chooses one of three types of bonus stages:

  • Bottle Cut: press A at the right time (when the gauge is close to MAX), to cut the necks of five bottles with a karate strike, gaining a spirit gauge boost.
  • Ice Pillar Smash: push A quickly to fill a strength gauge and destroy four thick ice sheets, getting a boost to life gauge.
  • Initiate Super Death Blow: perform a "Super Death Blow" for the informed number of times, within a time limit, to unlock it for single player mode.

Characters

ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Ryo Sakazaki
Known as "The Dragon" (Ryuu 龍).
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Robert Garcia
Known as "The Tiger" (Tora 虎).
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Ryuhaku Todoh (Todo)
Known as "The Old Master".
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Jack Turner
Known as "Burly Brawler".
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Lee Pai Long
Known as "The Legendary Acrobat".
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 King
Known as "Kick Boxing Magician".

Venom Strike Down Down-right Right B

ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Mickey Rogers
Known as "Stone-Fisted Fury".
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 John Crawley
Known as "Call of Death".
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Mr. Big
Known as "Head of South Town".
ArtOfFighting MD Portraits.png
 Mr. Karate (?)
Known as "The Invincible One".

History

Legacy

Art of Fighting was a significant release for SNK, receiving 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.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Art of Fighting Art of Fighting
English (US) Art of Fighting Art of Fighting
Japanese 龍虎の拳 Ryuuko no Ken

Production credits

Japanese version

  • Producer: Eikichi Kawasaki
  • Programmers: D.S.K, 68 Freak BBS Kenchan
  • Technical Support: Mr. Yuki29, Star Light, Asami Don
  • Designer: M.Mioshi, SSS, SK, Shodown, X.X.X
  • Sound: Jojou ha Kitapy, Yamapy I
  • Planner: K.I
  • Special Thanks: Y.O, Ya Shu!, Ken Kimra, Tabei Chan, Kamata San, Sanjyou, Yamatan GT X, Speaker.R, Wan Wan Pochi Kawai, 68 Freak BBS Z'N, EP82Boy, Atsushi, Sekotch, Stg.Oyaji, Yuritan, Sasa, Nakata21, Kei Fukunaga and... All SNK Staff!
  • Presented by: SNK
Source:
In-game credits

English version

  • 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
Source:
In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Art of Fighting/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1994-02: "February 1994" (1994-01-08)
Logo-pdf.svg

Artwork

  • ArtOfFighting MD Art Cover.jpg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
68 [2]
65 [3]
89 [4]
59 [5]
50 №1994-02, p43
57 [6]
61 [7]
65 №28, p56/57
63 [8]
24 [9]
58 №54, p38/39
67 №31, p46/47
76 [10]
75 №30, p10
74 [11]
70 [12]
62
Sega Mega Drive
 64
Based on
17 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[14]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
68
[15]
Console Mania (IT) NTSC-J
82
[16]
Consoles + (FR)
89
[17]
Cool Gamer (RU)
50
[18]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
59
[5]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
50
[19]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
58
[20]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
90
[21]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
48
[22]
Gamer (GR)
89
[23]
Gamers (DE)
33
[24]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
50
[25]
Joypad (FR) PAL
82
[26]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
63
[8]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) NTSC-J
52
[27]
Mega (UK) NTSC-J
57
[6]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J
61
[28]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
73
[29]
MegaTech (UK) NTSC-U
65
[30]
Magazina Igrushek (RU)
5
[31]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J
24
[32]
Play Time (DE) PAL
63
[33]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J
58
[34]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J
67
[35]
Sega Zone (UK) NTSC-J
69
[36]
SuperGamePower (BR)
76
[37]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
65
[3]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
75
[38]
Super Juegos (ES)
87
[39]
The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU)
62
[40]
Todo Sega (ES)
79
[41]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
50
[42]
Video Games (DE) PAL
74
[43]
VideoGames (US)
70
[12]
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)
Sega Mega Drive
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
1994-08-01 Page
Sega Mega Drive
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
1994-07-11 Page

References

  1. ↑ Sonic Times, "Volume 2 Number 9: October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 8
  2. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-08), page 18 (20)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  4. ↑ Consoles +, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 136/137 (136)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Computer & Video Games, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-15), page 33
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mega, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-17), page 41
  7. ↑ Mega Fun, "04/94" (DE; 1994-03-23), page 109 (101)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 MAN!AC, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 57
  9. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-02-28), page 78-80 (78)
  10. ↑ SuperGamePower, "Abril 1994" (BR; 1994-0x-xx), page 24/25 (24)
  11. ↑ Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 96 (92)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 VideoGames, "September 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 73
  13. ↑ File:The_Zone_(AU)_s01e04_21-May-1994_v2.mp4, page 0:00
  14. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 39
  15. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-08), page 20
  16. ↑ Console Mania, "Marzo 1994" (IT; 1994-0x-xx), page 30
  17. ↑ Consoles +, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 136
  18. ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 18
  19. ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "September 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 78
  20. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "August 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 34
  21. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 2, Issue 4: March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 14
  22. ↑ GamePro, "September 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 62
  23. ↑ Gamer, "Noémvrios 1994" (GR; 1994-xx-xx), page 1
  24. ↑ Gamers, "Juli/August 1994" (DE; 1994-07-01), page 46
  25. ↑ Hippon Super, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-06), page 43
  26. ↑ Joypad, "Juin 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 100
  27. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-xx-xx), page 36
  28. ↑ Mega Fun, "04/94" (DE; 1994-03-23), page 109
  29. ↑ Mega Play, "August 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 60
  30. ↑ MegaTech, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-18), page 20
  31. ↑ Magazina Igrushek, "1/1996" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 55
  32. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-02-28), page 78
  33. ↑ Play Time, "4/94" (DE; 1994-03-09), page 155
  34. ↑ Sega Power, "May 1994" (UK; 1994-03-31), page 32
  35. ↑ Sega Pro, "Easter 1994" (UK; 1994-03-24), page 46
  36. ↑ Sega Zone, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-24), page 50
  37. ↑ SuperGamePower, "Abril 1994" (BR; 1994-0x-xx), page 24
  38. ↑ Sonic the Comic, "July 22nd 1994" (UK; 1994-07-09), page 10
  39. ↑ Super Juegos, "Abril 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 32
  40. ↑ The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU) "Season 1, episode 4" (1994-05-21, ) (+0:00)
  41. ↑ Todo Sega, "Marzo 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 58
  42. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 15
  43. ↑ Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 96
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Art of Fighting

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