Art of Fighting 2

A BLAST TO LAST






Art of Fighting 2 remains memorable as one of the most difficult single player experiences you have ever encountered, this though takes nothing away from the sheer enjoyment the piece brings to the table nevertheless. This here 1994 sequel to SNK's highly successful Art of Fighting emerges in arcades as a bigger, meaner and even more colorful statement than its predecessor, giving you the fortunate opportunity to select every character in the story mode, even better: in the long run you may have the chance to face off against Geese Howard, the single Baddestest Dudette the Planet Ever Seen - right after Fedor Emelianenko, of course. With Art of Fighting 2, SNK accounts and delivers all possible standards the era- and even contemporary consensus demands from a quality 2D Fighter experience, resulting in an exceptional title that has the considerable amount of 0 intention to conceal the fact that it absolutely hates, hates, HATES your guts.

Enjoy and Read on!




In its rhythmic buildup and inherent core gameplay mechanics, Art of Fighting 2 remains true to its direct originator, though introducing mild adjustments to deliver a controller scheme which feels more sober than the method the first installment relied on. Previously you needed to "buffer in" either a punch or a kick to invoke their respective stronger variants with the third button, in fact, the same button you used to utilize Throws when your puny rival was at nose distance. While this method is still present in the game, its relevancy have been wisely, and greatly reduced: the form of attack - punch or kick - you buffer in will be invoked by the third button, yet, this buffered variant will always be the weak maneuver, giving you the delicate hint that the third button is now intended to be regarded/used primarily as the Throw command. Though, as we will see, it also is a modifier button that gives you access to two extra basic maneuvers.

As far as the different attack variants go, now all you need to do is to tap the two primal attack buttons either in a rapid fashion to introduce quick, yet relatively weak flurries composed of - amazingly enough - relatively weak punches or kicks, or you can simply choose to tap the button once: now you can see what those flurries are exactly composed of. Pressing and holding the buttons for a split second results in a Strong attack upon the release of the button, though. In reality, the "press-requirement" for the weak attacks are so tiny and supersensitive that it is likely that you will perform Strong attacks for most of the time, yet, this is not the most unfortunate circumstance that is about to haunt you during your stay on this planet, generally speaking.

Modifiers are easy and intuitive to grasp, also, quite similar to the system you have seen in the first installment: offer your Basic attacks simultaneously with the third button, and you will gain access to the particularly useful Uppercut- and Low kick maneuvers.



The Spirit Gauge was one of most famous feature of the original game, surely, it reigns here again without any radical modifications, saved the fact that now it replenishes with time. For those dear cosmo-and ufonaut visitors of Mamereview whom are not yet familiar with the system, I do deliver the following information with keen readiness that the Art of Fighting method consumes your Spirit Gauge each time you throw a Special move, and OH!, you WILL throw those Specials, because you are going to NEED them: BAAAAD, trust me on these delicate assumptions.

The Spirit Gauge with its new replenishment ability is a nice tactical adjustment, and here is why: in AoF1, it was entirely your responsibility to use up your Spirit AND to replenish it by meditating. You can do the same thing here as well: remain still for some moments while making sure that you place the weight of every single atom in your magnificent body on either of the attack buttons. Then your chosen character will meditate to regain her/his considerable potential. Cool design. Notice this, though: now it is partly your opponent's responsibility if you manage to catch her/him with Specials all the time, because either she/he lets you walk around with Spirit energy intact, missing out on the opportunities by which your Spirit Gauge could and - frankly - SHOULD be molested via ruthless, relentless efficiency for the sake of good old frustration, personal enlightenment and closely/scarcely related fighting - OR! - it might be so that your rival is simply unable, or unwilling to interrupt your meditation. Let us notice nevertheless that this new Spirit Gauge is way more sensitive to the actual events that the round greets on the screen.

Taunting is still present and still works in a perfectly funny and trusty method: be aware that you are effectively helpless when you choose to taunt your opponent - a brief moment, yet a significant moment it is indeed, the experienced player is capable to capitalize on your cockyness in the blink of an eye. Naturally, it is never a good idea to offer your mockery lines from close quarters, instead move out of reach and state your verdict from the Safe Distance.



THIS particular taunt was NOT directed from Safe Distance.

While blocking is very traditional, - just move away from your rival - the game sports a rather nice subsystem that lets you escape a semi-successful Throw attempt if you manage to give in the exact command in the exact time while airborne. This way, you will do what cats do best. Art of Fighting 2 comes with Desperation Specials: these are neat combos that do have the tendency to knock your opponent's butt off if they do connect and - logically - fully commence, yet there is the rigorous trade off: you must be very low on Life to rely on them, even more: it is not necessarily worth trying to go for the Desperation Special once a chunk of your Spirit is missing. Generally, it seems safe to say that you want to attempt the Desperation with a full, nice and clean Spirit Gauge.



Art of Fighting 2 comes with nifty Specials and a flamboyant character roster, with the majority of the protagonists being transported- and now freshly implemented from the original effort. There are some nice secrets available in the game which are not even too hard to stumble upon, like the availability of Mr. Big as a playable character - he even has an Endsequence - granted you fulfill one particular condition. Normally, it is still Mr. Big whom you do the Final Battle against, yet, in reality, there is someone even meaner on the secretive scrutinize process out there. Indeed, as hinted in the intro section, Geese Howard from Fatal Fury is featured in the output as True Final Boss, what is more interesting: you will see a younger version of him. Man, this dudette is a fervent S.O.B. to say the least. To reach Geese, you need to dismantle the entire character roster without any rounds going to any of your rivals - that is the steep requirement to gain Geese's interest and making yourself able to face off against him.



Hey, THAT'S a Start!

Art of Fighint 2 is a notoriously hard game when played against the CPU, yet, fortunately enough, the pace and appeal of the piece weighs in strong enough to keep you both extremely busy and interested finding out the proper techniques and means to overcome your adversaries. The game generally: despises you. I have the intact impression - oxymoron? - that the system even cheats sometimes, meaning it hardly takes away anything from your rival's health once you think that you scored big time, while it punishes your butt in a radical manner once YOUR sitorgan gets casually constructed into the pavement.

Time is very well implemented in Art of Fighting 2. This is among the few 2D Fighters I have encountered so far that have a delicate relation to- and dependency on the period that is about to left yet from a given round, inviting/forcing you to adjust your tactics according to your rival's and your own Life bar, as, naturally, the character with the longer bar goes away with the win in a round once the timer stops. Surely, this is perfectly legit stuff, yet the effective pace does have a symbiotic, sane relation to the time that is offered for battle during a given round.

It is especially notable against Geese, for example: the dude is so rampantly aggressive and deals so immense damage that you are sort of OK with stealing punches on his hive to gain the upper hand, then you would surely prefer to stay away from him until the time counts out - escaping from him and offering moments of counter-resistance between the stalk periods he haunts you with is essential part of doing battle against him, AND against the clock. One mistake, and you will find how crude is the meaning of this here saying:

You Are All Over The Place.

As a strong, intact SNK effort to solidify the Art of Fighting franchise, this here second installment remains true to its originator and recognizes its primal appeals via sober understanding and fresh inventiveness. As one of the more serious CPU challenges you can get your hands on and as timeless of a 2D multiplayer collider as you have ever seen, Art of Fighting 2 still delivers its eternal grin to you, and let me tell you that THIS particular grin still looks quite intense and still is perfectly aware of what you are longing for.



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related recommendation:
Art of Fighting 2 Guide