With the REV system, defensive techniques, and offensive tricks, you can boost your power and improve your results in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves!
Refining its unique identity is a crucial task for the newest FATAL FURY game. After being absent for around 26 years, the series should find a place itself. Unique mechanics as the REV system, Feint, and Wild Punish can help with this.
SNK did a great job attracting the attention of the fighting games community (FGC) and the general gaming audience by inviting Cristiano Ronaldo to the playable roster. This also marked the first time a real-world person has been turned into a fighting game character.
The art style allows FATAL FURY CotW to be visually unique. The simplified control system is one of the best in the industry, which is a great feature to have, but it’s not one of the kind. The movesets and general feelings in the game — you are pretty much familiar with this side if you played The King of Fighters XV (KOF XV), another game by SNK.
Something unique is essential to convert that initial attention and satisfaction from the visual style into a long-term relationship. What can motivate casual players, dedicated FGC competitors, and top-level esports professionals to remain in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves and even main it?
The unique mechanics should be the answer! We explain and analyze them in this article.
The FATAL FURY REV system: S.P.G. and REV Blow
The most unique aspect of the FATAL FURY CotW mechanics is the custom placing of the Selective Potential Gear (S.P.G.) gauge within the health bar. This feature is part of the REV system.
- When your character's health reaches the S.P.G. section, you'll be able to use the REV Blow.
- Every character has different REV Blow moves. They are powerful attacks with armor, so damage is high, and you can absorb a hit from your opponent.
The input for REV Blow is Heavy Punch + Heavy Kick with Arcade Style and R2/RT with Smart Controls.
Where to place S.P.G. in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves?
Before a match starts, you can select where the S.P.G. gauge is: in the beginning, middle, or end of your health bar.
There are no correct or wrong decisions about this choice.
- In the beginning: You can start a round more aggressively or respond to early offense effectively.
- In the middle: It’s a chance to use mighty attacks to not let the health drop even lower.
- In the end: You have a last-chance tool to win this round.
Beyond the custom placement of the S.P.G. gauge, REV Blow feels like a variation of Drive Impact in Street Fighter 6. As for S.P.G., it can remind you of Rage in TEKKEN 8 of Fatal Blow in MK1, but sure, the REV Blow properties are totally different.
REV Guard: Flawless block in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves
In both control systems of FATAL FURY CotW, the R1/RB button is responsible for the REV Guard mechanic.
- Press and hold REV Guard to block any attack. The high-low mixups don’t work against this technique.
In addition to easier defense, REV Guard creates a bigger gap between you and an attacking opponent. Special Moves do not apply chip damage.
REV Guard in FATAL FURY is somewhat familiar to you if you know Drive Parry in Street Fighter 6.
Powerful REV Arts Specials and the REV Accel feature to link them
Every Special Move in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves has a stronger version, REV Art.
- Instead of pressing only one attack button with Arcade Controls, you press two and a relevant directional input: like quarter-circle forward + Light and Heavy Punch.
- With the Smart Style, the Fatal Fury REV Arts input is Special Move and Punch simultaneously. Simple directional input changes the type of Special.
REV Arts deal bigger damage and may have better frame data. A similar version of stronger Specials is present in Street Fighter 6 as well: Overdrive Moves.
However, FATAL FURY CotW offers a unique opportunity to link one REV Art into another. It is the passive feature REV Accel. Basically, you just need to know it exists and use it in your matches.
REV Accel in FATAL FUR works with REV Blow as well, so REV Art into REV Blow is also possible.
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REV Meter: To not spam REV Arts and not rely on REV Guard only
All of the cool features of the FATAL FURY REV system increase the special meter. It is located in the lower corner of your side.
- When you use REV Guard, REV Arts, and REV Blows you build up the REV Meter.
- Regular blocks slightly increase the REV Meter, too.
- When the REV Meter is full, your character enters the Overheat state.
- No REV features are available in Overheat. Your guard gauge disappears quickly, so you risk falling into the Guard Crash state.
- When your character is in the Guard Crash state, they recover from hits longer. Generally, it is a green light for your opponent to land all sorts of attacks and still combo them easily.
In simpler words: don’t fall into Overheat and try to recover from it as quickly as possible.
Again, this system reminds us of Burnout in Street Fighter 6. Building the meter up instead of using all of it is pretty unique.
Defensive mechanics: Precise input
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves rewards players who can press block at very specific moments.
- Just Defense: Press block during a short window. A special animation informs you did it right. Your character receives a little portion of health back and decreases the REV Meter.
- Hyper Defense: If your opponent keeps attacking, you can press forward at a specific moment so your character will perform the Hyper Defense technique. The input window is the same strict, and the benefits are identical to Just Defense.
FATAL FURY Guard Cancel
Like Street Fighter 6's Perfect Parry, it’s not a technique for beginners. Everyone can aim for these defensive mechanics in FATAL FURY, but the input requires too precise timing to rely on them.
However, if you manage to perform Just / Hyper Defense, it’s your chance for Guard Cancel. Activate your next big attack, like a Special or REV Blow to hit your opponent right from your block.
More FATAL FURY combos with Braking
Canceling some moves into others is a general mechanic in fighting games. Usually, it works from Normal attacks to Specials. The recovery animation of a Normal is skipped, and you can land a Special while your victim is still in the hit stun. Such a system works in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves as well, but the game has even more to offer.
- Braking is a technique that allows players to cancel the animation of Special Moves with the REV Guard button: R1/RB.
- After that, you can activate the next Special — and sure, craft your unique combos.
The Braking system in FATAL FURY works only with the Arcade Controls.
As for a reference in other fighting games, we can mention Roman Cancel in Guilty Gear Strive.
Feint: To play tricks on your FATAL FURY opponents
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves has a special button to fake Specials. Your character starts performing a Special Move, but they stop after a short initial animation.
It’s a way to deceive your opponents. They may decide to start blocking a specific attack or activate their counter-attack. And here you are, ready to open them up with a different type of hit (low, overhead) or just punish their whiffs and general aggression.
Wild Punish in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves
If your opponent whiffs their move, you have a short window to land your punishing attack: Wild Punish.
- The basic principle is identical to the usual whiff punish. But when you do it during the vulnerability frames, you have more chances to proceed with other attacks and combos.
Even if FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves combines some elements from other fighting games, it does this in an absolutely unique way. The final dish is worth enjoying without considering individual elements. The mechanics create a great experience for players of all skill levels. It will be interesting to witness how FATAL FURY CotW can grow with future patches, DLC characters, and esports competition.
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