History VideoGame / GarouMarkOfTheWolves

On August 7th 2022 at EVO, after 23 years, it was announced that a sequel, tentatively referred to as ''Fatal Fury / Garou'' as of yet, is in production. In 2023, [[https://youtu.be/ed65K9MnidQ?t=132 it's revealed by SNK]] that [[TheBusCameBack Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi will return to join Terry in this continuity.]]

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: Geese and Kain both [[RagsToRiches grew up in poverty and clawed their way to the top]], but the similarities end there. Geese Howard was more of a classic mobster who slowly rose through the underworld, seeking only power. He was a ruthless murderer who had the typical vices of a criminal mastermind. In terms of design, he was RatedMForManly and relied mostly on close-range attacks and counters, with only a couple of projecticles. His only quirk was that he was a ''massive'' OccidentalOtaku. Meanwhile, Kain is a VisionaryVillain who is driven by the philosophy that [[WeHaveBecomeComplacent people need struggle and hardship to appreciate their lives]], [[TheSocialDarwinist and the strong should rule over the weak.]] He also wants Southtown to secede from America and become its own city-state where violence rules, which is something Geese never would've considered. Kain is more of an AntiVillain with lofty ideas and ambitions, but going about it the wrong way. Unlike his predecessor, Kain relies on his intellect and psychology - not physical threats - to manipulate his opponents. In terms of design, he's a {{Bishonen}} who relies mostly on projectile spamming, has charge inputs, and lacks Geese's finely-honed techniques and physical prowess. He also leans ''really'' heavily into his German heritage and plays up his wealth and aristocratic image.

* RatedMForManly: In a game with a ruggedly handsome aged mentor, a huge and hammy luchador, and hulking monster of a man possessed by a demon, the most manly character is Khushnood Butt. He's Ryo's disciple, and the years of Kyokugenryu Karate training have given him a body so well cut, his rippling muscles literally ''burst out of his gi'' when he flexes in his win pose. His training grounds are deep in the woods, where he can focus and be alone in nature. He uses a wrecking ball as part of his equipment. There's a massive tree laying broken in the background, which he likely chopped barehanded. He trains with ''karate bears'', and looks as gruff and grizzled as they do. [[RealMenWearPink He also cries when he reads Disney picture books.]]

On August 7th 2022 at EVO, after 23 years, it was announced that ''Garou 2'' is now in production. In 2023, [[https://youtu.be/ed65K9MnidQ?t=132 it's revealed by SNK]] that [[TheBusCameBack Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi will return to join Terry in this continuity.]]

On August 7th 2022 at EVO, after 23 years, it was announced that ''Garou 2'' is now in production.

* BareYourMidriff: Freeman provides a rare male version of this, but the pale skin and gaunt, sickly appearance definitely isn't for fan service. It's as if Benimaru decided to go goth and went too far.

* UrbanHellscape: Freeman's Slam Free Field takes place here. The main fight takes place under an elevated train platform, the buildings are all abandoned, decaying, and covered in graffiti, there's smoke coming out of the sewer grates, there's wrecked care direcly in the background, the street lights flicker, and you can ''just'' barely see a homeless person shrouded in the darkness and picking through trash bins.

* DidntThinkTHisThrough: If you're a serial killer on the run from the authorities, the ''last'' thing you'd want to do is draw attention to yourself. Yet Freeman joins a high-profile martial arts tournament because [[SanityHasAdvantages he just can't resist the temptation to kill strong opponents.]] Kevin bets on this, and it works like a charm. [[spoiler: Predictably, the SWAT team quickly hunts Freeman down and shoots him in the ending. Having a magic aura that makes your arms as sharp as knives won't protect you from a sniper rifle.]]

* RatedMForManly: In a game with a ruggedly handsome aged mentor, a huge and hammy luchador, and hulking monster of a man possessed by a demon, the most manly character is Khushnood Butt. He's Ryo disciple, and the years of Kyokugenryu Karate training have given him a body so well cut, his rippling muscles literally ''burst out of his gi'' when he flexes in his win pose. His training grounds are deep in the woods, where he can focus and be alone in nature. He uses a wrecking ball as part of his equipment. There's a massive tree laying broken in the background, which he likely chopped barehanded. He trains with ''karate bears'', and looks as gruff and grizzled as they do. [[RealMenWearPink He also cries when he reads Disney picture books.]]

* KickChick: [[BlowYouAway Wind manipulation aside]], B. Jenet's attacks mostly revolve around kicks. Special mention goes to her divekick, which allows her to slow and alter her jump trajectory while gracefully spinning in the air. Along with her high slit dress, it all [[ShesGotLegs accentuates her appearance.]]

* ArmorPiercingSlap: Hotaru delivers a well-deserved one on Gato in her ending. He "lets her off the hook" as he leaves, but promises to kill her should they meet again.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: B. Jenet usually isn't taken seriously in the story. After all, she's just a rich young woman who got bored and decided to become a pirate. But in terms of gameplay, she's an incredibly powrful character due to her excellent combos, range, and mobility. Meanwhile, Rock is on the bottom tier despite being the main character and having some of Geese's moves and years of Terry's training.

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: In the story, Jae Hoon spends all his time training and honing his technique. Dong Hwan hates training, but posseses a lot of natural ability and power. This is actually reflected in the gameplay as well. Jae Hoon is a better rounded character who works best at close and mid range with a lot of fast combos and options, but requires a little finesse to pull off some of his best combos. Dong Hwan has slower, but stronger attacks with deceptively good range. His combos are shorter but he has better maneuverability, forcing him to do to rely more on hit and run tactics. He has insanely good and flashy supers, but doesn't have many options for quickly building meter.

* RealityEnsues:
** Killing the BigBad doesn't instantly fix everything. It's been a decade since Geese's death, and there's still plenty of evil out there. [[EvilPowerVacuum Second Southtown's criminal underworld is still vying for as much power as possible.]] Mr. Big and Billy Kane are nowhere to be found, and the latter would've been middle aged by this point. ''Memories of Stray Wolves'' also reveals that [[DrivenToSuicide Krauser committed suicide years ago after being defeated by Terry.]]
** Unlike most video game series, ''Fatal Fury's'' continuity doesn't run on ComicBookTime. ''Garou'' takes place in 2006, and almost the entire cast being replaced reflects that. Fighting tournaments generally skew towards the younger contenders, after all. Terry is ''35'' in this, and while he's still perfectly capable of winning, he's more reserved. Andy, Mai, Kim, and Ryo have all become mentors to a new generation, which makes sense. Joe Higashi has moved up in his career, and is now too busy defending his Muay Thai championship to help. Tung Fu Rue isn't even mentioned despite being such an important character in the lore; he would've been 82, and long past the point of keeping up with the kids. Meanwhile, Kevin is stated to be 37, and he only joined the tournament to track down a serial killer, not save the city from the likes of Kain.
** Just because Terry is a AHeroToHisHometown and a LivingLegend doesn't mean he agrees with where Southtown is going. People, priorities, perspectives, politics, and everything else can change over time. Even if you save a city, it doesn't mean it'll ''stay'' that way, and you could easily be forgotten.
** Hokutomaru was raised in the mountains, and thus has no experience with modern society. When he reaches downtown, he causes a massive traffic jam and a few accidents by walking in the middle of the street.
** If you're a serial killer on the run from the authorities, the ''last'' thing you'd want to do is draw attention to yourself. Yet Freeman joins a high-profile martial arts tournament because [[SanityHasAdvantages he just can't resist the temptation to kill strong opponents.]] Kevin bets on this, and it works like a charm. [[spoiler: Predictably, the SWAT team quickly hunts Freeman down and shoots him in the ending. Having a magic aura that makes your arms as sharp as knives won't protect you from a sniper rifle.]]

** One of the billboards on the center building has portraits of Andy and Mai. The one directly below it has Alfred from ''Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special Dominated Mind'' and ''Real Bout Fatal Fury 2''. One of the billboards on the left side of the stage is a pixelated version of Shinkiro's Japanese ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'' arcade flyer and cover art.

''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' is currently the final installment of the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' series. [[Main/DistantFinale It's been a decade since]] [[Main/BigBad Geese Howard's]] death at the end of ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'', and the once WretchedHive of Southtown is thriving without his influence. But just down the coast at Second Southtown, however, some things never change. Without someone running the show, [[EvilPowerVacuum the criminal underworld is scrambling to take over what Geese left behind.]] In the meantime, Southtown's heroes of yesteryear have moved on; most have retired, but others are training a whole new generation of fighters. Despite being a LivingLegend, [[Characters/FatalFuryKingOfFighters Terry Bogard]] has spent the last ten years [[Main/RaisedByRival raising Rock Howard - Geese's son - as his own protégé.]] Rock is now old and strong enough to forge his own path, but he's still haunted by his lineage... [[Main/MissingMom And mystery of what happened to his mother.]] With the start of the brand-new King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem tournament, it seems like old wounds won't heal just yet.

''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' is currently the final installment of the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' series. [[Main/DistantFinale It's been a decade since]] [[Main/BigBad Geese Howard's]] death at the end of ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'', and the once WretchedHive of Southtown is thriving without his influence. But just down the coast at Second Southtown, however, some things never change. Without someone running the show, [[EvilPowerVacuum the criminal underworld is scrambling to take over what Geese left behind.]] In the meantime, Southtown's heroes of yesteryear have moved on; most have retired, but others are training a whole new generation of fighters. Despite being a LivingLegend, [[Main/TheHero Terry Bogard]] has spent the last ten years [[Main/RaisedByRival raising Rock Howard - Geese's son - as his own protégé.]] Rock is now old and strong enough to forge his own path, but he's still haunted by his lineage... [[Main/MissingMom And mystery of what happened to his mother.]] With the start of the brand-new King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem tournament, it seems like old wounds won't heal just yet.

* EightiesHair: Khushnood Butt may have a funny name and an incredible frompadour. But he is easily one of the finest examples of the AfroAsskicker in gaming history.

* DealWithTheDevil: At some point, Grant made deal with an unknown demonic entity to attain the Ankoku Karate (Dark Karate). It basically gave him massive power and speed boosts, and the ability to augment his attacks with dark auras.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: B. Jenet usually isn't taken seriously in the story. After all, she's just a rich young woman who got bored and decided to become a pirate. But in terms of gameplay, she's one of the highest tier characters due to her excellent combos, range, and mobility. Meanwhile, Rock is on the bottom tier despite being the main character and having some of Geese's moves and years of Terry's training.

* UnfortunateName: It doesn’t get much less subtle than Khushnood ''Butt''. His real name is actually Marco Rodriguez in the Japanese version.

** Cheng Sinzan from ''Fatal Fury 2'' is among the crowd in the background of the casino stage. This is a nod to his success as a businessman - [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub legitimate or otherwise]] - as well as his greed and penchant for gambling. He's also the last living member of Tung Fu Rue's student PowerTrio, the Three Brothers of Godly Battle.

* EightiesHair: Khushnood Butt may have a funny name and an [[FunnyAfro incredible frompadour.]] But he is easily one of the finest examples of the AfroAsskicker in gaming history.

Many fans have long considered it to be the pinnacle of Creator/{{SNK}}'s fighting game library. Until the last few years, however, ''Garou'' was widely regarded as a CultClassic due to its release being limited to the arcades, UsefulNotes/NeoGeo, UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, with only the Dreamcast port released in North America in 2001. This all changed in 2016, when it was announced the game would be ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita. Since then, this has been expanded to Windows (via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} UsefulNotes/GOGDotCom), UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/XboxOne and the Neo Geo Mini. On January 22, 2020, it was announced that the GOG, Steam, Playstation 4 and Vita versions would receive an updated rollback netcode. As a result, ''Garou'' is making quite a comeback.

Many fans have long considered it to be the pinnacle of SNK's fighting game library. Until the last few years, however, ''Garou'' was widely regarded as a CultClassic due to its release being limited to the arcades, Neo Geo, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2, with only the Dreamcast port released in North America in 2001. This all changed in 2016, when it was announced the game would be ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and Vita. Since then, this has been expanded to Windows, UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, GOG, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and the Neo Geo Mini. On January 22, 2020, it was announced that the GOG, Steam, Playstation 4, and Vita versions would receive an updated rollback netcode. As a result, ''Garou'' is making quite a comeback.

* UnfortunateName: It doesn’t get much less subtle than Khushnood ''Butt''.

** Dong Hwan and Jae Hoon have made cameos in almost every game in the series since ''Fatal Fury Special.'' After the TimeSkip, they're now old enough to compete. Longtime Kim Kaphwan players will immediately see that his move set has been divided evenly between the two brothers.

* RatedMForManly: In a game with a ruggedly handsome aged mentor, a huge and hammy luchador, and hulking monster of a man possessed by a demon, the most manly character is Khushnood Butt. He's Ryo disciple, and the years of Kyokugenryu Karate training have given him a body so well cut, his rippling muscles literally ''bursts out of his gi'' when flexes in his win pose. His training grounds are deep in the woods, where he can focus and be alone in nature. He uses a wrecking ball as part of his equipment. There's a massive tree laying broken in the background, which he likely chopped barehanded. He trains with ''karate bears'', and looks as gruff and grizzled as they do. [[RealMenWearPink He also cries when he reads Disney picture books.]]

* GratuitousEnglish: Terry and B. Jenet practically compete with each other to see who can out-English the other when it comes to shouting out attacks. It's justified in that they're from America and the United Kingdom respectively, but it still sounds bizarre and occasionally grating.

''Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' is currently the final installment of the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' series. [[Main/DistantFinale It's been a decade since]] [[Main/BigBad Geese Howard's]] death in ''Real Bout Fatal Fury Special'', and the once WretchedHive of Southtown is thriving without his influence. But just down the coast at Second Southtown, however, some things never change. Without someone running the show, [[EvilPowerVacuum the criminal underworld is scrambling to take over what Geese left behind.]] In the meantime, Southtown's heroes of yesteryear have moved on; most have retired, but others are training a whole new generation of fighters. Despite being a LivingLegend, [[Main/TheHero Terry Bogard]] has spent the last ten years [[Main/RaisedByRival raising Rock Howard - Geese's son - as his own protégé.]] Rock is now old and strong enough to forge his own path, but he's still haunted by his lineage... [[Main/MissingMom And mystery of what happened to his mother.]] With the start of the brand-new King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem tournament, it seems like old wounds won't heal just yet.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Given that Second Southtown was based on Miami, it has the best and worst of what you'd expect of a bustling metropolis. It has lush forests and waterfalls... Yet it also somehow has the S.S.P. Maneuver Field, which looks like a vast desert that happens to be right on the edge of the city. So unless there's some invisible mountain creating a rain shadow, that particular area shouldn't exist.
* AssholeVictim: Gato is a jerk to everyone, especially to Hotaru. So when [[spoiler: he's blinded in his ending]], it's hard to feel sorry for him.

** Khushnood Butt is nearly a carbon copy of his mentor, Ryo from the ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' series.

* NeverFoundTheBody: In Freeman's ending, [[spoiler:he's shot a SWAT team. But his body lands in a river, and gets washed away before the kill can be confirmed. [[PutOnABus He's never been in any (canon) SNK games since, though.]]]]