“Certainly they existed; those devs blinded by ambition… those ports consumed with vengeance. But here, they do not exist. Only winners (Mark of the Wolves fans and Fatal Fury fans in general) and losers (gamers without supporting consoles) here. For here, the mighty SNK rule.”
Earlier this week it was revealed that SNK would be working with Code Mystics to bring the classic Garou: Mark of the Wolves to PS4 and PS Vita. Part of the Fatal Fury family, Garou: Mark of the Wolves was released in 1999 on the Neo Geo arcade hardware, later making its way to sixth-gen home consoles and eventually Xbox Live Arcade. Boasting strict inputs (compared to modern Street Fighter games, at least) and interesting gameplay mechanics such as Just Defend (like SFIII’s parry, you get benefits for defending at the last moment – unlike SFIII, however, you can push back to do this) and T.O.P mode (this activates within a player-defined portion of the lifebar and offers benefits such as enhanced damage and quicker meter gain), Garou: Mark of the Wolves is much less immediate than the likes of Street Fighter V, but still boasts rewarding gameplay, great 2D presentation and fun characters.
In my ongoing mission to recollect all of the MAME classics I used to enjoy years ago, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is one of the most played games in my current collection, and whilst I’m not skilled enough to trouble online opponents (as I type I already have bad flashbacks of netplay sessions on MAME and Kawaks that went awry) I can still appreciate the game on a more general level. According to the PS Blog update, this new release will come with a gallery mode, sound test and netcode from the previously-released Last Blade 2. More than anything, I’m happy that this is coming to Vita as well – I’ve often told people that the handheld seems like it would be a great home for 2D beat ’em ups, and having Garou: Mark of the Wolves on a handheld would offer a great way to while away those long train journeys.
A release date had not yet been confirmed in the PS Blog update