List of Fatal Fury characters

The following is a list of video game characters featured in the Fatal Fury fighting game series developed by SNK Playmore (formerly SNK). The series consists of the original Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

Creation and design

Series' creator Takashi Nishiyama said the depth of the characters was of great importance when making the series. He noted that the plot were more polished in the first Fatal Fury than in his previous work, the first Street Fighter. This allowed them to reveal more character details which in turn lead to more fans. Some details about the characters were revealed in magazines rather than the games to produce more marketing.^[1]

Introduced in Fatal Fury

Andy Bogard

Andy Bogard (アンディー・ボガード, Andī Bogādo) is Terry Bogard's younger brother. Andy practices the Shiranui-ryū ("Shiranui style" in Japanese) Ninjutsu and a form of empty-handed ninja combat called Koppō-ken, which he trained in after witnessing his foster father's murder, in order to gain revenge on Geese Howard. Mai Shiranui is his love interest (or fiancée in her mind), and the granddaughter of Hanzo Shiranui, the man he learned Ninjitsu from. It was after his foster father Jeff's death that Tung Fu Rue took responsibility for raising him and Terry. Andy went to Japan to train under Hanzo and grew up alongside Mai, while Terry stayed in South Town. During Andy's time in Japan, he met the Muay Thai fighter Joe Higashi, and challenged him to a match. When Andy won, he invited Joe to return to America with him to enter the King of Fighters tournament, held by Geese.

Late in the tournament, Andy tried to kill off Geese by himself. Geese's power proved to be too much for Andy as he almost fell to his death. Terry saved Andy, who then acknowledged Terry as the superior fighter. After Terry beat Geese at the end of their first King of Fighters Tournament, a new tournament was held, this time hosted by Wolfgang Krauser. Andy, while present in the tournament, did not accomplish much story-wise.

Ever since Geese's death, the fall of the First Southtown, and the birth of Second Southtown, Andy has been busy training his young apprentice Hokutomaru in the ways of the Shiranui-style ninjitsu and Koppo-ken. Instead of fighting in the KOF: Maximum Mayhem tournament himself, Andy sends Hokutomaru in his place to see what his apprentice has learned. In Hokutomaru's ending, Andy writes him a note saying that he was proud of how strong Hokutomaru has gotten. Then he ended the note by saying he is no longer his teacher but his rival and that they will cross paths again.

When the new King of Fighters '94 tournament was announced, Andy joined Terry and Joe in the new 3-on-3 matches. Since then, Andy has always agreed to follow his brother Terry whenever he decided to enter the new version of the King of Fighters tournament. The Fatal Fury Team maintained his original formation (Terry, Andy and Joe) from King of Fighters '94 to '98. With new rules in KOF '99 allowing teams of four members, Mai Shiranui (in KOF '99) and, later, Blue Mary (KOF 2000) joined the team. After the beginning of the Ash Crimson Saga (KOF 2003, XI,) Andy left the Fatal Fury team to take care of Shiranui disciple Hokutomaru, who fell sick, and Mai went after him. Andy made his return to The King of Fighters XII but does not participate in a defined team. The King of Fighters XIII sees Andy rejoining the Fatal Fury team as his brother's interest in the tournament has compelled him to reunite the original Fatal Fury team from the 1994 event. In his anime incarnations, though sometimes perplexed by her actions, Andy is more open to showing his affection towards Mai.

He is voiced by Jun Hashimoto until Fatal Fury 3, where Keiichi Nanba takes over, though he would later be taken over by Hiroshi Okamoto in his appearance in The King of Fighters XIV.

Billy Kane

Duck King

Duck King (ダック・キング, Dakku Kingu) appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four opponents in the single-player mode. Possessing incredible talent when it comes to brawling and street dancing, Duck King once challenged Terry Bogard to a street fight and lost. He trained himself in order to surpass Terry. Duck uses a unique fighting style which includes rhythmical dance-like movements and attacks. His primary special move is a flying cannonball technique.

In Fatal Fury 2, Duck was one of the characters from the original game who is defeated by Krauser in one of the game's cut scenes, although he would appear as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special. He would retain his cannonball technique, now dubbed the Head Spin Attack, along with new special moves such as the Dancing Dive, Break Storm, and the Beat Rush. He also has a new hidden special move called the Break Spiral. From Special and onward, Duck would be accompanied by his pet chick "P-chan". He makes another quick cameo in Bob Wilson's ending Fatal Fury 3 before returning as a playable character in Real Bout Fatal Fury and its sequels, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. He also appears as an exclusive character in the PlayStation version of Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition.

Although Duck King has made numerous cameo appearances thorough The King of Fighters series, including as an alternate Striker (a character who helps the player in battle) in The King of Fighters 2000, he did not appear as a playable character until The King of Fighters XI, where he appears as a member of the new Fatal Fury Team along with Terry and Kim Kaphwan.

He is voiced by Kong Kuwata.

Geese Howard

Hwa Jai

Hwa Jai (ホア・ジャイ, Hoa Jai) is the first of three opponents the player faces in the original Fatal Fury before the final match against Geese Howard. A former Muay Thai champion once nicknamed "The Hero of Muay Thai" (ムエタイの英雄, Muetai no Eiyū), he once fought against Joe Higashi in the past and lost, causing him to lose his title. Seeking to defeat Joe, he became a more reckless and dangerous fighter. After being banned from competing in the Muay Thai circuit, his brutal talent was noted by Geese Howard, who hired him to serve as one of his bodyguards and a participant in the King of Fighters tournament. His special technique, the Dragon Kick, was developed to compete with Joe's Tiger Kick. He also gains additional strength by drinking a sort of Super Drink, which thrown at him by one of Geese's men when he is in danger.

In Fatal Fury 2, Hwa Jai is one of the characters from the original game who gets defeated by an unknown challenger (Wolfgang Krauser). He is apparently hospitalized and visited by Joe Higashi, as seen in Joe's ending in the game and in Fatal Fury Special. He makes further cameos in the subsequent Fatal Fury games (Fatal Fury 3, Real Bout, Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2) as Joe's training partner and trainer. Despite having been absent since his original appearance as an opponent character in Fatal Fury, Hwa Jai has been confirmed to return in The King of Fighters XIII and marks the first time the character has been playable. Kim, following his "reform" of his previous teammates (Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge), seeks out Hwa Jai and Raiden as he believes they still work under Geese Howard. It is not the case as Geese had returned to America long ago but Raiden manages to talk Hwa Jai into joining the team to bolster their reputations as fighters. Hwa Jai accepts, partially due to wanting to fight Joe once again.

He is voiced by Sōnosuke Nagashiro in The King of Fighters XIII.

Joe Higashi

Michael Max

Michael Max (マイケル・マックス, Maikeru Makkusu) is a black boxer who appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four CPU-controlled opponents whom the player faces. Prior to the events of the game, Michael was a young boxing prodigy who was once considered a strong contender for the title of Worldwide Heavyweight Champion. However, he left the boxing circuit to seek real combat and participate in the King of Fighters tournament, feeling that professional boxing was a mere sport protected by rules. He is also the friend and student of boxing of Axel Hawk. His only other appearances in the series includes in the cut-scenes of Fatal Fury 2, where he is one of the fighters defeated by Wolfgang Krauser, and in Axel Hawk's ending in Fatal Fury Special, where he is depicted as Axel's trainer. In one of his victory poses, it is revealed that he is Catholic. Michael Max is the only character from the original Fatal Fury that has never appeared in The King of Fighters series.

Raiden

Raiden (ライデン, Raiden) first appears in the original Fatal Fury as the second of the final four computer-controlled opponents in the single-player mode. He was once a popular face wrestler until he was betrayed by his tag partner during a match (a character later revealed to be Big Bombarder from the SNK wrestling game 3 Count Bout). This incident transformed him completely and he became a notorious heel wrestler. Not satisfied with venting his frustration in the ring, he enters the King of Fighters tournament as a masked fighter, acting as one of Geese's guardians. His primary special move in the game is the Vapor Breath. This character was modeled after real life pro wrestler Big Van Vader.

He returns as a regular playable character in Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special, where he renounces his Raiden persona and now fights as an unmasked face wrestler under the identity of Big Bear (ビッグ・ベア, Biggu Bea). He trains at his native land of Australia, where his deadly strength increased on several levels. He also develops a friendly rivalry with Terry, as seen in his endings in both games. His special moves in Fatal Fury 2 includes the Giant Bomb, a rushing tackle, and the Super Drop Kick. He also has a hidden special move called the Fire Breath, an improved version of his Vapor Breath. In Special, he gains a new special move called the Bear Bomber.

Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, being a retelling of the original Fatal Fury tournament, depicts Raiden under his masked heel persona once again. Outside the Fatal Fury series, Raiden also appeared in the Capcom-produced crossover game Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, and its sequels, Capcom vs. SNK Pro and Capcom vs. SNK 2, being one of the few Fatal Fury characters who did not appeared in The King of Fighters as a playable character (at the time) in those games. Raiden also appears in The King of Fighters XII and the sequel. In KOF XII none of the characters are assigned into teams but for KOF XIII they are. Raiden's teammates in KOF XIII are Kim Kaphwan and Hwa Jai. Kim is mistaken in thinking Raiden and Hwa Jai are still in the employ of Geese Howard, wanting to "reform" both men. Raiden convinces Hwa Jai to act as if they are so they are able to enter the tournament to build reputation for themselves. The Fatal Fury characters refer him as "Bear", his face persona, which he denies.

His Raiden persona is voiced by John Hulaton, Daisuke Gōri, and Iain Gibb, while his Big Bear persona is voiced by Dango Takeda.

Richard Meyer

Richard Meyer (リチャード・マイヤー, Richādo Maiyā) appears in the original Fatal Fury as one of the first four computer-controlled opponents in the single-player mode. A capoeira mestre originally from Brazil, Richard makes his daily living in South Town as the manager of the restaurant Pao Pao Cafe. He competes in the King of Fighters tournament in order to make his capoiera style known to the world. In this game, his character specializes in numerous kick techniques. Richard Meyer was the first fighting game character to use Capoeira.

Richard makes cameo appearances in subsequent Fatal Fury games as a friendly acquaintance of the Bogard brothers and Joe. He appears in Fatal Fury 2 in the cut scene shown immediately after the first battle against the CPU, tending to a crowd of spectators at Pao Pao Cafe witnessing the player's fight on television. He appears again near the end of the game, where he is defeated in battle by Wolfgang Krauser, as well in Terry Bogard's ending, serving him and his date their meal.

In Fatal Fury 3, Richard opens a new Pao Pao Cafe restaurant, which is maintained by his capoeira apprentice Bob Wilson. In Fatal Fury 3, as well as in Real Bout series, Richard appears to cheer and encourage Bob before each of his matches. He makes cameos in The King of Fighters XI, trying to tell Kim to leave the cafe and King of Fighters XIII witnessing several female fighters destroy his bar.

Richard appears as a hidden character in the PlayStation 2 game KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (released in North America as The King of Fighters 2006), participating as a fighter for the first time since the original Fatal Fury. Richard Meyer was the first fighting game character to use Capoeira as his fighting style.

He is voiced by Kong Kuwata.

Terry Bogard

Tung Fu Rue

Tung Fu Rue (タン　フー　ルー, Tan Fū Rū, Chinese: 糖胡芦; Pinyin: Táng Hú-Lú) is one of the first four opponents the players faces in the original Fatal Fury. (When either Andy or Terry defeats him in "Fatal Fury Special," each Bogard brother addresses him as "Master Tan.") He is an elderly martial arts master from China who developed his own fighting style based on Bajiquan known as the Holy Fist of Eight Ways (八極聖拳, Hakkyokuseiken). In the past, he trained Terry and Andy's adoptive father, Jeff Bogard, and his nemesis Geese Howard (as well as Cheng Sinzan). He raised the Bogard brothers after Jeff was killed by Geese and participates in the King of Fighters tournament in the first game with the objective to defeat Geese. He can transform his body into steel and draw out great power using a deadly secret technique known only to himself. In the game, he appears as meek elderly man, but after taking a bit of damage, he transforms into a musclebound warrior, whose special moves including a flying whirlwind punch and a spinning whirlwind kick in which he shoots fireballs at both directions.

In Fatal Fury 2, Tung was one of the characters defeated by Wolfgang Krauser in one of the game's cut-scene. He would appear as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special, the upgraded version of Fatal Fury 2. Unlike the original game, Tung only transforms into a musclebound version of himself while performing certain special moves. Tung reappears in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. In Real Bout Special, there are two versions of him in the game. In regular version of him has improved versions of his previous special moves, as well as new moves, while the alternate version of him (EX Tung Fu Rue) has all of his moves from Fatal Fury Special and one Hidden Ability. in Real Bout 2, Tung has special moves from both versions of his character in the previous game.

Tung also appears in the SNK crossover game NeoGeo Battle Coliseum. This version of the character was used as an additional character in the PlayStation 2 port of The King of Fighters XI, until he canonically participating the The King of Fighters XIV.

In The King of Fighters timeline, Tung played a vital role in XIV. According to a profile of one of his disciples, and the protagonist central character of that arc, Shun'ei, Tung found Shun'ei after his biological parents abandoned him for having an eerie powers, related to the main antagonist of that arc. Sensing a good in the young eerie powered boy, Tung decided to raise Shun'ei as his disciple to trained himself against the villains who has a connection to Shun'ei's eerie power, such the villain who is connected to Shun'ei's left-half power, an avatar of fiery rage and soul containing entity known as Verse. Additionally, he has met Kyo Kusanagi's father, Saisyu Kusanagi, and a fellow elderly Chinese martial arts master, Chin Gentsai sometime before.

He is voiced by Keiichiro Sakagi in Fatal Fury 2 and Special, and Shigefumi Nakai in later games until The King of Fighters XIV, where Hajime Shikase takes over.

Introduced in Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury Special

Axel Hawk

Axel Hawk (アクセル・ホーク, Akuseru Hōku) first appears in Fatal Fury 2 as the second of the final four opponents in the single-player mode. A former heavyweight boxing champion, he was said to be the strongest of all time until his retirement. According to his backstory, he began spending most of his days at home after his retirement, playing with his R/C car and being supported by his elderly mother, his father having died at some point. One day, he received an anonymous letter inviting him to the King of Fighters tournament and began training for his comeback. He was originally a non-playable character in the Neo Geo version of Fatal Fury 2, although he is playable in the SNES and Genesis versions of the game. He became a regular playable character in Fatal Fury Special. He is also the teacher of boxing and the best friend of Michael Max. He makes a cameo at the end of The King of Fighters 2003 cheering on the Fatal Fury Team.

He is voiced by Michael Beard in the game and by Michael Dobson in the English dub of the anime.

Cheng Sinzan

Cheng Sinzan (チン・シンザン, Chin Shinzan, Chinese: 陳 秦山; Pinyin: Chén Qínshān; Cantonese Yale: Chàhn Chèuhn-sāan) is introduced as one of the new playable characters in Fatal Fury 2. A rotund fighter, he practices taiji. Despite his immense strength, he hates training and becomes tired very easily. He enters the King of Fighters tournament seeking to gain international recognition and open his own training hall. He is characterized as one of the richest men in Hong Kong, who resides in a high class neighborhood and is married to a former Miss Hong Kong. Despite his social status, he seeks to find ways to make himself even richer. His Special Moves in Fatal Fury 2, as well as in Fatal Fury Special, includes the Thunderblast Powerball (氣雷砲, Kiraihō), the Belly Drum Blast (大太鼓腹打, Daitaikobarauchi), and the Avalanche Crunch (破岩激, Hagangeki), while his Super Special Move is the Exploding Thunder Powerball (爆雷砲, Bakuraihō).

He makes a non-playable appearance in Fatal Fury 3, helping Hon-Fu chase after Ryuji Yamazaki and doesn't return as a playable character until Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. In the backstory of Real Bout Special, it is revealed that Cheng was once a disciple of Tung Fu Rue trained in Hakkyoku Seiken along with Jeff Bogard and Geese Howard, but was expelled due to his greediness. He would also make money by having people bet against him in street fights and then lose on purpose.

He is voiced by Jun Hashimoto, who also voices Andy, in Fatal Fury 2; and Shigefumi Nakai, who also voices Tung Fu Rue, in later games.

Jubei Yamada

Jubei Yamada (山田 十平衛, Yamada Jūbei) is one of the five playable characters introduced in Fatal Fury 2. An elderly judo master who was once known as "Yamada, the Demon" during his youth. Jubei Yamada is the best friend and rival of Hanzo Shiranui (the grandfather of Mai Shiranui). Having lost his charm from his younger days, Jubei fights in the new King of Fighters tournament in order to re-establish his popularity with girls around the world. Despite this, he refuses to change his womanizing lecherous ways. Although Jubei does not return as a playable character in later games, he makes several cameo appearances, including in Mai Shiranui's ending in Real Bout Fatal Fury, where he is shown to have an infatuation with her.

He is voiced by Dango Takeda.

Kim Kaphwan

Laurence Blood

Laurence Blood (ローレンス・ブラッド, Rōrensu Buraddo) first appears in Fatal Fury 2 as the third of the four boss characters the player faces at the end of the single-player mode. A former Spanish matador who uses a self-styled martial art based on his deadly bullfighting methods (His fighting style is very similar to the fencing, the French martial art of the Savate and the Basque martial art of the Zipota). He serves as the right-hand man and servant of Wolfgang Krauser and participates in the tournament under his request. He is a computer-only character in the Neo Geo version of Fatal Fury 2 and became playable in Fatal Fury Special. He would return as a playable character in Real Bout Special and Real Bout 2. He is notable for being one of five bullfighter characters in fighting games (the other three being Vega of Street Fighter, Miguel of Human Killing Machine, Miguel Caballero Rojo of Tekken, and Kilian of Samurai Shodown). He is also the only boss character from Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 that hasn't appeared in the King of Fighters tournaments.

He is voiced by Katsuhisa Namase, who also voices Geese and Joe, in Fatal Fury 2; and Hiroyuki Arita in Real Bout Special.

Mai Shiranui

Ryo Sakazaki

Wolfgang Krauser

Krauser made his appearance in Fatal Fury 2, where he serves as the final opponent in the tournament. Known as the only man in the world feared by Geese Howard (whom in Fatal Fury Special is revealed to be his elder half-brother from the same father), Krauser is a German nobleman who is publicly known as the current Earl of Stroheim, a prestigious family in Europe, but within the underworld he is a ruthless warlord known as the Emperor of Darkness. After Geese's supposed death in the original Fatal Fury, Krauser sponsors a new King of Fighters tournament with his three chosen warriors Laurence Blood, Axel Hawk and Billy Kane (a former underling of Geese himself) in order to lure the men who defeated Geese (Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi).

Although Krauser takes his own life following the events of Fatal Fury 2 and Special according to the background story in the subsequent games,^[2] Krauser appeared in the special installments of the series, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2.

Outside the Fatal Fury series, Krauser appears as a member of the Boss Team in The King of Fighters '96 with his half-brother Geese and Geese's former partner-in-crime Mr. Big. The Boss Team made another appearance in the remake of The King of Fighters '98 titled The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match. Additionally, Krauser also appears as a "Striker" character in the console versions of The King of Fighters 2000.

Krauser serves as the main antagonist in the anime special Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle. According to character designer Masami Ōbari, Krauser was redesigned to be ten years younger than his video game counterpart and given a clean-shaved appearance. In this special, Krauser challenges his half-brother's nemesis Terry Bogard to battle and wins. After Terry regains his courage, he challenges Krauser again and wins the rematch, causing Krauser to commit suicide due to his loss.

He is voiced by Michael Beard, who also voices Axel Hawk, in Fatal Fury 2; and B.J. Love in later games. In the anime, he is voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki in the original Japanese version and by Paul Dobson in the English dub.

Introduced in Fatal Fury 3

Blue Mary

Bob Wilson

Roberto "Bob" Wilson (ボブ・ウィルソン, Bobu Wiruson) is a character introduced in Fatal Fury 3 and appears as a playable character throughout the Real Bout sub-series. He is the bartender of Pao Pao Cafe 2 and was trained in capoeira by Richard Meyer. He specializes in spinning kicks and combination attacks. All of his special moves reference animals in some way, as his Fatal Fury 3 Special Moves are the Wild Wolf, the Bison's Horn, the Lynx's Fang, the Rolling Turtle, and the Hornet Attack. His Super Special Move is the Dangerous Wolf. In Real Bout, he gains the Monkey Dance special move and two Hidden Abilities, the Mad Spin Wolf and the Wolf's Fang. Real Bout Special brings in the Sidewinder, Hunting Frog and Hawk Talon Special Moves, and Real Bout 2 discards Bob's previous Hidden Abilities for a new one called Dancing Bison. He is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa.

Franco Bash

Franco Bash (フランコ・バッシュ, Furanko Basshu) makes his first appearance in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the five new playable characters introduced in the game and also appears thorough the Real Bout sub-series. He is a retired Super Heavyweight-class kickboxing champion who works as a mechanic in South Town Airport to support his wife Emilia, and their son Junior. In Fatal Fury 3 his son is kidnapped by Yamazaki, who blackmails him into helping him obtain the Secret Scrolls of the Jin. He rescues his son in his ending in Fatal Fury 3 and trains to make his comeback in the Real Bout series. He makes a cameo at the end of KOF 2003 cheering on the Fatal Fury Team.

He is voiced by B.J. Love, who also voices Krauser in Real Bout Fatal Fury Special.

Hon-Fu

Hon-Fu (ホンフゥ, Hon Fū) is introduced in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the new playable characters featured in the game and appears all the games in the Real Bout sub-series. He is a police officer from Hong Kong who specializes in using a nunchaku. His objective thorough Fatal Fury 3 and the Real Bout series is to arrest the escaped convict Ryuji Yamazaki and is aided by Cheng in Fatal Fury 3. He is a close friend of Kim Kaphwan according to his backstory in Fatal Fury 3, as the two have nearly identical desperation attacks, although Hon-Fu was given a new one for Real Bout Fatal Fury 2.

He is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa, who also voices Bob Wilson.

Jin Chonrei

Jin Chonrei (秦 崇雷, Japanese: Jin Chonrei, Pinyin: Qín Chóngléi, also romanized as Qin Chong-Lei) appears in Fatal Fury 3 as the third and final boss character featured in the game and appears as a regular playable character thorough the Real Bout series. Like his younger brother Chonshu, Chonrei is possessed by the spirit of Jin Kuryu (秦 空龍), the elder son of Jin Ōryū and ancestor of Chonrei and Chonshu. In Fatal Fury 3, they head to South Town to seek the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to unleash their true power. The scrolls are eventually taken by Geese Howard and in the next game of the series,Real Bout Fatal Fury, the Jin brothers participate in the King of Fighters tournament to recover them. However, the scrolls are destroyed by Chonrei in the Jin Brothers' endings. In Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Chonrei becomes an apprentice of Tung Fu Rue, as seen in their corresponding ending (although Kim's ending in the game depicts Chonrei training as Kim's disciple along with his brother). Outside the Fatal Fury series, Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei have appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Chonrei was voted as the staff's thirty-ninth favorite character. He shared the spot with four other characters, including Fatal Fury character, Joe Higashi, and Street Fighter character, Zangief.^[3]

He is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi.

Jin Chonshu

Jin Chonshu (秦 崇秀, Japanese: Jin Chonshū, Pinyin: Qín Chóngxiù, Qin Chong-Xiu) first appears as the second boss character in Fatal Fury 3 and appears thorough the Real Bout series as a regular playable character. He is the younger half of the Jin brothers seeking the Three Secret Scrolls of the Jin. While he appears like a regular teenage boy, he is actually possessed by the spirit of Jin Kairyu (秦　海龍), who was the younger son of Jin Ōryū (秦 王龍), the ancient warlord who wrote the Secret Scrolls of the Jin two thousand years prior to the events of Fatal Fury 3. In Fatal Fury 3, they head to South Town to seek the Secret Scrolls of the Jin in order to unleash their true power. The scrolls are eventually taken by Geese Howard and in the original Real Bout Fatal Fury the Jin brothers participate in the King of Fighters tournament to recover them. However, the scrolls are destroyed by Chonrei in the Jin Brothers' endings. In Real Bout 2, Chonshu then becomes a disciple of Kim Kaphwan, as seen in their corresponding endings. Outside the Fatal Fury series, Jin Chonshu and Jin Chonrei have appeared in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.

He is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi, who also voices Chonrei.

Ryuji Yamazaki

Sokaku Mochizuki

Sokaku Mochizuki (望月 双角, Mochizuki Sōkaku) is introduced in Fatal Fury 3 as one of the five new characters featured in the game and appears in all of the games in the Real Bout series. Mochizuki is a Buddhist monk who practices the Authentic Pathless style Martial Arts (正伝無道流武術, Seiden Mudō Ryū Bujutsu), a fighting style created to hunt down Shura after its founder lost to the Shiranui style. He is said to have the strongest psychokinetic power in the history of the art's style. In Fatal Fury 3 and the original Real Bout, his objective is to seek the Scrolls of the Jin and destroy them. His Real Bout 2 ending shows him trapping a demon larger than a house within a single paper talisman.

He is voiced by Kōji Ishii, who also voices Yamazaki.

Introduced in Dominated Mind

Alfred Airhawk

Alfred (アルフレッド, Arufureddo) is the protagonist of the main story mode in Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind, a Japan-only PlayStation game based on the original Real Bout Fatal Fury Special. Prior to his debut, he appears in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers as a secret final boss. When he was young, his friend John (the elderly co-pilot who accompanies Alfred) took him on a trip on his biplane. When John flew to Russian airspace, MiG missiles were sent after him, but he managed to outfly them without getting struck. John became a hero in Alfred's mind, as the man who won against the MiGs, and Alfred was charmed by flying since then. Alfred seeks to defeat White, who took over the hometown where his deceased father is interred. Alfred goes to Southtown to seek Terry Bogard's aid and help him defeat White.

Alfred appears in later games, such as the Dreamcast version of The King of Fighters '99 (as secret striker), in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash series (as a trading card) and in KOF: Maximum Impact 2 and KOF 2002: Unlimited Match (as a cameo in one of the stages).

He is voiced by Hiro Yūki.

White

White (ホワイト, Howaito) is the antagonist of Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special, where he serves as Alfred's rival. A demented psycho and all-around disturbed fellow, White finds pleasure in making people suffer and follow his every wish. He uses his mind-controlling abilities to make people his personal toys, manipulating them to his desire. White enjoys playing around with those foolish enough to challenge him, using the great amount of power that he possesses. He appears to be based on the main character, Alexander DeLarge from Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange.

He is voiced by Keiji Fujiwara.

Introduced in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

Lao

Lao (ラオ, Rao) is a character introduced in Fatal Fury: 1st Contact. He can be seen in the opening scenes of Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 and Fatal Fury First Contact. In Garou: Mark of the Wolves, he becomes a member in B. Jenet's Lillien Knights crew.

Li Xiangfei

Li Xiangfei (Chinese: 李 香緋; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiāngfēi; Japanese: 李 香緋 Rii Shanfei) makes her first appearance in Real Bout 2. She is a 17-year-old Chinese-American girl who works part-time as waitress in her Uncle Pai's restaurant in the Chinatown district of South Town and has trained in various Chinese martial arts since an early age. She also appears in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition as a hidden guest character.

Li Xiangfei would later make her debut in The King of Fighters series in The King of Fighters '99, forming part of the Woman Fighters Team along with King, Blue Mary, and Kasumi Todoh.^[4] She was absent in The King of Fighters 2000, but would return in The King of Fighters 2001, taking Kasumi Todoh's place from the previous game.^[5]

She is voiced by Mami Kingetsu.

Rick Strowd

Rick Strowd (リック・ストラウド, Rikku Sutoraudo) is one of the two new characters introduced in Real Bout 2.^[6] He is a casino show boxer known as the "White Wolf of the Ring", who is the son of a Native American father and a white mother. He seeks the opportunity to fight in a championship match as well as fight Terry Bogard. Rick's Special Moves are the Shooting Star, the Divine Blast, the Hellion, and the Blazing Sun Burst. He also has a special dodging maneuver called Full Moon Fever. His Super Special is the Gaia's Breath, and his Hidden Ability is the Machine-Gun Wolf. Rick is seen to have a girlfriend, a blonde woman wearing a red dress, name unknown, with whom he rides off into sunset on horseback in his ending. Fans have speculated a probable connection between him and fellow boxer, Vanessa, from SNK's King of Fighters series, as she later began using Rick's Hellion, and had the Gaia's Breath as a DM in The King of Fighters 2002.

He is voiced by Taney Yamaguchi

Introduced in Wild Ambition

Toji Sakata

Toji Sakata (坂田 冬次, Sakata Tōji) is one of two characters who appears exclusively in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. He is the legendary practitioner of the fighting style Dainan-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大南流合気柔術, lit. "The Great South Style of Aiki-jūjutsu", modeled the non-fictional Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu). He was once the best friend and the rival of Tatsumi Suoh (周防 辰巳, Suō Tatsumi), Blue Mary's grandfather and the man who trained Geese Howard in jujutsu. Believing that he was destined to challenge Tatsumi in a death match, this encounter never occurred since Tatsumi was eventually killed by his former student, Geese Howard. He enters the King of Fighters tournament to defeat the man who killed his rival.^[7]

He is voiced by Masashi Sugawara.

Tsugumi Sendo

Tsugumi Sendo (千堂 つぐみ, Sendō Tsugumi) is one of the two new characters exclusive to Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. She's a high school girl from Osaka who was taught wrestling by her father, Kantetsu (寛鉄) since an early age. However, she is secretly ashamed of this, especially after she was told by a boy she had a crush on that women wrestlers are "unfeminine", after hearing this she wanted to drop out of her wrestling training. After butting heads with her overbearing father, Kantetsu will allow her to drop out, but only under the condition that she brings a decisive victory in the King of Fighters tournament. Despite her original hatred for wrestling, she has come to enjoy fighting as she began to win matches.^[8] Some of Tsugumi's move names reference her hometown, like "Tsūtenkaku Driver", "Naniwa Lariat", and "Okonomiyaki-Ire".

She is voiced by Kayo Deguchi.

Introduced in Mark of the Wolves

Bonne Jenet

Bonne Jenet (B・ジェニー) (Bonne Jenet in full, or real name Jennie Behrn) is a character from both Garou: Mark of the Wolves and the King of Fighters series. Jenet is the leader of a group of pirates known as the Lillien Knights. Jenet entered the tournament hosted by Kain R. Heinlein to rob him of anything valuable he might be keeping in his mansion. In her ending, she passes out amidst the destruction of Kain's mansion after defeating him. Her crew saves her from being trapped under the rubble, but fails to secure any of the treasure they had been looking for.

In The King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2, her parents are revealed to be incredibly wealthy; she formed the Lillien Knights when she became bored of her tedious lifestyle. Before the start of the tournament, she attends a party in her otherwise occupied parents' place. While there, the son of the host attempts (and fails quite miserably) to impress her with his paltry skills in Savate. Although Jenet is rather repulsed by his arrogance and embarrassing lack of skill, she learns from him that the King of Fighters tournament is being held once again. After her Lillien Knights knock the man unconscious and rob his father, Jenet decides to join the tournament in hopes of winning the prize money. She is voiced by Rei Saitō in Japanese, and by Gina Rose in the English version of KOF: MI2.

Jenet is very comfortable around men, and her win quotes and prefight and postfight animations express that she doesn't seem very serious about fighting. In The King of Fighters XI, she was in the tournament for monetary gain strictly, and she enters with Tizoc and Gato to form the Fatal Fury/Mark of the Wolves team.

Her fighting style, the LK (Lillien Knights) arts, is similar to savate, a French form of kickboxing. Her moves are mostly made up of attacks by swooping her dress (in moves such as specials "The Hind" and "Crazy Ivan" and Super Special Move "Aurora") and she is able to control the wind (being reflected in her projectile attack "Buffrass" and her Super Special Move "Too Many Torpedoes"). She also, as a Super Special Leader Move in KOF XI, takes off her left shoe and beats her opponent with it. The move is called "An Oi Madamoiselle."

Her appearance consists of a purple dress with a skull and crossbones, red fingerless gloves, a red belt with gold lining, and blonde hair.

She is voiced by Rei Saitō.

Freeman

Gato

Gato (牙刀, Gatō) is a character from Garou: Mark of the Wolves and the King of Fighters series. A ruthless and serious martial artist, Gato has no concerns outside of besting anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. In his Mark of the Wolves ending, a stranger saves Kain R. Heinlein from the crumbling mansion. Gato appears to know the stranger, but he is blinded before he can act. As the mansion falls, the stranger taunts Gato, telling him to start training in order to defeat him. Gato appears to have a vision of his past and his father, and angrily swears vengeance - this insinuates that the stranger is connected to Gato's past (the stranger's outfit appears to resemble Gato's), but nothing has been officially confirmed. Gato also appears in the ending of Hotaru Futaba, who claims that he's her older brother and slaps him when he denies even knowing her. He then leaves her there, and Hotaru silently prays for Gato to come back to her and their father.

Gato first appears in the King of Fighters series in King of Fighters 2003 as part of the Outlaw Team, along with Ryuji Yamazaki and Billy Kane. Gato is summoned to Geese Howard's office and forced to cooperate in order to prevent his sister from being harmed. Gato does not like his team mates at all as revealed by the ending, in which Gato ditches the other two immediately and tells them off, leaving Yamazaki and Billy to fight. In KOF XI he is partnered with Bonne Jenet and Tizoc to form a Garou Team. He also immediately leaves them, though on somewhat friendlier terms (he declines their invitation to celebrate) reinforcing Hotaru's description of his true nature. He is voiced by Kōji Ishii (石井 康嗣), who also voices Yamazaki in the series.

Hokutomaru

Hotaru Futaba

Hotaru Futaba (双葉 ほたる, Futaba Hotaru) is a character who was introduced in Garou: Mark of the Wolves and also makes an appearance in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and in the PS2 version of The King of Fighters XI. Hotaru is the daughter of a family of martial artists, but is not very fond of violence. She never wants to hurt others, which is the probable reason why her father taught her the lighter side of Chinese kenpo; the Juu-kei style, which suits her easygoing personality. There are two things that Hotaru appreciates the most after her mother's suicide:^[9] her sable, Itokatsu, and her older brother, Gato. But Gato was a man who was tormented to become an accomplished martial artist, and was pushed too far by their father. Still, Hotaru knows who the real Gato is, and she is sure that he is not such a bad person at heart.

Gato's disappearance led Hotaru to a hostile city located in the United States: Second South Town, where fighting rules all, crime rules the society, and strength dictates who lives and dies. In this harsh place, Hotaru set out to find clues about her brother. She then heard news of a fighting tournament of epic proportions that would soon occur in Second South Town - "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem." Hotaru had a feeling that her brother would enter the tournament, as he was always looking for strong opponents to fight. Following her premonitions, Hotaru entered the tournament as well. She is voiced by Yuki Horie (堀江 ゆき).

Kain R. Heinlein

Grant

Kevin Rian

Khushnood Butt

Kim Dong Hwan

Kim Jae Hoon

Rock Howard

Tizoc

Tizoc, otherwise known as Griffon Mask (グリフォンマスク, Gurifon Masuku) or the Griffon in the Japanese version, is a character from both the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters series. He started out in the Fatal Fury game Garou: Mark of the Wolves and is described as being a well-renowned and popular professional wrestler. By the time of Garou: Mark of The Wolves, Tizoc already sees himself as a washed up has-been and enters the tournament in order to gain his passion into going back into the ring. When the events of King of Fighters 2003 occur, Tizoc is an up-and-coming superstar in the professional wrestling circuit and joins the Fatal Fury team after being invited by Terry Bogard himself after his brother Andy becomes unavailable since he is teaching a young boy in Shiranui style ninjutsu in Japan (the boy would later grow up to be known as Hokutomaru in Garou).

In The King of Fighters XIV, there is a new character known as King of Dinosaurs (キング・オブ・ダイナソー, Kingu Obu Dainasō), who shares the same voice actor, similar fighting style, build, color schemes and feather parts as Tizoc, currently teaming with Angel and Ramon on Team Mexico. Despite Eisuke Ogura claiming that King Of Dinosaurs is not Tizoc,^[10] The Team Mexico ending revealed that King of Dinosaurs is in fact Tizoc as the result of a humiliating defeat by Nelson. To seek revenge, Tizoc changed his persona into King of Dinosaurs, with the help of Ramon and Angel to cover his identity. During the tournament, certain fighters, such as his former teammate Terry, easily recognize him as Tizoc,^[11][12] while other characters, who may or may not recognize him as Tizoc, deem him as foolish.^[13]

Tizoc is voiced by Hikaru Hanada (花田 光).

Reception

The characters from Fatal Fury have received major positive reaction with GamesRadar calling Terry Bogard as "one of SNK's most memorable characters," as 86th "most memorable, influential, and badass" protagonist in games.^[14] IGN praised the increase of the series' cast but heavily criticized the final boss Geese Howard for his high difficulty.^[15] Avi Krebs from GamingExcellence.com commented that Billy Kane is one of the hardest bossess characters from the first Fatal Fury, but he remains "pale" in comparison to Geese.^[16] Kotaku's Patricia Hernandez wrote "one of Fatal Fury 2's biggest contributions to the medium was that it was the first game to introduce a character with breasts that moved on their own. Known as Mai Shiranui, that character is famed for having very, uh, lively breasts. Though Fatal Fury may not be a huge franchise nowadays, its legacy is very much alive: many top fighting games include a similar jiggle effect."^[17] While acknowledging that Fatal Fury fans might be disappointed by the reduced roster of fighters in Fatal Fury 3, GamePro praised the new third fighting plane and ranking system, and concluded that "Instead of simply adding more fighters, FF3 does more with fewer fighters (hidden moves and so on) and a unique method of gameplay."^[18] They remarked that Bob and Franco are "uninteresting" new characters but praising and the modifications to Mai Shiranui's Swan Dive attack.^[19] The cast of Garou was praised for their animations which was compared with the ones from Marvel vs. Capcom 2.^[20]

THEM Anime Reviews criticized the characterization of the main characters in the three films citing them as "one-dimensional" and also the villains.^[21][22][23] On the other hand, Anime News Network's Bamboo Dong enjoyed the portrayal of the characters in the films, particularly praising Terry's character development as "Most adaptations of this nature barely let their characters show any weaknesses at all, much less an extended period of insecurity and despair, so it was pretty compelling seeing Terry's journey through his dark period."^[24] In another review, Dong praised the selection of the main characters.^[25] Chris Beveridge from Mania Beyond Entertainment also praised the development of the characters such as the interactions between the couple of Andy Bogard and Mai Shiranui as well as the grief of Terry over the loss of his love interest.^[26]

References