Fatal Fury: City Of The Wolves is the next chapter in a nearly decade-long story for SNK. Since 2016, the company has painstakingly re-introduced its most popular fighting game franchises to the gaming world: first with King Of Fighters XIV, then Samurai Shodown in 2018, and most recently back to KOF with XV in 2021. In 2025, the company looks to revive another fighting IP, and this time it's one that hasn't seen a new entry in two-and-a-half decades. After a few hours of hands-on with City Of The Wolves during the recent SNK World Championships and speaking to the game's director, Hayato Konya, this new Fatal Fury already looks to be worthy of carrying the baton.

The demo featured five characters from the game's playable selection. Terry Bogard, Fatal Fury's original protagonist, and Rock Howard, the new face of the franchise, were teased when the game was first announced in 2022. Two more characters, meanwhile, were confirmed to be returning from previous entries: Hotaru Furaba and Tizoc--both of whom debuted in 1999's Garou: Mark Of The Wolves--now become playable again for the first time since The King Of Fighters XI in 2006.

All four of these fighters are faithful to their original designs; Terry is still a versatile bruiser, while Rock Howard continues to create guessing games thanks to Rage Run and Crack Counter. Hotaru thrives on powerful strikes while in close range--though she does still have a fireball for opponents at a distance--and Tizoc can still shift the momentum of a match with one well-timed command throw.