Fatal Fury 2 playthrough (Neo Geo, 1CC)

Playthrough with Andy. The sequel to Fatal Fury was released in 1992. This was no mere upgrade to the original, as it features totally redrawn graphics for all of the returning characters, along with new backgrounds, endings and more. The controls were completely changed, with the throw button being ditched and there now being four attack buttons -two for punches, two for kicks.

The character roster was expanded, featuring every playable character from the first game along with five new characters. This was the game that introduced several fan favorites, the most notable one being Mai Shiranui. Players are now able to switch planes themselves, something only the CPU could do in the first game. Another new addition is a powerful attack each character has, done by pressing the C and D buttons together, that hits the opponent into the other plane. Every character also has their own taunt.

The other main addition to this game are the desperation attacks. When your character's life bar starts flashing, you can use these powerful moves that do a lot of damage. Each character has one desperation attack, and you can use them as many times as you want once you're low on health.

The CPU was also made more difficult. With Andy, the first eight opponents aren't usually that bad, but the four unplayable boss characters are another matter. This game was an early indicator that SNK weren't very good with bosses, something they'd only get worse with for the next few years after this game was released. I make them look pretty easy to beat with Andy, but it's because you can get through most of the game just by using his zan ei ken, then doing a crouching strong punch, then repeat. Billy's moves are pretty broken in the hands of the CPU, his standard pokes are far too good. I actually think he's harder than Krauser.