SNK has released a fighting guide for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves ahead of EVO Japan 2024, outlining all the mechanics players should know. The REV System is the central focus, but there’s also the return of Just Defense and Hyper Defense from Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
The former triggers when blocking an opponent’s attack at the right moment and provides a slight decrease to the REV meter and healthy recovery while also allowing you to perform a Guard Cancel. The latter offers the same benefits but is performed by timing forward inputs to block a multi-hit attack. Guard Cancels let you immediately interrupt your block and perform a Special Move, Ignition Gear, Redline Gear, REV Blow and Hidden Gear.
If you Guard Cancel into an Ignition or Redline Gear, they’re performed faster, making them much deadlier. Braking is somewhat similar, though it involves canceling the animation of certain Special Moves for more potential combos. Those in the mood to mess with their opponents can also perform Feints, where your character pretends to perform a Special move. It also reduces the recovery after a normal attack.
Like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves features streamlined controls called Smart Style. Repeatedly pressing Circle executes a Smart Combo while mashing Square when near an opponent performs a Combination Attack. Some actions, like Feint, are missing and available only with Arcade Style.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves launches in early 2025, though platforms have yet to be announced.