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Hi everyone! I'm Yuna.

I'm excited to share a game review from our very own CM Flint - a passionate Korean gamer known for his detailed analyzes and deep love for games. His insights are always so helpful, so I hope you'll enjoy reading his thoughts on [Art of Fighting 2] 😊

[Art of Fighting 2]: Reviewed by CM Flint

Please note that the screenshots may contain Korean text.

The origin of The King of Fighters series

Enjoy Art of Fighting on PC

💎 First Impressions

Before talking about Art of Fighting, there is some background that cannot be skipped.

In 1991, Street Fighter II - which can be considered the foundation of modern fighting games - was released and became a massive hit. In response, SNK gathered developers from the original Street Fighter team and released the first entry in the Fatal Fury series.

However, Fatal Fury alone was not enough to surpass the popularity of Street Fighter II. As a result, SNK released additional series. One of them was Art of Fighting, whose first title launched in 1992.

Marketed with the slogan “100 Mega Shock!”, it was ambitiously released with a large data size and achieved considerable success. Its sequel followed in 1994, and that sequel is the subject of today’s review: Art of Fighting 2.

⌚ Gameplay

Excellent visual presentation

Bonus stages that add light-hearted fun

(All SNK games released on Stove are localized PC ports of the English arcade versions.)

The SNK fighting games released on Stove share a few common traits:

• Samurai Shodown II
• The King of Fighters 2002
• Art of Fighting 2

For reasons unknown, all three titles are associated with “2,” and all are ports of the English arcade versions. This does not simply mean that Japanese text was translated into English. Rather, the original arcade boards produced for overseas markets were ported directly to PC.

Since there are no differences in hit detection or core mechanics, this distinction is not critically important for gameplay.

(Excluding hidden characters, there are 12 playable fighters.)

In Art of Fighting 1, there were only 8 playable characters. In Art of Fighting 2, the roster was expanded with:

• Eiji Kisaragi
• Yuri Sakazaki
• Takuma Sakazaki
• Temjin

This brings the total to 12 playable characters. Due to hardware limitations of arcade machines at the time, this was likely the maximum possible. Even so, the large character portraits in the selection screen help the roster feel substantial.

(The dynamic zoom based on character distance is particularly impressive.)

One of the defining features that differentiates Art of Fighting from earlier fighting games is its distance-based camera system.

At the start of each match, both characters appear close together. When the round begins, they jump backward and the camera zooms out. This zoom effect continues dynamically throughout the fight. As characters move closer together, the increased sense of tension becomes clearly noticeable.

(Just looking at the bruised, swollen faces makes the hits feel painful.)

Another distinctive feature of Art of Fighting is how characters visually change as they take damage.

In short: the more a character is hit, the more visibly battered they become, with bruises and swelling appearing on their face. This makes it easy to intuitively sense how much damage has been taken. Additionally, a well-known feature among fans is that when a character is defeated by a special move (excluding throws):

• Clothes may tear
• Weapons may break
• Characters may stagger and collapse

Unfortunately, due to my limited skill with fighting games, I was unable to consistently trigger these animations. 😅😅😅

(The first fighting game to introduce a Ki Gauge, though its feel differs greatly from modern titles.)

While many system-level features stand out, the control feel is also very noticeable.

The move lists include command inputs that are rarely used today, such as:

• ↙ → + B

The Ki Gauge system was also introduced here for the first time in fighting game history. Special moves consume Ki to produce enhanced versions, which is fundamentally different from how modern meter systems work.

(A total of 12 stages - meaning every character must be defeated once.)

The Stove version of Art of Fighting 2 does not support online play, so gameplay is focused on CPU matches.

In standard story progression, players go through 12 stages. The final boss encountered is Mr. Big, who is also one of the playable characters.

12 stages by default

Meet special conditions to unlock an extra stage

If you meet a specific condition, an additional stage becomes available:

• Clear all matches up to Mr. Big without losing a single round

This requirement is extremely difficult, and I was unable to achieve it. Players confident in their fighting game skills may want to give it a try.

(Bonus stages allow players to earn extra points.)

Compared to many fighting games, Art of Fighting places a strong emphasis on arcade-style elements.

During Story Mode, bonus stages appear, just as they did in the first game.

In Art of Fighting 2, there are three types:

1. Tree Chopping
2. Thug Beating
3. Super Move Training

The first two simply grant bonus points.

However, Super Move Training allows players to permanently learn a super move by defeating targets using the actual command input. Once learned, the super move becomes selectable in future matches.

(Various settings are available before launch.)

As with other SNK releases, Art of Fighting 2 runs via an emulator-based structure.

From the menu, players can adjust:

• Display settings
• Sound settings
• Difficulty (1–7, before launching the game)

However, shortcomings remain:

• Key bindings cannot be changed within the emulator

This was disappointing, and a future update was hoped for.

※ Update (2025.01.03):

The keyboard control guide has since been corrected to match actual inputs.

📌 Final Verdict

A style very different from modern fighting games

Recommended for those seeking a new control experience

(If you want to experience the feel of that era, this is worth trying.)

Art of Fighting 2 clearly shows many experimental design choices.

Because its systems and controls differ significantly from modern standards, adapting to the game can be challenging.  As a result, it took considerable time to defeat the final boss (excluding the hidden stage).

However, this is precisely why the game can also be recommended to players new to fighting games.

• Experimenting with moves against CPU opponents
• Experiencing how foundational fighting game systems originated

These aspects offer genuine value.

A game recommended for those who want to experience unconventional controls and the foundations of 2D fighting game systems: Art of Fighting 2.

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