Classic review: Garou Mark of the Wolves (1999)

Classic review: Garou Mark of the Wolves (1999)

We are back again after a long absence with another classic game review. Through these reviews we are not looking for the best classic games, but rather we delve into the depths of the past of the world of video games and go back to the classic games experience to be tested, have they really stood the test of time? How does it stand when we look at it with a contemporary eye compared to what it was in the past? The game we chose for this review is none other than SNK's Garou Mark of the Wolves fighting game, which was originally released on the arcade machines in 1999 and was acquired by the last Sega home console Dreamcast in 2001, as well as the PlayStation 2 in 2005, before It can be obtained by current consoles and Steam.

Garou Mark of the Wolves

Developed by: SNK

Platform: Arcade (NeoGeo)

Release year: 1999

Garou Mark of the Wolves is the final installment in SNK's Fatal Fury historical fighting game series and was more of a reboot than Street Fighter 3 did. In the nineties of the last century, the struggle for the throne of fighting games was on its face between the two giants, Capcom and SNK, and in fact, while Capcom was the first to develop this type of game with Street Fighter 2, SNK had a great credit for developing it with ideas, mechanics, and even Ideas for characters that are still popular in side-scrolling games to this day. Garou Mark of the Wolves was a very difficult challenge for SNK, the company's efforts to develop a platform and 3D games have failed miserably, sales are declining and the popularity of arcade games is waning in front of the spread of home devices, and competitor Capcom has presented a masterpiece in terms of animation and Gameplay mechanics and depth is Street Fighter 3 with a very advanced arcade board.

On the other hand, SNK had to develop the game to be compatible with the old Neo Geo hardware that came out in 1990! And whose hardware was used in the company's arcade machines, this created a technical hurdle and a hindrance in terms of storage space and even in terms of buttons, SNK fighting games used 4 buttons for punching and kicking, not 6 buttons like Street Fighter games and one The reasons for this are the control terminal of NewGo and its adherence to it. The fighting games development team in SNK has gathered all their experience and skills in developing these games over the years, SNK, which was the pioneer of real fighting games in the nineties, put all its capabilities and abilities with this game, and the end result is to conquer the impossible, yes Garou Mark of the Wolves is a game based On 9-year-old hardware, however, it pushes the boundaries of animation and pixelation to the highest possible levels and delivers an experience that has left us dazed, what a game!

Terry Bogard vs Rock Howard

In contrast to Street Fighter games that have always been characterized by a cartoonish and colorful graphic, as was the case in Street Fighter III with its various versions up to Capcom's Third Strike gem, SNK's fighting games usually come in a more realistic and less cartoonish style, the colors are more realistic and not too bright This realistic style of SNK games has always been very appealing to us and in fact we prefer it over Capcom's style from that period. We tested several versions of the game, including the PlayStation 4 version with the professional Hori RAP4 controller, but let me explain that Garo was in fact the main reason why I bought this terminal and searched for it in the market for a long time! The margin of error in executing the skills is less than in the Capcom games, the game requires great control accuracy and gives you the feeling that it was really designed to be played with an arcade console like this and not with a regular controller. The PlayStation 4 version is excellent and is the best choice because of the extras such as online play, the Switch version is a complete simulation of the arcade version and is also excellent.

I want to stress that reading the characters' movements (visual clues) in SNK games is generally more difficult than Capcom games and requires more practice. There is a perfect balance between offensive play and defensive play, and in my humble opinion, it is more balanced than Street Fighter 4 or 5 in this aspect. The fourth was very defensive, the fifth was very offensive, but Garou balanced the two in a genius way. The game includes only 12 basic characters, but the characters are completely different from each other, and there are not many duplicates of each other (for example: Ryo - Ken - Dan - Sakura - Akuma). Each character has a respectable skill list to learn and master, a unique fighting style, and a great personality.

The gameplay mechanics are perfect even when compared to modern games

Although the game is relatively old, the gameplay mechanics surprised us with its depth even with its 4 buttons. The buttons are: Low Punch, High Punch, Low Kick, and High Kick; There is no middling punch and kick as with Street Fighter. The jump is a little more complicated than other games, in Garou there is a short jump with a light tap on the top corner, a long charge jump on the top corner, and a super jump as well. The super counter in the game is used to perform super moves. Overall, Garo is the most welcoming game for novices or beginners out of all the SNK games I've tried, the company's games in general are more difficult than others and need more precision in execution and timing is very sensitive. But this game is fun even at the beginner level, and it is not very heavy in terms of combos, as the advanced combos need high playing techniques and are not performed easily.

An example of the wonderful blocking system and the great skill in its implementation

We mentioned that the game is fun and ingeniously balanced between defense and attack, part of this is also due to an innovative system of what is called in modern fighting games the comeback mechanic or the mechanic that allows turning the tables on the opponent, this mechanic was present in SNK games before others and in Garo is Named T.O.P, you can choose a third of the energy meter to activate this system (either the first, second or third as it suits you), when the life meter reaches this third your strikes and attacks will become stronger, and you will be able to perform an additional attack that you could not perform otherwise . The aesthetic of the strategic element is to choose what is the most appropriate time to turn the tables on the opponent? Is it during the first, middle, or last third of the power meter? This decision is up to you.

The gameplay in Garo is smooth and very enjoyable, and each character is different from the other. Terry Bogard was present in the game as a very interesting character, but the newcomer, Rock Howard, stole a lot of lights with his distinctive animation. This antique game surprised me a lot and made me play it continuously for long hours without getting tired or bored, and we are sure that it is able to surprise many of our valued readers!

Animation of pixels is at its best

As we mentioned, SNK designed this game on New Go hardware, which became very old and was not able to shine in 1999, especially with the revolution in 3D graphics at the time, but what SNK animators and animators did will remain in our minds on the mastery of manual animation. There are no motion capture techniques or anything like that for this type of animation, all of this animation was a tremendous ingenuity of the SNK animation company at the time.

Look at the movement of the clothes with the execution of the gunshot

Garo isn't as good as Street Fighter 3 in terms of graphics and animation, despite its aesthetics, limited to 16-bit hardware, but it's still one of the best pixelated games to this day, and the characters, backgrounds, and music blend together in a way that excels in our personal perspective. On Street Fighter 3, an example of this is the fighter Hotaru Futaba at the beginning of the fight and how the birds come to take off their coats while chanting “Arigato” at them! And that's to the wonderful background music that bears the charming nature of the nineties and is full of a sense of adventure and suspense of the unknown.

I can confidently say that Garou Mark of the Wolves is the best 2D fighting game I've played in my player career (more than 25 years) and it's the pinnacle of SNK when SNK was the bedrock of the genre and the company that lights the way for others.

Final Rating: 5/5