Ryuuko no Ken 龍虎の拳

(also known as Art of Fighting)

MAKER: HUDSON SOFT / SNK
RELEASE DATE: 26 MARCH 1994
STYLE: ACTION / BEAT 'EM UP
FORMAT: CD-ROM

SKU: HCD4061

Compatible with PC-Engine CD-ROM (PCE)

Ryuuko no Ken (龍虎の拳) is a fighting game by SNK originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade and AES home console in 1992. It was ported to, among other consoles, Arcade CD-ROM² hardware in 1994. In the West, it is known as Art of Fighting.

Being a great fighter takes more than strength and pain. You need wisdom and need to win at any cost. Ryo Sakazaki's sister has been kidnapped and it leads him and Robert, two of the greatest fighters of all time, on the most dangerous search of their lives. Their interrogations turn out to be more bloody than they like, but each answer leads them closer to the truth. Use their special skills to find Ryo's sister and discover the terrifying truth. You'll discover magic techniques to master THE ART OF FIGHTING!

The Art of Fighting series follows the conventions of the time in the sense that the player faces a variety of opponents in best two-out-of-three matches. Each of the game's characters have a unique fighting style and set of special techniques. The player has two basic attacks—punch and kick—as well as a utility button that switches between punches, kicks, and throws. A fourth button is used for taunting. Art of Fighting's contribution to the genre was the inclusion of a "spirit gauge" underneath the character's life bar. When characters perform special techniques, their spirit gauge is depleted and their special attacks become weaker. Players can also drain their opponent's spirit gauge by taunting them.

The Art of Fighting series was also the first fighting series to allow players to perform a "super attack". In the original Art of Fighting, the player's character can learn a super attack (dubbed the super death blow) by completing one of the game's bonus rounds (this technique is available by default in the 3rd game). All three games also feature "Desperation Attacks" that can only be performed when the player's health is low and the life bar is flashing.

The series also introduced graphical scaling into the fighting game genre: as the characters move towards each other, the camera zooms in to maximize the level of detail. Character sprites in Art of Fighting change as the fight progresses to become more bruised and cut as damage is taken.