Relive the Art of Fighting | Boing Boing

2022-09-10 21:37:40 By : Mr. Jay Cao

Ok, here's the scene: It's the early 90s, and you walk into an arcade with girthy pockets crammed full of quarters. You feel like Smaug reclining on his mounds of gold as the coins chime with your every step. Mesmerized by the electronic wonderland, you stand transfixed, staring at the innumerable pixelated portals to nirvana, searching for the arcade cabinet that will help you reach transcendence. 

As your eyes fall on a throng of pre-teens huddled around Street Fighter 2, you slowly realize that your chances of gaining admission into Capcom's world warrior tournament are nil. Dejectedly moping to the opposing end of the arcade, you catch your first glimpse of it. It looks like Street Fighter 2, and it even has similar characters and gameplay. You unconsciously fish a quarter from your pocket and slide it into the mysteriously alluring cabinet. Your body and mind align as you prepare to master the Art of Fighting. 

SNK's Art of Fighting, a prequel to their popular Fatal Fury series, is one of the most innovative fighters in the genre's history. Aside from the mechanical additions to gameplay, Art of Fighting expanded the SNK tradition of crafting a rich story world for their characters. With King of Fighters XV, the esteemed crossover that marries the timelines of Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting, snagging a main stage slot at this year's EVO, I thought it'd be cool to travel back in time and study the Art of Fighting. 

Why is it so hard to get into fighting games? Pretty much every genre of video game has a rough onboarding period, but the process usually lasts a few days. After a quick tutorial and some fun practice rounds, you're already considered intermediate in most games. Fighting games require about seven to eight months of… READ THE REST

From the official synopsis on Steam: The greatest writers of all time are fighting each other in the arenas that were inspired by their work. Each character can summon his own "magic" arena where he becomes the boss of the level for a short amount of time. Each character can be knocked out with one… READ THE REST

In the world of fighting games, a game's difficulty is a selling point. Fans of the genre enjoy touting how demanding their game of choice can be. In this regard, Tekken is in a league of its own. Tekken isn't played on a two-dimensional plane, unlike Street Fighter and King of Fighters, and boasts some of the most complex… READ THE REST

When you think of taking notes, you likely envision yourself with a sore hand, furiously scribbling as your teacher, colleague, or boss presents many more words than you're able to jot down. The notes can come out looking disorganized and lacking the very substance that you sought to write down in the first place, leading to discombobulated work… READ THE REST

If you're a modern person, there's no shortage of things keeping you stressed and, as a result, causing you to experience muscle pain. And while there may be plenty of methods to try and alleviate stress, nothing can really beat the power of a massage (no, not this massage). If you're looking to mitigate some muscle pain but can't… READ THE REST

While visiting the dentist is anything but a good time, the way your mouth feels after a regular cleaning makes it all worth it. And it just makes you realize how dirty your mouth feels during the time between these semi-annual trips, and, according to Healthline.com, your old plastic toothbrush simply doesn't cut it anymore, as… READ THE REST

Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms of Service.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise sales and affiliate links. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy.

Who will be eaten first? Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines.

Boing Boing is published under a Creative Commons license except where otherwise noted.