June feels so far away, at least for Magic fans eagerly awaiting the upcoming Final Fantasy set. But to tide everyone over, today Wizards of the Coast just offered a first look at over a dozen never-before-seen new cards from the set, including Sephiroth, Yuffie, Cecil, Garland, Chaos, and more.
This new look includes a number of new cards and a handful of art variations, alongside the four commander cards we’ve already gotten a look at: Tidus, Cloud, Y’shtola, and Terra. In addition to various powerful legendaries like Sephiroth and Cecil, we also get a look at a new Food token art, and art variations on cards such as Stilzkin, Moogle Merchant; Sin, Spira’s Punishment; and Summon: Shiva. You can see the full gallery below:
Today’s reveal also shows off some special features of the set, including Summons, a part of Magic’s first-ever Saga creatures that players can call upon for aid in battle (see Summon: Shiva in the gallery). Additionally, double-faced cards make a return, as seen with Cecil’s two sides: Dark Knight and Redeemed Paladin.
In total, the Final Fantasy set will feature over 100 legendary creature cards, including 55 legendary borderless cards, some of which are drawn by fan-favorite artists from across Final Fantasy history.
Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy set will be a fully draftable, Standard-legal set that will release alongside four preconstructed Commander decks, one themed after each of four Final Fantasy games: 6, 7, 10, and 14. Each deck consists of 100 cards, a mix of both new Final Fantasy cards, as well as existing cards with new Final Fantasy art. The set launches on June 13.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
IGN’s RuneScape: Dragonwilds map is here! Our interactive map tracks essential locations across Ashenfall, including Primary and Secondary Quests (Side Quests), recipes for Masterwork equipment such as the Staff of Light, and resources such as Anima-Infused Bark and Blightwood Root.
Collectibles, including Lore Scraps and Recipes for Masterwork equipment such as the Crystal Bow.
Items, such as Chests, so you know exactly where to go to find loot.
Quests, including Primary Quests and side quests, such as Restless Ghosts.
Resources, such as locations for Anima-Infused Bark, Gold Ore Nodes, and Swamp Weed for all your crafting needs.
Other notable map markers, including NPC locations, Crumbled Walls, and Thorny Vines.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds Guides
There’s a lot to do in RuneScape: Dragonwilds, whether that’s tracking down materials like Ram Horns or crafting rare weapons like the Abyssal Whip. IGN’s Game Help is here to help with informative guides. Our coverage includes:
Meg Koepp is a Guides Editor on the IGN Guides team, with a focus on trends. When she’s not working, you can find her playing an RPG or spending time with her corgi.
Captain’s log, stardate 202504.21. Following our last Catch-up Crew mission to Shadow Moses Island, the crew has enjoyed extended shore leave having (re)acquainted ourselves with Metal Gear Solid.
Our new assignment takes us to the M-class world of PNF-404. However, ship instruments indicate that we haven’t left Sector 001. I’ve asked senior staff to join me in Stellar Cartography to ascertain our precise position, but in the meantime, the crew has been preparing for the away mission.
Hi everyone, I’m Yasuyuki Oda, the producer of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The dev team and I wanted to bring you an overview of how you can utilize the REV System to your advantage to tackle even your most formidable foes and opponents. We’ll also cover some flashy combos you can pull off and our roadmap for the Season 1 Pass DLC characters as well. Now without further ado, let’s get you all trained up and ready to jump into the world of Fatal Fury!
Use the REV System to get a leg up on the competition
The key to snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is proper utilization of the REV System. REV Arts allow you to power up your special moves, whereas REV Accel is a great way to create flashy combos and pressure your opponent. The REV System can also be used defensively by using the REV Guard button (R1) to help keep your opponent at bay and increase your chance of securing the win. REV Guard can be performed by pressing just one button so it’s a good strategy to use when you think your opponent is going to go in for a cross-up. Some moves this works well against are Kain’s Schwarzes Rondo setups or attacks made after B. Jenet breaks her Gulf Tomahawk. REV Guard also allows you to input other actions while it’s being pressed, so you can hold down the button and use your grab to break out of an opponent’s oncoming grab attempt or use a hop to strategically maneuver your way out of a sticky situation. Try to make it a habit of holding REV Guard on wakeup to help protect yourself in battle.
The REV System can allow you to create a wide variety of different sick combos
What better way to introduce some of the coolest combos in the game than our flagship returning characters, Mai Shiranui, Rock Howard, and Terry Bogard! Follow each character’s step-by-step guide to perform high-level combos you can use against your friends or online against opponents from all around the globe.
Mai Shiranui
(Close) Neutral HK > Feint > (Close) Neutral HP > HP Hana Arashi (braking) > REV Ryuuenbu ～ REV Sayo Chidori > HK Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi (braking) > REV Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi ～ REV Hana Arashi (braking) > Kagerou no Mai
Rock Howard
(Close) Neutral HK > →+Feint > ↓HP > REV Hard Edge ～ REV Rage Run Type: Layup > HP Rising Tackle (braking) > HP Reppuu Ken > REV Rising Tackle ～ REV Shippuu Ken > Raging Storm
Terry Bogard
(Close) Neutral HP・→ HP > →+Feint > (Far) Neutral HP > REV Burning Knuckle > REV Crack Shoot > HK Power Dunk (braking) > REV Power Charge > REV Burning Wave > REV Power Dunk > (perform in air right before landing) REV Blow > Cosmic Strike Geyser
Season Pass 1 includes 5 additional characters
To start off the Season 1 Pass, Terry Bogard’s brother, Andy Bogard, makes his triumphant return, utilizing a combination of Koppo and ninjutsu to take down his opponents. Hokutomaru shares some moves with Andy so anyone looking to play the younger of the Bogard brothers can start out training with Hokutomaru to get ready for when Andy will become playable later this year.
Joe Higashi is a Muay Thai master and is well known for being both friendly yet hot blooded in the heat of battle. Joe, Terry, and Andy make up the legendary group of three friends that represent the Fatal Fury series, so when Joe returns this Fall, it will be a momentous occasion for fans of this legendary fighting game series.
One of the major antagonists from the Art of Fighting series, the big boss man himself, Mr. Big, also makes his devious return. He utilizes bojutsu and street fighting techniques to take on the other fighters of South Town.
Last but not least, we are proud to have two characters from the Street Fighter series make their appearance in the world of Fatal Fury as guest characters: Ken and Chun-Li. Look forward to when worlds collide in this legendary collaboration.
Destruction has been a hallmark of Battlefield over the years, and for the next Battlefield game, DICE looks to be amping up the rubble-producing chaos even more.
The developer recently dropped a video and Battlefield Labs Community Update, to spotlight what’s in store for the next entry in the Battlefield series. In the pre-alpha footage, we can see some of the destruction designed by DICE, as an explosive takes down the side of a building, opening up a new pathway through the structure.
We’re back with another Battlefield Labs Community Update focused on destruction! Check out an early pre-alpha example of destruction that showcases the ability to destroy a wall to quickly traverse through the building. Read the full article now! #Battlefieldpic.twitter.com/bgDcPgZRbg
Destruction can lead to creative solutions for players, and in the Community Update, DICE said it is working to add more gameplay depth by letting players reshape the environment around them. Whether you bring down a wall to launch an ambush or open a new path towards a critical point, sometimes getting those pesky buildings out of your way can help.
“We’re designing destruction around easily identifiable visual and audio language that lets you understand what can be destroyed, altered, or transformed through gameplay,” DICE said. “We aim to make destruction an integral part of your Battlefield experience to create an intuitive, fun, and rewarding environment where you feel empowered to shape the world around you.”
Different impacts will affect structures like walls; while explosions obviously work, bullets will also chip away, so players can shoot through them. Audio VFX cues will let players know that their efforts are working.
The aftermath of all this destruction also leaves tangible effects on the battlefield. Rubble created by destroying a piece of a building, for example, will remain on the field, and could be used as cover. The next Battlefield certainly seems to have destruction on the mind.
With a lot of effort behind this next entry, this new Battlefield seems to be pulling out all the stops. Getting all the level destruction right certainly feels like a step in the right direction.
We’re approaching a brand new hardware generation, so naturally, it’s time to look back and stress about all of those great Switch 1 games we haven’t played. Yep, it’s time for us to ask you lovely lot to tell us about the Games We Missed.
With backwards compatibility coming to the Switch 2, and a whole host of gems on the eShop, there’s no reason to hold off on picking up some new games. So we want you to tell us what your Switch favourites are from games we haven’t reviewed. We do this twice a year, and last time you managed to provide us with 41 excellent-looking titles such as Touhou Luna Nights, Arco, stitch., and Satryn DX
PlayStation 5 Pro console — the most innovative PlayStation console to date — elevates gaming experiences to the next level with features like upgraded GPU, advanced ray tracing, and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) – an AI-driven upscaling that delivers super sharp image clarity with high framerate gameplay. Today we’re providing a closer look at the console’s internal architecture, as Sony Interactive Entertainment engineers Shinya Tsuchida, PS5 Pro Mechanical Design Lead and Shinya Hiromitsu, PS5 Pro Electrical Design Lead, provide a deep-dive into the console’s innovative technology and design philosophy.
*In this article, we refer to the PlayStation 5 model released in 2020 as the “original PS5,” the PS5 released in 2023 as the “current PS5,” and the PS5 Pro released in 2024 as the “PS5 Pro.”
*Do not try this at home. Risk of fires, and exposure to electric shock or other injuries. Disassembling your console will invalidate your manufacturer’s guarantee.
Name: Shinya Tsuchida (PS5 Pro Mechanical Design Lead) (Right of photo) Name: Shinya Hiromitsu (PS5 Pro Electrical Design Lead) (Left of photo)
An exterior design featuring three distinct horizontal lines
Tsuchida: Before we begin the teardown, I’ll start by going over the PS5 Pro’s exterior design. PS5 Pro is a high performing console, so it requires more air to cool it down. The distinctive three slits are new airflow paths that were not present in the original PS5, or the current PS5. This design was conceived through extensive discussions between the engineers and designers, and we refer to them as ‘blades’ within the engineering team. The slits enhance airflow while also acting as a design element.
Exterior design comparison between the original PS5 (left), the current PS5 (center) and PS5 Pro (right). PS5 Pro is slightly smaller in size compared to the original PS5.
While the look of the PS5 Pro is consistent with the rest of the PS5 family of products, it features three distinct blades that contribute to improved ventilation.
‘Louvers’ between the main unit and cover help to make the console quieter
Tsuchida: Inside the PS5 Pro, there is a structure called a “louver” that sits between the main unit and cover, which looks like a series of slats or fins. While it’s part of the design, it also prevents some of the fan noise from escaping the console towards the front direction. Since most users will play games while facing the front of the console, we intentionally designed the system to make it harder for players to hear the fan.
Rear changes for more efficient airflow
Tsuchida: Next, let’s take a look at the back of the console. We place importance on the types and arrangement of the input/output ports. Since the power button is something everyone uses, there’s been a shared understanding among our successive design teams that it’s better to have it positioned at the bottom rather than the top when the console is placed vertically. On the other hand, the positions of the HDMI, LAN, and USB ports are placed slightly higher compared to the current PS5. This is because the PS5 Pro’s mainboard features a high-density circuit design, and the port placement has been adjusted to accommodate the change.
The vent (exhaust vent) surface is also larger compared to other PS5 models, and air is taken in and exhausted from the rear and bottom surfaces. The size of the intake and exhaust vents is important for better ventilation, and we knew from preliminary research that they needed to be larger than the current PS5, so we decided on the size after discussing with the design team.
The teardown begins
Tsuchida: Let’s start the teardown. On the top side, just like in previous PS5 models, a dust catcher is provided for cleaning purposes. On the bottom side, there is an M.2 SSD slot, a disc drive connector, and a hatch for inserting a coin cell battery.
Tsuchida:The screw holding the battery is intentionally designed to stay attached to the battery cover, preventing it from being lost or accidentally swallowed—a thoughtful safety feature.
A new fan that quietly increases air flow
Tsuchida: After disconnecting the fan cables, we can now remove the blades and inner shell. I’m also removing the fan itself. Like I mentioned earlier, the PS5 Pro requires more air for cooling, and the fan is designed to generate airflow more efficiently. The overall size of the fan is larger than the current PS5 model’s as well.
Comparison of the PS5 Pro’s fan (left) and the current PS5 model’s fan (right)
Tsuchida: The two fans have the same number of blades, but our teams re-designed the blade shape for further optimization. If you look closely, you can see that there are even smaller blades in between each blade. Generally speaking, if a fan has good airflow efficiency, it’s considered better and higher performing. However, we designed our fans to be more than that — we wanted our fans to produce more air “quietly.” It may be generally acceptable for fans to be louder as long as it’s creating more airflow, but this isn’t the case for game consoles as it can disrupt the gameplay experience. I think this specific design philosophy is unique to PlayStation consoles.
Screws to suppress electromagnetic noise
Tsuchida: Now let’s remove the metal shield located further inside the cabinet. The shield is secured to the mainboard with a large number of screws—and there’s a reason for that. Most components on the mainboard generate electromagnetic noise. Since this noise can interfere with nearby electronic devices, such as smartphones, and potentially disrupt their operation, we must suppress the amount of electromagnetic emissions to be kept below a certain threshold. The screws securing the shield are strategically placed to reduce electromagnetic interference.
An evolved motherboard that achieves heightened gameplay
Tsuchida: Once we remove the top and bottom shields, you’ll reach the PS5 Pro’s motherboard. One characteristic of PS5 consoles is that they leverage liquid metal with excellent thermal conductivity for the TIM (Thermal Interface Material) of its main processor. Before we get into details, I’ll provide some explanation using a board before the liquid metal is applied.
PS5 Pro’s motherboard is larger than that of the current PS5. The current PS5 model’s board is curved where the fan sits, but the PS5 Pro has a larger board due to the increased number of circuits required to achieve PS5 Pro’s enhanced performance, which changed the position of the fan. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll notice the location of the input and output ports on the back of the unit is different as well.
The top side of PS5 Pro’s motherboard.
The top side of current PS5 model’s motherboard.
Hiromitsu: The SoC (System-on-a-Chip) is the large chip you see on the center of the board. This chip handles the rendering of high-resolution, high-frame-rate graphics, including the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which uses AI-enhanced resolution for ultra-high-definition gameplay. To maximize the performance of the SoC, the power delivery lines have also been enhanced compared to the current PS5.
In addition, PS5 Pro’s board has more layers compared to the current PS5. If you look closely at the surface of the current PS5 model’s motherboard, you can see the traces that connect the SoC and RAM. However, on the PS5 Pro’s board, the traces are barely visible on the surface. This is because the PS5 Pro’s motherboard was designed with additional internal layers, which allows signal traces to be routed more efficiently through the inner layers achieving even faster memory performance.
Now let’s compare the back side of the motherboards. The main visible difference is that the number of RAMs placed around the SoC has increased from eight to nine. All PS5 consoles up to the current PS5 were equipped with eight chips of high-speed GDDR6 memory, which handled high-speed rendering for games as well as low-speed processing for the rest of the OS. In the PS5 Pro, we added a ninth DDR5 memory which is dedicated to the slower processing, while the remaining eight GDDR6 memories handle all the high-speed rendering required for gameplay. The GDDR6 RAMs themselves have also been improved and are faster than those equipped on the previous PS5 models as well.
The back side of PS5 Pro’s motherboard. A ninth DDR5 memory chip was added to the upper right corner (circled in red in the photo), in addition to the eight GDDR6 laid out in a circle.
The back side of the current PS5 model’s motherboard.
The innovative use of liquid metal became an integral piece of technology that has been carried over to successive PS5 models.
Tsuchida: Using liquid metal as the TIM in the original PS5 was quite challenging at the time. Since liquid metal has far superior cooling capabilities compared to conventional TIMs, we adopted it after conducting various tests to ensure its safety.
We spent quite some time conducting research on insulation when we were designing the original PS5. The basic structure remains the same in the PS5 Pro, but we made some improvements by adding fine grooves where the liquid metal is applied, so that the cooling effect is more stable. When we were doing research for the original PS5, we anticipated that semiconductors would continue to advance and become much denser, so we believed liquid metal technology would become crucial. It turns out we were right, and it was integral when designing the PS5 Pro.
For more stable cooling, grooves have been added where the liquid metal is applied.
Developing a larger power supply unit with higher output
Hiromitsu: This is the power supply unit. The PS5 Pro outputs about 48W more compared to the current PS5 and is also larger in size. The curved power supply units are meticulously designed for each PS5 iteration, so that it fits perfectly into the chassis. Fun fact, the unit has “Sony Interactive Entertainment” engraved near the bottom, so it’s easy to tell which side is the top or bottom. This obviously isn’t immediately visible to the consumer, but it is a small detail that indicates the correct orientation when the console is placed vertically.
A perfectly placed heat sink
Tsuchida:The heat pipes are made of copper. The silver components of the heat sink are made of aluminum to dissipate heat, and the rest of the gray parts are made of steel.
PS5 Pro’s heat sink has more heat pipes, as the console requires a more powerful heat sink to support its high performance. The heat pipes are located next to the SoC, and the fins that transfer heat from the heat pipes are divided into two sections. A heat sink’s cooling capabilities vary greatly depending on its placement, so we put a lot of effort into finding the perfect layout.
Adopting Wi-Fi 7 for even faster connectivity
Hiromitsu: On the top side of the mainboard, you’ll find the Wi-Fi 7 module. Wi-Fi 7 is a new standard released in 2024, and we chose to adopt it for the PS5 Pro based on its high performance and future potential.
During the development of the PS5 Pro, Wi-Fi 7 had not yet been officially released, which made the validation process quite challenging. But we were glad we were able to become early adopters for a gaming console when we got it certified in time for launch in regions that supported Wi-Fi 7.
The white section visible at the bottom right of the top side of the board is the Wi-Fi 7 module. An antenna is also located just beneath it.
And that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed getting an inside look at the internal architecture of the PS5 Pro. Each component works together in harmony to realize the console’s innovative features, like stunning graphics and smooth gameplay.
We’ll admit it, we all thought a new 3D Mario game would be the star of the show in Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal. Donkey Kong Bananza took that spot instead, but that’s not to say that Nintendo hasn’t been cooking something up for its prized plumber. At least, that’s what Nintendo of America’s Doug Bowser seems to be teasing.
The NoA president has been in and out of interviews since the upcoming console’s announcement, and in a recent conversation with CNN, he made a passing comment about the next mainline Mario. It’s a tiny tease, we’ll admit, but it was enough to get us excited, nonetheless.
Delta Force made its return with a launch on PC last year, reigniting interest in the legendary tactical shooter franchise. Now, it is bringing its definitive free-to-play, modern, team-based tactical action to a whole new audience on mobile. Anticipation for the mobile release has been huge, with over 20 million players pre-registering across Android and iOS platforms ahead of launch on April 21st.
We spoke to Leo Yao, Head of Studio and Shadow Guo, Game Director at Team Jade about the development of Delta Force Mobile, the game’s content , graphics and optimization along with technical ambitions, and its play-to-win, not pay-to-win, philosophy.
Capturing epic battles on the small screen
Delta Force features realistic battlegrounds, class-based Operators, a deep weapons arsenal and multiple game modes; all designed to blend nostalgia from the original series with modern gameplay elements. Game modes cater to both solo-player and team-up experiences, including the world’s first 24v24 battlefield with vehicles and an extraction-based PvPvE mode. Parity of experience was a central part of the design ethos for this title.
“Our goal was to build a truly uncompromised AAA shooter experience for mobile players which feels just as thrilling and immersive as its PC counterpart,” said Guo. “We wanted to provide players with the opportunity to experience an array of modes and maps which they haven’t ever experienced before, promising tons of action and fun. That’s why we’re especially proud of introducing groundbreaking features like our world-first 24v24 large-scale battlefield, which pushes the boundaries of what mobile shooters can achieve.”
Keep the fight going, wherever you are
Delta Force Mobile was designed to both introduce the game to new, mobile-first audiences, while also giving PC players a way to bring the game anywhere. Integral to this is Delta Force’s cross progression with PC which includes support of Google Play Games on PC, allowing players to progress and play across both platforms. Synced content between PC and mobile currently includes 7 maps for Warfare, 4 maps for Operations, 10 Operators, 12 vehicles and 55 weapons sets, with more to come. Player’s individual progression, including their inventory will also be synced.
“We wanted to make sure that Delta Force provided players with exciting cross-platform experiences”, said Yao. “Whether players are jumping into a quick match on their phones during a commute or settling in for a longer session with friends on PC, we wanted to ensure the game is both accessible and fun for everyone. That’s why we focused on offering a wide range of engaging content across all platforms for the mobile launch.”
“No One Gets Left Behind”
The Delta Force motto rings true in their approach to device optimisation as well. The developers worked hard to make sure that its launch on mobile is optimal for players across the world with system requirements that are accessible.
“We wanted to make sure players wouldn’t have to worry about whether their phones could handle game play, so we have made sure system requirements are as accessible as possible. For example, an iPhone 7, which is around 10 years old, will be sufficient for players to experience everything Delta Force has to offer,” said Yao.
Delta Force brings its high-resolution visuals to mobile, complete with global illumination systems, so players feel truly immersed in the world that has been created. Central to its design are lifelike operators, detailed weapon cosmetics, vast and detailed maps, and distinctive in-game effects.
Fans of shooters demand high frames per second (FPS) for a great experience, which is why it was vital for the developers to ensure 120 native FPS through cutting edge technology like Vulkan and Metal when building the mobile version. The team has achieved around 50% higher efficiency than most industry leading mobile shooters, making Delta Force an industry leader in terms of performance. Coupled with low input-latency, the game has been built from the ground up to be one of the smoothest mobile shooters on the market.
Play To Win
Delta Force’s progression is based on a play-to-win system which allows new and ongoing players to earn exclusive rewards. On launch, mobile players are eligible for several different rewards by signing in and playing the game. There will be $500 worth of rewards to obtain across PC & mobile, including 148 weapon appearances, 21 vehicle appearances and 270+ other rewards.
“We are truly committed to a no-pay-to-win system, with the development of our game driven by our passionate players. We value giving back, and that’s why we provide in-game rewards. We want our players to enjoy progressing and getting rewarded for doing so. Delta Force will always be a community first game.”
The OG SNK fighting game series, and the one that went toe-to-toe with Street Fighter 2 back in the 90s, Fatal Fury has been dormant for more than 25 years. SNK has been quite active in that time with the King of Fighters series and even a Samurai Shodown revival, but those offer two very different styles of fighting game, leaving Street Fighter without its most comparable SNK competition for far too long. And that’s what Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves brings to the table: A more direct alternative to Street Fighter 6 — one that is similar in its gameplay structure, but without neutral skipping system mechanics, Drive Impacts, and throw loops. It’s missing a few modern-day fighting game features that should be standard at this point and its UI is lacking to say the least, but in all of the areas that matter most, City of the Wolves hits like a Buster Wolf to the face.
Like its 90s predecessors, City of the Wolves is a four-button fighter that gives you a light punch, heavy punch, light kick, and heavy kick. There’s also a close and far version of each of these buttons, with the close versions typically leading to bigger damage and better situations, while the far versions are used more for pokes and whiff punishes. One big thing that separates City of the Wolves from Street Fighter 6 and several other modern fighting games is that there are no universal ways to easily get in on an opponent. There are no shared high speed dash-ups that let you keep your turn even if they’re blocked, no universal vanishing teleports, and no projectile-invulnerable quick steps. Characters still have plenty of options to approach, but none that are shared among the whole cast, and all of which carry significant risk.
There are no shared high speed dash-ups that let you keep your turn even if they’re blocked.
While I personally don’t mind a good neutral skip, I still greatly enjoy that larger focus on the mental chess game of each of us trying to get a feel for how the other will try and approach, and reacting accordingly. It also makes the characters that do have the ability to cover ground very quickly and safely feel a lot more unique among the rest of the cast.
New to City of the Wolves is the Rev Meter, which works very similarly to how the Drive Meter functions in Street Fighter 6, only you’re actually building this meter up instead of depleting it. You begin every round at 0%, and you’ll increase that percentage by blocking enemy attacks or using special Rev techniques – those include EX special moves, a Rev Guard that adds substantial pushback to your guard and avoids chip damage, and armored attacks called Rev Blows. Once you hit 100%, you’ll overheat and the meter will slowly start to deplete, but until it gets back to zero (which takes a really long time) you can’t use any Rev techniques, and your guard gauge will deplete every time you block an attack. Once that’s gone, your guard will be broken and you’ll be open to a free combo from your foe.
It’s a great system that has me making very important meter management decisions on the fly. Since you can chain EX Special moves into each other in order to squeeze out more damage from a combo, that gauge can rise very high very quickly over the course of just a single combo. That pushed me to ask myself whether it was worth fully cashing out on a big combo and risk either overheating or being close to overheating, or whether I should end the combo early and save some of the gauge for the rest of the round.
Rev Blows are the only part of the equation I’m not fully on board with.
Rev Blows are the only part of the equation that I’m not fully on board with. These armored attacks may initially bring to mind Drive Impacts from Street Fighter 6, but there are some very important distinctions. Like Drive Impacts, they can be used to power through an enemy flurry to deliver a big attack of your own, but unlike Drive Impacts, they only result in a full combo if they hit as a counter, not just if they absorb an attack. Still, even without countering, they do a sizable chunk of damage, are safe on block, and only cost 17% of your Rev Meter, meaning they can be used pretty liberally without much consequence – that’s especially true if the other player doesn’t know how to deal with them, which would be understandable as City of the Wolves doesn’t tell you that in any of the in-game tutorials.
Of course, these hits are not unbeatable. Like Drive Impacts, the best way to counter them is with a Rev Blow of your own, which will turn the tide and give you a free combo opportunity. Unlike Drive Impacts, though, Rev Blows can only be used during SPG (Selective Potential Gear), which is a special buff that is only active while in your choice of either the start, middle, or end portion of your health bar.
You decide where you want your SPG buff to kick in before each fight, and there are advantages to each position – but if someone starts a match with their SPG at the beginning of their health bar, and I have it set anywhere else, I just straight up don’t have my best defense against this technique until I lose either half or the majority of my life. There are other defenses, like throws, supers, and dodge attacks, but none that really match the ease and reward of the attacker just throwing a Rev Blow out there. At higher levels, you’ll see people canceling their dodge attack with a feint and getting full combos off that, but the timing window for this is very tight, and it feels like there’s no good answer for this move at low-to-mid level play.
Outside of that one relatively small issue, however, the actual fighting in City of the Wolves is excellent. There’s a great flexibility in the combo design that lets you go for either reliable and easy damage just by stringing a couple of EX special moves together, with the option to end with a super, or a more execution heavy combo that incorporates techniques like special move braking and feints, both of which require fast fingers and much greater precision. That lets you weigh the potential of an increased reward against a much higher chance of dropping the combo however you want.
There’s a great balance of both offensive and defensive options.
There’s a great balance of both offensive and defensive options as well that make it hard to just fall into a rhythm of doing the same things over and over again. On wake up you can roll forward and backwards, there are a couple of frames of throw invulnerability to prevent throw loops, and well-timed just defenses or hyper defenses are rewarded with an opportunity to guard cancel and punish attacks that aren’t normally heavily punishable. It all just feels really good.
Between a Rock and a Bogard Place
The City of the Wolves roster is a respectable 17 strong at launch, and it is a mechanically diverse cast that covers most of the original Mark of the Wolves roster along with four newcomers. Two of those newcomers, Preecha and Vox Reaper, are excellent without any caveats. Preecha is an easy to pick-up-and-play Muay Thai scientist with flashy and satisfying combos and a well-rounded skill set; while Vox Reaper is just rushdown personified. He’s one of the few characters on the roster without a projectile, but he more than makes up for it with lightning fast speed, tricky divekicks, and by being one of the few characters with one of those aforementioned plus-on-block neutral skipping dashing attacks.
I have been spending the most time with Terry and Hokutomaru. Terry because of the familiarity I have with him from other games, and Hokutomaru for the sheer variety of approach options he has. He can double jump, teleport while in the air, and use Akuma-like air projectiles to both threaten from afar and alter his jump arc to bait out anti-airs.
Then there are the guest characters: Real-world soccer pro Cristiano Ronaldo and real-world DJ Salvatore Ganacci. To get the good out of the way first, they are at least cool characters mechanically. Ronaldo’s main gimmick is that all of his normal attacks are soccer techniques that can not only damage the opponent on their own, but also be used to hit a soccer ball that can be summoned with one of his special moves. This can lead to some truly wild set ups that force you to block the ball and then guess or predict where Ronaldo is going to hit you from.
Ronaldo and Ganacci are at least cool characters mechanically.
Salvatore on the other hand is largely a gag character, with moves taken directly from his music videos and performances as a DJ, but at least they’re very entertaining to look at. I still find myself chuckling when he looks dead into the camera as he pounds an enemy’s face to the beat, and while many of his moves are slow and awkward, he surprisingly hits extremely hard even without having to spend a ton of meter.
But here’s the thing: Very little was done to make these characters feel like they belong in Fatal Fury, especially Ronaldo. Salvatore at least has his own story in the Arcade and Episodes of South Town single-player modes, but Ronaldo is completely absent from both. Not to mention, their visual designs are boring and too ordinary to match the flash and flair of someone like B. Jenet or Kain. It’s hard not to feel like these characters would have been better suited as optional DLC like most guest characters tend to be, which would’ve freed up more spots for characters that actually belong in South Town.
Greetings From South Town
As far as the rest of the package goes, the single-player options in City of the Wolves are pretty fun, even if they are pretty basic. The first is the classic Arcade mode that works as you’d expect: Each character has an intro establishing who they are and what their goal is, a rival battle, and an ending. As far as Arcade modes go, it’s actually pretty solid, even if it is very ordinary. I’ve only beaten a handful of them, but each one has had some really nice character building moments and long awaited pay offs for anyone who’s been following Fatal Fury lore for a while.
The marquee single-player option is Episodes of South Town, which is an RPG-inspired mode that lets you play through a more substantial version of a character’s story by selecting battles on a map screen. You’ll gain experience with each battle that then lets you level up and become stronger, increasing your stats and giving you access to new skills and abilities as you progress. It’s a solid diversion that adds some very welcome light progression and RPG elements while giving each character’s story a more satisfying beginning, middle, and end than what Arcade mode offers.
Some of the battles in this mode have unique conditions too, such as having to fight multiple enemies in a gauntlet, enemies always being in SPG mode, or (in one of the more frustrating conditions) your opponent being immune to every attack with the exception of a 1/66 chance that you’ll land a one-hit kill. Outside of that last one, which is a miserable time, the additional conditions do a pretty good job of adding some variety to each match without overcomplicating them or taking away from what’s fun about the combat in the first place.
One area City of the Wolves could have used some extra attention is in its teaching tools. There is a passable tutorial that covers all of the mechanics, but it doesn’t do a great job of explaining the context or usage of many of its more advanced techniques. Defending against the aforementioned Rev Blow is one example, but it also doesn’t do a great job of explaining the uses of things like Feints or Brakes. In fact, the tutorial section for Brakes basically just tells you how to do them, explains that they can be used in combos, then says that it’s a lesson for another time – but it doesn’t actually have another lesson for it!
On the online side of things, the most important question to ask when it comes to a modern fighting game is “does it have rollback netcode?” The second most important question is then “is it good rollback netcode.” For City of the Wolves the answer to those two questions are “yes!” and “ehhhh.” For the most part, during my experience with both the betas and a handful of matches on the full game’s pre-launch servers, online felt pretty good. That said, the best netcodes are able to make a bad connection still feel playable, and that definitely wasn’t the case during the worst of what I saw. I had one match with eight frames of delay that felt like I was moving through sludge, and another where my button inputs just occasionally wouldn’t go through.
For the most part, online play felt pretty good.
Most of the usual suite of options are otherwise here and accounted for. There are ranked matches, casual matches, room matches, and a replay theater to watch both your own replays and public ones (though there’s no way to filter or search for replays featuring a specific character). Unfortunately, the UI to navigate through these menus is some of the worst I’ve seen in a fighting game, with the biggest offender being the room match menu that for some reason needs to be controlled with a slow moving mouse cursor and has the look of an excel document or powerpoint presentation. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge deal, and the lobby itself is functional in all of the ways I’d expect – but still, it’s surprising to see in a game that otherwise drips with style once you’re in a match.
