# Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special is a 1997 arcade fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo. It is the sixth installment in the Fatal Fury series and the second game in the Real Bout sub-series, following Real Bout Fatal Fury (1995). The game features all new graphics and returns to the two-level plane system from Fatal Fury 2.
In Japan, it was ported in 1998 to the Sega Saturn and as an updated version, Real Bout Special: Dominated Mind, to the PlayStation. A Game Boy version was published by Takara in Japan. Real Bout Fatal Fury Special was included in the Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 2 compilation in February 2007 on the PlayStation 2, which had a North American release. The compilation was re-released in March 2017 on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4.

## Gameplay

Though gameplay is two-dimensional, characters can move between two different planes during battle. Breaking an opponent through one of the barriers located on either side of a stage causes the opponent to become stunned.

## Characters

The game retains the cast of the original Real Bout, with the addition of Tung Fu Rue, Cheng Sinzan, Laurence Blood, and Wolfgang Krauser from Fatal Fury Special. Krauser serves as the new final boss. Geese Howard, who was canonically killed off in his own KOF tournament during the previous game, appears in this game as a hidden final boss in a special "Nightmare Match" and as an unlockable playable character in the home versions. The game also features hidden "extra" versions of Andy Bogard, Billy Kane, Blue Mary, and Tung Fu Rue for a total of 23 characters (24 if Geese is counted).

## Development and release

The game was ported to the Neo-Geo CD with several additions, such as a Versus mode and a music video starring Blue Mary that is shown after the credits when Arcade mode is completed. This port also saw a release for the Sega Saturn, using the 1MB RAM cartridge expansion of the system to retain sprite animations.

### Real Bout Special: Dominated Mind

A port of Real Bout Special titled Real Bout Special: Dominated Mind was released for the PlayStation in 1998 only in Japan. It adds Alfred from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 (which was released three months earlier on the Neo Geo) as a playable character and includes a new boss character named White (modeled after the character Alexander "Alex" DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange). This port adds animated videos produced by Sunrise for the game's intro and character endings. The story of this version centers around White's brainwashing of Billy Kane and attempted takeover of Southtown's underworld in the power vacuum left by Geese Howard's death in the original Real Bout. In this version, Geese sports a halo over his head, a reference to his passing in the original Real Bout. Dominated Mind also features new moves, hidden unlockable super moves, and super cancelling (known in the game as "Final Impacts") and removed the two-line battle system from the game. Extra versions of Andy, Billy, Mary, and Tung are removed.

### Nettou Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special

The Game Boy version, titled Nettou Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special (熱闘リアルバウト餓狼伝説SPECIAL), was released only in Japan on March 27, 1998, featuring simplified graphics and two-button gameplay. This version features only 12 playable characters: a roster which consists of Terry, Andy, Joe, Mai, Blue Mary, Duck King, Kim, Jin Chonrei, Billy, Yamazaki, Laurence, and Krauser. Geese Howard appears as a hidden character, as well as Iori Yagami from The King of Fighters series.

## Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Real Bout Fatal Fury Special on their March 1, 1997 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month. The game was a success in the arcades. According to Famitsu, the AES and Neo Geo CD versions sold over 9,169 and 20,246 copies in their first week on the market respectively.