Art of Fighting

Art of Fighting is a fighting video game trilogy that were released for the Neo Geo platform in the early 1990s. It was the second fighting game franchise created by SNK, following the Fatal Fury series and is set in the same fictional universe as a prequel to the Fatal Fury series. The original Art of Fighting was released in 1992, followed by two sequels: Art of Fighting 2 in 1994 and Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior in 1996.

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.

Taking place in 1978, Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia set out to find Ryo's sister, Yuri, who has been kidnapped by Mr. Big. Mr. Big has taken the girl to entice Takuma Sakazaki, Ryo's father and originator of the fictional form of karate known as Kyokugen Karate ('Extreme style'), and because Ryo refused to work for Big. After they defeat Mr. Big, Ryo and Robert face the enigmatic Mr. Karate. Art of Fighting's story ends with a cliff-hanger; Yuri is about to disclose the true identity of Mr. Karate as their father Takuma.

Ryo and Robert are the only playable characters in the single player story mode, although eight of the game's ten characters are playable by default in the two player versus mode. Mr. Big and Mr. Karate can be played in the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) version by reaching their respective stages in the game then having a second player join in, and in the Neo Geo AES (console) version through the use of cheat codes.

Art of Fighting's events are referenced often in the wider SNK universe; The King of Fighters '97, for instance, parodies the events of the game in its ending.

Art of Fighting was re-released for Nintendo Switch on 21 September 2017.