Street Fighter 6 finally has the Legendary Hungry Wolf and I’m delighted | Impressions
So, Terry is finally in Street Fighter 6. Long term fighting fans like me will be familiar with the Legendary Hungry Wolf, the mainstay of SNK’s Fatal Fury series and part of the King of Fighters universe. But others may be wondering what is going on, and just who is this baseball cap wearing smartass? In a period of a few weeks there has been some pretty crazy stuff going on in the crossover stakes where SNK and Capcom are concerned. From Ken and Chun Li being announced as part of the forthcoming City of the Wolves, to the rumoured involvement of Cristiano Ronaldo (yes, you read that right), it is an exciting and strange time to be a one on one fighting fan.
I have spent several hours now experimenting with Terry Bogard in Street Fighter 6. I have taken him online and played through everything he has to offer in World Tour mode. Fighting wise, Capcom have done a great job of implementing Terry, given the fact that historically he has been part of a series that can involve him stepping between different planes of action. There is a nice sidestep action which mimics the mechanics of some of the Fatal Fury games, and feels specially engineered for young Terrance. Despite being as iconic to SNK as Ryu and Ken are to Capsule, Terry is and always has been an altogether different and more technical beast; his standard attacks are far less conventional than you would expect, and he feels very different to his shoto counterparts. I have seen him compared to Akuma in that his specials and conventions are familiar and easy to execute, but bely a level of depth and potential deadliness that can far outstrip the other Shotokan characters in the right hands. I would agree with this summary.
Terry’s strengths and weaknesses are quickly obvious after a bit of time spent with him. He lacks a proper hefty set of heavy attacks that can punish the same way as Ryu and Ken with their heavy punches and kicks, and don’t always behave in the way you would expect. When playing in Modern mode using Terry’s style in World Tour, the combo strings are awkward and not always easy to connect with. The startup on his Power Wave and Burning Knuckle can leave him exposed if you aren’t employing them at the opportune moments. He telegraphs the latter quite noticeably, with a quick pose before flying through the air.
When playing with standard controls in the core game, Terry’s huge range of offensive specials and signature moves feel almost like he is overpowered to begin with – he has it all, with the exception of a conventional projectile attack. The Power Charge can be cancelled into other specials, or Overdrived so it throws the opponent across the screen, bouncing back so you can nail a Rising Tackle. His Super Arts are incredible in the right hands, especially at Level 2 which allows a deadly follow up attack.
So we know that he is fun to play with and fits seamlessly into the roster, but how good a job have Capcom done in providing him with adequate characterisation to make players care about Bogard? The answer? Very.
A cool and likeable presence, the lore has been tweaked to make Terry and Ken old buddies, and this is weaved into the cutscenes in arcade mode and is completely believable as I have always seen them as cross-company counterparts and the idea of them being mates makes perfect sense. His character select animation shows Terry playing King of the Monsters on an actual Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet. The Pao Pao Café 6 stage has a tonne of references to the past and nods to old SNK games – from the destructible barrels that explode in a swarm of baby chicks, to Blue Mary singing with a Final Fight-themed band, and even the sight of Kim Kaphwan flying through the air. There are multiple animations and poses that are ripped straight out of historic King of Fighters and Fatal Fury games, not to mention the old Capcom/SNK crossover titles of the past – particularly SVC Chaos. Old Neo Geo heads like me will be satisfied with the level of deep cuts in play here.
In World Tour of Street Fighter 6 mode Terry comes with his Mastery to achieve and selection of side missions, with his destination on the World Map kept separate with his own version of Beat Square and Pao Pao Café stage setting. It is when you step into these areas that the Easter Eggs really start to kick in. Firstly, the loading screen into his stage features the juggling monkey from the Neo Geo CD, which immediately blew my mind.
Upon arrival at the Pao Pao, you find three NPC characters that are clearly cosplaying at Andy Bogard, Joe Higashi, and Blue Mary. But rather than this being Capcom poking fun at the Fatal Fury crew, you soon enter into friendship missions that allow you to encounter the real deal Capcom takes on Higashi and Mary, including the mind-blowing ability to learn two of their moves for use in World Tour mode. There are references to old titles everywhere, with Duck King and Geese Howard namedropped, or in the case of the former, shown shooting some hoops with Bogard. Blue Mary’s dog Anton puts in an appearance as part of one of Terry’s missions, and we have a wine-sipping Mary recreating her Real Bout Fatal Fury ending sequence elsewhere.
No fan of either company could complain about the way Capcom have implemented one of the most beloved non-Capcom icons into their flagship fighter, this is a perfect example of how to produce a crossover that satisfies fans on either side, making it feel like he has been part of the roster for years. There will probably be tweaks and balancing changes as time goes on, and we will get to see what level, competitively, Terry will end up in for the fervent competitive scene. We also have Mai Shiranui and Elena to look forward to, not to mention the tantalising prospect of SNK’s own big hitter Fatal Fury returning. It is an exciting time to be a fan of fighting games, and especially of Street Fighter 6.
