March 12, 1996: At Last, An Actual South Town
by Diamond Feit
Video games as a commercial medium reaches too many people year in and year out to be dismissed as niche, but general knowledge about gaming still strikes me as low. If you've ever sat in a theater or own a television, you have a basic understanding of what it takes to create and comprehend scripted drama. Yet I've spent most of my life holding a controller and I cannot fathom how much effort video game development requires. I wouldn't even know where to start.
This gap between popularity and familiarity impacts our ability to appreciate games that fall outside of our wheelhouse. Language issues aside, I can watch a movie made by human beings from any corner of the globe and it should make sense to a degree. That's not the case for video games, as certain genres make no sense to me whatsoever. I look at screenshots of Civilization, Satisfactory, or any racing sim and my pupils auto-dialate.
Even amongst fighting games\u2014a category that I hold near and dear to my heart\u2014there is no guarantee that decades of past experience can in any way prepare me for the latest release. This includes official entries in a series I already adore; I struggled so much with Street Fighter V on a fundamental level that I never bothered to purchase my own copy.
30 years ago this week, SNK debuted the third and final contest in what once represented a bedrock brand for the company. I took one look at Art of Fighting 3 and dismissed it out of hand, but it's high time I gave it a second chance.
To recap the saga thus far: After helping to create the original Street Fighter, Hiroshi Matsumoto and Takashi Nishiyama left Capcom for crosstown rival SNK. Both men would helm new fighting games that spun-off from their earlier work, though each one followed a different path. Nishyama created Fatal Fury and Matsumoto Art of Fighting.
I'm using the English titles for readability but in Japan, Matsumoto's tale of two men cleaning up the American city of South Town was originally called Ry\u016bko no Ken or \"Fist of Dragon and Tiger.\" In this case, the Dragon and Tiger\u2014legendary rivals in East Asia\u2014represent the game's dueling protagonists Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia. A 1994 sequel expanded on the first game by letting players pick from a dozen different fighters instead of just the two leads; this included two of Ryo's relatives, making the entire Sakazaki family now central to the story.
For this third game, Robert Garcia steps into the spotlight. He replaces Ryo as the default option on the character select screen, and his decision to chase after his friend Freia triggers all the events that follow. In Japan, SNK borrowed the English title in naming this game Art of Fighting: Ry\u016bko no Ken Gaiden with gaiden meaning \"side story.\" For the overseas release, however, they called it The Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3, somehow making it a proper sequel while also relegating the series title to a tagline.
Art of Fighting 3 trades South Town for a destination south of the border as the action takes place in Glasshill Valley (also spelled Grasshill Valley). While that sounds like a Sonic the Hedgehog level it looks like a Mexican coastal community, possibly near the Pacific or the Gulf of California. As a fan I have to wonder if The King of Fighters' decision to place the Art of Fighting team in Mexico motivated this change of venue. Then again, those games also sent the Fatal Fury team to Italy, so maybe there's no rhyme or reason to these moves at all.
Art of Fighting 3 carries forward most of the series' core features such as the control scheme and spirit meter. Press A or B to punch or kick, C to deliver a stronger, context-sensitive attack, and D to lower your opponent's meter by taunting them. The spirit meter fuels special moves and determines their strength; techniques have full power when the meter is in the green but as the gauge depletes into blue and then purple, their combat effectiveness tanks.
When a character's remaining life dips below 20%, their body glows red as they enter Heat Mode. This raises their attack strength across the board and unlocks a Desperation Move that consumes nearly the entire spirit meter to deal massive damage. However, Art of Fighting 3 adds an extra layer of risk with the Ultimate KO. If both fighters are in Heat Mode and one connects with their Desperation Move, it triggers a special animation and ends the match, making it possible to win a best-of-three-falls contest in one round.
By departing South Town for Glasshill, Art of Fighting 3 hits the reset button on the roster. Robert and Ryo return, and Ryo's sister Yuri makes a few non-playable appearances, but every other combatant is brand-new. In a way, Art of Fighting 3 pulls a Street Fighter III one year before Capcom tried a similar stunt. Unfortunately, in both cases fans reacted negatively to the shake-up, finding the new faces a poor substitute for their missing favorites.
At least a few of the Street Fighter III newbies had staying power as they later surfaced in sequels. Art of Fighting 3's rookie class, on the other hand, proved instantly forgettable. I partly blame their lack of integration into the Mexican surroundings: All of them came to Glasshill for one reason or another but none of them feel like they belong here. Most of the cast also strikes me as generic to a fault, particularly Karman Cole who fights wearing an ordinary business suit. It's not even a nice suit; he looks like a security guard at the Staples Center.
I will make an exception for Kasumi Todoh who arrives on the scene looking for her father Ryuhaku. You might remember Ryuhaku as the first guy Ryo or Robert beat up in Art of Fighting; he only had one move and basically stood there like a punching bag. Ryuhaku didn't even turn up in Art of Fighting 2 making him the only character from the original game to get cut.
Kasumi dresses like her dad, a costume that looks like actual martial arts gear one might see in a real tournament. She can perform his signature slash move along with a few more tricks. Also, because she's traveling abroad from Japan, she struggles to communicate with her opponents and resorts to using a phrase book after the match. In short, she's brimming with personality and I'm not surprised she immediately graduated to crossover star status in The King of Fighters '96.
Whichever character grabs your attention, Art of Fighting 3's differences to its predecessors run deep. Even though the controls haven't changed much, the combat here flows unlike the earlier games. Juggling\u2014striking a falling body before it hits the ground\u2014is of the utmost importance as it leads to longer combos. This makes jumping less safe lest you put yourself in the air and at the mercy of your foe. Art of Fighting 3 also lets you get in one extra hit on downed opponents before they stand up.
These are not revolutionary mechanics but they are uncommon in 2D fighting games; knockdowns in Street Fighter or King of Fighters usually end a combo but not here. This gives the action in Art of Fighting 3 a Tekken or Virtua Fighter flavor, one reinforced by every character's expanded arsenal of command moves: Button and joystick combinations that attack but do not consume spirit.
I find this marriage of 3D features and a 2D plane an odd fit, especially given Art of Fighting's unique meter system. Previous games prioritize spirit meter management as a means to land big blows without running on empty. Yet in Art of Fighting 3, one juggle combo can easily deal 40% damage or more, making special moves far less important.
I'd also argue that if fighting game fans are looking to play Tekken or Virtua Fighter they can already do that. By 1996 both series were certified arcade hits and a port of Tekken 2 for the Sony PlayStation sold millions of copies on both sides of the Pacific. Those 3D games also offer a far more diverse lineup of robots, devils, and ninjas in contrast to Art of Fighting 3's muted assortment of regular humans.
I enjoy Art of Fighting because it doesn't look or operate like any of its peers and I find its collection of South Town weirdos endearing. The second game also injected comedic sensibilities into what had begun as a serious story of abduction and crime lords. Art of Fighting 3 walks all that back to emphasize realism and it comes across as an experimental hybrid that lacks confidence.
Booting up Art of Fighting 3 in 2026 three decades after the fact, its experimental nature does make it stand out compared to SNK and Capcom's more conventional titles from that era. I still can't buy into what it's selling as I find my 2D instincts at odds with how the combat actually functions. If nothing else, the animation holds up; SNK utilized motion capture footage of \"stuntmen and fighters\" to create \"unbelievably human-like and realistically smooth motion\" according to the arcade flyer.
Like many NEO\u2022GEO games, Art of Fighting 3 remains widely available in various retro compilations as well as \u00e0 la carte on digital storefronts. Considering how seldom I saw it in its original arcade release, today it's easier than ever to walk the streets of Glasshill Valley and beat up strangers. Art of Fighting 3's reputation has likewise only improved over time, especially now that online platforms like Fightcade let fans challenge each other anywhere in the world. I'm not much for facing off against random people but I'm pleased to see a vibrant community exists to re-evaluate and celebrate these largely forgotten games.
Whether you view Art of Fighting 3 as the third game in a trilogy or a spin-off, it marked the de facto end of the series. Ryo, Robert, Yuri, Kasumi, and others continue to crack skulls in SNK's ongoing King of Fighters series, but 30 years later we have yet to see another Dragon/Tiger clash.
With SNK's return as a developer, however, there's always time for a comeback. At an Evo 2024 panel, producer Joshua Weatherford confirmed that the company had multiple revival projects in the works, including a new Art of Fighting game. \"You\u2019re going to see South Town in its full 70s glory brawling again,\" Weatherford told the enthusiastic crowd. A teaser video in late 2025 again hinted at a Ryo and Robert reunion, though as of this writing no further details have emerged.
I have no insider information to share despite my proximity to SNK headquarters in Osaka, so I remain curious about what a fourth Art of Fighting game could offer. Will we see another narrative-heavy single-player mode, or will the demands of online combat diminish the need for storytelling? Will SNK's awkward relationship with Saudi billionaires taint the finished product? Will Ryuhaku ever learn a second move? The world waits with bated breath.
Writer/podcaster/performer Diamond Feit lives in Osaka, Japan but xer work and opinions exist across the internet.
", "contentSnippet": "March 12, 1996: At Last, An Actual South Town\nby Diamond Feit\nVideo games as a commercial medium reaches too many people year in and year out to be dismissed as niche, but general knowledge about gaming still strikes me as low. If you've ever sat in a theater or own a television, you have a basic understanding of what it takes to create and comprehend scripted drama. Yet I've spent most of my life holding a controller and I cannot fathom how much effort video game development requires. I wouldn't even know where to start.\nThis gap between popularity and familiarity impacts our ability to appreciate games that fall outside of our wheelhouse. Language issues aside, I can watch a movie made by human beings from any corner of the globe and it should make sense to a degree. That's not the case for video games, as certain genres make no sense to me whatsoever. I look at screenshots of Civilization, Satisfactory, or any racing sim and my pupils auto-dialate.\nEven amongst fighting games\u2014a category that I hold near and dear to my heart\u2014there is no guarantee that decades of past experience can in any way prepare me for the latest release. This includes official entries in a series I already adore; I struggled so much with Street Fighter V on a fundamental level that I never bothered to purchase my own copy.\n30 years ago this week, SNK debuted the third and final contest in what once represented a bedrock brand for the company. I took one look at Art of Fighting 3 and dismissed it out of hand, but it's high time I gave it a second chance.\nTo recap the saga thus far: After helping to create the original Street Fighter, Hiroshi Matsumoto and Takashi Nishiyama left Capcom for crosstown rival SNK. Both men would helm new fighting games that spun-off from their earlier work, though each one followed a different path. Nishyama created Fatal Fury and Matsumoto Art of Fighting.\nI'm using the English titles for readability but in Japan, Matsumoto's tale of two men cleaning up the American city of South Town was originally called Ry\u016bko no Ken or \"Fist of Dragon and Tiger.\" In this case, the Dragon and Tiger\u2014legendary rivals in East Asia\u2014represent the game's dueling protagonists Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia. A 1994 sequel expanded on the first game by letting players pick from a dozen different fighters instead of just the two leads; this included two of Ryo's relatives, making the entire Sakazaki family now central to the story.\nFor this third game, Robert Garcia steps into the spotlight. He replaces Ryo as the default option on the character select screen, and his decision to chase after his friend Freia triggers all the events that follow. In Japan, SNK borrowed the English title in naming this game Art of Fighting: Ry\u016bko no Ken Gaiden with gaiden meaning \"side story.\" For the overseas release, however, they called it The Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3, somehow making it a proper sequel while also relegating the series title to a tagline.\nArt of Fighting 3 trades South Town for a destination south of the border as the action takes place in Glasshill Valley (also spelled Grasshill Valley). While that sounds like a Sonic the Hedgehog level it looks like a Mexican coastal community, possibly near the Pacific or the Gulf of California. As a fan I have to wonder if The King of Fighters' decision to place the Art of Fighting team in Mexico motivated this change of venue. Then again, those games also sent the Fatal Fury team to Italy, so maybe there's no rhyme or reason to these moves at all.\nArt of Fighting 3 carries forward most of the series' core features such as the control scheme and spirit meter. Press A or B to punch or kick, C to deliver a stronger, context-sensitive attack, and D to lower your opponent's meter by taunting them. The spirit meter fuels special moves and determines their strength; techniques have full power when the meter is in the green but as the gauge depletes into blue and then purple, their combat effectiveness tanks.\nWhen a character's remaining life dips below 20%, their body glows red as they enter Heat Mode. This raises their attack strength across the board and unlocks a Desperation Move that consumes nearly the entire spirit meter to deal massive damage. However, Art of Fighting 3 adds an extra layer of risk with the Ultimate KO. If both fighters are in Heat Mode and one connects with their Desperation Move, it triggers a special animation and ends the match, making it possible to win a best-of-three-falls contest in one round.\nBy departing South Town for Glasshill, Art of Fighting 3 hits the reset button on the roster. Robert and Ryo return, and Ryo's sister Yuri makes a few non-playable appearances, but every other combatant is brand-new. In a way, Art of Fighting 3 pulls a Street Fighter III one year before Capcom tried a similar stunt. Unfortunately, in both cases fans reacted negatively to the shake-up, finding the new faces a poor substitute for their missing favorites.\nAt least a few of the Street Fighter III newbies had staying power as they later surfaced in sequels. Art of Fighting 3's rookie class, on the other hand, proved instantly forgettable. I partly blame their lack of integration into the Mexican surroundings: All of them came to Glasshill for one reason or another but none of them feel like they belong here. Most of the cast also strikes me as generic to a fault, particularly Karman Cole who fights wearing an ordinary business suit. It's not even a nice suit; he looks like a security guard at the Staples Center.\nI will make an exception for Kasumi Todoh who arrives on the scene looking for her father Ryuhaku. You might remember Ryuhaku as the first guy Ryo or Robert beat up in Art of Fighting; he only had one move and basically stood there like a punching bag. Ryuhaku didn't even turn up in Art of Fighting 2 making him the only character from the original game to get cut.\nKasumi dresses like her dad, a costume that looks like actual martial arts gear one might see in a real tournament. She can perform his signature slash move along with a few more tricks. Also, because she's traveling abroad from Japan, she struggles to communicate with her opponents and resorts to using a phrase book after the match. In short, she's brimming with personality and I'm not surprised she immediately graduated to crossover star status in The King of Fighters '96.\nWhichever character grabs your attention, Art of Fighting 3's differences to its predecessors run deep. Even though the controls haven't changed much, the combat here flows unlike the earlier games. Juggling\u2014striking a falling body before it hits the ground\u2014is of the utmost importance as it leads to longer combos. This makes jumping less safe lest you put yourself in the air and at the mercy of your foe. Art of Fighting 3 also lets you get in one extra hit on downed opponents before they stand up.\nThese are not revolutionary mechanics but they are uncommon in 2D fighting games; knockdowns in Street Fighter or King of Fighters usually end a combo but not here. This gives the action in Art of Fighting 3 a Tekken or Virtua Fighter flavor, one reinforced by every character's expanded arsenal of command moves: Button and joystick combinations that attack but do not consume spirit.\nI find this marriage of 3D features and a 2D plane an odd fit, especially given Art of Fighting's unique meter system. Previous games prioritize spirit meter management as a means to land big blows without running on empty. Yet in Art of Fighting 3, one juggle combo can easily deal 40% damage or more, making special moves far less important.\nI'd also argue that if fighting game fans are looking to play Tekken or Virtua Fighter they can already do that. By 1996 both series were certified arcade hits and a port of Tekken 2 for the Sony PlayStation sold millions of copies on both sides of the Pacific. Those 3D games also offer a far more diverse lineup of robots, devils, and ninjas in contrast to Art of Fighting 3's muted assortment of regular humans.\nI enjoy Art of Fighting because it doesn't look or operate like any of its peers and I find its collection of South Town weirdos endearing. The second game also injected comedic sensibilities into what had begun as a serious story of abduction and crime lords. Art of Fighting 3 walks all that back to emphasize realism and it comes across as an experimental hybrid that lacks confidence.\nBooting up Art of Fighting 3 in 2026 three decades after the fact, its experimental nature does make it stand out compared to SNK and Capcom's more conventional titles from that era. I still can't buy into what it's selling as I find my 2D instincts at odds with how the combat actually functions. If nothing else, the animation holds up; SNK utilized motion capture footage of \"stuntmen and fighters\" to create \"unbelievably human-like and realistically smooth motion\" according to the arcade flyer.\nLike many NEO\u2022GEO games, Art of Fighting 3 remains widely available in various retro compilations as well as \u00e0 la carte on digital storefronts. Considering how seldom I saw it in its original arcade release, today it's easier than ever to walk the streets of Glasshill Valley and beat up strangers. Art of Fighting 3's reputation has likewise only improved over time, especially now that online platforms like Fightcade let fans challenge each other anywhere in the world. I'm not much for facing off against random people but I'm pleased to see a vibrant community exists to re-evaluate and celebrate these largely forgotten games.\nWhether you view Art of Fighting 3 as the third game in a trilogy or a spin-off, it marked the de facto end of the series. Ryo, Robert, Yuri, Kasumi, and others continue to crack skulls in SNK's ongoing King of Fighters series, but 30 years later we have yet to see another Dragon/Tiger clash.\nWith SNK's return as a developer, however, there's always time for a comeback. At an Evo 2024 panel, producer Joshua Weatherford confirmed that the company had multiple revival projects in the works, including a new Art of Fighting game. \"You\u2019re going to see South Town in its full 70s glory brawling again,\" Weatherford told the enthusiastic crowd. A teaser video in late 2025 again hinted at a Ryo and Robert reunion, though as of this writing no further details have emerged.\nI have no insider information to share despite my proximity to SNK headquarters in Osaka, so I remain curious about what a fourth Art of Fighting game could offer. Will we see another narrative-heavy single-player mode, or will the demands of online combat diminish the need for storytelling? Will SNK's awkward relationship with Saudi billionaires taint the finished product? Will Ryuhaku ever learn a second move? The world waits with bated breath.\nWriter/podcaster/performer Diamond Feit lives in Osaka, Japan but xer work and opinions exist across the internet.", "guid": "153000471", "isoDate": "2026-03-15T11:00:11.000Z", "itunes": { "duration": "961", "image": "https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/153000471/13ec05c4a6424a5fab2039383dc2d6eb/eyJkIjo3MiwiaCI6MzAwMCwic3RyaXBfYWxwaGEiOjEsInciOjMwMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/1.jpg?token-hash=4riVR06fQwux1CNofdXllsjYA2QOAJfGHIZMKY1tljQ%3D" }, "itunes_duration": "0:15:59" }