SNK Corporation’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is preparing to kick off its second season pass with the newest fighter to arrive in South Town, Kim Jae Hoon. Practicing the same style of Taekwondo as his father, Kim looks to settle his battles with a brutal flurry of powerful kicks that even Shiranui masters and lone wolves will find hard to weather.
Kim always wants to be up close and personal with his opponents. Lacking any form of range attack, distance is an enemy that Kim must constantly be aware of. But once he gets in close, he packs a wallop with some strong combos that will chunk down an opponent’s health bar with efficiency.
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When closing in on his target, Kim has a couple of options to aid him in outmaneuvering a foe’s attempts to zone him out. His Houten Kyaku move sees the martial artist launch up into the air, before coming down with a flaming kick. This move clears numerous fire projectiles, making it a good way to punish opponents, if you can get the timing right.
Kim is all about close-range combat.
When Kim gets fairly close, but still a bit out of range, his Shakka Shuu can help close the final stretch. The ability pushes Kim forward, allowing him to shrug off some attacks. Once his movement ends, he strikes with a bevy of kicks that send his foe flying.
Throughout Kim’s kit, there is a strong mix of high- and low-risk options that help him capitalize on his offense once he has reached his target. Threatening both high and low keeps opponents guessing as to where his next strike will come from.
Due to his need to close in on foes, utilizing the full variety of attacks is especially important for Kim. Mixing in throws to your battle plans helps a lot when playing as the character. Keeping another threat on an opponent’s mind gives them one more thing to worry about, and potentially slows them down, or causes them to choose the wrong counter to your actions. Utilizing throws is always handy, but especially with Kim.
Be wary of speedy opponents who will outpace Kim’s attacks.
The only thing I found I had to be truly wary of in close was speedy fighters. Even Kim’s light attacks were often outpaced by his opponents. And many of his attacks, once blocked, felt particularly easy to be punished, making him a target for the particularly fast, even once he got them within leg’s reach.
There is also one element of Kim’s kit that makes him a little harder to get used to playing. The bulk of his moves play off of quarter circles, either back or forward, followed by either a punch or a kick. However, as a taekwondo practitioner, all of his specials use kicks in their animations. I was caught off guard by how much having his punch inputs doing kicks threw me off. Not a huge hurdle to overcome, but a novelty that can make you stumble in the heat of a fight until you are used to it.
Kim Jae Hoon’s visuals are among City of the Wolves’ best.
Kim Jae Hoon’s visual presentation is one of the better ones in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. His animations are all smooth, and several deliver extra punch. He lands hard hits that deliver great feedback to drive the strike home. The fire effects that engulf him during many of his biggest combos also look great. They add an extra pop to his biggest combos, making his finishers all the more impressive to watch unfold.
While the balancing for the character was confirmed as still ongoing, my first impressions of Kim Jae Hoon were good. While he has weaknesses, he also has some clear strengths that should make him a viable fighter once he releases.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is available for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.
