Terry Bogard, main character of the Fatal Fury series and the poster boy for SNK is in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. That may sound unbelievable when one says it aloud but Ultimate is a title where Solid Snake, Ryu & Ken, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man all occupy the same virtual space along with a copious amount of other video game icons. So as crazy as that may seem, it is getting to be the new normal for Smash and like that old McDonald's slogan, I'm lovin' it.
That King of Fighters stage (based off Fatal Fury and not The King of Fighters) has quickly become one of my favorite battle arenas. Initially, it seemed as if it was going to be a walk off stage but the invisible barriers make it very unique. I've always loved knocking my opponents against walls on levels like Hyrule Castle and Corneria. Having a huge football stadium with invisible walls that can be broken at high percents makes for all sorts of crazy fun. The level of detail that went into creating this stage is highly impressive. I especially love that multiple reps from Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters and Art of Fighting appear at different times on the stage. When we saw Ryo for that brief moment Terry was shown in action back in early September, I speculated that we'd see different SNK characters on that KOF stage. I didn't think the number would be up to twenty, though. Seeing the gang from these SNK games really took me back to the days of playing King of Fighters 2000-2003. Kinda like meeting up with old friends you haven't seen in a long time.
Having played Terry in the Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters and Capcom vs SNK games, I already knew I'd have good time using him. Heck, I dedicated a blog post to discuss my excitement for the character. What I was not prepared for is how insanely good Terry would be. I think Joker is OK (no pun intended). Like, I get that the character has huge appeal despite not playing Persona 5, but he's not a character I play often. I'm happy we got Banjo-Kazooie and Hero is a big favorite of mine. Piranha Plant is cool even outside of the dead memes. But Terry is a character I haven't been this jazzed about playing since I started playing Mega Man in the previous Smash game.
My play style when it comes to fighting games and Smash tends to be more aggressive. I love to spam Smash attacks and pressure my opponents. I suppose that could be why I greatly enjoy playing as Terry so much. Even though I'm a scrub at fighting games, I can still string together some decent combos with Terry and doing so is ultra satisfying. I've seen some comment that not all of his moves are that damaging. I'd like to point out that it isn't always about causing big damage. If even a weaker attack can put your opponent in a position where they are vulnerable, then that is not a wasted move. That being said, Terry is certainly capable of causing big damage. Even without his GO meter activated, Terry is scary. It has only been a few days since Terry dropped and already people are coming up with crazy combos. As time passes, we're sure to see more of what Terry can do and I can't wait to see what players far more talented than myself can bring out of Mr. Bogard.
Everything that makes Terry a lovable character has been brought over with the utmost care in Smash Ultimate. Broken English? Check. I will never get tired of hearing Terry ask "Are you OK?" or hearing him shout "OK!" with such enthusiasm as he tosses his hat on the victory screen. It is so easy to see why he is the face of SNK. Sakurai and his team handled this character so well. I'm a big fan of the blue alt for Terry and the classic NEOGEO color, complete with "NEOGEO" on his hat. I'm a little bummed that the famous Mark of the Wolves Terry was not used as an alt, but you can't have everything. That would be more work on the development team and they've already given us so much with Terry and all those cameos in his stage.
I haven't checked my playtime with Terry yet but I'm sure it has already surpassed a good chunk of other characters. I've already poured a lot of hours into DRAGON QUEST III and my playtime with that game has taken a hit due to Mr. Bogard's arrival.
Best thing about Terry being in Smash? The outfit Kirby gets from him.
If your heart doesn't melt when Kirby says "Power Wave" you have no soul.
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