Real Bout changes the play controls from the previous Fatal Fury games, reducing the number of attack buttons from four to three: a standard punch and kick button, a "Strong Attack" button which can be either a stronger punch or kick attack, depending on the character. The game retains the three-plane "oversway" system from Fatal Fury 3, which features a main lane for fighting, with foreground and background planes used to avoid attacks or leap towards the opponent. A dedicated button is now used to make an "oversway" towards the background or foreground. Real Bout introduces a Power Gauge, which fills up as the player performs normal or special techniques against their opponent or defend themselves, similar to many super move gauges featured in other fighting games. The Power Gauge allows players to perform one of three types of Special Techniques, depending of the level of the Power Gauge.
When the gauge is at least half-full and colored yellow, the player can perform "Guard Cancels", which are special counterattacks that can be performed by the player after blocking an opponent's attack. They do not consume any filled portion of the Power Gauge.
When the Power Gauge reaches MAX level while the player still has more than half of their life gauge remaining, then the Power Gauge will enter "S. Power" level. The energy in the Power Gauge will begin to deplete gradually and during that time, the player can perform "Guard Cancels" or a "Super Special Move". However, once a Super Special Move is performed, the remaining energy in the Power Gauge will be consumed and the Power Gauge will return to its initial state.
When the Power Gauge reaches MAX level while the player has less than half of their life gauge remaining, the Power Gauge will enter "P. Power" level. In this state, the Power Gauge will gradually drain, but the player can perform both Guard Cancels and Super Specials indefinitely until the gauge runs out. The player can also perform a "Hidden Ability", an even more powerful Special Move, which will consume the remaining Power Gauge at this state.
Real Bout also introduces stages with ring-outs, a gameplay feature previously introduced in 3D fighting games such as Virtua Fighter, but the out of bounds areas are guarded by barriers. If a fighter's attacks force the opponent to hit a barrier enough times, the barrier is destroyed, and a fighter can win by knocking the opponent out of bounds. The normal chain combo system, including in the mid-air, is similar to that of .
Characters
The game retains the character roster from Fatal Fury 3, with the boss characters now part of the regular cast. Duck King, Billy Kane and Kim Kaphwan, who were all last featured in Fatal Fury Special, are added to the cast. Series antagonist Geese Howard reprises his role from the original as the game's final boss. Real Bout was Geese Howard's final appearance in the Fatal Fury storyline, as the game's ending with Terry or Andy depicts the character's demise at the hands of either brother by falling off the roof of his tower, refusing to be saved by them. This was reflected by SNK's tagline for the game, "So long, Geese!".
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Real Bout Fatal Fury on their February 1, 1996 issue as being the fourth most-successful arcade game of the year. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Neo Geo AES version their "Game of the Month" award. Their four reviewers applauded the pits, the overhauled personality of the characters, the high end graphics, and the humor. Andrew Baran described the game as "intense, both in speed and pyrotechnics." Major Mike of GamePro deemed it a major improvement over , citing the greater effectiveness of the characters Bob and Mary, the more refined combo system, and the inclusion of moves which were taken out of the previous game. He criticized the reduction from four action buttons to three, the reuse of Geese Howard as the final boss, and the music, but concluded that "With its emphasis on gameplay, this is one of the bestFatal Fury games ever." A reviewer for Next Generation echoed this sentiment: "The characters from the Fatal Fury series are all here and their moves have all been balanced to make this one of the bestFatal Fury titles ever." He characterized the game as a refinement drawn from the countless hours SNK had spent making 2D fighting games. While they derided the game's lack of originality, particularly its similarity to the previous installment Fatal Fury 3, Maximum assessed it as "a well-rounded and entertaining fighting title". They particularly approved of the oversway system, the barriers preventing easy ring outs, the balanced difficulty of the one-player mode, and the two-player battles.
