Hiya!

It’s been a while since I last touched Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. I just don’t know why more people aren’t drawn to it. I even had high hope for it from the start. I mean, I get why I’m not taking a shining to it. I just find the gameplay too complex for my fighting game newbie brain. What I don’t get is why most veterans in the fighting game community aren’t sticking around. Like last year, SNK is offering the biggest cash prizes for it this year. Even with that, there really hasn’t been that much buzz for it.

Even though I’m not the biggest fan of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves in general, I still hope it finds an audience. This is why I was happy to see SNK announce Season 2 for it. They’re adding changes to the roster to make everyone more balanced. Of course, the biggest news was the reveal of the Season 2 DLC roster and how they’re releasing a character each month. They’ve already started with Kim Kaphwan‘s more stoic son, Taekwondo practitioner Kim Jae Hoon.

I’m not exactly familiar with the character and how he plays and seeing how I never gelled with any of the other characters in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves’ cast of characters, I had to try him out. I wanted to see if I just had to wait for a full year to actually get a character I can work with. After all, Kim Jae Hoon is a charge character… okay. He has one singular charge move. That’s better than most of the roster and I do love myself a charge character! So, I tried playing with Kim Jae Hoon and here are my thoughts on the character.

First off, I do need to talk about his overall aesthetic. If there was a word to describe Kim Jae Hoon, it would be “basic.” Much like his father, he’s a very generic Taekwondo guy. There’s nothing which makes him stand out as he’s just a guy wearing a dobok, the traditional Korean Taekwondo uniform. There’s virtually no personality to his look. Even Street Figther‘s Ryu, who is basically “Karate man”, at least had a red headband and torn sleeves to give him something for us to look at!

Then again, it does fit Kim Jae Hoon’s personality as he is a no-nonsense straight shooter kind of a fighter who follows things by the book. You can tell this from his fighting style as he’s just copying Kim Kaphwan’s moves from King of Fighters XV exactly! From his normals to his special attacks and to his supers, they’re all directly lifted from his dad! No flair or diverting from his dad’s attacks at all! There isn’t a need for Kim Kaphwan to show up in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves because he would play exactly like Kim Jae Hoon!

Anyway, when it comes to Kim Kaphwan’s Kim Jae Hoon’s normals, I will say they are pretty good, especially his far standing heavy attacks. His far standing heavy attack has really good range. It’s also his Wild Punish attack. Coupled with its spectacular reach, this can lead to some easy and damaging combos as long as you have enough spare meter to burn. The same thing can be said for his crouching heavy punch normal. It’s a little bit faster than his regular far standing heavy punch normal but it doesn’t have the same amount of range. So, you’ll be relying on both of these as your main poking tools.

Even as good as those are, Kim Jae Hoon’s far standing heavy kick takes the win. Although you cannot cancel it into a special attack, it has a lot more going for it. For one, it hits twice. Okay, the first hit goes over crouchers but, if it does hit on a standing opponent, it makes it easy to check if the attack hits or gets blocked. Why would you care if it’s easy to hit confirm when it’s not special cancellable? Well, that’s because, if it hits, you can link it into his crouching light punch, continuing the combo. If it’s blocked, you’re not only safe but you also still have advantage! What makes his far standing heavy kick scary is its range. It moves Kim Jae Hoon forward around 1/3 of the screen, making it a good way to get in if your opponent is playing too defensive.

Speaking of getting in, Kim Jae Hoon has a couple of specials which allow him to do precisely this. He has the Houten Kyaku, which is performed with quarter circle forward and punch. It’s a quick leaping burning axe kick. Despite it looking like an overhead attack, it sadly isn’t. It is good for hopping over lows and, if spaced right, will leave you safe and in range for his awesome far standing heavy normals. You can also Break this before the attack comes out so you can also use this as a surprise way to sneak in a throw. Probably his best way to get in with pressure is with the classic Hishou Kyaku, which is done via quarter circle forward with a kick while jumping. It is weird how it doesn’t hit overhead despite it being a jumping attack but it can be spaced properly to make it safe. The thing that makes the Hishou Kyaku good is it has a couple of follow-ups, one that hits low and one that actually hits overhead. The overhead is slow, unfortunately, so you can only get opponents who are sleeping on the wheel. Still, the follow-up add a level of mixup and, if you’re cheeky, you can do the Hishou Kyaku into nothing and just throw them!

Another great special Kim Jae Hoon has is his Ryuusei Raku, done with quarter circle forward with a punch. I’m bummed out how it looks like a low attack but it isn’t. Nevertheless, is a good move because, if you Break it before the 2nd hit comes out, it becomes a launcher, enabling you to do a juggle combo. The classic Hien Zan returns and you can also break this for juggle combos as well. It’s his only charge move but it’s an incredible anti air. The two special moves I really haven’t found an alternative use for are his Shakka Shuu, performed with quarter circle back with a punch, and his Hangetsuzan, done with quarter circle back with a kick. I do have to mention how the heavy version of the Shakka Shuu has a point of armor, so you can probably use it to counter those foes trying to pressure you. The Hangetsuzan is mainly good for combos but that’s about it.

Like everyone in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Kim Jae Hoon has only 2 Ingnition Gears/super combos. His Houou Kyaku is pretty much Kim Kaphwan’s big rush combo and does big damage. His other Ignition Gear, on the other hand, is different from everyone else’s as it’s more of a combo starter than a combo ender. The Houyoku Hiten Kyaku is actually a launcher. It doesn’t really do as much damage as most Ignition Gears. However, as it is a launcher, you can tack on a juggle combo. Since doing Ignition Gears lower your REV Gauge, this means you can clear out some REV meter if this connects and, in turn, do REV Arts into REV Accels. So, this actually has the potential to do more damage than a regular Ignition Gear as long as you have the meter and the skill to do so.

If I were to describe Kim Jae Hoon as a fighting game character based on this version, I would say he’s one of the most versatile characters in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. He can play rushdown as he can get in with things like his far standing heavy kick and his Hishou Kyaku. He can play defensive and keepaway with his pokes, such as his crouching heavy punch and far standing heavy punch as well protect himself from jump-ins with his Hien Zan. You can also be more reactionary if you can use the heavy Shakka Shaku to counter incoming normals and hop over lows with his Houten Kyaku. This means you can mold Kim Jae Hoon into your own style of playing.

The problem is he doesn’t exactly excel in any of them. He can’t get in as quickly as, say, Rock Howard or Terry Bogard can with their Hard Edge or Burn Knuckle, respectively. He can’t do keepaway as good as Kain and his projectile spam. He can’t poke as well as someone like Billy Kane with his staff. Despite this, the mere fact he can switch around from being offensive and defensive quickly because of his tools does make Kim Jae Hoon deadly in the right hands.

Sadly, I don’t think I can really play as Kim Jae Hoon. He does feel like more than viable character because of his versatility. However, I can’t really switch between playstyles that well, especially in a high octane game like Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Even so, I can see him being a solid upper mid-tier character.

Byee!

What are your thoughts on how SNK translated Kim Jae Hoon into Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves? Let me know in the comments section below!