Art of Fighting (Genesis)

A port of the arcade version of the same name that oddly features limited continues (unless you live in Japan). Surprisingly, this port seems to be handled by SNK themselves when they were purely focused on games for the Neo Geo, if the game's credits which differ between versions are any indication.

Unused Defeat Portraits#

Ryo and Robert have defeat portraits with their alternate colors. Since defeat portraits are only shown if a character loses in 1P mode (be it player or CPU) and alternate colors are only available for P2 in VS mode, these are impossible to be seen in the normal game.

To see them in-game, enter Pro Action Replay (PAR) code FF9030:0010 in the Kega Fusion emulator - the only one where it works - and enable it right after you select your character (if you enable the code before this, you will be stuck in the player select screen).

Cheats#

You must enter these on the Sega screen quickly, as if barely letting go of the buttons in between presses. I believe you also have to start as soon as the Sega logo starts fading into view; I'm not entirely sure about that. If done correctly, you should hear a chime.

2P Options Screen Before Battle#

All ROMs: A B B A

Once this code is entered, start a two-player game and have both players select their characters. Once the characters are selected, hold Start on both controllers at the same time during the transition to the red battle start screen. If done correctly, you should be taken to the Options screen, where you can configure the battle options.

Some of the options are slightly different.

To do: Document this screen.

Level Select#

JP/EU: Up Right Down Left Up Right Down Left A B C

US: Left Right Left Right C B (alternately, use Game Genie code AAHT-AN3J)

With this code, starting a 1 Player game will let you choose which level to start with. You can also choose to start on a cutscene, the bonus stage, or the ending. You will still need to choose a character after choosing your level.

No Effect?#

All ROMs: Up Up Up Up Up Down Down Down Down Down Left Right Left Right A

This code is registered by all versions, but has no effect.

Staff Roll Regional Differences and Alternate Names#

The game's staff roll has been altered heavily between regions.

In addition, on all regions, satisfying some condition while the staff roll runs will cause some of the names to change.

To do: For all three ROMs, is the "something else happens" "the name first appears on an even-numbered frame (according to the game's internal frame counter)"?

JP#

Note: playing on an US Genesis requires either changing the region once the game has started or using the patch code 0073D2:4E71. The game will boot normally on a EU Mega Drive.

US#

Note: playing on a JP Mega Drive requires either changing the region once the game has started or using the patch code 007610:4E71.

No, you're not reading that wrong: the last column makes no changes this time. "STAR LIGHT"'s name was removed, and that was the only one in the JP version that had the effect (and no new names were given the effect). The replacement "STAR LIGHT ♡" string is still present in the US ROM, at $20E5E.

EU#

Note: playing on a JP/US Mega Drive requires either changing the region once the game has started or using the Gens/GS patch code 007402:60.

Regional Differences#

The Japanese version is the most faithful to the Neo Geo original. Whereas the European and the American made some significant changes to make the game harder. Since the European version retains the same features and misspells of the Japanese one, it's assumed that the European version was an earlier (whether or not rushed) build than the American one.

Title Screen#

Japan	US	Europe

Both versions shows their respective logos from the original. For strange reasons, the blue shade behind the logo is absent in the European version.

Settings#

Japan	US/Europe

The Japanese version has four difficulty levels (Very Easy, Easy, Normal and Hard), whereas the American and European versions remove the easier difficulties, leaving only Normal and Hard as difficulties.

Continue#

Japan	US/Europe

The Japanese version gives you unlimited continues, just like the Neo Geo original and the SNES and PC Engine CD ports. Whereas the American and European versions just gives you two continues and then it's all over.

Miscellaneous#

To do: Insert an image of King's stripped defeated portrait and a GIF of Mickey's Stage which has animated smoke.

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

• In the INITIATE SUPER DEATH BLOW bonus game, you have 30 seconds of time in the Japanese version, just like the Neo Geo original and the other ports. Whereas in the American version the time is drastically reduced from 30 to 18 seconds and in the European version the time is even more reduced to 15 seconds, which makes this bonus game difficult - if not impossible -.
• The Japanese version retains the infamous King's strip by defeating her with a fireball. The American and European versions completely remove this.
• The American version fixes some text from the Japanese and European version, such the "WAITING" sign in top of the healthbars is misspelled as "WAITTING" in the Japanese and European versions.
• The smoke in Mickey's stage features a wavy animation in the American version. Whereas in the Japanese and European versions it's completely static, just like the Neo Geo original and the other ports.

References#