When it comes to Fatal Fury, most gamers will fall into one of two camps. The first camp will be those clearly lapping up the scraps that Capcom feeds them and who will view Fatal Fury as being nothing more than a SNK knock off of Capcom's Street Fighter II (which pre-dated Fatal Fury by a couple of months). The second camp, SNK fans, will often elevate Fatal Fury into near mythic proportions and view the game without considering its rather obvious flaws and issues, judging it by a standard that in their minds was not exceeded until SNK's own later efforts.
The problem with both of these views is that neither one of them tells the whole truth.
To me personally, Fatal Fury is a bit of an enigma. It is an origin tale, not only of a brand, but of a company's strength as a developer. And like most origin tales, Fatal Fury is not as refined or as detailed as its successors (such as King of Fighters).
Despite these issues, the games compiled on this collection feature an innovative look into a company's past and provide a good reminder of what SNK was at one time. Though it was later dropped in the Fatal Fury series, the first Fatal Fury game featured a dynamic battle mode that allowed for two players to fight cooperatively against the computer. The backgrounds changed between rounds giving gamers the impression they were fighting in a truly dynamic environment. And the music... I couldn't be doing a review on Fatal Fury without mentioning the music.
The series is well reknown for its soundtrack, and fortunately in this compilation, the usual sound degradation that occurs with NEO GEO ports is nearly non-existant. Though I still prefer the cart or NEO GEO CD versions of the games for their sound quality, I can honestly say that may be more of a result of some neurosis that I have rather than a truly legitimate preference.
Is the game worth it now though?
Just like Art of Fighting, the answer to this question is simply perhaps. For those gamers who preferred Capcom and view Street Fighter as being the end all of 2D fighting, Fatal Fury may fail to impress, especially if it is being judged on later entries of the Capcom fighting games.
For new gamers trying to pick up Fatal Fury for the first time, the question is even harder to answer... 2D fighting games have evolved quited a bit since Fatal Fury was first released. And though Fatal Fury 2/Special and Fatal Fury 3 are still playable today and are still good games, since they lack the flash and polish of new fighters I can understand how gamers may look at them and simply fail to "get it".
However, anyone who remembers sinking quarter after quarter into the NEO GEO 4-Slot systems when the games were first released, finally being able to play an arcade perfect port of the games that really helped kick start the fighting game revolution of the 90's on a non-SNK platform is a bit like coming home. $14.99 is a small price to pay for 4 games that serve as the foundation for SNK's Fighting Game System.
It is a shame though that in the decision to finally release these collections stateside, SNK Playmore USA has opted once again for a bare bones approach to the ports. With the color edit being the only "feature" US gamers will be able to appreciate as an extra with Fatal Fury Battle Archives Volume 1, I can't help but wonder - since we already have the online play cut from the titles - if it would be too much to ask for more of a museum collection for these games.
Give me a sound gallery. Show be box art, show me an instruction manual, show me the cabinet and the cabinet decals. Show me all those things that made Fatal Fury special and I would be happy.
In a lot of ways these collections are such a missed opportunity on the part of SNK Playmore USA. I personally find the value to be good... A great opportunity to relive some of the glory days of 2D spritework. But the first two collections released (Art of Fighting Anthology/Fatal Fury Battle Archives Volume 1) are aged games that have not suffered kindly to the sands of time. Fatal Fury Battle Archives is definitely a stronger collection than Art of Fighting Anthology, but even still, it will be hard for gamers to appreciate what the titles in this series represent and the history the games serve.
It's a solid release, but I just can't help but to expect more.
Overall score - 2/5
(Fatal Fury Battle Archive Volume 1 for the Playstation 2 features arcade perfect ports of Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, and Fatal Fury 3. As a special side note to the review, Fatal Fury Battle Archive Volume 1 features an instruction manual inlet that seems to promise the release of the second Battle Archive collection which features the Real Bout extension of the Fatal Fury series.)
The latest in the PS2 NEO GEO Online collection from SNK Playmore Japan has just received an official release date according to the SNK Playmore Japan website. The Sunsoft collection (Waku Waku 7 and Galaxy Fight) will be released overseas June 26th for the standard 5,040 yen. 
yesterday on a bit of a whim. I never owned a Neo Geo Pocket Color despite wanting one, so I never had any experience with the first game. However, I will admit that I've been suckered into paying thousands of dollars playing Trading Card Games over the last decade or so. Couple this with my love for the source material, and I figured it was a match made in heaven. 
