In an old interview with Retro Gamer, SNK producer Yasuyuki Oda revealed they had started work on a sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves back in the early 2000s. However, due to SNK’s messy situation back then, like reforming after bankruptcy, it was canceled. Since then, fighting game fans resigned themselves to never seeing Garou or the Fatal Fury series continuing outside the King of Fighters games.
Then Oda and co dropped a bombshell at Evo 2022 when they revealed they were bringing Garou back with a new sequel. They only revealed an artwork thus far, confirming protagonist Rock Howard will be back in action. There’s also a figure in the background who may be original Garou boss Kain R. Heinlein, who Rock left with at the end of that game. But who else will return from that series? Or rather who should return? Here’s a few sure bets and suggestions.
9 Terry Bogard
This one probably didn’t need to be said. He was the only classic character connecting Garou to the rest of the Fatal Fury series. Though he was a little different from before, as he traded in the baseball cap for a bomber jacket, and gained the famous Buster Wolf super move.
It would be more shocking if Terry didn’t return for Garou 2, and not in a good way. As such, his return is a safe bet. Still, it would be good if he stuck to his Garou look and moveset for consistency. His classic look could be a costume option, though preferably not as DLC. They already did that for the Bomber Jacket in KOF XV, so throw the fans a bone and give them a freebie.
8 Blue Mary
It would be good to have a few more original Fatal Fury characters in the cast. Andy Bogard seems likely, given he was teased in the first game, but he isn’t all that exciting a character. An older Mai Shiranui could be fun as a flashy ninja take on Mom Fighters like Street Fighter’s Crimson Viper, or KOF’s Vanessa. Still, Garou had its own fancy fanservice character.
So, why not bring back Blue Mary? She has a unique fighting style with her grapple moves, and her story ties in with both Terry and the game’s threat of the week. That would help her stand out from the cast enough, though it wouldn’t hurt if she got a new look too. Terry nicked the bomber jacket look, so why not change her ensemble too?
7 Yamazaki
For one more classic character, let's go with a villain. Billy Kane would be interesting to follow, given he was closely connected to Rock’s fearsome dad Geese. Then again, it might be nicer to see a new character act as a protege to his stick-slinging style. Wolfgang Krauser got succeeded by Rugal in the KOF series, and no one really remembers Laurence Blood or the Jin Twins.
However, Ryuji Yamazaki is a pretty popular villain. Debuting in Fatal Fury 3, his dirty fighting tactics made him formidable in that series and KOF. Having him trade Snake Strikes and jabber wildly next to more restrained criminals like Freeman would be fun to see.
6 Kim Dong Hwan
Garou succeeded Fatal Fury’s original Tae Kwon Do master Kim Kap Hwan with his sons Jae Hoon and Dong Hwan. The former was fun enough to play as, but he played too similarly to his father to stand out. He just had some luscious fire effects to go with his fancy footwork.
His elder brother Dong Hwan is another story. He has a different moveset to his other relatives, with dive kicks, axe kicks, and electric effects. His personality is also more carefree, making him much less uptight than his dear dad. If it came down to just one Korean kicker, Dong Hwan would be the most entertaining choice.
5 Bonne Jenet
This British pirate with style is one of the few Garou characters to transition over to KOF. It’s probably not a surprise. She essentially replaced Mai Shiranui as the eye candy character, even if she’s more modestly dressed by comparison. That said, there is more to her than just being a figure to be ogled at.
She doesn’t bounce about like her ninja forebear, though she has a ton of personality in her moves. She pouts and stamps when the timer runs out. Her swirling kick super ends with a blown kiss as a projectile attack. If she’s hit during her counter super, she strikes her foes with her heel like an angry clubgoer. Then, when she wins, her crew runs out to celebrate with her. If her wiles don’t do it for players, her sense of fun might click with them better.
4 Gato
Gato was essentially Tekken’s Feng Wei before Bandai Namco thought him up. He’s a serious kung fu fighter who isn’t around to provide some pretty stance exhibition. While he is as agile as his more limber counterparts in other series, his moves have some heft to them. He isn’t going to pepper opponents with multiple strikes, he’ll slam them with hard fists and angled kicks.
This was enough to get him into KOF 2003, XI, and XV. His run in XI was particularly notorious as he was one of the more broken characters in that game. He was less broken in Garou, though still a high tier character. It would be good to see him come back and maintain that momentum.
3 Hotaru Futaba
When SNK were making the first Garou game, they made Hotaru to stand out from their usual woman fighter designs. They tended to be sexy types who, as Smash Bros Masahiro Sakurai infamously said, weren’t for good boys and girls. So, Hotaru was made to be cutesy and family friendly instead, with her CLAMP-esque look and animal friend.
She’s on a quest to bring her hardheaded brother Gato back to the family and help him regain his memories. It’s a nice story, and she does offset hardasses like Gato, and supermodel types like Jenet. SNK just needs to get rid of her awkward Tenshou Ranki move, as it clashes with that family friendly approach.
2 Tizoc The Griffon
This is a tricky one. Tizoc is perhaps the most popular Garou character to make it into the other games, as he’s appeared in four KOF games. The problem is that his latest appearances were under his new gimmick: King of Dinosaurs. This new heel look has gotten more attention than his original goody-goody bird look.
It gave him new moves like a claw slash and a charging headbutt, and a more unique story than the ‘luchador fights for the kids’ one. Tekken’s King is already a masked wrestler who grapples to support an orphanage. So, it might be time for Tizoc to give up the griffon mask for good and take his throne as the King of Dinosaurs in Garou 2 onwards as well.
1 Marco Rodriguez
Aka Khushnood Butt (seriously), SNK has been teasing the entry of Ryo’s successor into the King of Fighters series since KOF XIV. On the face of it, he’s a standard Shoto fighter with a fireball and uppercut, plus the standard Ryūko Ranbu rushing autocombo super. The difference is that this Brazilian Brawler has a more direct, smash-mouth approach to the karate style than any of the Art of Fighting crew.
He faces his opponents head-on with hard strikes than leaping chops or fancy kicks. It shows in his personality too, as he’s louder in both looks and behavior than his forebears. If SNK don't add him into KOF (yet), they should bring him back for Garou 2, complete with his button-hammering moves and glorious pompadour.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2 is currently in development