SNK is working on a reboot of Art of Fighting and the “action RPG” Samurai Shodown

Update (Sunday, July 21, 2024, 09:15 CEST): SNK’s Joshua Weatherford has reconfirmed that we’ll be getting a new Art of Fighting and Samurai Shodown RPG at EVO 2024 (thanks, Gematsu).

There’s a lot in the works. There’s a lot of stuff I can’t talk about. But we’ve said, and we’re trying – we have a few projects that are still very advanced – we want to hire more and more people because we need more people to make these insanely great games.

One thing that got a lot of press here (at EVO) is the announcement that we have a new Art of Fighting actually. So you’ll see South Town back in its full 70s glory and fighting. And one of the projects that I’m responsible for and that we mentioned at the same time is a Samurai Shodown Action RPG. Look forward to it, we have many surprises in store for you.

And if you’re a fan of these franchises and looking for a job in development, send us your application. We need more people to help us make these great games. I definitely need more people on this team.

Original story (Tuesday, September 19, 2023, 11:05 a.m. CEST): Yasuyuki Oda, General Manager of SNK Software Development Division 1, has announced that initial work has begun on a reboot of the Art of Fighting series as well as a Samurai Shodown entry, which is not a fighting game.

In conversation with the Japanese website 4Gamer (thanks, Subscribe to) Oda said:

There are several titles currently in development, but I’m thinking of this one. We’re going to start with a team build, so technically we haven’t even started yet, but first we’re thinking of making a new version of “Fist of the Dragon and Tiger” (the game’s Japanese title, “Ryūko no Ken”). I’m thinking of doing that series again. I’m also thinking of doing Samurai Spirits, which isn’t a fighting game. So I’d like to recruit developers for that purpose.

Oda explains that the project is still in its very early stages and the team that will develop and design it is still being formed. “The series was canceled in the early 1990s, so we first have to think about how to bring it back to life in the present day,” he says. “There is a vague idea, but if I say it, it will end up being the same, so I try not to say it.”

He adds that it will not be a sequel to the original series, which began in 1996 with Art Of Fighting 3: The Path Of The Warrior (known in Japan as Ryūko no Ken Gaiden). “There is actually a sequel to this story, but even if we did it, it wouldn’t make sense unless we retold it from the beginning,” he adds, before pointing out that the third AoF game “didn’t do well,” which explains why SNK hasn’t returned to the franchise for so long.

Oda also talks a bit about the kind of realism the AoF series has strived for in the past. “I heard my boss at the time say that Ryuko was the so-called…”Fist of the North Star” and Garou had a “Dragon Ball“Feeling.” When asked if the game would be a 3D fighter, Oda replied, “I think with today’s graphics it’s possible to create a dragon-like feeling even in 3D fighting, so I think it’s possible.”

As for the new Samurai Shodown title, Oda talks about approaching the series from a different angle. “Of course (Samurai Shodown) is a fighting game, but I also think it’s an IP that fits the genre of games that like stories. A long time ago there was an RPG called Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsudenand I thought it would be possible to make an action RPG with that feel, so I just started working on it.”

He also explains that unlike the AoF reboot, this project has moved past the brainstorming phase. “Unlike Ryuko, this project is moving forward with a certain solidity. This was before the coronavirus pandemic, but there was actually a time when we were making a prototype. Back then, it was like a fighting action game where you controlled Kurama Yashamaru and flew around the field and defeated enemies. But then the pandemic came and the structure of the company changed, so we’re rethinking things from the beginning. That’s why we chose the broad genre of action RPG. The prototype was really just the core parts, so we’re still working on it.”

SNK is currently working on Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.