In the Fatal Fury story, everyone who wants to be top dog must go through Terry Bogard. For him, rivals have come from the womb, the skies, or even the desert to challenge the Hungry Wolf. Sometimes, Terry takes the fight to them on their terms – gameplay mechanics and all. Terry has been featured in Fighting EX Layer, Smash Bros Ultimate, and has just recently joined the World Warrior ranks of Street Fighter VI.
All this to show that SNK is no slouch in the genre that it has helped build. It’s very rare to see SNK allow Terry to be challenged on his home turf these days by a crossover rival. For instance, Ryo from Art of Fighting also showed his face as a playable character in Fatal Fury Special. Marco Rodriguz did carry this on in Mark of the Wolves as a roster character who possesses Ryo’s kit.
This time, it’s coming from the classic one. Ken’s trailer comes in the middle of the Esports World Cup 2025 major, which is ongoing for Fatal Fury City of the Wolves.
SNK sheds some light as to how Ken ended up here, story-wise:
A veteran Metro City street fighter who sets his sights on South Town, seeking closure for an incident to which he was wrongfully tied. Burning with determination and a fiery arsenal of unmatched offense, this former US National Fighting Champion eventually crosses paths with the Legendary Wolf himself—and with that, the wheels of fate are set in motion.
Street Fighter’s Ken Masters will also be joining City of the Wolves to make good on what both camps of developers believe – Ken is Terry’s Street Fighter rival. This is something that has been pointed out since Capcom vs SNK two decades and change ago. Sure – Ken will have to get in line because of Terry’s ninja brother’s release last month, but this won’t deter him.
Ken’s entering the King of Fighters Maximum Mayhem tournament. Seeing Ken go up against the likes of Billy Kane and Andy Bogard, for the first time, is way more exciting to me. The Street Fighter VI part of the collab had worked out with both Terry and Mai doing gangbusters with the current gen of the World Warriors. With that, Ken seems to continue this trend well enough.
Ken seems to still be on the run as his attire is that of Street Fighter 6. Ken also seems to be getting his original red gi, similar to Terry’s treatment, as his alternate outfit. Ken’s stage feels more reminiscent of Street Fighter II Ryu’s usual Suzaku Castle stage. This would be strange to see if this is it, since City of the Wolves mostly takes place in South Town. Also, why is it snowing? Perhaps this could be a certain Geese Howard property that the former crime boss decided to “japanify” before his passing. Ken seems to be getting an update to his original theme song – Spirit of the Flame.
Ken’s kit possesses a lot of the same from his current Street Fighter 6 run so far. Hadouken, Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku, Shoryuken, and Jinrai Kick are seen in the trailer. The Jinrai Kick seems to have the same options, also. Ken can interrupt his aerial Tatsu for a Rev Blow flame variant, which could be that of his Street Fighter V run. Ken gets his Dragon Lash kick back. Shoryureppa returns as one of his gear supers.
A variant of the Shinryu Reppa looks as though it will be the Hidden Gear with other moves from his previous titles in tow. Not much has been shown for his Hadouken’s range, feints, or even normals here. Rooflemonger had already jumped into a bit more of a deeper dive into Ken’s footage. Ken might be able to bring a halt to a stacked meta as it is.
Regardless, Ken will be playable at Evo USA 2025 at the SNK Booth. With a Summer 2025 window in mind, Ken will most likely be bringing the heat to City of the Wolves in August. Ken will have his Episodes of South Town and Arcade Mode appearances squared away in time for the DLC. In terms of the free DLC Year 1 season, Ken will be following Andy, with Joe Higashi, The Science Guy, to come this Fall. World Warrior Chun-Li will join him in the crossover festivities in the Winter. Mr. Big will end everything in Early 2026 for the first run.
