SNK brings Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves & Metal Slug to Switch 2 ports

Two very different SNK releases are bringing back the kind of arcade memories that made CRTs, couch multiplayer, and after-hours gaming special.

SNK is bringing two pieces of its fighting and arcade history to modern platforms, and both releases connect to how many players experienced games years ago. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is heading to Nintendo Switch 2, while the Metal Slug Ultimate Collection is planned for 2027 across several platforms.

These releases tap into an older style of gaming built around friends, local multiplayer, and spending hours with a game. For Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the Switch 2 version will be available digitally on October 22, followed by a physical release on January 21.

It will have two editions: a standard edition and a starter edition priced at $30. The pre-order bonus also includes Mai Shiranui's Classic Costume, giving early buyers an extra reason to reserve the game. The interesting part is how easily Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves connects to Garou: Mark of the Wolves, another entry in the Fatal Fury series.

If you grew up around older consoles and fighting games, that connection can feel more meaningful than simply seeing a familiar name return. Garou: Mark of the Wolves was one of those games that could become part of a routine without you planning for it.

That memory is especially vivid. After working at video game stores, I remember times when the shop would close, and people would stay behind, playing games on an older CRT television with retro systems. A copy of Garou: Mark of the Wolves had been traded in for the Dreamcast, but the store never properly made cover art for it.

The disc remained there, and it gradually became one of the games played after hours.

It was not necessarily part of a huge rotation. Instead, people played it often enough that its controls and technical feel became familiar. Even if fighting games were never your main thing, repeated matches with friends could make a complicated-looking game easier to understand.

Everyone was already hanging around, the store was closed, and there was no pressure beyond having a good time. That makes the arrival of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves on Switch 2 fitting. The new game has a standout visual presentation, while its REV system and associated moves deliver strong visual impact.

Some effects almost resemble comic-book artwork, and the animation keeps the action flowing rather than making every move feel disconnected. The Switch 2 hardware also gives Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves portability. You can play in TV mode, handheld mode, or tabletop mode, making the game easier to take on the go. That matters for fighting games because portable play can be useful even when you are not sitting down for a full session.

The game supports cross-platform play and rollback netcode, putting the Switch 2 version into the same broader fighting-game environment as other versions. It also benefits tournament players. If a tournament uses different setups, having the game on a portable Switch 2 means you can use time between rounds to practice moves, work on combinations, or think through strategies for your next match. 

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves also gives you two control options.

Smart Style simplifies inputs for special moves and combos, making the controls more approachable, while Arcade Style uses the conventional inputs expected from a traditional fighting game. That gives newer players an easier entry point without removing the familiar method for experienced players.

The digital release of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves arrives on October 22, while the physical version follows on January 21. That gives you two ways to get into the game, depending on whether you want it installed immediately or prefer a physical copy.

Then there is the Metal Slug Ultimate Collection, which takes the nostalgia in another direction. The collection is scheduled for 2027 and will bring together much of the Metal Slug series. For anyone whose first experience with the franchise came from the third game, the standout will be Metal Slug 3, which can easily become the game that defines the series for you.

The first introduction to Metal Slug 3 can be traced to LAN parties, where groups brought together consoles, televisions, and cables and spent hours playing different games. Not every game needed sixteen or eight people playing at once. Eventually, groups would split up and try different titles, and Metal Slug 3 fit that environment perfectly.

Seeing the game on a CRT back then made an impression because the animation and visual design looked so good.

It had the kind of detail that could make you think of a much stronger 16-bit game, while also carrying some of the visual character associated with the PS1 era. More importantly, the run-and-gun gameplay was easy to understand. You could pick it up, start moving and shooting, and get into the action without a long explanation.

That simplicity made it a natural fit for local multiplayer. Two people could sit in front of the same screen and play together, making it another game that worked especially well for hanging out. The Metal Slug Ultimate Collection goes far beyond including the third game.

The lineup includes Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4, Metal Slug 5, Metal Slug Advance, Metal Slug 6, Metal Slug 7, and the Metal Slug Location Test Version. The location test version is particularly interesting because it never received an official release, giving the collection something beyond a standard compilation.

The Metal Slug Ultimate Collection is also adding quality-of-life features. It includes online multiplayer and leaderboards, while quick save and quick load options should make it easier to manage progress. A rewind function is also available, along with score attack and time attack modes for players who want more structured challenges.

There is a combat school mode as well, giving you another way to spend time with the series beyond simply starting the games and playing through them.

The collection also includes a music and gallery section containing logos, artwork, and other visual material from across the franchise. That makes the package feel like a Metal Slug archive rather than just a convenient way to play the games.

The Metal Slug Ultimate Collection is planned for Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series consoles, and PC through Steam. Its 2027 release also lines up with the franchise's 30th anniversary, giving the collection an obvious reason to bring so much of the series together at once. Taken together, these two SNK releases represent different sides of the same kind of gaming memory.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves looks toward the future while carrying the name and identity of a series that can lead straight back to Garou: Mark of the Wolves and late nights around an old CRT. The Metal Slug Ultimate Collection goes further back, preserving the run-and-gun games that could turn a LAN party or couch session into an afternoon of simple, repeatable fun.

For Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the Switch 2 release is the biggest new piece of the story. You get a modern fighting game with multiple control options, cross-platform play, rollback netcode, and the flexibility to play on a television, in handheld mode, or on a tabletop. Metal Slug Ultimate Collection has a broader appeal: ten games, including an unreleased location test version, plus online multiplayer and a substantial collection of extras.

Both releases show how older arcade ideas can still make sense on current hardware. A fighting game can become something you practice between tournament rounds, while a run-and-gun collection can recreate the straightforward multiplayer sessions that made the originals memorable.

The company's covering two different chapters of its history at once.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves lands digitally on October 22 and physically on January 21, with the $30 starter edition giving players another way in. The Metal Slug Ultimate Collection follows in 2027, bringing a big selection of games and archival material to modern platforms. For anyone who remembers old CRT setups, after-hours arcade sessions, or crowded LAN parties, these two releases carry a lot of familiar history.