Bitmap Books has announced it is publishing a book which covers the history of SNK's famous Fatal Fury / Garou Densetsu series.
Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History will span more than 460 pages, packed with exclusive interviews, official artwork, screenshots and more.
"Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History tells that story in remarkable detail," explains Bitmap Books. The tome will include "candid interviews with key developers from across the Fatal Fury series, including pixel artists Hitoshi Okamoto, Youichiro Soeda, and Nobuyuki Kuroki, planner and designer Takeshi Kimura, and Chief Producer of SNK Fighting Games, Yasuyuki Oda, who also authored the book’s foreword."
The publisher also states that it has been "granted access to the celebrated gaming company’s vast archive of concept sketches, promotional illustrations, and cover art."
Fatal Fury was SNK's first attempt to crack the one-on-one fighting game market that had been established by the likes of Street Fighter (1987) and Street Fighter 2 (1991). The original designer of Street Fighter, Takashi Nishiyama, was hired by SNK to create the franchise.
Every game in the series will be covered, from the Neo Geo originals to spin-offs like Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and the portable entry, Fatal Fury: First Contact. More recent titles, such as Garou: Mark of the Wolves and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, will also be featured.
The book will be available in both Standard (£34.99) and Collector's (£54.99) editions. The latter comes in a slipcase that plays various voice quotes from the series, as well as a set of A5 Fatal Fury art cards and a postcard. This edition is limited to 2,000 units and will never be reproduced.
This is the latest in a long-running series of collaborations between Bitmap Books and SNK, which has been under the ownership of the Saudi Arabian Misk Foundation since 2022. Past books include Metal Slug: The Ultimate History and The King of Fighters: The Ultimate History.