The fighting game franchises of both Capcom and SNK have been thrust into the spotlight recently thanks to the announcement of Capcom Fighting Collection 2, a pack which includes a bunch of classic Capcom titles, such as Capcom vs. SNK Pro and Capcom vs. SNK 2 – two titles which haven't seen a re-release since they originally launched over two decades ago.
The gorgeous new key art for the collection – drawn by the legendary Shinkiro (Toshiaki Mori) – shows Fatal Fury's Terry Bogard and Street Fighter's Ryu facing off against one another, flanked by characters from Capcom and SNK's fighting game history.
It would seem that, despite his appearances in games such as Smash Bros. and Street Fighter 6, some fans have taken issue with Terry getting all of the attention in this new artwork, with some feeling out that Kyo, the original 'lead' of SNK's King of Fighters series, should be the one getting up close and personal with Ryu.
"The only thing I don't like about the wave of the SNK revival is that they're making Terry Bogard the face everything," says one commenter (who shall remain nameless) on social media. "Even for Capcom vs SNK when Kyo and Ryu were the main rivals in the original, because the Smash babies only recognize him and won't even bother playing older KOF."
Thankfully, we have upstanding people like Wednesday Night Fight Club to redress the balance and point out that Terry and Ryu both share the same creator, and it makes much more sense to have them as the leads in this particular piece of artwork.
"Friendly reminder that Takashi Nishiyama is the OG creator of Street Fighter AND Garou / Fatal Fury franchises," says Wednesday Night Fight Club. "Not only does Terry predate Kyo by three years, but Terry & Ryu share the same creator, making them sort of half-brothers. That’s not key art, it’s a family reunion."
It's also worth pointing out that while Ryu and Kyo do indeed face off against one another on the Japanese cover of Capcom vs. SNK, for the Western release, Kyo is replaced with Terry—so it seems somebody at Capcom thought it was a more suitable match-up, even over twenty years ago.
What do you think? Are you a Kyo fan who is dismayed at the way the character has been marginalised over the years? Let us know with a comment below.