Savage Reign

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Savage Reign

Developer(s)	SNK
Publisher(s)	SNK
Designer(s)	SNK
Release date(s)	04/25/95 05/25/95
Genre(s)	Versus Fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Platform(s)	Arcade, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD
Input	8-way Joystick, 4 Buttons
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade display	Raster

Savage Reign (風雲黙示録, Fu'un Mokushiroku^?, which loosely translates to "Wind & Cloud Apocalypse") is a fighting game created by SNK for the Neo Geo, and was released both in arcades and on the console, as well as the Neo Geo CD.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 Characters
4 Trivia
5 See Also
6 External links

[edit] Story

Set in the first half of the 21st century (in the same fictional universe as the Fatal Fury series). A mysterious man named the King Lion (Shishioh in the original Japanese version) has risen up and issued a challenge on television for the strongest of fighters to battle him. He promises wealth beyond anyone's dreams and fame beyond imagination... but who among the 9 finalists will succeed in fighting him? And do they know the real purpose behind the Battle of the Beast God tournament?

[edit] Gameplay

In game screenshot of Savage Reign.

The game, much like Samurai Shodown, is a weapons fighter. However, Savage Reign has a few particular elements that makes it different from it's predecessor.

The weapons can not only be used for close combat, but can also be thrown at an opponent from a distance for more ranged attacks.

There are also two levels of playing field within the battles, the default lower one and the upper field, which both fighters can jump to with the push of a button.

The button layout was also slightly different at the time, resembling World Heroes somewhat--a button for punching, a button for kicking, a button for the weapon and a button for jumping between planes. Holding down the punch or kick buttons results in a stronger attack, tapping them wields a light attack.

[edit] Characters

Sho Hayate - A young man who aims to prove the strength of the art of Fu'un-Ken, a special style that combines martial arts with mastery of the boomerang.

Max Eagle - An undefeated wrestler who is interested in the challenge. His ulterior motif for entering is because the King Lion looks like his missing brother.

Gozu - A red ninja who uses fire-based attacks. He is a part of a group called the Jaguar (AKA Jaga, or Jagger), and with Mezu, he is out for revenge against King Lion.

Mezu - A blue ninja who uses water and ice based attacks. His goals are somewhat similar to Gozu's, but he is more motivated for vengeance for the death of his brother.

Carol Stanzack - A beautiful young gymnast who is being forced to marry King Lion by her father (who is also her teacher). She is annoyed by this, and fights to break this commitment.

Joker - The leader of a violent gang known as Looly Po Po, using his appearance and his strange weapondry as his fighting tools. His motivations are for glory, his reason for entering the tournament. His real name is Marco Bariadrid.

Gordon Bowman - A successful police officer who carries an electric weapon called a Stantofar. His daughter is deathly ill and he is fighting for the money to support her medical attention.

Chung Paifu - An old hermit (sennin) who has participated due to a past conflict between him and King Lion. His cap was given to him by a man known as the "Legendary Wolf."

Nicola Zaza - A super genius who constructed a "super suit", and participates in the tournament to test the very depths of his creation.

King Lion (Shishioh) - The one who is responsible for holding the Battle of the Beast God tournament, wielding a sword called "The Sword of Leo." But what are his true intentions?

[edit] Trivia

Savage Reign poster

All the art from Fu'un series (Savage Reign and Kizuna Encounter) was made by the famous SNK artists Shinkiro and Eiji Shiroi.
Some of the characters in both Savage Reign and it's sequel, Kizuna Encounter have made a few cameo appearances in some of the later SNK games:
- Hayate, Rosa, Carol, King Lion, and Kim Sue Il all appear in both Card Fighters Clash games for the Neo Geo Pocket.
- An ancestor of Hayate's also appears in one of the endings of one of the characters in Samurai Shodown V
- King Lion appeared as a striker in The King of Fighters 2000 and as a playable character and a sub-boss in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum.
- Kim Sue Il appeared in the background of one of the stages in The King of Fighters 2002.
- Hayate and Jyazu appear as bosses in The King of Fighters XI.
This game is known in Japan as "Fu'un Mokushiroku - Kakutou Sousei" (translates from Japanese as Wind and Cloud Apocalypse - Hand-to-Hand Fighting Genesis). Mokushiroku is Japanese for the Christian book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse. Sousei is Japanese for creation of the world, or Genesis. Sousei and Mokushiroku are diametrically opposed, just like Genesis and Apocalypse - and used here as a metaphor for the conflict between Sho Hayate and Shishi-Oh (King Lion). [1]