As I was wrapping up my final preview of Season 2 for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, I couldn’t help but feel eager to see just how long it would take for the next group of characters to arrive in the game. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long, because SNK already had the first one locked and loaded, and he arrived with one destructive punch. Rick Strowd is the one to open the gates of this new season, and while I love all his moves, combos, and how he combines raw strength with fast hits, he might be a bit niche for some players.
One Heck of a Punch
As many saw in the teasers, Rick Strowd is, indeed, the first fighter to arrive in Season 3 of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Now, last season, I thought many of the characters were extremely versatile in terms of offensive and defensive options, with only a few outliers lacking ranged moves or gap-closers. Still, I thought the variety was great, as all of them fit many situations. However, after taking Rick Strowd out for a few bouts, I must say that I am a bit conflicted with his playstyle. Not in a bad way, though, but rather because he feels a bit niche and not too great for newcomers.
Strowd is all about fast and powerful punches, with him having some of the best flowing combos I’ve seen in the game that aren’t too hard to perform. Then, what is so conflicting about him? Well, his defensive options aren’t that great. He is all about going on the offensive, and when it comes to cornering enemies, I don’t see another fighter who does it as well as Rick. Truly, if you manage to put an enemy in a corner, you’ll beat them in seconds, as there is no way to get out of Rick Strowd’s sights when he’s at close quarters. Sadly, that’s also his biggest issue: lack of range and versatility.
Normally, I fight against the last character that landed on the roster, so I went a few rounds against Kenshiro—it was a massacre, and not in my favor. Kenshiro’s kicks and faster gap-closers were more than enough to counter Rick in every way. While I did eventually turn the scoreboard and beat the iconic protagonist, it took a lot of effort. The same happened against some of the most recent fighters in the game.
Yet, this doesn’t mean Rick Strowd is a less desirable fighter. I do think he will be an excellent one when the season officially kicks off, but it will be one of the hardest to master, mainly due to how his kit works. The silver lining about him, and my favorite part, is how his gap-closer can become several different combos, all of which take out a huge chunk of an opponent’s health bar. Then again, closing the gap and keeping enemies at bay will be some of the biggest challenges, so I’d recommend trying him against CPUs first before doing some competitive matches.
Welcome to Season 3
While I do feel Rick Strowd leans more toward the “challenging” fighters to learn in the game, I must admit that I had a blast when I finally nailed his basic moves and combos down. When it comes to close-quarter fighters, Rick Strowd stands out as one of the best and actually reminds me a bit of Blue Mary. The Grapple Queen was all about being as close as possible to other fighters and doing as much damage as possible, and that is a gameplay style I really enjoy. So, those who also like that in-your-face approach with fast damage that just combo-locks an enemy will love Rick Strowd.
