Fighting games have proved enormously popular ever since their inception. When Art of Fighting from SNK was released in 1992, it took the agreed-upon standards – an arsenal of special moves, a collection of selectable colorful characters, and that ever-present lifebar – and added a few unique elements of its own to create a crowd-pleasing game that was soon embraced by the arcade community.

The tale was a simple one – Martial Arts expert, Ryo Sakazaki was faced with a lofty challenge if he ever wanted to see his kidnapped sister Yuri again. He joined forces with Robert Garcia and together they would need to battle their way through eight individual competitions against some of the fiercest fighters from around the globe. The roster included muscleman Jack Turner, crazed doctor Lee Pai Long, karate master Ryuhaku Todoh, The King, pugilist Mickey Rogers, unbalanced military man John Crowley, sinister entrepreneur Mr. Big, and the elusive Mr. Karate. Get through that rat pack and Yuri might just live to see another day. Each held clues to her whereabouts, you just had to beat them into submission.

In single-player mode, one could only take control of Ryo or his pal Robert. In two-player mode, all characters were available, with the exception of Mr. Big and Mr. Karate. Regardless, players had four buttons at their disposal. Three were self-explanitory – Punch, Kick and Strong – and one was the innovative new feature of Taunt. This button was a part of the Chi system, which set the game apart from the competition. Near the lifebar was a “Chi Meter” which was increased anytime one of the attack buttons was pressed continuously. But receive a taunt from an opponent and down it went. Chi was vital if a player wanted to execute any of the special moves available.

Unlike its competitor, Street Fighter, this game really shined in the graphics department, offering a much larger view of characters, thanks to its “zoom-in” feature. Battle wounds were clearly visible as fights progressed, down to the gory detail.

Granted, Art of Fighting never made the same splash as its main competitors, Street Fighter II and Mortal Combat, but it pleased enough customers to justify two sequels - Art of Fighting 2, which allowed single players more character choices, including Yuri who was no longer quiet as little, nor helpless – and Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior. This time around, the game incorporated the motion capture technology that had made Mortal Kombat such an iconic game.

And for those that had developed an affection for this particular group of game characters, the story wasn’t over. SNK eventually released the King of Fighters series, and brought many of these characters out of the mothballs to battle again.