[Interview] PC version of "Real Bout Garou Denjin 2" released. We heard about the developers' intentions and memories from SNK's Oda and Roland
Note: the original Japanese article can be found at:
https://www.4gamer.net/games/999/G999905/20250925069/
Editorial Department: T-Tan | 2025/09/28 06:00 (UTC)
The PC port of SNK’s classic fighting game “Real Bout Garou Denjin 2” was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2025, and sales have now begun on Steam.
“Real Bout Garou Denjin 2,” released in arcades in March 1998, is the final installment of the “Real Bout Garou Denjin” series. It has long been praised for its refined battle balance and fast-paced gameplay, maintaining a dedicated fanbase even today.
Before this announcement, we had the opportunity to speak with Executive Producer Tayoshi Oda and Retro Department Manager Roland. We learned about their thoughts on the porting process as well as personal memories from Mr. Oda who worked on the original game—please read on for more.
4Gamer:
Today we appreciate your time. The PC port of “Real Bout Garou Denjin 2” (hereafter RB2) was announced at TGS 2025—could you tell us why this particular title was chosen?
Roland:
While the “Real Bout Garou Denjin” series includes several titles, RB2 is its most recent installment and has high completion quality and fast-paced matches. These factors led to our decision to proceed with porting it.
4Gamer:
Regarding RB2’s fast match pace—there’s a rumor that this was intentionally designed for higher arcade machine turnover rates at the time. Is that accurate?
Oda:
I can’t say definitively yes, but back then, other fighting games like the Street Fighter series were very popular and had high turnover rates. Similarly, UFO Catchers in game centers also saw rapid usage. Given this environment, we naturally paid some attention to speed of play.
Also, RB2 was developed incredibly quickly—around six months, if I recall correctly.
4Gamer:
Releasing a new fighting game in just six months sounds incredibly challenging.
Oda:
Given those circumstances, we couldn’t afford major changes. So instead, we focused on making the core experience—competitive matches—flow smoothly and continuously so players could enjoy endless battles without interruption.
4Gamer:
Fighting games really depend heavily on match pacing, don’t they? It’s like losing players immediately want to jump into another fight.
Oda:
Indeed. The fast pace led to incredible results during our local tests—huge income generation. Normally, test sites have long queues, but with RB2, people could play without waiting much at all.
It felt completely different from the KOF series, which tends to feature longer individual matches.
4Gamer:
KOF’s appeal also lies in being able to play with three characters per session—it gave a sense of longevity compared to other fighting games.
Oda:
Yes, many players at that time were using outdoor cabinets installed in convenience stores. The player demographic ended up much younger than expected—many elementary school kids played regularly. Some even gathered together and took turns playing with one character each.
4Gamer:
Regarding the “Real Bout Garou Denjin” series—the first installment (hereafter RB1) was also a highly popular title. Is there any plan to port RB1 to PC?
Roland:
Yes, if we hear many requests from players after this release, we’ll consider it. Right now, however, we haven’t received such feedback yet—so fans who are hoping for RB1 should definitely let us know.
4Gamer:
Last year, “SNK VS. CAPCOM SVC CHAOS” was ported to PC, and now RB2 follows as another classic title being revived. What’s the overall goal behind these re-releases?
Roland:
SNK has produced many titles that are considered classics over the years. Our aim is to release them on modern platforms so even more people can experience them.
4Gamer:
When it comes to reviving classic titles, have you considered bundling them into a collection-style release like other companies do?
Roland:
Personally, I’d prefer to dedicate more time and effort to each title we release—adding elements that players will genuinely appreciate. There’s no one “correct” way, of course.
4Gamer:
You mentioned additional features earlier—could you tell us about any new additions in RB2?
Roland:
First off, online multiplayer has been enhanced using rollback netcode to ensure smooth gameplay. We’ve also included a tournament mode designed for easy group play—featuring single elimination (single elim), double elimination (double elim), and league-style formats.
4Gamer:
Especially for international players, rollback netcode is essential—it’s often said to be nearly impossible otherwise.
Roland:
Exactly. In addition, we’ve included features fans will enjoy: a jukebox where you can listen to the music and a gallery with concept art and other visual materials.
We’ve also enhanced the practice mode—adding hitbox visibility and the ability to assign specific moves to dummy characters. This makes it far more effective for player training.
4Gamer:
The hidden boss Alfred, previously only available as CPU-only in the original game, is now playable too, right?
Roland:
Yes. However, he lacks a line move animation—so even if you perform one, there’s nothing to do when returning to your starting position. Since his normal and special moves are strong, we’d like players to see him as a character offering a slightly different playstyle.
4Gamer:
So Alfred was never originally intended to be playable?
Oda:
That’s right. Speaking of memories—do you have any fun anecdotes from the time when you worked on RB2?
Oda:
RB2 launched in 1998, and back then, I and most staff were quite young. So I remember we all ended up staying overnight at the office while working on it (laughs). With such a short development cycle—only about six months—we figured that sleeping at work would effectively triple our productivity.
4Gamer:
Back then, many fighting games were delayed. Was there no talk of delay with RB2?
Oda:
No—because we worked backward from the deadline to trim content down. We only added two new characters, but still made all stages entirely new. It was tough work! A small secret: upper parts of some stages weren’t fully drawn. If you used a camera move on certain stages, there were spots where it would “cut off.” We noticed this after release but couldn’t fix it in time.
4Gamer:
It’d be fun to hunt for those glitches now.
Oda:
Yes—back then, we worked so intensely that we’d often stay overnight at the office. SNK was developing multiple titles simultaneously. Did you personally work on several projects at once?
Oda:
Not really. Very few people handled different projects in parallel. Of course, after finishing one project, some would go help out elsewhere.
4Gamer:
Speaking of RB2’s short development cycle—was there a specific reason behind that tight schedule?
Oda:
I don’t recall exactly now—but the same was true for RB1. That game had to be developed quickly because “Garou Denjin 3” before it had failed commercially. We needed to recover fast, so RB1 was rushed.
4Gamer:
So that was the context.
Oda:
Also, Alfred eventually became playable as the protagonist in “Real Bout Garou Denjin Special: Dominated Mind.” But interestingly, Dominated Mind actually finished first and was scheduled for a later release.
4Gamer:
Dominated Mind launched in June, while RB2 hit arcades in March.
Oda:
Exactly. So we decided to give Alfred an early appearance in RB2—hence the last-minute decision to include him. The reason he lacks line moves? Because Dominated Mind didn’t have them either.
4Gamer:
So adding line moves wasn’t considered?
Oda:
No—it was simply impossible with so little time left. But since it wouldn’t hurt gameplay, we went ahead and implemented the character anyway.
4Gamer:
Thank you for sharing all these insights. Finally, do you have a message for fans of the series or readers?
Roland:
We’ve released RB2 in what can truly be called a complete version, and we really want as many people as possible to play it. I personally played this title back then and still consider it a masterpiece. We’ve improved online features and practice mode so players can enjoy longer sessions—please take your time enjoying it.
Oda:
RB2 is an older game, but it’s still enjoyable today. With smoother online matches now available, we at SNK are also considering organizing tournaments using this title. Please try it out once—it might surprise you.