Overview

Ever since releasing Fatal Fury, SNK produced arranged albums dedicated to nearly all their fighting games. Many of these albums were satisfying, encompassing experiences that really expanded upon the originals — Fatal Fury 3's standing as the foremost example. Unfortunately, many of SNK's subsequent arranged productions seemed to be primarily commercially driven — tending to be both brief and inconsistent. This is particularly true for the Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 Arrange Sound Trax, which has very little to offer.

Body

While the album is dedicated to the newcomers, a few familiar faces return from earlier games. The opening arrangement is actually a very diverse take on Andy Bogard's iconic character theme from the franchise; while it opens with a familiar urban jazz feel, it incorporates warm orchestral colours and traditional Asian instrumentation during its surprising development. It's a strange fit for the character, but a fresh take on the theme. Hon-Fu's new theme from the game also makes a prominent appearance. Mixing strong urban influences with some Asian flavours, the original "Donchika!! Chi!! Chii!!" was a fantastic fit for the Hong Kong detective. The arranged version takes a radically different direction with its strong techno influences, but in the process loses the mood and personality of the original. Demonstrating SNK were relatively new to the genre, the stylings are quite generic and some of the beats are annoyingly repetitive.

Moving on to the titular newcomers, the arrangements dedicated to Rick Strowd and secret character Alfred are certainly superior to their originals. The sound team flesh out their rock stylings, while emphasising the carefree nature of the portrayed characters. These are also among the few tracks on the album that benefit from instrumental performances, courtesy of returning guitarist Jun Kajiwara and several others. Unfortunately, the instrumental arrangement of Li Xiangfei's theme is hopeless; the original was derivative enough, with its blend of pentatonic melodies and pop beats, and this track is even worse with its pumping techno vibes. Given the mediocre quality of the samples, it isn't much of an improvement technologically over the original either.

The instrumental section closes with an upbeat synthpop ending theme faithful to the original. SNK close the release with two bonus vocal arrangements. Terry Bogard's "Shooting Star" is a fine fit for the character, combining strong guitar riffs with a suitably macho performance from Satoshi Hashimoto. It's generic J-Rock, but still relatively well-produced for a 1998 video game album. It's undeniably catchy too. Continuing SNK's efforts to transform her into an idol, Li Xiangfei also receives a vocal theme. The character's seiyuu Mami Kingetsu — best known for Tokimeki Memorial — also lends her voice to this song. Partly as a result, it gained considerable appeal in Japan, but is still too niche to appeal to most westerners.

Summary

The Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 Arrange Sound Trax features just seven instrumental arrangements and two vocal covers. Even the best of the arrangements are generic, while the remainder are tacky and obnoxious. It's better to save your money on better items in SNK's large discography.