Fatal Fury director says Chun Li’s inclusion in City of the Wolves made SNK nervous and nostalgic

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We spoke with Hayato Konya, the director of City of the Wolves, about adding Chun-Li to the game. We discussed the challenges of working with such a well-known character, and SNK’s playful nod to the famous crossover artwork featuring Mai Shiranui.

Chun-Li from Street Fighter is joining the fighting game Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves as a playable character. She’s the latest guest star from the Street Fighter series, coming after Ken was added earlier in the year.

Before joining the game’s official character list this winter, TopMob interviewed Hayato Konya, the director of The King of Fighters XV, to discuss how the development team reintroduced a classic fighting game character after almost two decades.

SNK director opens up about the pressure of adding Chun-Li to CotW

It’s been 22 years since SNK and Capcom teamed up for SVC Chaos in 2003. Ever since, fans have been hoping to see the two companies work together on another crossover game.

In 2024, both Street Fighter 6 and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves gained guest characters. Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui joined the Street Fighter 6 roster, and Chun-Li and Ken became playable characters in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.

The fighting game community was thrilled by this surprising team-up, and now only Chun-Li remains to be added. It’s fitting she’s last, considering she’s one of the most iconic and popular female characters in video game history—in fact, she’s consistently among the most searched for, second only to Princess Peach!

She made history as the first female character players could control in a popular fighting game. Since her debut in Street Fighter II in the 1990s, she’s stayed incredibly popular – her character skin is even highly sought after in games like Fortnite.

We wanted to find out if the developers at SNK were worried about adapting Chun-Li’s famous moves into the gameplay of City of the Wolves, and it seems they were.

Konya confessed to feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement. She explained that she experienced similar feelings when working with Ken, and also finds a unique thrill in developing the other characters from Fatal Fury.

I remember getting a Super Nintendo when I was little and playing Street Fighter II. The feelings I had then are still incredibly strong – probably the most powerful memories I have.

SNK director wants to create “cherished memories” for players

The gameplay trailer for Chun-Li was released in late October, giving fans a preview of what’s coming this winter. The trailer highlights the long-standing rivalry between Chun-Li and Mai Shiranui, and even includes a nod to classic promotional art featuring the two characters.

This echoes SNK’s previous nods to their Capcom collaborations in The King of Fighters, like recreating Terry’s interaction with Ken’s famous introduction. Konya felt it was crucial to accurately represent these classic moments and pay respect to their history with Capcom.

A side-by-side comparison of Chun-Li and Mai Shiranui from CotW and Akiman’s SVC Chaos promotional artwork shows the evolution of Street Fighter and Fatal Fury over the decades.

He explained that he really hoped arcade players would be thrilled to see Chun-Li and Mai – both iconic female fighting game characters – team up, as they’ve been staples of the genre for years.

I really wanted to capture the feeling of the classic SNK vs. Capcom promotional art when designing these characters. Translating that 2D artwork into 3D was tricky, but I hope it reminds long-time fans of the original game and inspires new players to give both characters a try.

It’s important to accurately represent these moments, but more than that, I really hope they become special memories for the fans.

Ultimately, the most important thing is that both experienced fighting game players and people new to the genre can have fun with it.

Chun-Li is a smooth transition for Street Fighter players

I was lucky enough to get some hands-on time with Chun-Li before she launched, and honestly, she feels almost exactly like she does in Street Fighter 6. It’s the same character, just with a few little adjustments to work with the REV system in Combat Challenger. It’s similar to how they handled Ken – really familiar, but tweaked to fit the game!

Konya shared that SNK designed the character to be familiar to Street Fighter fans, specifically basing her moveset on how she’s played in Street Fighter 6, much like they did with Ken.

Her fighting style draws heavily from Street Fighter 6, but incorporates elements from Fatal Fury to account for the differences in how those games handle commands and gameplay.

If you’re used to playing Street Fighter, you’ll likely find it easy to pick up and play Chun-Li in Fatal Fury.

It wasn’t a simple process, though. The team really had to consider what would appeal to fans of both Street Fighter and SNK, which was a difficult challenge.

According to Konya, the director overseeing the ‘City of Wolves’ battle system is a knowledgeable and dedicated Street Fighter fan. This passion helped them carefully consider how to best satisfy players.

While updating her abilities to work with the REV system and balancing her moves took effort, it wasn’t an insurmountable task.

Chun-Li will be joining the fighting game Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves in Winter 2025. You’ll be able to play as her on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.

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2025-11-01 18:19