Salvatore Ganacci in Fatal Fury: City of Wolves? This Isn't a Fighting Game, It's a Circus!

[Ian Burton]

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Salvatore Ganacci in Fatal Fury: City of Wolves? WTF! What is happening to Fatal Fury? The once-beloved franchise has officially gone off the rails, and I can’t believe what SNK is doing to it. “Shatter your expectations,” they said. Well, mission accomplished. But it’s not the kind of shattering we were hoping for. After the somewhat understandable inclusion of Ken and Chun-Li from Street Fighter, and even the crossover with Mai and Terry in Street Fighter 6, things have now taken an absurd turn. Cristiano Ronaldo—yes, the soccer player—was bad enough, and we all thought that was an April Fools’ joke. But now? Now we have Salvatore Ganacci, the DJ and breakdancer, as a main character. This isn’t a fighting game, this is a circus. Sure, I get that Ronaldo makes sense. His massive 651 million Instagram followers make him an easy marketing tool for attracting casual players who wouldn’t know a Power Wave from a Rising Tackle. But Salvatore Ganacci? Really? The guy doesn’t even have fighting skills! He’s known for his ridiculous breakdancing performances and DJ antics, not for any sort of combat prowess. His “fighting style” consists of fist pumps, spins, and the occasional “hip-hop” move. How […]
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Salvatore Ganacci in Fatal Fury: City of Wolves? This Isn’t a Fighting Game, It’s a Circus! | popgeeks.com

Salvatore Ganacci in Fatal Fury: City of Wolves? WTF! What is happening to Fatal Fury? The once-beloved franchise has officially gone off the rails, and I can’t believe what SNK is doing to it. “Shatter your expectations,” they said. Well, mission accomplished. But it’s not the kind of...

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[Berlin]

This is disgusting. Fatal Fury was built on martial arts tradition, not celebrity gimmicks. Salvatore Ganacci isn’t a fighter. He isn’t a martial artist. He’s a DJ. A breakdancer. A joke.

Duck King at least had a fighting style that blended breakdancing with actual combat. This? This is just shameless pandering. A man flailing his arms to house music should not be able to fight people who have spent their lives mastering combat. It’s beyond absurd.

SNK, do you even respect your fans? We’ve been waiting over two decades for a proper Fatal Fury revival, and this is what you give us? If this is the direction City of Wolves is heading, I don’t even want to know what’s next. Maybe they’ll add a TikTok influencer with “self-defense” moves. This is a disgrace to fighting games.

 

[Cody]

I was so excited for City of Wolves. The trailers, the mechanics, everything looked like SNK was finally bringing Fatal Fury back in a meaningful way. And now? Now I’m just embarrassed.


Salvatore Ganacci being in this game is baffling. Who asked for this? Who thought this was a good idea? This isn’t a crossover with a gaming icon or a beloved character. It’s just some DJ who decided he wanted to be in a fighting game, and SNK let him.


This makes Fatal Fury look like a joke. You can’t expect longtime fans to take this seriously. We waited decades for a new game, and instead of honoring that history, SNK is turning it into a meme. I’m losing faith fast. If this is the direction they’re going, I might not even buy this game.

 

[Sure Your Ken]

Let’s be honest. This is about attention, not about making a great fighting game.

SNK doesn’t care about the fans who grew up with Fatal Fury. They’re chasing headlines, trying to bring in new players who don’t even know who Terry Bogard is. It doesn’t matter if Salvatore Ganacci has no business being in a fighting game. It doesn’t matter if he has no combat skills. He’s “trendy” enough to make a few people talk, and that’s all that matters.

What’s next? Will they put in random streamers? Pop stars? Movie actors playing themselves? This isn’t just dumb—it’s dangerous. If City of Wolves sells well despite this nonsense, it will set a precedent. Other fighting games will start doing the same thing. And before you know it, the genre will be flooded with “celebrity fighters” instead of real martial artists.

Enjoy the circus. It’s only going to get worse from here.

 

[The Zyborg]

I HATE this. I absolutely HATE this. I wanted a real Fatal Fury game, not some clown show!


SNK has officially lost the plot. We could’ve had more returning fighters, but no, we get Salvatore Ganacci, a man with no combat experience, taking up space. Who is even making these decisions? Do they think fighting game fans actually want this?


Imagine training for years to fight in the King of Fighters tournament, only to lose to a DJ doing a headspin. It’s insulting! It makes a mockery of every serious fighter in the game.


I swear, if Duck King gets left out because of this nonsense, I’m done. I don’t want Fatal Fury turned into a joke. We waited too long for this game to see it turned into a circus act. SNK, fix this before it’s too late!

 

[Jenny The Bat]

I actually think this is kind of cool! Fighting games should be fun, and while I get why some hardcore fans are mad, I don’t see this as a disaster. Street Fighter has had joke characters for years, and Mortal Kombat has had guest fighters that are even more bizarre. If Ganacci plays well and has a unique move set, why not? It’s not like Fatal Fury hasn’t had goofy characters before—Bob Wilson and Duck King weren’t exactly traditional fighters. Let’s give him a chance before passing judgment.

 

[Travis]

Is this guy even an A-lister? I don’t know who the hell he is. At least with Ronaldo, I get it—he’s one of the biggest athletes in the world. But Salvatore Ganacci? I had to Google him. If you have to explain who a guest character is, that’s already a bad sign. SNK is acting like he’s some huge deal, but his following isn’t even that impressive. Who asked for this? I’d rather have a forgotten Fatal Fury character come back than some DJ nobody outside of his niche fanbase cares about.

 

[toddj82]

Oh, so now Fatal Fury is supposed to be some ultra-serious martial arts saga? That’s hilarious. The same series that gave us a guy who fights in a pink suit with a rose in his mouth (Franco Bash), a capoeira fighter who literally dances mid-fight (Bob Wilson), and a DJ with a pet chick on his head (Duck King) is suddenly too sacred for a breakdancing DJ? Come on.

Old-school fans are acting like this franchise was Bushido Blade or something. Fatal Fury has always had goofy, over-the-top characters. Have we forgotten that Geese Howard—one of the most iconic fighting game villains—literally came back from the dead multiple times? Or that Raiden is just a wrestling heel who moonlights as a biker thug? But yeah, Salvatore Ganacci is where we draw the line.

Look, I get being nostalgic, but let’s not rewrite history. Fatal Fury was never just "serious street fights and martial arts." It’s always been a mix of tough fighters, weird gimmicks, and outright cartoonish characters. If you’re mad about Ganacci, fine, but don’t pretend this franchise was ever too good for some ridiculous additions.

 

[Clymemarys]

I’m so tired of this. Blue Mary is one of the most important characters in the Fatal Fury series, and she still hasn’t been confirmed, yet we’re getting celebrity guest fighters shoved into the base roster? Why? If SNK wants to do these ridiculous crossovers, fine—put them in DLC where people who actually want them can buy them. But forcing them into the main game while actual Fatal Fury characters are left out is insulting.

Blue Mary is a staple of the series. She has deep ties to Terry and the South Town story. She’s been a fan favorite for decades, and she actually fits in a fighting game. But instead of her, we get Salvatore Ganacci, a DJ who does breakdancing moves that look more like a joke than actual combat. This just isn’t right.

SNK needs to stop prioritizing viral marketing over their own history. Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter do guest characters as DLC, and that’s how it should be. That way, people who don’t want them can ignore them. But now, we’re stuck with this clown taking up a slot that should have gone to someone who actually belongs in the game. If Blue Mary isn’t in the launch roster, I’m going to be furious.

 

[Eugenio]

Who is Salvatore Ganacci, and why does he deserve to be in a fighting game? Seriously, what has he done to justify a spot on the roster? Fighters in Fatal Fury have always had some kind of combat background—kickboxers, wrestlers, martial artists, even street brawlers. But this guy? A DJ who spins records and breakdances? What makes him worthy of standing next to Terry Bogard or Rock Howard? At least when Mortal Kombat adds guest fighters, they’re iconic action stars or famous fictional characters who actually fit the tone of the game. Ganacci isn’t even a household name. He has fewer followers than a mid-tier influencer, and his fighting credentials are nonexistent. If SNK wanted to add a celebrity, they could have chosen someone with real fighting experience. Instead, we get this?

This feels like someone at SNK lost a bet and had to put him in the game as a joke. I have nothing against the guy personally, but what has he done to earn this? Being a meme-worthy DJ doesn’t make you a fighter. If that’s all it takes now, then I guess anyone can be in Fatal Fury. What’s next, a Twitch streamer