In this 1992 fighting game, Ryo Sakazaki sets out to rescue his sister Yuri, who has been abducted by the mobster Mr. Big. Along with his best friend Robert, Ryo must take on numerous enemies around Southtown, leading to teh climatic confrontation with the mysterious Mr. Karate.
The passion of the game's creators is evident in the unique game play elements introduced to ensure the players use strategy and tactics, rather than just mashing buttons. These include an energy gauge that is depleted every time a fighter uses a special manoeuvre and Desperation Attacks that can only be used when a fighter's health is low.
Special presentation features such as characters showing damage as the fights progress, camera zooming that follows the action and voice-over samples played during cut scenes combine to make Art of Fighting a masterpiece of the genre.