Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition

is a 3D fighting video game produced by SNK. The game was released in Japanese arcades on January 28, 1999, though the title screen shows the year 1998. It is part of the Fatal Fury series of fighting games. It was one of the last games released for the Hyper Neo Geo 64 system board. It was ported to the Sony PlayStation on June 24, 1999 in Japan and December 11, 1999 in North America. The game was re-released as a downloadable game for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via PlayStation Network in Japan on April 25, 2007.

The game re-tells the story of the original Fatal Fury video game. It introduces Touji Sakata and Tsugumi Sendo to the series, and places Mai Shiranui, Kim Kaphwan, and Li Xiangfei as participants of the original King of Fighters tournament. Ryuji Yamazaki also appears as a mid-boss character. Ryo Sakazaki makes an appearance as Mr. Karate, tying the events of Art of Fighting 2 to this game.

Gameplay
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition is a 3D fighting game, but gameplay is similar to that of a 2D fighter. The button layout is the same from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, but the D Button is now called the Axis Shift instead of the Line Sway. This feature allows players to move their characters left or right using 3D movement. Characters attack using Punches, Kicks, and Heavy Attacks. Every character also has an assortment of Special Moves and Desperation Moves (Now called Super Power Attacks). Super Power Attacks can only be performed when the player's health meter is flashing red, and does not use the Heat Meter.

Much like in Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, players are able to perform throws, counterattacks, pursuit attacks, taunt and recover quickly after being knocked out.

Heat Meter
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition replaces the Power Meter from Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 with the Heat Meter. The Heat Meter starts at 50% full at the beginning of every match, though it can change between rounds of the same match. Players fill the meter by attacking their opponent or taunting them, while taking damage or being thrown decreases the gauge. If a player takes damage, but his opponent stops attacking him/her, the meter will raise to 50% again.

When the player fills the Heat Meter, the message "MAX OK" will appear. Players may then perform an Overdrive Power or a Heat Blow. The Heat Meter will be close to empty if either of this moves is used, but this can also happen if the player takes too much damage or performs numerous counterattacks. If this happens, a "Danger" message will appear. If the player takes too much damage with a nearly empty Heat Meter, the player will Overheat. This causes the player to get dizzy, becoming vulnerable to the opponent's attack.

Guard Impact
A new feature introduced in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition. If the player blocks an attack the moment it hits, they will block the attack and take no damage, while the offensive opponent is pushed away.

Heat Blow
A new attack introduced in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, the Heat Blow is an unblock-able that may stun or launch the opponent into the air if it connects. The player can perform a Heat Blow while being attacked by the opponent to interrupt their attacks. Using the Heat Blow will decrease the Heat Meter close to the Danger state.

Overdrive Power
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition changes the Potential Power (P. Power) attacks and renames them Overdrive Power. Overdrive Power attacks work differently from the P. Power attacks of the old games. The player can perform Overdrive Power attacks once the Heat Meter is full, regardless of how many health the player has. Using an Overdrive Power decreases the Heat Meter close to the Danger point.

Returning characters

 * Terry Bogard
 * Andy Bogard
 * Joe Higashi
 * Mai Shiranui
 * Kim Kaphwan
 * Billy Kane
 * Raiden
 * Ryuji Yamazaki
 * Li Xiangfei (secret character in arcade version)

New characters

 * Touji Sakata
 * Tsugumi Sendo

Boss

 * Geese Howard

PlayStation Secret Characters

 * Ryo Sakazaki (as Mr. Karate)
 * Duck King