Oversway
Each stage is separated into three Sway Planes along the Z-axis of the stage - the centre plane is where most of the fighting happens, with the two Oversway Planes (front and back) providing access to limited, but unique movement and attack options. To enter either of the Oversway Planes, press 5D or 2D to move into the back plane or the front plane, respectively. Press 2/8 or D at any time to move back to the centre plane. If no input is made for a period of time, the character will automatically move back to the centre plane.
Because the Oversway system is present in most facets of the game’s mechanics, individual Oversway options will be included in their respective sections below.
Out of Bounds
Every stage except for Nighttime East Subway has barriers in each corner that can be destroyed over the course of gameplay. Barriers can be damaged by attacking a cornered opponent or by attacking them directly. Blocking normal attacks when cornered will not damage the barrier; only specials and supers will damage barriers when blocked. Generally speaking, stronger attacks damage barriers more, breaking them faster.
When a barrier is destroyed, the corner opens up, and getting hit near the corner will send your character falling out of the ring for an instant loss. You can also be sent through the wall if it is one hit from breaking, so even a closed corner can be unsafe. An open corner also limits both players’ options, as whiffing a forward-moving special attack can result in you flying out of the ring and losing, and jumping backwards or backdashing results in the same if you’re cornered. Notably, barriers which are broken stay broken for the rest of the match.
Movement
Hold 4 or 6 to walk backwards or forwards, respectively. Double tapping either direction will result in a dash in that direction. Forward dashes move a long distance, and can be interrupted by pressing 4, 2 or any attack button. Attacks cancel dashes immediately, while any other action used to cancel a dash will incur a small recovery animation. Dashes can also be cancelled into a forward jump, which results in a dash jump that travels further than a standard forward jump. Backdashes cannot be cancelled once performed, but have full invulnerability on startup.
7, 8 and 9 result in jumps in their respective directions. Lightly tapping an upward direction will result in a smaller jump, known as a Short Hop. Whether a full jump or a short hop, all jumps incur a small landing animation which can be cancelled with attacks, but not with any other action. By pressing the D button during a jump, your character will perform an Aerial Turnaround, facing them the opposite direction and allowing them to use any jumping attack as a cross-up.
While in either of the Oversway Planes, it is possible to both walk and dash to the left or the right. Characters can walk indefinitely, but dashes will immediately return characters to the centre plane once the animation is complete. Dashes in the Oversway Planes do not carry any invulnerability.
Defensive Systems
Guarding and Throws
Hold 4 to stand guard (guards against high and mid attacks), and 1 to crouch guard (guards against mid and low attacks). It is also possible to block in the air, but this is not possible during a short hop. Further, only airborne attacks and projectiles can be blocked in the air - grounded attacks will still hit you. It is impossible to block attacks while in either of the Oversway Planes.
To throw the opponent, get close and press 4/6+C. There is no way to break or soften throws, and in the case of both players trying to throw at the same time, player 1’s throw will be prioritised.
Evade Attacks
By pressing 6A during your character’s pre-block animation, they will perform an Evade Attack. Evade Attacks provide full upper-body invulnerability and can be cancelled into special attacks. Critically, they cannot be performed during blockstun, but only during your character’s blocking animation prior to an attack connecting.
Knockdowns and Wakeup Options
After being knocked down by an attack, characters may perform any special move as a reversal. This will be noted by a ‘REVERSAL’ message on-screen, though note that reversals do not apply any properties to a special move that it does not already have.
Additionally, characters may roll into one of the Oversway Planes by pressing D while waking up. Whether a character’s wakeup roll puts them into the front or the back plane depends on the character themselves - most characters will roll into the back plane, but the following characters will roll into the front plane: Andy, Franco, Geese, Billy, Yamazaki, Kim.
Offensive Systems
Chain Combos
These are basically target combos, and very important in Real Bout’s pressure, neutral, and basically everything else. Every character has their own unique chain combos, but most of them have three parts, being “opener, linker, ender.” The opener starts the chain combo, the linkers bridge between the opener and ender, and then enders finish the chain sequence. Enders can have a variety of characteristics, such as knocking down, hitting overhead, or sending the opponent into one of the Oversway Planes.
A nearly universal example of a Real Bout chain combo is 5BBC, which tends to be a basic combo into a knockdown. Chain combos also can have special cancel windows, which is what makes them so important. You can use them to extend pressure by cancelling them into a safe special move, and continuing to attack after it connects.
Oversway Attacks
While your character is in either of the Oversway Planes, you may press A or B to perform a Light Dive Attack, or C to perform a Heavy Dive Attack. Individual properties of Oversway Attacks may differ per character, but all Oversway Attacks will return your character to the centre plane.
Conversely, if your opponent is in either of the Oversway Planes, you may press 5D or 2D to perform a Reach Attack to pull your opponent back into the centre plane. 5D will leave the opponent standing and briefly open to special move follow-ups (though the timing is very strict), while 2D will knock the opponent down. Characters will have different animations for their Reach Attacks depending on whether their opponent is in the front plane or the back plane.
Juggles
Many characters have access to Chain Combos that launch the opponent, allowing for a juggle follow-up. Only special moves with a juggle property may juggle the opponent - these will be noted for each individual character.
Power Gauge
Real Bout Fatal Fury's Power Meter builds as your character lands attacks and performs special moves - it holds a maximum of 60 points. As the gauge fills, different techniques become available for use.
Power Gauge Levels
The Power Gauge has three distinct levels which can be achieved over the course of a round.
H-Power, signified by a yellow gauge with a red outline, is achieved when the Power Gauge is half-full (30 points). At H-Power, Guard Cancels become available.
S-Power, signified by a corresponding icon above the Power Gauge, is achieved when the Power Gauge is full while HP is above 50%. Once filled, the Power Gauge will begin draining, with S-Power ending once the gauge is empty. While S-Power is active, characters gain access to Guard Cancels as well as their S-Power attack.
P-Power, signified by a corresponding icon above the Power Gauge, is achieved when the Power Gauge is full while HP is below 50%. It behaves much the same as S-Power, though on top of Guard Cancels and S-Power attacks, characters also gain access to their P-Power attacks, which are frequently much deadlier than S-Power attacks.
Guard Cancels
Every character has at least one special move which can be used as a Guard Cancel - that is, a special move which can be used immediately out of blockstun. Guard Cancels become available at H-Power and above, costing 16 points of the Power Gauge to use. Critically, even when S/P-Power is active, you must have at least 16 points of the Power Gauge available to use a Guard Cancel.
Guard Cancels are extremely powerful defensive tools, since they are otherwise standard special moves with no bonus properties applied. That said, because they do not gain any extra properties, they must be used judiciously, as only special moves which have invulnerability normally are invulnerable as Guard Cancels.
Desperation
Every character has a two-stage life bar, each holding 96 hit points for a total of 192. After the first stage of a character's life bar is depleted, their life bar will be flashing red. At this point, the character is in Desperation, which has two primary benefits - first, characters in Desperation gain access to unlimited S-Power attacks; second, full Power Gauges will enable the use of P-Power attacks. Notably, the Power Gauge must still be spent to perform Guard Cancels even during Desperation.
