The Rumble Fish 2

Overview

The Rumble Fish 2 is a 2D fighting game developed by Dimps and released by Sammy for arcades (using Dreamcast-based Atomiswave hardware) on March 2005. It was later ported to PC-based Taito Type X² arcade hardware, released digitally by Dimps themslves via NESiCAxLive on August 7, 2012.

The sequel to the 2004 game The Rumble Fish, The Rumble Fish 2 builds on the gameplay and story of the original with four new playable fighters, two new bosses, and a revamped Offensive/Defensive Gauge system.

A home port of the game is planned to be released by 3goo in late 2022 for modern consoles.

Gameplay

The Rumble Fish 2 inherits all of the mechanics of its predecessor.

The most immediate change is to the Offensive/Defensive Gauge. In TRF2, each gauge now consists of three blocks instead of one. The respective costs of the previous game's meter-using techniques are adjusted accordingly:

• Offensive Art: 1 OA block
• Advanced Attack: 1 OA block
• Jolt Attack: 1 OA block
• Defensive Art: 2 DA blocks
• Impact Break: 1 DA block
• Quick Recovery: 1 DA block
• Critical Art: 3 OA & DA blocks (Entire Meter)

In TRF2, Jolt Attack always launches, as opposed to the first game where it causes a crumple state against a standing opponent.

TRF2 introduces an aerial dodge, performed by pressing the D button while in the air; like the ground dodge, this action costs nothing and avoids certain attacks. Pressing the D button and a direction while knocked down activates a ground recovery roll. Pressing the D button while successfully landing an attack that lifts the opponent off of their feet burns one Offensive block and activates Impact Blow, which disables the opponent's ability to recover from the attack using Ground or Air Recovery.

Pressing a Punch button and a Kick button of different strengths (ie LP+SK or SP+LK) activates Boost Dive. This technique burns one Offensive and one Defensive block to activate a special, character-unique ability for a short while.

Characters

All 10 characters from the previous game return with some minor updates, alongside six new characters (four standard and two bosses).

New Additions

• Sheryl - A stoic assassin who uses a wire in battle.

• Mito - A child swordswoman who fights with a treasured wooden bokken "Danzai" to retrieve her family's other treasured sword "Tenbatsu". She is unique for her ability to change stances.

• Bazoo - A savage, towering boxer who competes in underground fight clubs to satisfy his blood lust.

• Lud - A heated brawler from the resurrected Valor Gang. He has his own unique "Heat Gauge", which fills by absorbing attacks with his gauntlet and is used to augment his special moves.

• Beatrice - The recently-appointed chairwoman of Probe Nexus, seeking to cement her position of power. She serves as the game's final boss and is only playable with cheat codes.

• Hazama - The president of Probe Nexus, who seems to be at-odds with Beatrice and seems to use the F.F.S. for his own purposes. He serves as a hidden sub-boss and is only playable with cheat codes.

Returning Characters

• Zen
• Hikari
• Typhon
• Garnet
• Orville
• Boyd
• Viren
• Kaya
• Aran
• Greed (hidden sub-boss, only playable with cheat codes)