One of the key mechanics in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is braking. Once you understand it, your approach to pressure, combos, and defense will change entirely.
It's a way to speed up the recovery of a special move, letting you either keep attacking or avoid counterattacks.
But it's not open to all moves. Only a select few are Brake-compatible and timing matters. Here's what you need to understand about braking moves.
How to Brake Moves in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
When you Brake a move, you interrupt the animation before it completes, usually right after the hit lands.
It's not a traditional cancel; it doesn't rewind the move mid-way or change its trajectory. It reduces recovery time so that you can jump into the following action faster than usual.
You can do this by holding the REV button while performing the move or pressing Light Punch and Heavy Punch at the right time. Either input works, though using the REV button is generally more consistent.
Not all special moves can be countered with a Brake. Every character has their own Brake moves, usually serving as launchers or openers. For instance, Rock's Rising Tackle and Terry's Power Dunk can both be Braked.
You can Brake some of these moves when they hit, get blocked, or whiff, but this changes with each character. Kain's DP is a perfect example of a move that provides this kind of flexibility. He can Brake it even after a miss, which gives him the opportunity to reposition or bait a counterattack.
If you're new to this, start by heading into training mode with a character like Terry or Rock and try out their Brake moves. Try Power Dunk or Rising Tackle, then use the REV button to Brake on impact. Observe how much quicker your reactions are after.
From there, begin creating basic routes such as Brake > EX special > super. You'll quickly see how flexible this system really is. It's also worth clarifying that Braking and Feinting are two entirely different mechanics, though players sometimes confuse the two.
A Brake happens after a special move has begun and is meant to reduce its recovery. On the other hand, a Feint is a fake-out move that cancels the startup of a special before it actually activates.
To find out how to feint moves in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, check out our guide here.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves page.