The splash image for this post is all forty-eight palettes you can pick for every character in the Mega Drive port of Fatal Fury 2 with the use of a secret code. Wild, huh? But this version's just getting started...
So, Fatal Fury 2's MD port is pretty interesting. As speculated by Yosuke Okunari, producer of the MD Mini 2, this version came out after the generally-improved Fatal Fury Special in arcades and so the developers- Gai Brain (who did several SNK GB ports and the Mega Drive version of Virtua Fighter 2) may have made some changes to offer consumers at home something different from what the arcade was playing at the time... But he never confirmed it with the developers. There do seem to be some general differences with the game beyond paring down the graphics and sounds, but the game's secret options are where it's at.
As explained in this Japanese blog post as found by gosokkyu, Fatal Fury 2 on the Mega Drive has some absolutely depraved special settings. To access then, on the Takara logo screen press, Left, Down-Left, Down, Down-Left, Right, Y. You'll hear Terry yell if you entered the code correctly. This has two effects- first, it lets you assign any character's palette to any character by holding down Start + B as you select your character, then continuing to hold B as you cycle through palettes with the D-Pad. If you want to play as Kim Kaphwan with Krauser's default palette, knock yourself out.
The other effect is it adds a Dip Switch option to the Test mode in the Options menu, a Gai Brain trademark as seen in some of their other ports. These have various effects on the game as follows...
Switch 1 Defaults to 0. When set to 1, will change the effect of Kim's Hishou Kyaku
Switch 2 Defaults to 1. When set to 0, will allow you to hit opponents as they descend from a hit
Switch 3 Defaults to 1. When set to 0, will allow you to hit opponents as they rise from a hit
Switch 4 Defaults to 1. When set to 0, movement between planes is disabled
Switch 5 Defaults to 0. When set to 1, press Mode + any Attack for your Desperation move
Switch 6 Defaults to 0. When set to 1, you can use Desperation moves even without critical health
Switch 7 Defaults to 0. When set to 1, you can no longer cancel a taunt once it starts
Switch 8 Defaults to 0. When set to 1, you can pause the game and press other buttons for various effects:
A - You will no longer take any damage
B - Damage taken is reduced
C - Damage taken is reduced even more
X - Your health is reduced to minimum
Y - Your health is reduced to critical but not minimum
Z - Your health is restored
Part of the reason the Mega Drive Mini 2 lets you alter how long you need to hold the Mode button down to open the emulator menu is because of Switch 5 here! It's pretty handy, given that inputs are a little fiddly in this game. In any case, it's Switches 2 and 3 that really change the game here- switch these on and any hit can potentially become a touch of death as you can juggle your opponent until they're dead and even afterwards.
I streamed the game and the effect is magical.
Although it's less funny when it's happening to the player- yes, the CPU can do it too!
