I also recommend buying them in chronological order. It's what i did (i had the PSX real bout 1 first (uh...bad port) then got the saturn 'best collection'. I now have RB and RBS on NeoCD and am waiting for the RB2 CD version.
Real Bout Fatal Fury is like an Enhanced Fatal Fury 3. Most of the sprites are the same size and a very similar Soundtrack is used. This is also the only game to feature the ring outs, and will bring a smile to your face withall the great animations if you pull them off (including a nude version of blue mary, even though the nipple bandit had his way with her wink )
It has the P and S Power meters which were also new after FF3. The backgrounds are very ncie and the final battle with Geese is very memorable, and so are the end credits for each character.
The character roster is:
Terry and
Andy Bogard
Kim Kaphwan
Duck King
Joe Higashi
Mai Shiranui
Sokaku Mochizuki
Bob Wilson
Blue Mary
Franco Bash
Ryuji Yamazaki
Hon Fu
Chonshu and Chonrei
Billy Kane
Geese
Real Bout Special:
RBS is one of the very best Neo fighters IMO. The first thing that hits you when you play this is the Sprite Size, which is bigger than the previous Real Bout. There are also loads more animations, Just see the new Power Geyser and Pheonix Flatterner for example! Also some characters have been Redrawn (Bash looks a lot better now, same goes for Hon Fu wwho has a gerat new standing pose). Some of the characters have secret EX Versions, and although they are pallet swaps SNK was not so lazy and produced differing Win / Character select art for them. Backgrounds on the whole are very good though some are very empty which is my only complaint. The ring-outs are gone, though i think every stage has something either side to keep pummeling your opponent into, eventually they break and get an instant dizzy.
The final fight with Krauser is also very well one and atmospheric, his sprite his huge and very well animated, and the background is very dynamic. If you've though well enough, after beating him you go to a very cool fight with Nightmare Geese, which is as good as it sounds.
The updates to the Real Bout character roster is:
Wolfgang Krauser (returns from FF2)
Tung Fu Rue (Returns from FF1/Special)
Laurence Blood (FF2)
Cheng Shenzan (FF2)
Nightmare Geese (Just a more badass version of a badass.)
Real Bout 2:
Some see this Real Bout as a dissapointment compared to Special. While Special offers many new updates, RB2 tends to take a step back. There are no Ring-Outs, and no Items to smash your opponent through on the corner of the stages. There are no Win Quotes (not in 1p any way), or Stage Introductions. However, it offers 2 new characters, the brillaint Rick Strowd, who i use almost exclusively in the game, and Li Xiangfei; typical annoying little girl character who can also be found in KOF 99 and 2001.
Backgrounds are much better than in RBS i have to say. They are less empty and are colored beautifully. They variate slightly depending on which character you fighting. (like the previous RB games, stages are shared, each fighter does not have an individual stage). Also, on some stages you can kick your opponent into an object in the background, for example on Yamazaki and Cheng's stage their is a neon light, you can kick your opponent into this for some extra damage. Their is a car on Xiangfei's and Hon's stage which is similar.
<img src="http://www.gamegen.com/fightgen/games/rbff2-s2.gif" alt=" - " />
(Yamazaki and ChenZan stage)
Real Bout 2 also has IMO the best versions of Kim and Terry in the series. You'll know when you get round to using them, especially if your an avid player of both. There are some picture-based endings to go for, and another new character to unlock- Alfred. Geese and Krauser return as the bosses, though sadly Nightmare Geese has departed.
Character roster is the same as RBS, + Rick and Xiangfei, - 'EX' versions and Nightmare Geese.
<small>[ February 22, 2003, 05:04 AM: Message edited by: Plisken ]</small>
