The Rumble Fish 2

The Rumble Fish 2
Developer(s)	Dimps
Publisher(s)	Sammy[a]
Platform(s)	Arcade Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
Release	Arcade March 2005 Windows, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X/S December 8, 2022
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Arcade system	Atomiswave (2005), NESiCAxLive (2012)

The Rumble Fish 2 (ザ・ランブルフィッシュ2) is a 2D fighting game for the Atomiswave arcade platform. It was produced by Dimps and published by Sammy.^[1] It is the sequel to The Rumble Fish, bringing in several new additions. A re-release on Taito's NESiCAxLive arcade digital delivery service was made available in 2012.^[2][3] In 2020, a homebrew conversion was released for the Dreamcast.^[4]

On July 13, 2022, 3goo Co., Ltd. announced that The Rumble Fish 2, along with its predecessor, would be released for PC and home consoles with widescreen support in December 2022.^[5] This marks the first time that The Rumble Fish 2 leaves arcades officially, and marks the first time that The Rumble Fish 2 receives a worldwide release.

The Rumble Fish 2 uses all of the elements from the first game and adds some new ones. The Offense and Defense gauges have been divided into three sections each, allowing for more usage of Offensive and Defensive Arts, as well as techniques tied to each gauge. An addition to the system is the Boost Dive, which puts each character into a powered-up state according to their style. Most characters have had modifications to their movelists in some way, such as new moves and new commands for old moves.

At the close of the 20th century... A large-scale natural disaster struck the eastern area of a certain country. The disaster wiped out the financial sector and toppled high-rise buildings over a wide area, even as far as the main functions of the capital. This resulted in the loss of a staggering 158,000 lives.

At the dawn of the 21st century... Conglomerate PROBE-NEXUS, commonly known as Probe, begins reconstruction efforts in the eastern area of said country. Probe relocates its own base of operations to the ruined sector and builds a massive city run by the corporation. Lavished with colossal capital and cutting-edge technology, modern-day Babylon is made up of skyscrapers that put the old high-rises to shame, the biggest shopping mall in the world, and recreational facilities one might mistake for a theme park. This was the dazzling birth of a symbol for the new century. It became the most essential place on the planet and was christened Zone Prime.

All 10 characters from The Rumble Fish return, along with six new characters, for a total of 16. Greed, the previous game's antagonist, is a secret character, playable only after inputting a password in the operator options. New characters are listed below:

• Sheryl - A calm, stoic assassin whose fighting style is based upon the use of wires and setting traps across the screen. She later appeared as a bonus character in the PlayStation 2 release of the original game.
• Mito - A young girl who fights with a wooden bokken. She fights with two different styles: one with wide, sweeping attacks, and one with short, stabbing attacks.
• Bazoo - An over 8 ft tall large man who is caged and seemingly used for sport, which has taken a toll on his mind. He has long range with his arms, and using all kinds of debris to his advantage.
• Lud - Leader of the Valour Gang with a Gauntlet attached to his arm. He focuses on rapid, dashing attacks. He also can guard and absorb any attack with a special gauntlet of his.
• Hazama - He works under PROBE-NEXUS' CEO. He has strong attacks and a somewhat long range. Hazama is also playable, but only after inputting a password in the operator options. He later appeared as a bonus character in the PlayStation 2 release of the original game.
• Beatrice - PROBE-NEXUS' new chairman, and a relative of Vlad. She is powerful, with the ability to project long range waves. She is also playable after inputting the operator password, then inputting a code on the character select screen. However, the playable version of Beatrice is significantly less powerful than her final boss counterpart.

• Official website (in Japanese)