32 Years After Masami Obari's Anime Film, Laocorn Gaudeamus Makes His Playable Debut on November 19 in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Thirty-two years after leaving a lasting mark on anime fans in theaters and on home video, the primary antagonist of Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is finally stepping into SNK's mainline fighting roster. The Osaka-based publisher officially announced that Laocorn Gaudeamus will join Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves on November 19, 2026, arriving as the sixth downloadable fighter in Season Pass 3.
From the 1994 Silver Screen to the Streets of South Town
Originally released in Japanese theaters on July 16, 1994, and directed by renowned animator Masami Obari, Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture has long occupied a unique space in SNK history. Aside from brief striker cameos in select entries of The King of Fighters, Laocorn Gaudeamus had never been a fully playable combatant in a core Fatal Fury installment.
In his modern canon debut for City of the Wolves, Laocorn and his twin sister Sulia remain direct descendants of Gaudeamus, a mighty warrior from antiquity. Accompanied by his fiercely loyal Triumvirate of elemental retainers (Hauer, Jamin, and Panni), Laocorn relentlessly hunts down the six scattered pieces of the legendary Armor of Mars to transcend humanity and ascend to godhood. Upon discovering that the armor's final missing piece is being offered as part of the prize for South Town's latest KOF tournament, he enters the bracket himself, bringing dedicated new storylines for both Arcade Mode and the solo RPG mode EOST (Episodes of South Town).
Shin-ichiro Miki Reprises His Iconic 1994 Role Alongside Branden Loera
In a major nod to longtime fans of 1990s anime, veteran voice actor Shin-ichiro Miki returns to voice Laocorn Gaudeamus in Japanese, reprising the exact role he originated in the 1994 feature film more than three decades ago. On the English dub side, Branden Loera steps into the character's golden boots, delivering his signature taunt with divine arrogance: "You shall die while cursing your own human weakness!"
As showcased in SNK's official gameplay trailer, Laocorn translates his overwhelming silver-screen presence into an aggressive, high-pressure fighting style. Clad in the gleaming pieces of the Armor of Mars, he weaves together rapid teleports, surging plasma projectiles, and multi-hit aerial juggles tailored specifically for the game's REV System. His toolkit makes heavy use of REV Accel cancels and a cinematic Hidden Gear super to shatter defensive guards across the stage.
Full Season Pass 3 Lineup and a 75% Standard Edition Discount
Built around the overarching tagline Destined for Revenge, Season Pass 3 has now locked in its complete seven-character roster. Following returning series veterans Rick Strowd, Duck King, and Kim Kaphwan, as well as October's simultaneous crossover drop featuring Manjiro "Mikey" Sano and Ken "Draken" Ryuguji from Tokyo Revengers, Laocorn sets the stage right before Reina from Tekken 8 closing out the pass in December.
Season Pass 3 is available standalone for $19.99 / €19.99, or bundled inside the Revenge Edition ($49.99 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC) as well as the Nintendo Switch 2 release of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves bundling all three Season Passes for $29.99. To celebrate Laocorn's impending launch, SNK has also slashed the price of the digital Standard Edition by 75%, bringing the base game down to $4.99 / €4.99 across PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.
My Perspective
Watching SNK reach all the way back into Masami Obari's 1994 theatrical anime to make Laocorn Gaudeamus playable,and bringing Shin-ichiro Miki back to the recording booth 32 years later,is the kind of deep-cut fan service that makes fighting game history feel alive. Back in the VHS era, his Armor of Mars showdown against Terry Bogard felt like pure anime spectacle that could never fit inside a balanced tournament fighter. Seeing those golden energy waves and teleports adapted into the REV System feels surreal in the best way possible, and with the base game currently sitting at $4.99, there has never been a better time to jump into South Town.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
