WOLF as an IKEMEN "sex the frail and afraid but capable Japanese girl as an middle-aged man" simulator does its job very well. As an actual fighting game, it leaves a lot to be desired.
With the engine update from MUGEN to IKEMEN, WOLF got a massive buff in terms of content; more customization, a decent minigame, unique QoL improvements such as the stages having zoom-in, better UI elements, and so on. This also means it's somewhat possible to play online with friends (if one's daring enough to ask instead of suggesting something like Fightcade). Of course, it's not perfect -- turning down the sound effects also turns down the voices, meaning you can't get rid of the girls screaming as their cherries get popped.
Presentation-wise, the game is two steps forward, three-and-a-half steps back. The new UI is sleek which is an upgrade from the rudimentary UI used when there was only 2 characters. Messages such as the "Round 1, FIGHT" seems to be extremely simple as if a young girl drew them, that tracks. There's also arcade intros for the girls, special intros between characters that go beyond dialogue, and the victory screen is easy to read. Not a lot of fighting games do that nowadays, but what every fighting game has that WOLF doesn't is hitsparks when someone gets hit or blocks. Sounds, but no visual. Some stages also obscure different UI elements or characters (such as the beach stage).
The gameplay is where things get interesting (or horrible if you're familiar with fighting games). WOLF is a four button fighter that SOMETIMES uses six buttons. chainable lights and heavies, one-button throws, counter hits, specials and (level 1 and 2) supers, cancelable comeback supers that deal unscaled damage. Basic stuff. Perfect Defense acts as a Just Defend from MOTW, and there's also "Criticals" (like in Melty). You can also turn in the air by pressing Start, allowing for wild jump-ins (this benefits some characters). OTGs (on/off the ground) attacks? They're there but very few characters can utilize them, and one of the girls has a free OTG as a followup.
For starters, lights have very little pushback and just enough hitstun so that chaining light kicks/punches isn't an guaranteed infinite. I theorize that this is done to hide the fact that characters don't have grounded command normals. Air command normals such as Mia's j.2K exist, but standing overheads or launchers... don't!? So unless if you're playing as someone with a command grab, there's very few ways to open people up. Some specials are also unpunishable on reaction or just not punishable at all (Tanaka's command grab has no whiff animation and characters can't capitalize on a whiffed Tackle)
A "cool" thing about this game is that it's semi-realistic. No traditional fireballs, air dashes, or anything that would break the immersion of what would happen if a swimmer that knows Muay Thai fought against a 40-year-old wrestler who likes 'em ripe. This comes at a cost. All twelve characters are unique and have archetypes to them, but they're not unique enough to leave a lasting impression. Speaking of, there's special interactions depending on what move is done on which character. For example, when Kokoro does her level 3, she tazes the hell out of the opponent. But when she does it against Shigezou, the 1,000 volts running though his body doesn't offset the fact that she's sitting on his face while she's doing it, and it helps him "finish". Solid detail, but doesn't make the overall gameplay experience better.
The dev also has similar characters in the roster but they don't do anything special and are flat out better than their counterparts (why would I choose Mia when her rival and sister is better than her in every way?) Add this to the fact that the dev adds characters at a premium and you'll see why this game isn't popular enough to be remembered. The foundation and appeal is there, but it'll take more for this game to reach its full potential.
With the engine update from MUGEN to IKEMEN, WOLF got a massive buff in terms of content; more customization, a decent minigame, unique QoL improvements such as the stages having zoom-in, better UI elements, and so on. This also means it's somewhat possible to play online with friends (if one's daring enough to ask instead of suggesting something like Fightcade). Of course, it's not perfect -- turning down the sound effects also turns down the voices, meaning you can't get rid of the girls screaming as their cherries get popped.
Presentation-wise, the game is two steps forward, three-and-a-half steps back. The new UI is sleek which is an upgrade from the rudimentary UI used when there was only 2 characters. Messages such as the "Round 1, FIGHT" seems to be extremely simple as if a young girl drew them, that tracks. There's also arcade intros for the girls, special intros between characters that go beyond dialogue, and the victory screen is easy to read. Not a lot of fighting games do that nowadays, but what every fighting game has that WOLF doesn't is hitsparks when someone gets hit or blocks. Sounds, but no visual. Some stages also obscure different UI elements or characters (such as the beach stage).
The gameplay is where things get interesting (or horrible if you're familiar with fighting games). WOLF is a four button fighter that SOMETIMES uses six buttons. chainable lights and heavies, one-button throws, counter hits, specials and (level 1 and 2) supers, cancelable comeback supers that deal unscaled damage. Basic stuff. Perfect Defense acts as a Just Defend from MOTW, and there's also "Criticals" (like in Melty). You can also turn in the air by pressing Start, allowing for wild jump-ins (this benefits some characters). OTGs (on/off the ground) attacks? They're there but very few characters can utilize them, and one of the girls has a free OTG as a followup.
For starters, lights have very little pushback and just enough hitstun so that chaining light kicks/punches isn't an guaranteed infinite. I theorize that this is done to hide the fact that characters don't have grounded command normals. Air command normals such as Mia's j.2K exist, but standing overheads or launchers... don't!? So unless if you're playing as someone with a command grab, there's very few ways to open people up. Some specials are also unpunishable on reaction or just not punishable at all (Tanaka's command grab has no whiff animation and characters can't capitalize on a whiffed Tackle)
A "cool" thing about this game is that it's semi-realistic. No traditional fireballs, air dashes, or anything that would break the immersion of what would happen if a swimmer that knows Muay Thai fought against a 40-year-old wrestler who likes 'em ripe. This comes at a cost. All twelve characters are unique and have archetypes to them, but they're not unique enough to leave a lasting impression. Speaking of, there's special interactions depending on what move is done on which character. For example, when Kokoro does her level 3, she tazes the hell out of the opponent. But when she does it against Shigezou, the 1,000 volts running though his body doesn't offset the fact that she's sitting on his face while she's doing it, and it helps him "finish". Solid detail, but doesn't make the overall gameplay experience better.
The dev also has similar characters in the roster but they don't do anything special and are flat out better than their counterparts (why would I choose Mia when her rival and sister is better than her in every way?) Add this to the fact that the dev adds characters at a premium and you'll see why this game isn't popular enough to be remembered. The foundation and appeal is there, but it'll take more for this game to reach its full potential.
