Real Bout Fatal Fury

Real Bout changes the play controls from the previous Fatal Fury games, reducing the number of attack buttons from four to three: a standard Punch and Kick button, a "Strong Attack" button which can be either a stronger punch or kick attack, depending on the character.

The game retains the three-plane "oversway" system from Fatal Fury 3, which features a main lane for fighting, with foreground and background planes used to avoid attacks or leap towards the opponent. A dedicated button is now used to make an "oversway" (or change plane) towards the background or foreground.