Ryo Sakazaki, the protagonist of Art of Fighting, appears as a hidden opponent at the end of the Single Player Mode and is playable in the home versions.

In addition to the home versions of the Neo Geo and Neo Geo CD, conversions of Fatal Fury Special were made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega CD and Game Gear, as well as the PC Engine game console (in Arcade CD-ROM² format), and the X68000 and FM Towns computer platforms in Japan between 1994 and 1996.

In Japan, Game Machine listed Fatal Fury Special on their October 15, 1993 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

[12] GamePro gave the Game Gear version a rave review, stating though it has fewer characters and vastly inferior graphics and sounds compared to the Neo Geo version, it "is arguably the best handheld fighting game ever released" due to the responsive action and the inclusion of "extra elements you never thought you'd see in a handheld fighter".

[32] GamePro declared the Sega CD version "yet another Neo Geo arcade game that's been poorly converted for a home system".

[33] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly instead judged it to be an overall solid conversion, remarking that the sound effects are weak and garbled, but the music, play controls, and graphics all replicate the original with reasonable accuracy.

They also criticized the special moves which are activated when a character is near death as a "cheesy way of evening things out between players of varying skill levels.

He stated that the game itself is good compared to other Neo Geo fighters of its time, but would probably not appeal to modern players who are not already familiar with the Fatal Fury franchise.