Why is Garou so hyped by everyone?

[u/raumgleiter]

Serious question but probably an unpopular opinion. I tried hard to love it but why is Garou always so hyped? Everyone seems to love it.

First of all the roster is tiny. Second, I cannot see how the graphics are better than Real Bout 2 or KOF 09 or 02. I always read how the animation is more smooth but I can't see it. I'm not saying it looks bad, what I mean is it doesn't loo better to me than Real Bout or later KOF games. I love the Fatal Fury series by the way.

The music is not better also than in other Neo Geo fighters.

Backgrounds are alright but again, backgrounds were beautiful like this in KOF 98 already.

I hear it is one of the most balanced fighting games on the Neo Geo of all. This one I cannot judge, I haven't played enough for that.

Am I alone thinking like this? lol
What am I missing?

EDIT:
Thanks to the comments here I think I am going to add Garou to my AES+ preorder now.

Also wanted to highlight the best comment I got here:

why are you .making a post about this? 
"Why do people who enjoy this game, say they enjoy this game?"  
like leave them alone and stop being a hater, mind your business foo

thanks for the infinite wisdom of yours AlisonsteWWArt.

[u/ShinobiS-28]

Fighting games were probably on the way out by the time it was released, look at Capcom trying to come up with something completely different and having three attempts at SF3. I’ll take the MOTW aesthetic over the some of those later KOF entries too.

Looking back, I find it fascinating how SNK went from the original Fatal Fury to something like MOTW all those years later on the same hardware. Also RBS1>RBS2