Final Fight

Final Fight IS one of the greatest games of all time. It really introduced alot of new elements to the beat-em-up genre, and it had an influence on lots more games in the future (e.g. Warriors Of Fate, The Punisher, Alien Vs. Predator). My favorite character is Guy. He had such a cool design. And my favorite of the generic bad guys is Two P. He used to really crack me up for some reason. Abigail (The boss of Bay Area) is really a tough boss! He picks you up and throws you, and it takes away half your energy! Anyway, back to the review. This is a classic, and I think it will live on for generations to come.

Final Fight ruled the 2 player beat em' up genre when it was released in 1989. The previous beat em' up king Double Dragon was improved upon in almost every way. Final Fight had better graphics, better music, more fighters, more fighting moves, better locales, better enemies and the list goes on and on.

The 3 fighters in Final Fight had personality which was something Billy and Jimmy Lee from Double Dragon didn't have. The 3 Fighters consisted of Cody (boyfriend of Haggar's kidnapped daughter) , Guy (Cody's friend), and Haggar (Mayor of Metro city). Each fighter had a unique fighting style and strengths(another improvement over DD). My personal fave was Cody. I once beat the whole game with Cody without losing a single life.

Guy's advantage is his foot and hand speed.

Haggar's advantage is his powerful attacks and wrestling holds.

Cody's advantage is his equal combination of speed and power, though he isn't quite as fast as Guy or as strong as Haggar. His greatest advantage is his skill with knives and is the only fighter who can stab repeatedly with one. The other 2 fighter's just throw the knives. I've cleared a whole level of thugs with just a knife alone.

BEST HOME VERSION OF FINAL FIGHT: (FINAL FIGHT CD (japanese import) for Sega CD):

The best home version of this classic is for the Sega CD and it's called "Final Fight CD" (the japanese version). You'll need a japanese convertor cartridge to play it though. Final Fight CD has everything the arcade had and better music. There is a USA version but the Blood, liquor bottles, some graffiti and scantily clad women have been edited or taken out completely. Blood is replaced by sweat, Liquor bottles are replaced by milk bottles, Some Graffiti is covered up, and the scantily clad women have been given less revealing clothes. Not to mention the english voice acting is horrible. The japanese version has japanese voices but the actors put more feeling into their acting. Trust me. Get the Japanese version only. Overall Final Fight CD (japanese) for Sega CD is actually better than the arcade.

I played this game on a couple of home consoles and it was alright on the SNES to me as I did not have any friends to share the experience with anyway. I also played it on the Sega CD. The arcade is actually the easiest of the bunch due to you having as many continues as needed to get through it. Granted, you needed quarters to feed the machine, but this game takes maybe three or four dollars worth which is doable, but I never got through the SNES version because of the difficulty and the limited continues.

The story, what is there to say? It is a beat em up, and this one has the typical gangs running wild thing. About the only thing that sets this apart is that it is the father who is the main dude and he is beefed up. Hagger would appear in other games he was so awesome while Cody and Guy are just the typical guys you find in this genre of games. Hagger has to fight to get his kidnapped daughter back from a gang that is apparently run by a dude who has an infinite shooting crossbow and rides in a wheelchair.

The game play is standard, you have your attack and jump and you press both at the same time for the super attack which reduces your health a bit. However, there are ample health power ups in this one, they are not stingy, too bad you cannot earn a one up through your score. The sprites are very large in this one, another thing that sets this game apart from the rest and the scenery is pretty good, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

So, a game I enjoyed playing as a kid, and I revisited it and won. I may play the Sega CD version again and review it as it has a separate listing here, but this game is fun. It would be cool to play with others as the extra muscle would help, but then you are going to have to share the health drops, which is a drawback. A fun beat em up whether in groups or alone though.

This was the one I remember the most ever when I played it for the first time in a laundromat in my neighborhood on a hot, sunny day YEARS ago. I was utterly flummoxed by the graphics, sound, and game play, and it was one of the most challenging games I ever played; often begging a relative for more quarters to pump into the machine. So throughout all the years of playing video games, this one was the one I played the most. It was just so exciting, beating the even immortal Double Dragon, which was a predecessor to side-scrolling beat'em ups but "Final Fight" was the best out of them all. The sequels that followed were utterly disastrous and unconvincing and "Streets of Rage" were trumping them already. However, there's just no denying that "Final Fight" is the original that can never be topped and will always be fondly remembered than any side-scrolling beat'em up that has come before and after it. It was the game that drove me into fighting games. More so than not, it was also one of the best gaming experiences of my childhood. Love it. Simply just love it.

If you're a Streets of Rage or Double Dragon fan then Final Fight will no-doubt appeal to you. I only ever played it in the arcade once about 13 years ago but I was a cool game indeed. This Gameboy Advance version is identical to the Arcade but with a few more touches added such as new cut-scenes and animations and a couple of hidden levels.

Since I am such a wimp when it comes to games I did complete this on my fourth go (on the easiest setting) but I did notice a LOT of similarities between this and SOR in regards to the baddies, level progression and power-ups. That's not a bad thing but I only wish it lasted a little longer. Still it's a cool game and definitely worth getting.

Graphics A Sound B- Gameplay B Lasting Appeal B-