Retro|Spective 083: Final Fight

[Neon Ignition]

It's time for one last battle... not counting the other five with...





Mainline Entry 01 - Final Fight
Formats: Multiple
Metro City is facing rampant crime across its streets and the battle to take back control heats up as the Mad Gear Gang takes Mayor Haggar's daughter prisoner. Taking matters into his own hands, aided by his daughters boyfriend and his friend Guy, the three take to the streets to win her back. Changing from a Street Fighter sequel to a beat em up new series due to the popularity of Double Dragon, Final Fight allowed two players to control one of the three characters as they battled through waves of enemies across six stages. The game was a hit and formed the origin of several characters beyond the main three such as Poison, each of them later making it into the Street Fighter series.



Mainline Entry 02 - Final Fight 2
Formats: Super NES
Made for the SNES, this follow up saw Haggar return along with two new characters and two player support that hadn't made it into the SNES version of the original game. Otherwise the set up here was exactly the same as the first game with players working through six stages of enemies in order to complete the title.



Spin Off Entry 01 - Mighty Final Fight
Formats: NES and Game Boy Advance
Stylised in deformed chibi-style, this spin-off is a tongue in cheek retelling of the original games story but with an EXP system added as well. A stage shorter than the original game and visually very simple, it none the less received solid reviews.



Mainline Entry 03 - Final Fight 3
Formats: Super NES
Third time out and the series continued on the SNES. Hagger once again returned with Guy back again alongside another two new characters giving players a selection of 4 this time. Branching paths were added to the stages this time out as well as new moves to utilise in another six stages. The game struggled upon review though, the formula had grown tired so the game wasn't as well received.



Spin Off Entry 02 - Final Fight Revenge
Formats: Arcade and Saturn
The next generation arrived and the next release for the series would take it back to its intended origins as a fighting game. Able to jump between foreground and background the game took ten characters from the original Final Fight. The game didn't review well but the Saturn version is quite valuable due to how late it released and only in Japan.



Mainline Entry 04 - Final Fight Streetwise
Formats: Playstation 2 and Xbox
Another generation later and Capcom gave the series another try with this follow up that returned it back to being a beat em up. Taking place several years after the third game, this new one gave four players with a single player and Arcade mode. The game would end when your health ran out and it used a checkpoint system so you could return later rather than play in one sitting. The game was poorly received though, some claiming it to be one of the worst 3D transitions conducted and so outside of appearing in Street Fighter the series died.



Share your thoughts and memories of Final Fight

[Mayhem]

Final Fight One?

The original is a classic though, so many tropes laid down. Cracking music, memorable bosses, simple enough controls to get the hang of.

[Leon Retro]

The grimy Streetwise...

The original Final Fight is my favourite games in the series. The graphic design is absolutely brilliant. Plus the music and overall vibe of the game perfectly creates a seedy but larger than life atmosphere. Easily one of the best 16-bit games.

As much as the SNES sequel looks the part, it's all quite bland and uninspiring. I remember feeling very disappointed with it back in the day.

Final Fight 3 looks pretty good -- but there's something about the overall vibe of the game that makes it feel less appealing than the original.

[QualityChimp]

Hmmm.

Turns out I've only played the first game.

This is the internet, though, and I'll be on-hand to give my expert opinion about the others.

[Atticus]

I've only played the first one too. None of the others ever appealed to me. The first one was class though ... happy memories of playing co-op with my mate in a Seaton Carew arcade. It was all the more fun because Haggar looked like our friend's dad.

Possibly the best scrolling beat-em-up ever. it's just got the perfect setting and sounds and rock-sol Capcom gameplay too. And the opening sequence with the pulsing map and brutal ransom demand was just the perfect attract mode/scene setter. I do love a good attract mode

[Dogg Thang]

I've played 1 and 2 and also Mighty Final Fight. The original is pretty much the definitive game of this genre in my view, which means I love it for 15 minutes and then get a bit bored. And yet those 15 minutes are really great. I like the genre, it just has a very short term appeal for me because I find most of these games have pretty much no sense of advancement other than seeing new backgrounds.

Mighty Final Fight was surprisingly enjoyable for a cut down NES version. That game impressed me back in the day.

[Leon Retro]

Haggar looked like our friend's dad.

Or he looked like Jesse Ventura.

which means I love it for 15 minutes and then get a bit bored. And yet those 15 minutes are really great. I like the genre, it just has a very short term appeal for me because I find most of these games have pretty much no sense of advancement other than seeing new backgrounds.

I like the way you can complete most arcade games in around 45 minutes. It's like a tasty snack you have now and then.

Mighty Final Fight was surprisingly enjoyable for a cut down NES version. That game impressed me back in the day.

It was really clever what they did with Mighty -- much better than trying to convert an advanced 16-bit game to 8-bit tech. Just look at how woeful the 8-bit computer versions are.

I wish the PC Engine CD had got a port.

[DeathAdder]

I've played various ports of the first one, the two SFC sequels and had a quick go on Might.

Love the first one. For me, it's the best side-scrolling fighter there is, just pipping Golden Axe because Final Fight offers more of a challenge.

DIdn't enjoy FF2, but had fun with FF3.

Streetwise appears not to have had a Japanese release, so I never played it, but by all accounts it was a turd, so it's no great loss.

[Neon Ignition]

This is another one where I've played the original game but none of the follow ups, to be honest for whatever reason Streets of Rage left more of an impression

[QualityChimp]

I've got the JP SNES cart somewhere, but I mainly play the Switch collection now.

As we said in the SoR thread, I prefer that series, but I'm glad both games exist.

I find Final Fight is a little... cheap.
You can't escape some attacks (Sodom's sword charge) and you just can't manage the crowds as well as SoR, but maybe SoR is a tad too easy?

[Atticus]

I find Final Fight is a little... cheap.
You can't escape some attacks (Sodom's sword charge) and you just can't manage the crowds as well as SoR, but maybe SoR is a tad too easy?

Credit muncher vs a console game

[QualityChimp]

Definitely get that vibe from the two games.

Quite a few people came down on SoR in that thread as just a FF copycat, but I definitely get more satisfaction feeling like a kung-fu badass, rather than a punching bag.

I dread to think how much money I've put into FF games over the years!

I had this poster on my wall for yeeeears. I think it was in Mean Machines along with some Darius boxart.

[Mayhem]

Or he looked like Jesse Ventura.

Or Stacy Keach's Mike Hammer, which is where the name came from I suspect.

[Leon Retro]

Or Stacy Keach's Mike Hammer, which is where the name came from I suspect.

I used to watch that now and then on late night tv in the 90s. I remember liking it, so I might try to watch it again.

[teddymeow]

I remember CVG doing a huge article about Final Fight CD. It looked so awesome that I almost bought a Mega Drive & Mega CD for it.

Almost...