Last Update: 4/30/07
Final Fight
Final Fight is a classic beat 'em up series from Capcom. It is considered to be Street Fighter's "cousin", and the two series are set in the same universe (characters like Guy, Hugo Andore, Rolento, Cody Travers and Poison have all appeared in later Street Fighter installments). Final Fight was originally released as an arcade game and was ported to several platforms, including the Super NES, Sega Mega-CD, Sharp X68000 and Game Boy Advance. It features former wrestler (as seen in Saturday Night Slam Masters), and mayor of Metro City (Capcom's fictitious city, modeled after New York City), Mike Haggar.
The story of Final Fight involves the abduction of Haggar's daughter, Jessica, because he would not work with Mad Gear to ensure their dominance of the streets. When the Mad Gear thug Damnd contacts Haggar and informs him, Haggar calls up his daughter's boyfriend Cody and his sparring partner Guy, and the three vigilantes head into the streets to bust Mad Gear's skulls, fighting their way through the hordes of goons littering the city (including the Rastafarian thug Damnd, the "Japanophile" Sodom, former Red Beret and militia leader Rolento, corrupt cop Edi. E, and the ill-tempered Abigail), to get to Mad Gear's boss, Belger.
Final Fight, whilst following in the footsteps of Double Dragon, was an innovative and balanced game. Unlike several beat 'em ups before it, Final Fight featured very large and detailed sprites for its day, and the controls were quite fluid and simple. Beginners could take to the game quickly, yet the game was balanced and difficult enough to ensure even experts could always expect a challenge for every new play. The game also began the strength-based, speed-based, and average character variety that countless other beat 'em up and other genres derived, as one controls Haggar (very powerful yet very slow and vulnerable to attack), Guy (very agile and can use hit-and-run, yet has weak offensive power), or Cody (who balances strength and speed, being an excellent choice for beginners). It also featured very long levels and various powerful enemies that could easily crowd the screen and had several fighting tactics against the player. It was not uncommon to hear people talk of how crowds would gather to watch whoever was playing the machine at the time.
The story of Final Fight involves the abduction of Haggar's daughter, Jessica, because he would not work with Mad Gear to ensure their dominance of the streets. When the Mad Gear thug Damnd contacts Haggar and informs him, Haggar calls up his daughter's boyfriend Cody and his sparring partner Guy, and the three vigilantes head into the streets to bust Mad Gear's skulls, fighting their way through the hordes of goons littering the city (including the Rastafarian thug Damnd, the "Japanophile" Sodom, former Red Beret and militia leader Rolento, corrupt cop Edi. E, and the ill-tempered Abigail), to get to Mad Gear's boss, Belger.
Final Fight, whilst following in the footsteps of Double Dragon, was an innovative and balanced game. Unlike several beat 'em ups before it, Final Fight featured very large and detailed sprites for its day, and the controls were quite fluid and simple. Beginners could take to the game quickly, yet the game was balanced and difficult enough to ensure even experts could always expect a challenge for every new play. The game also began the strength-based, speed-based, and average character variety that countless other beat 'em up and other genres derived, as one controls Haggar (very powerful yet very slow and vulnerable to attack), Guy (very agile and can use hit-and-run, yet has weak offensive power), or Cody (who balances strength and speed, being an excellent choice for beginners). It also featured very long levels and various powerful enemies that could easily crowd the screen and had several fighting tactics against the player. It was not uncommon to hear people talk of how crowds would gather to watch whoever was playing the machine at the time.
Publisher: Capcom
