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Final Fight

 
Games: Final Fight
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Game Description

Mike Haggar has just been elected major of Metro City, a city that's been overrun with crime and gang violence. The gangs of the city, especially the powerful Mad Gear gang, have used bribery and intimidation to keep the former city officials in line, and Mike Haggar's next. The Mad Gear gang has kidnapped his daughter Jessica, holding her hostage in exchange for Haggar's cooperation. But Mike Haggar is a former street fighter, and he's determined to rescue his daughter and put an end to this threat to the city. With his friends Cody and Guy, he must fight his way through the city to the heart of the Mad Gear gang.

Final Fight is a 2D side-scrolling fighting game. Taking on the role of either Cody, Guy, or Mike Haggar, you must advance through six areas of the city clearing out the gang infestation. You will have to cope with a variety of thugs, ranging from firebomb-throwing maniacs to behemoth wrestlers. To defeat these thugs, you have an arsenal of punches, kicks, throws, and jump kicks at your disposal. When you're in a tight situation you can also execute a powerful attack that hits everyone around you, but at the cost of a portion of your health bar. The levels are filled with items that can help you such as food to replenish health, weapons to use against the enemies, or jewelry and cash for points. Beating thugs up or destroying items like barrels, signs, or phone booths can uncover these items.
~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

This game was part of a glut of side-scrolling combat games from the late 1980s and early 1990s such as Bad Dudes and Double Dragon, which is seen as the title that started the craze in 1986.

Final Fight made its way to the Super Nintendo in 1991 and was followed up by the Final Fight 2 and Final Fight 3 sequels on that platform. The characters from this game have also popped up in the Street Fighter series.
~ Brad Cook, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Final Fight did not create the side-scrolling fighter, but its name is synonymous with the genre nonetheless. Like Street Fighter II, this game goes so far and above what came before that it effectively reinvented the genre in its own image.

Final Fight's graphics are really great, and are part of why the game is so special. All the characters are exceptionally large, with some that are nearly tall enough to touch the top portion of the screen with their heads. The characters are drawn in a stylized way that makes most of them look thinner than they should. In an odd way, though, the stylized look actually enhances the game's visuals. Cody and Guy look like the stereotypical lean heroes, while some of the thinner enemies take on an evil slightly twisted appearance. Individual character animation frames are drawn quite well, with some good use of color tones and a lot of details like creases on clothing. The animation sequences are decent, though there are noticeable frame gaps in some throwing and weapons swinging sequences.

The game's backgrounds are arguably better than the character art and pack an impressive amount of detail that enhances the realism of the stage settings. Final Fight uses parallax scrolling unobtrusively but effectively when applicable. The subway train stage is particularly impressive. When you're in the middle of a fight you won't even consciously notice the parallax, but it's there just the same and conveys a sense of speed to the moving train. The background graphics tend to cheat in places where they can get away with it; for example, there are only a few different broken window images that are recycled throughout the stages. But even so, you won't mind, since the backgrounds look good overall.



The game's sound effects are a little disappointing considering the high standards set by the graphics. There's nothing wrong with the sound or music technically, as they're all clearly audible and free of distortion or signal fuzz. The sound effects and voice clips are pretty good for the most part, although the female enemy's voice is cheesy. The music tracks just doesn't fit with the game, and they're weak and tinny. They sound like what you would expect from a NES adventure game, not an arcade beat-'em-up.

Final Fight is enjoyable because its gameplay and controls are remarkably simple, but still includes enough strategy that the game isn't dominated by mindless button mashing. Jockeying for position is a very important part of the game, but there are also veritable hordes of thugs to fight off for the action-inclined. The game manages to balance these two elements perfectly to create a great gaming experience. You'll be hooked by the fierce action initially, but there's enough depth in strategy and enemy variety so that the action doesn't get dull and repetitive at the later levels.

Final Fight is one of the most influential games in the history of gaming, as it redefined and recreated an entire genre in its own image and influenced other games for years to come. It's also a lot of fun. Unless you have a total aversion to action gaming then you'll find Final Fight to be rich and rewarding.
~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

Great gameplay with loads of action balanced by a good dose of strategy. The gameplay doesn't lose its charm either, as you'll have new enemy types and configurations thrown at you throughout the game.
~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

Large, detailed and colorful characters set against detailed and well-drawn backdrops. The game doesn't slow down even with ten or more characters on screen at once.
~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

The voice clips are great, but the music is tinny and not entirely appropriate for the gameplay.
~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

The three selectable characters are distinct from each other in terms of handling and feel, although Guy could have been made even more different from Cody.
~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide
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