Final Fight (Arcade) Review

            For almost 24 years, the game Final Fight has been one of the most popular games of the Arcade Generation. Not only has this game been copied and ported to numerous platforms, but it also has spawned a few spin offs and sequels. Double Dragon might have created the basis for the “Beat ‘Em Up” genre, but this game defined it. Anyway, this game was released in December 1989 for the Arcade systems by Capcom. With that, we go on to the review…

            I usually don’t go over the story first, but I felt the need to do so now because it is not only significant, but it is also fairly interesting. The synopsis of the story is that newly-elected Metro City mayor and “former Street Fighter” (a weak attempt by Capcom to link this game to the Street Fighter franchise), Mike Haggar has pledged to combat the gang problem in the city. The dominant gang, Mad Gear, catches wind of this and tries to shut him up with a “regular bonus” to his salary. As insurance, the Mad Gears kidnap Mike’s daughter, Jessica. Instead of rolling over, Haggar decides to take to the streets, take some bare-fisted revenge, and save Jessica from the gang. Jessica’s boyfriend, Cody hears about the kidnapping and vows to make the Mad Gear pay, with his friend Guy providing backup. All in all, not a very deep story, but it works well with the genre.

            The graphics in the game are top-notch. The game is very polished and fluid graphically. Every last character is very realistic looking, from the Mayor himself to the Andre the Giant knockoffs that you’ll have to fight. Surprisingly, this might be one of the first video games to actually feature blood. The stages themselves are very intricate and impressive for the game’s time.

            The sound is pretty good too. The music is very catchy, and all of the sounds seem to fit their situations. My favorite theme in the game is the first theme of the Bay Area theme. Not much more that I can say on this subject.

            The difficulty is rather balanced, while the replay value is pretty high. The thugs start out weak and progressively get stronger. Some bosses are really tough, too.  Overall though, I find myself coming back to this game time and time again. There is a special place in my heart for this game. I would highly recommend this game.

            This ends my review of the Arcade version of Final Fight. Three more things; Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Anniversary, Vizzed!