Final Fight

Review by GoDSmurF

Mayor Haggar's daughter is kidnapped by his city's Mad Gear gang. On a telecom he receives an offer from the gang's leader, to either let the Mad Gear gang rule the streets in return for "bonuses" in his checking account, or his daughter's life. Mayor Haggar is a former street fighter and professional wrestler, he certainly isn't going to let others run him over. Also there's Cody, the damsel-in-distress's boyfriend who possessive an arsenal of martial arts moves himself, mixes in for the fight. Thus the game begins...

Graphics 8/10

Probably the best graphics in the early days of the Super Nintendo. A majority of the arcade graphics had been duplicated on the wonder machine. Certain frames of animations were removed to minimize the problem of slow-down, although during certain parts of the game it still occurs. The big sprites are very detailed as the stationary background is too. The enemies, while also large and detailed, were the stereotypical "lackeys" of the typical side-scrolling fighters. The enemies lack variety. All in all, there's the typical fat-guy-with-weapon, gigantic-wrestler-with-lots-of-energy(wow that was long), and a group of other weak-but-functional fighters. All enemies between each level are marked in difference with different color palletes. But still, judging from the standards back in the day, it was an accomplishment in its own way.

Sound & Music 8.5/10

Every smack and every slap are well-heard. The background music flows with variety and constantly pumps andrenaline in to your veins. You would actually feel heroic as you walk down the street with the music jamming, and automatically get aggressive when a baddie appears on screen. This was one of the first games for me to actually heighten my reflexes because of the flow of the music. Great job Capcom!

Gameplay/Fun Factor 8.0/10

It certainly isn't hard to see just why this game was a monstrous quarter-muncher in the arcades. The game is well-paced, the enemies are never too much to handle but never too little to be boring. However, because Capcom was rushing to get this title out by the deadline, they ignored an important feature: 2 player cooperative, as well as a third fighter that was present in the arcades but not in the SNES version, Guy. Two player mode could add considerable amount of replay value to a game, and although Final Fight is fun to play through many times, but you just can't compare it with the experience you have cooperating with your buddy in the arcades. Certain strategies are lost too along with the two player mode. Despite the lack of those two features in the game, Haggar, Cody, and 1 player mode, did an outstanding job. Haggar's slow-but-powerful attacks reflects his bulky, muscular nature, while Cody's quick-but-weak attacks reflects that of his frail but lean body physique. The one player mode is one long quest that you have to play through all at once, and fighting the bosses are never boring. You have to learn many things throughout the game such as conserving that vital barbecue that could very well extend your life for another round and not picking up an object to unleash a fury of punches and kicks.

Conclusion/Overall 9.0/10

Yes there's no two player mode, yes there's no Guy, but the combination of outstanding graphics and impressive soundtrack, along with top-notch gameplay, give gamers what they've always wanted at the time. At the time when Final Fight came out, it instantly became a hit with the owners of SNES. Despite the lack of certain features in the arcade, Haggar and company pulls this feat off with all the elegance you would expect from a Capcom fighter.