Final Fight

Voices of: N/A
Developer: Capcom
Directed by: Akira Nishitani, Akira Yasuda
Rating: T
Genre: Beat 'em Up
System: Arcade
1989

Times Completed:
Tim: 2

Summary: In the dangerous Metro City, a small group of good guys set out to save the kidnapped Jessica.

Review:
Tim: I've completed Final Fight twice now- I used an emulator, but set up as the old, actual arcade systems. It's a fun game- a straightforward Beat 'em Up. You can choose between one of three characters (I believe I was Cody Travers both times). I played with my eight year-old son, who was Guy in the first playthrough and Hagger in the second. The game is challenging in that you'll likely die numerous times. In the old days, you'd burn through your stack of quarters so quickly and without nearly endless pockets, you'd eventually run out of coins and have to end the game. Having the arcade game in your home, though, allows for continuous continues. This was key, as dying took on far less of an issue. You hit a couple of buttons and you're back in the game. Maybe this wasn't the way the game was "intended" to be played, but who cares about that?

The game itself is pretty fun. I shouldn't mention this, but my five year-old daughter started playing when we weren't looking and she loved it. I'm sighing with the realized bad parenting of this. Luckily, she got tired of it after 5-10 minutes. Still, it's telling that someone so young could still move the joystick and mash the buttons to inflict damage on the worst denizens of Metro City. That's basically what the game amounts to- button mashing. There are some techniques to it and special moves, but honestly, I mostly just mashed the button and jumped, punched, and took out wave after wave of bad guys. The game gets a bit repetitive- you see the same bad guys continuously. However, it's still fun to beat them up and move on. There's some variety- you get the tall, thick tributes to Andre the Giant, you get the punk girls (I felt weird about beating them up), you get the annoying fire throwers and a host of basic goons. You just mow through wave after wave. From time-to-time there's little bonus games- breaking down the car was especially fun.

The story itself is basic- you know that you're the good guy and you're helping to clean up the streets with all the death and destruction you're inflicting on the baddies. It all feels like an excuse for extreme violence, but what the hey. It's just a game, after all. I almost forgot the plot of saving Jessica, until you get to the final boss. There are six total stages before the finale. It's fun to move through each locale, but things do feel a bit repetitive. The locations change but the game is basically the same. Fortunately, it's not an extremely long game- I believe we beat it both times in less than an hour. Still, as far as Beat 'em Up games go, this is one of the most famous and successful arcade games in that genre. This game was so influential and is still regarded as an all-time classic. I had fun playing it both times and it's an easy game to pick up. For video game fans, this feels like one of those must-play titles.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat