Final Fight

Final Fight, Sega CD, Capcom, 1993

Final Fight started as a decent 2D beat-em-up arcade game in 1989, then was ported into a mediocre Super Nintendo one in 1991. Critics postulated that consoles of the day were simply no match for Final Fight. But they forgot about one system. They always forget about it. The only 16-bit system that could handle Final Fight. The chosen one.That's right.The Sega CD.

You forgot about the Sega CD? That makes me SO...DAMN...ANGRYYYYYY!!!!

In 1993, Capcom brought it's star beat-em-up to Sega's bastard add-on. Except it's not a bastard, it's the Sega CD, and I love it. It's got goofy flaws, but more than many other systems, it's got character. It also has the best 16-bit port of Final Fight by a mile, even though I am realizing as I play through it that maybe I just don't like Final Fight.

You don't like Final Fight? That makes me SO...DAMN...meh, actually, I don't care. Let's go get a schnitzel.

This Final Fight has the same story as usual. Mayor's daughter gets kidnapped by crime syndicate. Mayor and two others take on crime syndicate. The controls are the same as the others, as well. One button for jump and one for attack. Hit them at the same time to do a super move that drains some of your power bar. Push jump, then attack in mid-air to do to a flying kick. You can also grab an enemy and throw them if you get close. The game handles smoothly, though it still feels like there's no way to stop enemies from getting a hit in. It's just not quite fair. The levels are straightforward: head right, get to the end, though unlike the ones found in its superior Sega rival, Streets of Rage, they don't naturally build to a logical environmental conclusion--in Rage, you make your way through the city to the boss' tower, climb it, and fight through it, but in Final Fight, you just kind of go places.

And this lady can send you there. Oh, hi lady. Glad you're back from wherever Nintendo hid you.

This leads me to the point. Yes, unlike the SNES version, you can actually play Final Fight on the Sega CD in cooperative two-player mode with a buddy. Yes, unlike the SNES version there can actually be more than three bad guys on the screen, the backgrounds are more detailed, and the game rarely slows down. Also unlike the SNES version, there are actually some female baddies. Spencer Nilsen even gives this CD-cut of the game its own original score, featuring early 90's action-TV guitar and keyboard jams, far more memorable than the bland SNES score. There's even some voice-acting in the intro (though it's terrible, so just ignore it). This Sega CD version of Final Fight truly does the arcade original justice. There's just one problem. Another 2D beat-em-up already owns the Sega Genesis.

Oh, cool, they added two-player. You know what Sega beat-em-up already has two-player?

Yes, Streets of Rage is such a substantially better game than Final Fight, that bringing the other major beat-em-up franchise to a Sega system seems superfluous. Why pick up Final Fight when you can just play the more fun Streets of Rage? I may never pull out my Sega CD copy of Final Fight again, but I might actually go play through Streets of Rage again for the umpteenth time as soon as I finish this review.
However, the battle between Streets of Rage and Final Fight had just begun. Sega may have been one-in-done for the Final Fight franchise, but the SNES would pump out two more installments to challenge Streets of Rage 2 & 3. Who would come out on top? That's the topic of another review...in fact, I smell a series brewing.

Graphics: 8.0/10.0
Sound: 7.5/10.0
Gameplay: 7.0/10.0
Lasting Value: 6.5/10.0
Overall (Not an Average): 7.0/10.0