Game Review Data
 


Game Title
Final Fight One
Publisher
Capcom
Features
Battery Backup for High Scores, Continue, 2 Player
Format
Action
Reviewer
Vic Viper


RATING

Excellent!


Ratings Scale:

Excellent!

Good!

Playable!

Ho-Hum!

Yuck!


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From A - Z

 

 
Introduction

Capcom has a reputation for releasing multiple versions of the same game, whether in the form of ports, or by "upgrading" a game (Super Street Fighter II Turbo). That tradition is no exception to the Game Boy Advance, which has already received ports of Breath of Fire, Street Fighter 2, and of course, Final Fight. While many may dislike Capcom's practice of cashing in on customers, I think Final Fight One deserves some credit, since now we can finally play the 1989 arcade hit in portable form.

In case you haven't played Final Fight before, the story goes like this. Metro City has a problem. That problem is a gang named Mad Gear. Mike Haggar is the new mayor of the city who refuses to be bribed by the Mad Gear like those before him. As a result of his refusal to cooperate, his daughter has been kidnapped by this gang. Now he's taking the situation into his own hands, with the help of friends Cody and Guy. Now it's up to these three to clean up the streets and rescue Haggar's daughter Jessica from the leader of the Mad Gear gang.

Screen Shots

GamePlay

Any person who had a 16-bit system should clearly remember the side-scrolling beat 'em up games that were so popular at the time. Those with the Sega Genesis stand by the Streets of Rage series, while the Super NES owners had Final Fight.

Final Fight One is a faithful port of the arcade classic. The Game Boy Advance version features all three fighters, Haggar, Cody, and Guy. Haggar is the biggest of the group, having the longest range and most strength at the sacrifice of mobility. Cody is your average fighter, who has a good balance of strength and speed. Guy, the character who was originally left out of the Super NES release, specializes in martial arts, making him the fastest of the three. Guy's punches are not as powerful as those of Haggar, so it takes a few more hits to knock enemies out. In addition to this, each character has his own special moves and combo techniques.

The game progresses on a 2D plane, with enemies coming at your fighter from both sides. Enemies range from common street thugs to hookers to giants wearing spandex and fat men who charge at you.

There are also obstacles such as rolling barrels and fires that you must avoid. Some of the enemies display more intelligence than others, backing off as you move towards them, or coming around to attack from behind. This increases the difficulty, since you constantly have to make sure nobody is attacking you from the opposite direction.

At the end of each level, your character will have a brief dialogue with the boss before the battle ensues. Defeat the boss and you're off to the next stage.

Though Final Fight One contains only 6 levels, Capcom has added a new battle points system to the game. Depending on how many enemies you defeat, you become able to unlock special features in the game (new costumes, rapid punch, stage select, etc.) The difficulty levels range from easy to super hard. It should take most people some time before they are able to finish the game on super hard mode. Overall, the replay value of this game is decent.

Controls

Final Fight One's control is simple and easy to get used to. By default, the B button punches, the A button makes your character jump, and the R button executes your special move, which is useful when enemies gang up on you from both sides. However, you should only use it when necessary because it takes a small portion of your health every time you hit an enemy with it.

Graphics

A very strong point of the game. All the characters and level art has been reproduced flawlessly into portable format. It looks just as good as the arcade version, being more crisp than the Super NES port. I haven't seen any slowdown in this game, even with many enemies and obstacles on screen simultaneously. In addition to the excellent conversion of the graphics, new artwork has been added to the title screens and the boss dialogues (which are also new to the GBA version). This is high quality Capcom anime art which is sure to please fans.

Sound & Music

Considering the GBA has different sound hardware than both the Super NES and original arcade version, the music will sound a little different in tone. That's not a bad thing, however. The music in Final Fight is a love it or hate it type of thing. I personally think it's very fitting for the atmosphere the game is attempting to create, especially when listening in stereo with either external speakers or headphones. While the tone is different, the music itself is identical to the arcade/SFC versions. Also, all the original sound and voice effects have been carried over into the GBA version, with no loss of quality. Final Fight One is very solid in this respect..

Final Comments

If you remember putting dozens of quarters into your arcade's Final Fight unit, do yourself a favor and pick this game up right now. A near perfect arcade conversion for your GBA is a dream come true. This game is scheduled for release in the United States, but will likely be censored the same way the original Super NES conversion was. Only time will tell, but now let's hope Capcom is working on a GBA port of UN Squadron!

@ EAGB Advance 2002. All rights reserved.