It's fair to say Capcom was on a roll in the late '80s and early '90s. During this period it pushed out some bona-fide classic pieces of software, including 1989's seminal coin-op brawler, Final Fight. Indisputably one of the finest side-scrolling beat-'em-ups ever created, it joined a rush of similar coin-guzzling titles including Konami's four player behemoths Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons, along with Capcom's own subsequent brawlers.
Things could easily have turned out slightly differently; Final Fight was originally planned as a sequel to Street Fighter. Switching from one-on-one fighter to side scrolling beat-'em-up during development (apparently to cash in on the success of Double Dragon) meant the gameplay was too far removed from Street Fighter to consider it a true sequel, hence the name change to Final Fight. A good thing too; a few years later Capcom blessed us with the addition of the 'real' Street Fighter II and the rest, as they say, is history.
Part of the appeal of Final Fight is how easy it is to pick up and play; simply choose one of three playable characters (each with different strengths and weaknesses) and hit the crime-infested streets of Metro City. Your objective is to save the girl by beating up an entire cities' worth of cloned thugs who stand in your way. Final Fight is arcade gaming at its best. Simple, fast action combines with relentlessly long and increasingly tougher stages. It is possible to clear in a single credit, but you'll need obsessive levels of practice and patience.
An intuitive control system consisting of an attack and a jump button allows for various attacks, including punches, flying kicks and grabs. In typical video game fashion, your character can pick up food from trash cans (or the ground, yuck) to replenish energy as well as utilising found weaponry, ranging from rusty drainpipes to razor-sharp katana swords. Wonderfully drawn cityscape backdrops and an atmospheric soundtrack complete the package. No doubt there are other games that offer more moves, bigger graphics, more levels; but Final Fight is the sum of its parts and there's nothing we'd change. You know how the saying goes; if it ain't broke.
Home ports came and went over the years with varying degrees of success; from the crippled SNES version (no two player, missing an entire playable character and stage) to the triumphant Mega CD version complete with fantastic remixed soundtrack. Another of these ports is GBA title Final Fight One; available now to download from the Wii U eShop.
At the time of release, Final Fight One was seriously impressive. Seemingly an arcade game in your pocket, it contained all three playable characters, every stage and even a simultaneous two player mode via link cable. Releasing this now on Wii U seems a bit of a cop-out, especially considering Capcom has previously re-released the arcade version on rival consoles. Still, there are some reasons to check out this particular port.
For starters there are some interesting graphical tweaks here and there; the interface/energy bars clearly take inspiration from the Street Fighter Alpha/Zero series. It's also possible to unlock 'Alpha' versions of Guy and Cody to play as, along with a bunch of other secrets such as extra lives, stage select and rapid punches. Considering you aren't blessed with infinite credits (and continuing restarts the entire stage) the optional extra help is welcome. Inserted before every boss fight are text dialogue cut-scenes. While these scenes are needless they make for an interesting oddity; especially as they only ever appeared in this particular port.
Controls are spot-on; the pace is fast with no noticeable slow-down present. The display looks quite blocky on a TV screen but you'll soon get used to it; it's a touch disappointing that there aren't any options other than screen smoothing on/off to help alleviate this. Playing on the GamePad screen arguably provides better results than a TV.
The gameplay area is zoomed in compared with the original, presumably due to the differences in screen ratio of the GBA's screen to arcade original. This occasionally makes playing a touch claustrophobic; you never feel like you have enough room to move, and this is compounded by the fact that enemies often drift off-screen to avoid your attacks (and your gaze). Inadvertently alleviating this claustrophobia is a lack of multiplayer. The original GBA version facilitated simultaneous two player via a link cable; there's simply no way to achieve this on Wii U. This is made even more disappointing when during the attract sequence the unobtainable two player mode is depicted right in front of your face.
The soundtrack is a minor tragedy. The iconic hummable tunes of the arcade have been rendered in god-awful chiptune hell and are an assault on the eardrums. It's a crying shame as chiptune can sound great, so we'd put this down to the compositions rather than the capability of the system. Finally, it's worth noting that the European release of Final Fight One is the censored version; female characters Roxy and Poison become male punks Sid and Billy, along with a few other minor amends. Those who don't know the history of the game won't bat an eyelid, but purists will rightly turn up their noses - these two lady punks have arguably become Final Fight's most iconic characters.
It's very tough coming to a conclusion on how to rate Final Fight One. It's clearly an accomplished port of a classic game, and it's as playable as it's ever been. On the flip side, a lack of simultaneous two player, rougher graphics and a grating soundtrack do distract from the experience. This title made much more sense in portable form; on the Wii U, it's not quite as compelling. The SNES version - also available on Wii U eShop - has better graphics and sound, but also lacks a two-player mode and other content, which sadly means that despite having access to not one but two versions of Capcom's classic, Wii U owners still don't have a definitive port.
The issue is thus; if you're nostalgic for the arcade version, Final Fight One isn't quite the faithful experience you want it to be. If you don't share the nostalgia, you'd possibly be better off picking the better - but still not perfect - Final Fight 3, which is also available now on Wii U eShop.
Conclusion
Lower your expectations and you'll find an enjoyable single-player romp that's less than arcade perfect, but still perfectly playable. What was once an admirable and impressive achievement for GBA becomes a decent, yet flawed version of an arcade mega-classic on Wii U. Decent, but definitely not the version we'd like to see. Give us the arcade version please, Capcom.
Comments 16
I've got the original GBA cart, which is unfortunately probably the closest I'll ever get to owning a home version of this arcade classic.
If you're looking for just a single "Final Fight" game, I have to second the recommendation of "Final Fight 3." The only thing the second game has over the third one is a hotter female playable character.
Even the arcade version pales in comparison to FINAL FIGHT CD on the sega cd, which has extra modes and a KILLER soundtrack that puts the arcade original to shame. That is the definitive edition of final fight.
Oh, my car! Censorship aside (I had the Japanese version), I'd say this was a good version, beats out the SNES not just with more characters and a two player option in the original - but in the number of enemies on screen at once. This game mimics the sometimes frantic nature of the arcade much better, especially when placed against the PAL 50Hz SNES version. The sound is weak, but nothing is going to beat Final fight CD anyway for me there.
The PS3 / Xbox360 version is probably closest to the arcade in graphics and gameplay, even get some CRT style filters.
Everyone knows that Street of Rage are better games as compared to any games in Final Fight - the firmer has more variety of gameplay.
SF II was one of the worst fighters I've ever played.
@Hero-of-WiiU Then you haven't played that many. Being simple and low in content doesn't make it bad. Play some of the actually bad games then come back to SFII.
@ALEC_EIFFEL The Sega CD version still has reduced enemy numbers and slowed down Cody's and Guy's combos (along with most of the censorship, of course), so I'd go with the PSN/XLA release as the definitive port.
No Poison, no buy.
All I have to say, is Final Fight for the GBA was sick. it was great game, and I even love it now.
Sega CD version is my favorite.
The Sega CD version is still my favorite,
but the PSN release nails the arcade experience.
Even the iPhone app is pretty darn good.
This is the best version, period. Who the hell are you guys at Nintendolife kidding?
Once again Nintendo thinks that releasing a handheld game on to a home console is the best way to go. The GBA was a handheld the 3DS is a handheld come on Nintendo start to think what you are doing wrong here retro handheld games on a new handheld is that so hard to work out
There aren't any VC games being released on 3DS by anyone now for whatever reason. Companies can now only release their old games from any console on Wii U. It doesn't matter to me if handheld games appear on Wii U. Game Pad is better than 3DS' screen.
@Bass_X0
i agree. long live the wii u.
The guy on the right of the box art looks like Joey from Friends.
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