| 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.
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!
|
Hardware
Reviews 
Game
Title
Final Fight One
