Final Fight


Free Web Hosting with Website Builder
 This article or section resembles a fansite.
Please help improve this article by removing excessive trivia and irrelevant praise, criticism, lists and collections of links. (May 2008)
Final Fight

Final Fight arcade version brochure — International release
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom, U.S. Gold Ltd., Ubisoft, Sega (Sega CD)
Designer(s) Planners
Pon G
Akira Nishitani (Nin-Nin)
Akira Yasuda (Akiman)
Composer(s) Yuukichan's Papa
Platform(s) Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PlayStation 2, Sega CD, ZX Spectrum, Super NES, Sharp X68000, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console
Release date(s) Arcade
INT December 1989
Genre(s) Fighting action game
Mode(s) Single player, 2 player Co-op
Input methods 8-way Joystick, 3 Buttons
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system CP System
Display Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

Final Fight (ファイナルファイト Fainaru Faito?) is a fighting action game produced by Capcom originally released in 1989 as a coin-operated arcade game. The arcade version was planned by game designer Akira Nishitani (Nin-Nin) and character designer Akira Yasuda (Akiman), who both later worked on Capcom's landmark head-to-head fighting game Street Fighter II. Many home versions of Final Fight has been produced since its initial release.

Contents

Plot

Final Fight is set in the fictional American city of Metro City "sometime in the 1990s" (1989 in the Japanese arcade version). The story centers around the kidnapping of the newly-elected Mayor's daughter, Jessica, by the dominant street gang in the city known as the Mad Gear Gang, which seeks to bring the Mayor under their control. The Mayor, a former pro wrestler named Mike Haggar, refuses to give in to the gang's demands and sets out to rescue his daughter with the help of her boyfriend, a martial artist named Cody, and his friend, a modern-day Bushin ninja named Guy

Gameplay

Final Fight is an archetypal scrolling beat-em-up game. One or two player characters move from left to right through each level (most of which are split into 3 or more scenes), fighting with the enemy characters who appear, until they reach a confrontation with a stronger boss character at the end of the level. Once said boss is beaten, the players automatically move onto the next stage. Enemies appear from both sides of the screen and from out of doorways or entrances set into the background, and the player(s) must defeat all of them to progress. If the players try to simply travel through the levels without fighting, the screen will stop scrolling until all current enemies have been defeated, before allowing the players to continue progress. Enemies may move outside the confines of the screen, but players may not. There is a time limit to each stage.

The control configuration is composed of an eight-directional joystick and two action buttons for "attacking" and "jumping". Pressing attack and jump simultaneously will execute the character's "deadly blow" that will strike all nearby surrounding enemies, but will consume a portion of the character's vitality. The player can execute a combination of different attacks, which can culminate with a finishing blow or grab the enemy and perform a throw. The player can also grab enemies by approaching them and deliver a series of grabbing attacks. Haggar is the only character who can grab enemies and perform a pile driver. In addition to the player's basic attacks, the player can also pick up weapons such as knives, iron pipes and masamune blades. Health can be restored by picking up food from the ground.[1]

Main characters

Final Fight features a strong/fast/average character trinity: Cody is the well-balanced member of the group in both speed and power and that he can use knives for close-range combat against his enemies. Haggar is the strongest, yet slowest member of the group, in which he can inflict huge damage against his opponents while using wrestling techniques such as a suplex and a pile driver. He is ranked third in Electronic Gaming Monthly’s list of the top ten video game politicians.[2] Guy is the fastest, yet weakest member of the group, in which he can unleash fast punches against his opponents and use an off-the-wall kick to knock them down.

Stages

There are six stages in Final Fight, of which the player must go through in order to get to the location of where Jessica is being held captive. These stages include the Slums, the Subway, the Westside District, the Industrial Area, the Bay Area, and Uptown Metro City.


Enemies

Underlings

  • Simons, Bred, Jake and Dug
The typical thug enemies seen in the game. They attack using either a standard punch or kick. Simons and Jake are the only ones who can do a small jump kick.
  • Two.P and J
A pair of thugs who wear color shades and trenchcoats. They attack the player with quick punches, always bouncing around to dodge the player.
  • Axl and Slash
A pair of biker enemies who can block the player's attack and retaliate with either a double axe handle or a kick. Named after Axl Rose and Slash of Guns N' Roses.
  • Wong Who, G. Oriber, Bill Bull
A trio of fat men who attacks the player with either a charging headbutt or a kick.
  • El Gado and Holly Wood
A pair of agility fighters who uses sliding kick attacks and acrobatic knife slashing. A red-clad version of Holly Wood also appears in the game who throws molotov cocktails.
A pair of female transvestites (or "newhalves") who uses acrobatic high-heel kicks.In the American and European versions of the SNES port (and the later GBA port), they are replaced by the similar characters Billy and Sid, two male punks who use the same techniques.[3]
  • Andore Family
A family of pro-wrestlers modeled after contemporary wrestler André the Giant. Their special attacks include a charging smash, a piledriver, and a jumping body smash against a downed opponent. The siblings Andore and Andore Jr. appear thorough most of the game as regular enemies, while Father Andore and Grandfather Andore appear exclusively as sub-bosses in the second area of the West Side stage. Uncle Andore also appears here if a second player is present.

Bosses

  • Damnd (Thrasher in the SNES/Sega CD versions)
The boss of the Slum stage. A Carribean thug who serves as Mad Gear's informat. He summon his underlings to help him out when he's in danger. Damnd also uses a flying cannonball-style attack, not unlike Blanka's own move from the Street Fighter series.
  • Sodom (Katana in the SNES/Sega CD versions)
The boss of the Subway stage. An American Japanophile who wears a blue kabuto helmet and samurai attire. He attacks wielding a pair of Muramasa swords. He is noted for possessing a ridiculously high defense, due in part to his armor, so the player must get in close somehow and use grab moves to defeat him.
  • Edi. E
The boss of the West Side stage. A corrupt Metro City police officer who happens to be a double agent of Mad Gear. He attacks using his nightstick, and will resort to using his gun when almost defeated.
The boss of the Industrial Area stage. A former member of the Red Beret special forces unit. He attacks using a mixture of his military baton, jumping kicks, and grenade tossing. If close, Rolento can also use his own throwing move against the player. Rolento also moves so fast that he has shadow-images following him wherever he goes. When low on health he will constantly run around and throw grenades.
  • Abigail
The boss of the Bayside stage. A street brawler who has a bad temper in battle. He prefers brute force to technique, using various punch attacks, and grabbing his foe to chuck them high into the air. When he gets real angry, his face turns red and charges against the player with a high-damaging punch.
  • Belger
The final boss. A wealthy millionaire who happens to be the secret leader of Mad Gear. He comes into the last fight of the stage while holding Jessica captive in his lap and that the player must throw Belger off his wheelchair so that Jessica can get to safety while the player battles against Belger, whose specialty lies from his cross-bow attacks. In the home versions of the game, Belger moves about at the start using an office chair instead, because it would be deemed less-offensive.

Development

Yoshiki Okamoto cites the arcade version of Double Dragon II: The Revenge as his basis for Final Fight, stating that he liked the concept of a game involving street gangs, but was "unimpressed" by the gameplay.[4] Final Fight was originally shown at trade shows under the title of Street Fighter '89.[5] According to Okamoto, the sales division of Capcom originally requested for a Street Fighter sequel, so his team decided to promote Final Fight as a Street Fighter sequel at trade shows (going as far to refer to one of the main characters as a "former Street Fighter"). The title was changed to Final Fight before its official release after feedback from operators stating that the game was nothing like Street Fighter.[4]

The street gang the player faces in the game, the Mad Gear Gang, takes their name from a 1987 overhead racing game by Capcom of the same name. The game was released as Led Storm outside Japan.[6]

Ports

SNES

The arcade version, on the left, features Poison showing undercleavage after being hit. The SNES and GBA versions, center, replaced Poison with a entirely different character named Billy. The Sega CD version, right, lengthened Poison's tank top and shorts to make her less revealing.

An initial port of Final Fight for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released as a launch title for the console in Japan (December 21, 1990) and later in North America (September 1991). Due to limited cartridge space, the 2-player cooperative feature was removed, turning the game into a strictly single-player experience; the Industrial Area level, along with its boss Rolento, were removed; and Guy, one of the main characters, was omitted, leaving only Cody and Haggar.

The English localization underwent considerable changes for the game's American and European releases: the first two bosses in the game, Damnd and Sodom, were renamed Thrasher and Katana respectively; Poison and Roxy were replaced with two male punks named Billy and Sid[3]; Belger's wheelchair was redrawn to look like an office chair; all alcoholic references were removed, with "bar" signs becoming "club" signs and two health-recovering items, Whiskey and Beer, became Vitamin E and Root Beer respectively; a punk screaming "Oh! My God" was changed to "Oh! My Car"; and the blood splash effect when a character is stabbed is replaced a generic explosion.[7] This version of Final Fight was re-released in 2007 as a Virtual Console title.

A revised version of the SNES port, titled Final Fight Guy, replaces Cody with Guy as selectable character and features several subtle changes from the original port and added features such as new power-ups, although the Industrial Area stage and the multiplayer cooperative mode were still missing from this version.[8] Final Fight Guy was released on March 20, 1992 in Japan. The American version (featuring the same changes in the localization as in the first game) was released on June 1994 as a rental-only game available at Blockbuster stores.

Sega CD

The Sega CD version, titled Final Fight CD, was ported and published by Sega under license from Capcom in 1993. This version retains nearly all the features of the arcade game which were removed in the SNES port, adding voice acting to the game's cut-scenes, an arranged soundtrack and an exclusive time attack mode. Like the SNES version, the game also underwent some mild censorship in its English localization, with many of the same changes made in this version. Poison and Roxy were kept this time, but were redrawn with less-revealing clothing.[9]

Game Boy Advance

The Game Boy Advance version, titled Final Fight One, was released in 2001 as one of the earliest games for the system. Final Fight One features all three characters and the Industrial Area stage that was missing from the SNES version. 2-Player cooperative gameplay is also featured via link cable. Dialogue exchanges prior to each boss battle have been added and the Street Fighter Alpha renditions of Cody and Guy are featured as hidden characters. The English localization of the game still replaced Poison and Roxy with Billy and Sid, although little else was changed.[10]

Other versions

  • A port for the Sharp X68000 computer platform was released by Capcom in Japan on July 17, 1992. Unlike the SNES version, this port features the two player cooperative mode and all three characters. The Industrial Area stage is also included in this version.
  • An 8-bit version was released in 1993 for the NES titled Mighty Final Fight. The game is not a strict port of the arcade game, but a different take on the same concept, featuring child-like "super deformed" character designs and an RPG-like character build-up feature.
  • Final Fight is included in the 2005 compilation Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and in the 2006 portable version Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for the PlayStation Portable. The game is emulated from the original CPS-based arcade version and features very little differences from the arcade game. The compilation includes tips, character profiles, an art gallery and a sound test as bonus features.
  • The arcade version is also included as a hidden feature in the 2006 game Final Fight: Streetwise for the PS2 and Xbox. However, the emulation in this version was programmed by Ultracade, rather than Digital Eclipse (the developers of Capcom Classics Collection series).

Legacy

Sequels

Final Fight was followed by two sequels for the SNES: Final Fight 2 in 1993 and Final Fight 3 (Final Fight Tough in Japan) in 1995. These games were produced specifically for the home console market by Capcom's consumer division with no preceding arcade versions. An NES game entitled Mighty Final Fight was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and featured cartoonish versions of the Final Fight characters. An American-produced 3D fighting game spinoff, Final Fight Revenge, was released for Sega's Titan arcade hardware in 1998, which was followed by a home version for the Sega Saturn in Japan only. A second American-produced spinoff titled Final Fight: Streetwise, released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, was a 3D take on the game.

Other appearances

The character Mike Haggar is featured as a wrestler in Saturday Night Slam Masters and its two sequels, Muscle Bomber Duo and Slam Masters II: Ring of Destruction. A few Final Fight characters would also re-emerge as playable characters in later Street Fighter games: Guy and Sodom appeared in Street Fighter Alpha in 1995, followed by Rolento in Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 and Cody in Street Fighter Alpha 3 in 1998. Hugo, a character modeled after Andore, debuted in Street Fighter III 2nd Impact: Giant Attack in 1997 as a playable character, with Poison as his manager.

Influences

Since the release of Final Fight, Capcom has produced several similar beat-em-ups for its CPS and CPS II arcade hardware. These include The King of Dragons, Knights of the Round and Captain Commando in 1991, Warriors of Fate and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs in 1992, The Punisher and Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom in 1993, Alien vs. Predator and Armored Warriors in 1994, Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara in 1996 and Battle Circuit in 1997. The SNES games X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1995) and Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems (1996) were also influenced by Final Fight.

References

  1. ^ Capcom. Final Fight. “arcade version's bezel”
  2. ^ Scott Sharkey, “EGM’s Top Ten Videogame Politicians: Election time puts us in a voting mood,” Electronic Gaming Monthly 234 (November 2008): 97.
  3. ^ a b Sheff, David. Game Over. p. p. 225. "With Capcom USA, Phillips's team edited some of the grislier games that came in from its Japanese parent company, although Capcom's own censors weeded out the most offensive touches...When a Capcom USA representative suggested that it was tasteless to have the game's hero beat up a woman, a Japanese designer responded that there were no women in the game. 'What about the blonde named Roxy?' the American asked. The designer responded, 'Oh, you mean the transvestite!' Roxy was given a haircut and new clothes.". 
  4. ^ a b Kent, Steven. "VideoGameSpot's Interview with Yoshiki Okamoto (Waybacked)".
  5. ^ "The Arcade Flyer Archive - Video Game: Capcom Concept Cabinet, Capcom".
  6. ^ "System 16 - 68000 Based Hardware (Capcom)".
  7. ^ "日米ファイナルファイト比較" (in Japanese).
  8. ^ "Final Fight Guy - Final Fight Online".
  9. ^ "Final Fight CD regional differences - Final Fight Online".
  10. ^ "Final Fight One regional differences - Final Fight Online".

External links

 This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)


v • d • e
Final Fight video games






Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History