Final Fight is without a shadow of a doubt the most influential brawler ever made. It introduced concepts like unique playable characters, contact-based grabs, and health-draining "death-blow" attacks that would all become genre standards. Even its art style, featuring gigantic sprites and outlandish enemy design, defined the following decade of beat 'em up games.
Metro City, a well known Crime Capital, has been ruled by violence and death for many years.
A fact which the newly-elected mayor and former Street Fighter, Mike Haggar, plans to change.
At the center of the problem is the huge gang known as Mad Gear. Mad Gear controls all of the major criminal activity in the city.
When they learned of Haggar's plans, they took immediate action to bring this new mayor under their control.
Sometime in the 1990's...
Hee hee hee, Mr. Haggar. So pleased to make your acquaintance. I believe you know who I am.
Don't hang up! We have a little business proposition for you... Your daughter for your cooperation.
And we'll throw in the regular monthly bonus to your salary we offered before.
What?! What's happened to Jessica? Who is this?!
Not so fast, Mike. Turn on your TV.
You son of a... what have you done to her?
Nothing yet... but we'd enjoy the opportunity... Listen to reason, man.
Why make your job difficult? Just let us do as we please like the mayor before you did.
Guy! Jessica was kidnapped!
Jessica?!
My sweet heart since child hood.
The Mad Gears must pay! She's my friend, too. Count me in.
Final Fight was originally entitled "Street Fighter '89" but was renamed due to fan confusion concerning the name.
Final Fight's plot is heavily based off of the 1984 film "Streets of Fire" which features a knife expert named Tom Cody who has to take down a street gang that kidnapped his girlfriend.
Final Fight's plot is heavily based off of the 1984 film "Streets of Fire" which features a knife expert named Tom Cody who has to take down a street gang that kidnapped his girlfriend.
Almost every enemy and boss is modeled after an 80's pop culture icon. See the Enemies tab for more info.
Cody, Guy, Sodom, and Andore (aka Hugo) all appear in Street Fighter games starting with the Alpha series. Haggar appears in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.
There are three Final Fight spin-offs: Final Fight Revenge, which is a 3D fighting game released in arcades and later ported to the Sega Saturn, Final Fight Streetwise, which is a 3D open-world brawler on the PS2, and Mighty Final Fight, which is an NES "parody" version (in the same vein as Parodius).
Dec '89
Final Fight is the king for good reasons. It took Double Dragon's proven combat engine, made it more accessible, added distinct fighters, made the sprites gigantic, and threw in a ton of personality. It's satisfying, challenging, and unforgettable. It's the gold standard that every subsequent brawler aspired to but few have even come close.
