GAMES .: REVIEW
GAMEBOY ADVANCE

January 2002
by Gummi

FINAL FIGHT ONE

Final Fight holds a special place in my heart. It is one of only two games that I have completed in the arcade. I was never much of an arcade junkie when I was growing up, but there was something about Final Fight that kept drawing me back to it. As such I was quite excited when I heard that Final Fight was going to be released on the Gameboy Advance as Final Fight One, complete with extra features. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes… and no.

For those who haven’t experienced Final Fight in either the arcade or one of its numerus console ports, Final Fight is a side scrolling beat em up. You choose one of 3 characters, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and moves. From here you beat your way through several levels of baddies, making use of an assortment of weapons along the way. Final Fight was most fun when played with a friend, and thankfully this is included in the GBA version by means of link cable support, although you’ll need two carts to do so.

Final Fight One does a superb job of re-creating the arcade original’s gameplay for a portable system. The game plays near identical to the original and even avoids the slowdown that occurred in the SNES version. Unfortunately nothing there has been no addition to the gameplay, such as extra moves or weapons. While this doesn’t harm the title much, some might find the rather small set of moves per characters quite limiting. Final Fight games were never about moves however, they were about beating screen after screen of baddies to a pulp, something Final Fight One still delivers. Still, a few extra moves wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Graphically Final Fight One not only does justice to the original, but is also a fantastic example of what the GBA is capable of. The large and colourful sprites look great on the small screen and I could not find one instance of slowdown, even with 5-6 baddies on screen at a time.

Unfortunately Final Fight One’s sound doesn’t make the transition from the old to the new quite as well as the graphics did. While the sound is an accurate re-creation of the original’s sound, it just doesn’t compare to today’s titles. Castlevania and Golden Sun are two games that have raised the bar for sound on handheld systems, a bar that Final Fight’s old arcade sound effects fail to meet. They’re hardly bad enough to make this a title to avoid, but they’re not going to add much to it either.

While I was a tad disappointed with the sound, up to this point Final Fight One had lived up to my expectations. That was, until I explored the promised extras. Two new characters are unlockable, but unfortunately these turn out to be simple colour changes for existing characters. Other unlockable extras include a level select, extra lives and a rapid punch (you don’t have to hammer the button, just hold it down). These extra’s hardly hurt the game, but they could have being so much more. A proper extra character or two and an extra level would have raised this game to a new level, but as it stands it is only barely an improvement on the original.

SOURCES : Screenshots from VG Museum

Genre - Beat Em Up

Developer - Capcom
Publisher - Capcom
Release - October 2001

Players - 1 player mode /
2 player simultaneous co-operation (multi pack).

Save - Battery

EXTRA MEDIA

Japanese Box Art

The female "Sex Worker" found only in the Japanese version

LINKS
Official Site
Final Fight Artwork

 

 

Graphics - 8.0
The large, colourful sprites are a perfect match for the original. Additional cut-scenes are an improvement.

Sound - 5.5
Somewhat dated and bland sounds that just can’t compare to today’s standards.

Gameplay - 8.0
A perfect re-creation and an ideal style for the GBA – quick and fun.

Lastability - 7.5
Some might tire of the gameplay, but others such as myself will find it an endless source of fun.

Characters - 7.0
The 3 characters are a good mix, but a proper secret character or two
would have helped.

Overall - 7.5/10
An excellent title only let down by dated sound and a lack of decent extras.