Play it on practically any platform you can find.
Current mission: Bring justice to the streets.
I’ve been diving back into Capcom’s legendary beat ’em ups from the golden era spanning the late ’80s to the mid-’90s. Some of these, I’m experiencing for the very first time. Just last week, a friend and I tackled Capcom’s superb Dungeons & Dragons-themed brawlers, Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara, thanks to the Chronicles of Mystara compilation. The combat left me thoroughly impressed, brimming with secrets, alternate routes, and a clever integration of inventory systems and magic items. This weekend, though, I’m itching to revisit the game that set Capcom’s iconic beat ’em up trend into motion: the 1989 classic, Final Fight.
Final Fight epitomizes the beat ’em up genre for me. Back in the day, catching a glimpse of it in arcades—or even tucked away in the corner of a laundromat or convenience store—was nothing short of mind-blowing; those gigantic sprites, the satisfying crunch of digitized voices, and that intense combat experience. It was instantly clear that this game was a game-changer for the genre. It transformed the foundational elements built by predecessors like Double Dragon and Renegade into something that was not only more accessible and thrilling but also unforgettable. It’s been quite some time since I’ve played Final Fight, and my current gaming buddy hasn’t experienced it at all. So, it’s high time for Metro City’s Mayor Mike Haggar to head back to the streets, take down some Mad Gear gang members, and ultimately face off against the real villain: a rich, influential figure pulling strings from atop his high-rise, watching over the city teetering on the verge of destruction. — Carolyn Petit
