Final Fight Revenge

"Revenge on Capcom for tainting the good name of Final Fight!"

It took a while, but I finally managed to track down one of the last games released for the Saturn in Japan, which just happens to be a Capcom game and therefore a must-have addition for my library (even if it was as bad as the reviews say).

Though it is a one-on-one fighting game, Final Fight Revenge is actually a sequel to the first Final Fight game. Despite having beaten the Mad Gear gang, Cody, Guy and Mike Haggar still find Metro City in the grip of violence. Jessica (Cody's girlfriend and Mike's daughter) is still missing and, if rumors are to be believe, Belger is back and seeking revenge. True the plot seems to contradict the endings of the previous game, but hey, who cares- After all we need some reason to get everyone together for another rumble.

Graphically, Final Fight Revenge is a pretty impressive feat for the Saturn. While it may not look like much by the screenshots, the characters are comprised of rather large 3D models wrapped in fairly decent textures. True, the actual polygon count may not be all that high, but considering the generation of console we're talking about here, Final Fight Revenge more than holds its own.

On the other hand, the game's audio is a complete and total disappointment in every way possible. The voice acting (as little as there is) seems a little off from the action taking place, not to mention the horrible quality of the samples. The sound effects are minimal and suffer the same lag that plagues the voice samples. Finally, the music itself isn't even worth a mention because most of the time it's like there isn't even a soundtrack! A dismal effort to say the least.

Let's face it, the most important aspect of a fighting game is its controls and Final Fight Revenge does a perfect job of completely ignoring that. That's not to say they're terrible, but given Capcom's history and reputation in this department, you'd think they could have done a tad better. In an interesting twist, there is a special button (but only two buttons each for the punches and kicks) that gives you the ability to side-step as well as pickup various weapons that litter the battlegrounds. In the end, the average controls are married with a few interesting gameplay concepts that elevates the playability a little above acceptable.

While the game only has a total of ten playable characters and absolutely requires the 4MB RAM cartridge, it is interesting to see the direction Capcom took with what could have been a typical fighting game. To some extent, Final Fight Revenge reminds me a lot of the Street Fighter EX series, but the inclusion of weapons (including character specific items) is what really separates the two. It's also cool that a few of the endings tie in to the Street Fighter Alpha series.

Final Fight Revenge has a disappointing lack of extras or unlockables. In fact, there are none whatsoever. About the only item of note is if your system language is set to English, all of the in-game text will be English as well. A cool little trick for importers, but hardly what one would deem a secret.

Before you decide to purchase Final Fight Revenge (and you really should think long and hard given what you're likely to pay to get your hands on the game), understand this is a game you can easily love or hate. It isn't a great fighting game by any means, but true Capcom fans and hardcore Final Fight pugilists will find something to enjoy here.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/09

Game Release: Final Fight Revenge (JP, 03/30/00)