Final Fight CD

"The Best Beat-Em-Up Ever? Yes."

One day when I was 5, my uncle introduced me to Sega CD. And my first game was this game, I loved it from the beginning, and I love it to this day. Final Fight, originally an Arcade game, was unsuccessfully ported to NES, and was ported again (to NES) with only 1 of the 3 characters (entitled, "Final Fight Guy," because for some unexplained reason, Nintendo refused to use him the first ported game). Thus, 4 years later, this game was ported one final time... to Sega CD, with all 3 characters included, and it did not disappoint. As always, on to game play.

Game play: 10/10

The game play in this game is astounding. The controls all respond well, they are fluid, and it makes the game very fun. Aside from punch and jump, there was a special move (that you could enable), and various combinations of these buttons would make up combos and/or throws. You could also pick up 3 weapons to use (Knives, Pipes, and swords called Masumunes/Muramasas). You could also pick up food and items to replenish your health, and to raise your score. There are also little things that make this game enjoyable, such as throwing an opponent into a crowd of others, and hurting all of them, and when knocking down certain enemies, their reactions are hilarious. Pure non-stop fun here people. There is one minor flaw with this game though, and that is if you don't play with intelligence (which is what I did the first 7 years before realising what I should be doing), the game will seem, and will be too hard for anyone to beat. You must use your noodle, otherwise you will lose health carelessly here, and missing this item, etc. Since that is a flaw that depends on the person, it is not counted here in this section. Superb game play to an even better story. Lets go.

Story: 10/10

The story in this game is fantastic, and almost Shenmue-like in the way that it is just the beginning of a saga (continued in Final Fights 2, 3, Revenge, and this year's Streetwise). Mike Haggar has just been appointed Mayor of Metro City. A former Street Fighter (no not the kind found in the game under that same title) and professional Wrestler, he plans to crack down on some of the gangs in the game, including the biggest gang in the city, the, "Mad Gear," Gang. When the gang learns of this, they plan to take action... by kidnapping the mayor's daughter, Jessica. At this point, Haggar decides to take the law into his own hands, and with the aid of her Boyfriend (Cody), and one of her best friends (Guy), they take to the streets to rid the city once and for all of the Mad Gear gang. This though (as I already mentioned) is just the beginning of a saga... on to graphics.

Graphics: 9/10

Some of Sega Cd's best graphics are on this game, and they are great. The entire game is cartoon-like, but no so cartoon-like that it becomes like a cartoon or a comic. The characters are smooth, look good, and are very detailed. The weapons and items all look good, and all look realistic. The backgrounds are just copies of each other as you keep on walking, but they all look good also. For 93, this game was outstanding in the graphics department, and for 2006, they still stand up. Sound is next, and you are in for something good.

Sound: 10/10

The sounds are just amazing, and because they are on CD, they are crystal clear. Almost everything in the game has a sound. From the weapons, to throwing a knife against an object, everything has a sound. There is one minor flaw (minor because it was 1993) in that the voice overs are absolutely bad. Very bad. Like I said though, it was 1993, and frankly, I don't care about voice overs, at all, thus I don't really consider it to be a major part of a game. The part in sound where this game really shines though is the music. The music is just impeccable, and it is just so amazing, that it sends chills down your spine, and you feel it all over. Great guitar riffs, great tunes in general. Also if you listen closely, the guitar sounds very David Gilmour-like in style. Sounds are A-1. Replay ability is next.

Replay ability: 8/10

If you play the way I did for seven years, you will be playing this game quite a bit, however after you do finally beat it, unless you want to beat your score, you will probably not have a reason to play this game. Then why do i give it an 8? Because of a little thing called Time Attack. This is a lot of fun, and you will be playing this feature a lot. Simply, you have to kill as many enemies as possible in a certain amount of time (it should have been called survival not time attack). Good replay ability.

Buy or rent?

No hope here for renting, so the only possible way to get this game is through buying it, and that even may prove difficult because this game is very popular (this version anyway).

I love this game. It is probably my third or fourth favourite game ever, and I will continue to play it. How can I go wrong? The game play is superb, the graphics and sound are amazing, and I love the story, and that in my opinion is the Quintessential game. "...Not while evil still stalks the streets!"

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/06, Updated 09/11/09

Game Release: Final Fight CD (US, 1993)