Final Fight One

"Final Fight is back and it's better than ever!"

THE RAMPAGE BEGINS AGAIN
Remember back in the days when you used to plop in loads of quarters to feel the excitement of beating a thousand street punks to death? Then some time later, some of you guys plopped down a few bucks to grab the watered-down SNES port while others went for the Callus emulation port. Well Capcom has brought back the entire feeling of laying waste to massive armies of Mad Gear punks on the GBA and it doesn't get any better than this.

BETTER THAN EVER
Many players can remember the slight disappoint that they got from the watered-down SNES version of Final Fight One. Those same players won't be disappointed by this port. The entire game from beginning to end has been successfully converted with many of the voices and sound effects taken directly from the arcade version, perhaps even better than arcade. Because of the GBA's strong hardware, it can support up to six or seven enemies onscreen at once, which is a treat for all of you experts at the game. Add the Advance link cable for some added 2-player fun and you'll have yourself one hell of a fight (though I really don't see how two people can stop a huge rampaging horde of street punks).
While bringing the game over to the GBA, there was a question about the GBA's wide screen. Because Final Fight was based on a square screen, a change was needed. Capcom lowered the view of the stage and made all of the characters larger and more detailed. It's kinda like playing with a wide magnifying glass. And surprisingly, this doesn't ruin the experience at all. In fact, it's actually better.

*For an interesting look, whenever you beat the boss with a Zero character, you get the SFA3 victory phrase of the character. Also, note how Capcom's spelling of the word ''Granade'' remains the same (and that ''a'' is not a typo).

SO MUCH YET SO FAR
Final Fight One is far from perfect. Although it's a great port of the game, Final Fight One leaves you somewhat empty in the end. While there are secrets to unlock, it's easy to earn the points needed to unlock each secret and with so few secrets to unlock, you're pretty much done with the game once you get the last one. Also, with the addition of Alpha characters, you'd think that they'd be a little more animated. You'll also wish that Capcom gave the Alpha treatment to Sodom and Rolento. And the constant repetitiveness of relentlessly pummeling punks will leave you bored after a while. Overall, you'll spend quite a bit of time on the game but not too long.

GRAPHICS 8/10
The graphics are as clean as they can get. With larger characters, Alpha characters, the return of slut cops, and other graphical additions, it's not bad. However, as mentioned above, some characters could use a bit more animation, especially the Alpha guys. From an SFA3 player's point of view, they look as though they've been frozen stiff.

CONTROL 10/10
The button layout doesn't get any simpler than this. Attack, jump, special. All of the controls are responsive and the attacking animations of the Alpha characters look surprisingly smooth but without a lack of button response. The GBA's button positions bother many American players for some odd reason but I'm fine with it. (Is it really true that American players have bigger hands than Asians players?)

GAMEPLAY 8/10
The gameplay has been kept well-preserved right down to the multiplayer ability from the arcade and it's a big improvement with the GBA's ability to handle tons of enemies onscreen. However, as mentioned above, the game's small cluster of secrets and repetitive gameplay can only keep you hooked for so long.

SOUND 10/10
Each character retains their original arcades voices (they're nothing but grunts, cries, and groans but it's there). Plus each stage's original music has been remixed. The GBA's nice little stereo makes every bit of sound clear and it's pretty much something that'll keep your ear delighted.

OVERALL 9/10
Final Fight One is a great port with everything kept intact with some new surprises included. Don't expect to stay hooked on the game for massive hours like Castlevania: COTM but it's a great game that you'll enjoy despite its few shortcomings.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/03/01, Updated 07/03/01