When Final Fight arrived on the SNES it had problems. The port of the side-scrolling beat 'em up classic looked reasonably close to the arcade title, but it cut out the industrial area, the two-player option and playable character Guy as well. A second attempt was made with Final Fight Guy that saw the Bushin ninja return, but at the expense of Cody; Capcom didn't bother to put back in the missing stage or multiplayer either. Next came Final Fight 2, a globe-trotting sequel with new characters. Despite the number on the end however, it often feels like a third stab at bringing the first game to the system.
Mayor Mike Haggar returns as one of the three playable characters, joined this time by Maki and Carlos. Haggar is the same as the previous game whilst the newcomers are similar to Guy and Cody. As before you pick your character then stroll through stages smacking gang members in the face. There's an attack button and a jump button and these can be used to perform a variety of punches, kicks, throws and other moves; push them together to perform an effective (but energy-depleting) special attack. Dive into the game's options menu and you can change the button assignment and map the special attack to a third button if you wish.
Visually the game looks good, using the same style as the first game, but set in a new country for every stage. The locations are perhaps not as memorable here but there's a variety of buildings, streets and other locations to keep things interesting. There's Street Fighter cameos to spot and lots of details and small background animations that add to the experience. The action is easy to follow, and as always with these SNES re-releases the New Nintendo 3DS has the option of original resolution mode for a crisper display.
At first glance the gang members you fight en-route to the end of level bosses appear to be a new bunch of attackers, with only the Andore family returning. Although these are thugs with new names and new looks, their attacks are a lot like their chums from the first game, leading to a very similar experience. In an ideal world Sega, M2 and Capcom would have come together to release 3D Final Fight CD, but instead SNES Final Fight has again been deemed fit for release, giving New 3DS owners the option of this "more of the same" sequel or a cutdown Final Fight 1.
For SNES owners back when the game first came out, and Wii/Wii U owners for the Virtual Console releases, Final Fight 2 still appealed due to the inclusion of a two-player mode. On New 3DS, however, simultaneous multiplayer is not possible - as is standard with these SNES re-releases on the portable. With that fun mode unavailable, what does this sequel offer over the earlier SNES game? Aside from upping the choice of playable characters to three, the game features six levels as opposed to five, with Rolento as one of the boss fights after he and his stage were cut from the previous game. He fights the same as before and like the previous game there's even a ride in a lift just prior to facing him.
Relocating to Italy, he may have lost an "o" from his name on the flight over, but the fight with "Rolent" is the best of the six boss battles as you try to deal with his speed and (later) grenade-tossing. As fun as this battle is, the other boss fights are largely rubbish, with four of them very similar: powerful lunks, dealt with in a similar fashion. This hurts the game considerably, making it less enjoyable than the first game, but as it plays so similarly to its predecessor it can offer the same kind of entertainment. As always suspension and restore points allow you to dip in and out of the game as your free time allows. Also of note, the higher you set the difficulty setting, the more of the ending you get to see; there are four options available but "Easy" and "Normal" are unlikely to cause much trouble.
Conclusion
There's only one version of the first Final Fight available on New 3DS, and compared to that Final Fight 2 offers an extra stage and three playable characters (as opposed to two) to choose from. As you walk through the stages bashing bad guys and breaking open crates for items and weapons it offers the same kind of enjoyable action, but it's a bit too similar with the new Mad Gear gang members fighting much the same as the old Mad Gear gang members. The big thing the game offered SNES owners disappointed (back in the day) by the ports of the first game was the two-player mode, but this is of course absent on New 3DS. This combined with the mostly disappointing boss fights makes Final Fight 2 an average (and arguably slightly disappointing) option for side-scrolling beat 'em up fans.
Comments 16
Meh.
A shame that the biggest fun of this game is removed from the 3Ds VC: the cooperative mode. Had a lot of fun playing this with friends, I even own the Japanese version without the silly censorship.
@samuelvictor Really feels like cheapening the whole package...
Haggar can pose while kicking a bad guy. What a badass.
Played final fight in the arcades so much. Didn't really play the sequel however if you like this, you'll definitely love streets of rage or streets of rage 2.
Snes port was ok but best version was released on the psp
@Shiryu There is literally no excuse. Streets of Rage 3D still has the multiplayer option plus full 3D support and multiple regions. And... it costs less than a SNES VC title.
How's that logic, Nintendo?
For what it's worth I enjoyed Final Fight 2 quite a lot more than Final Fight 3 - as a SNES game, it might even have been the best 2-player brawler on that system. As far as New 3DS goes, I'd prioritise Streets of Rage 2 over this, and probably SNES Final Fight as well, but at least Final Fight 2 does have the "feel" of the era.
I always had a bit of a soft spot for this game, although it's too much of a button masher on the hardest difficulty, it takes ages to whittle down enemy health bars! I always used to play it with a turbo controller but sadly there's no auto-fire option in Nintendo's VC offerings.
It's also a shame we don't get the choice of the uncensored Japanese version. The generic guys they inserted to replace the female enemies just makes the game feel a bit bland.
It's such a shame Capcom were too cheap to make Final Fight 1 with a bigger cartridge so they could include both Guy, Cody, the missing stage, 2-players and the short cut scenes between sections.
@rushiosan @samuelvictor Yes, Sega and it's Megadrive 3D Ages should be the benchmark. I always beleived SNES VC games to be bit pricey and despite loving the ability to have a portable SNES in my pocket, I can't justify some of these games without multiplayer. Oh silly you, Nintendo!
I don't think this is too bad a game, and it's better than the first on SNES....play them side by side and you'll see that the asides from the 2 player mode and extra stage and better presentation that's already been mentioned....the collision detection feels a lot more spot on and a lot less cheap in Final Fight 2. Granted, the arcade version of the first game is still best.
Turtles In Time was a much better option on SNES (and I like that more that Streets Of Rage 2 as well ) but obviously due to licensing issues that's probably never coming to VC
@Ikramali The best port of Final Fight is the Sega CD version.
While this game is better than the original just for having a two-player mode and all the content intact, the gameplay itself is kind of a let down. Most notably, the boss fights are all either lame or annoying, and there are some very cheap and frustrating stage hazards later on. "Final Fight 3" is the superior game in every way save for having a less attractive playable female character . Of course, even if it comes to New 3DS, the Wii VC version is still the better option due to the ability to play multiplayer.
No two player mode? Reminds me of Nintendo stupidly releasing Mario Kart DS on the Wii U without LAN.
Final Fight 2 is just Meh. FF3 is the better game, but the 1st game is the best out of the 3 IMO. The arcade version of course.
@samuelvictor no arguments on that. However, Hyperstone Heist is a good example of lack of effort on Konami's end, much like with Sunset Riders, which also was excellent on the SNES. The vast majority of things in Turtles in Time were possible on the Genesis. There are many misconceptions out there about Turtles 4. The first Shredder fight and tossing foot soldiers are not mode 7, though Neon Night Riders is(I prefer the arcade version of that stage anyway). Hyperstone has a few improvements too, such as animation fames(in some cases) and the run button. I think it's worth playing, not that you said otherwise.
I was just playing Turtles in Time yesterday(might go back for more today), and I agree that it's brilliant. It really is a shame that the licensing situation makes it unlikely for a digital release.
@samuelvictor Thumbs up for remembering the Punisher side scroller, that game was so brutal, Frank, alone or with Nick Fury back when he was still a privili...eh I mean whi.. caucasian? man.
I think it was on capcoms cps-1 boards I always played it on emulators as arcades were rare where I live but still blast of a game.
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