Final Fight for the SNES disappointed many, not once but twice. While the game sold well the public outcry could not be denied. As a mea culpa Capcom created Final Fight 2 exclusively for the SNES. It’s a bit strange that the game skipped an arcade release given the original’s popularity. But this home console exclusive could easily pass for an arcade release. While it restores the features missing from the original it does little else, falling behind its competitors in the process. A decent game but it could have been better.
Years have been passed since the Mad Gear’s defeat. However they have not gone quietly into the night as they have acquired new leadership. As an act of revenge they kidnap Guy’s fiancée Rena and master Genryusai. Cody and Guy are not available however new recruits Carlos and Rena Maki take their place. A bit curious that Guy didn’t show considering his future wife is missing but whatever.
The best way to describe Final Fight 2 is an apology for the botched home port of the original. The SNES was certainly capable of recreating the game and in many ways was close. But far too many edits and cut content let down legions of gamers. Final Fight 2 pretty much fixes all of those flaws. However the question is that enough?
All three heroes tread familiar territory. As the slow but strong big man Haggar plays exactly the same as in the original. Maki fits the fast but weak archetype and plays similarly to Guy. This makes sense as they study the same martial art. Carlos fills in for Cody with the same rapid punch speed. It would have been cool to see a few moves using his sword but outside of his special it remains a prop on his back.
The Mad Gear have expanded their ranks and gone global. The fisticuffs move beyond the streets of Metro City to various locations around Europe. With a new leader comes new members and the entire roster are comprised of new enemies outside of Andore and Rolento. Despite the new faces you’ll notice many of them share the same basic behavior as their predecessors which is disappointing. This isn’t a particularly long game and to see the true ending it must be finished on the highest setting. Honestly it isn’t that tough and it’s not as though the ending is worth it. Especially as it is a bit of a slog to go through it.
While the game is solid thanks to the addition of two-player coop and three different characters it is also boring. It’s nice that Capcom fixed the flaws of the original home port but they did little else. In essence Final Fight 2 might as well be an expansion pack to the first game as they are near identical. Both Maki and Carlos play the same as Guy and Cody. It kind of defeats the point of introducing new characters if they are the same as the old ones. Despite the global setting by the end of the first level you will have seen every enemy in the game. The game doesn’t a diverse cast of enemies so it is hugely disappointing to fight the same three or four guys at least twenty five times in every level.
Some of these flaws could be overlooked if combat were more interesting. But unfortunately the game still has the same limited move set. Back in 1989 it was revolutionary. But years later the genre had advanced. Many titles such as Denjin Makai and Streets of Rage 2 offered deep combat options that kept the games fresh from beginning to end. Utilizing the same punch combo and two throws gets old fast. It is ironic that Streets of Rage, the series inspired by Final Fight, would quickly surpass it in gameplay.
It’s a damn shame the gameplay isn’t more exciting because Final Fight 2 certainly looks nice. Although it skipped the arcade it could easily pass for an arcade game. These are some of the largest sprites in a side scrolling brawler of that generation and the animation is smooth. The globe hopping does wonders for the game’s visual variety as each country is visually distinct. As much as I like the gritty atmosphere of Metro City the series really needed to move beyond its streets. It was a wise choice as the game looks great.
In Closing
I wouldn’t classify Final Fight 2 as a bad game but highly unoriginal. Go into it expecting the exact same gameplay and nothing else and you won’t be disappointed. But as the sequel to a beloved arcade classic it definitely comes up short.
It’s not that Guy isn’t present DESPITE his fiancee and master being abducted. The whole point of the story is that they were abducted precisely BECAUSE he’s out of the country on a training sojourn and wasn’t around to protect them.
You must be a Final Fight savant if you think beating the game on the highest difficulty isn’t that tough lol. It took a couple evenings-worth of hours of heavy concentration and repeated failed attempts for me to do it, and even then I just barely squeaked by with hardly any health left on my last life and last continue.
Hope to see you cover Final Fight 3!
Whoops, I wish I could edit my comments. I just clicked to the next page of SNES reviews and saw you’ve already done Final Fight 3! Kinda weird that the site breaks up the F games on SNES into two pages.