Final Fight: Double Impact! (Xbox 360)
Riv , 2010/05/17 17:27

Publisher:	Capcom
Genre:	Beat 'Em Up/Action Platformer
Players:	1-2 Players
Rating	Teen
The Good:	Arcade perfect port-overs of Final Fight and Magic Sword, to the point if it were any more authentic your X-Box 360 would demand quarters.
The Bad:	No remixed widescreen support; I hate borders on my games, but I hate stretching them out to look like Jabba the Hut's face even more.
The Ugly:	A tie between either that fat fuck G. Oriber, or the fact there's an unlockable episode of the U.S. Street Fighter cartoon on this game. Things I'd rather forget...

I personally think I'm going to add a little jar next to my 360 and demand quarters from people who visit to continue allowing them to play this game. That's the ghetto way of "starting a savings account." --Riv

Final Fight - oh, how I remember you. No arcade game robbed me of more quarters than Capcom's revolutionary beat 'em up. For its time, Final Fight was without a doubt the best looking side-scrolling beater on the market. And with endless wave after wave of enemies, it felt almost impossible to beat, especially with only a dollar in change in your pocket. And with the recent release of Super Street Fighter IV it felt like perfect timing to bring another bit of nostalgia back with Final Fight Double Impact.

To sweeten the deal, not only does Capcom give you Final Fight, the arcade game everyone remembers, but also Magic Sword , the arcade game everyone forgot. But first let's take a look at Final FIght.

The story of Final Fight, for those of you who weren't gaming in the early '90s, is that a gang known as the Mad Gears kidnap the daughter of current mayor and former professional wrestler Mike Haggar. This pre-dates Jesse Ventura in office, by the way. Haggar, realizing there are a lot of bent cops in this city, and corruption at every turn takes the law into his own hands but brings some help in the form of Cody, Jessica's boyfriend, and Guy, Cody's friend and a trained Bushin Ninja. Fun ensues as you go through the streets of Metro City and kick the asses of every single person you come across.

The graphics and sound are pretty much perfect here, and there's even an arranged soundtrack, however, it's nowhere near the level of effectiveness as the remixed Final Fight themes in SSFIV so it seems more sensible to just turn it back to the old school style. Also for those looking for slight graphical tweaks there are smoothing options not unlike most console emulators available on the PC. The game itself is pretty easy, especially for veterans, however the true essence of the game is somewhat lost by the fact you have unlimited continues unlike the old days where you only had your lunch money to keep you going. I personally think I'm going to add a little jar next to my 360 and demand quarters from people who visit to continue allowing them to play this game. That's the ghetto way of "starting a savings account."

There's also a lack of censorship in this version meaning that Rolento's stage and female enemies are in fact present, features that were missing in several versions of this game, namely the Super Nintendo version which tried to push on us the violence (and apparently evil commandos) were wrong.

Oh My Car!

In an effort to add nostalgia the game is not presented in widescreen mode and has the original arcade unit's borders on the side, much like many X-Box Live Arcade games. However, I feel that this was a bit much; I always feel somewhat ripped off when you can't just take up the entire screen to your heart's content. Moreover, if they wanted real nostalgia the side panels should be faded and scratchy as they were on the majority of those machines located all over New York City.

Not to be outdone, Magic Sword included. What the hell is Magic Sword, you ask? It's a not as well-known (or well-circulated) Capcom side-platformer, with standard elements from plaformers of those days such as Castlevania, Wizards and Warriors and the like. You take your character through 50 floors to capture the Magic Sword and bring the bearer on the black orb to justice. I might be one of four people who remember the arcade version of this game, and it's actually pretty fun. Personally I would have opted for the more remembered and recognized Capcom Arcade game U.N. Squadron, but hey, Final FIght alone would have been worth the 800 Microsoft points.

Both games have a set number of internal achievements (in other words achievements that have nothing to do with the X-Box Console Achievements). Completing various challenges such as getting high scores on the games, not getting hit in certain levels, beating levels within a certain time and clearing it with specific characters nets you unlockable concept art, and even an episode of the highly appalling Street Fighter II U.S. Cartoon in which Final Fight's characters made an appearance. I could probably review that as well, but the Street Fighter II U.S. cartoon sucked all levels of ass, and I will probably save the entire series for complete and utter bashing at a later point in time.

All in all for 800 points you can't go wrong picking this title up if you're a gamer who loves going for the old school titles of the Arcade age - and it's definitely the kind of game you chill and get drunk with your old friends and co-up the shit out of.

-- Riv - jasonrivera@jasonrivera.com