As debates go, there have been none quite so totally kicked to death than this one. Two absolute titans of their genre who have stood toe to toe with each other over the course of a quarter of a century. Who actually won is a question that isn't so easily answered, but we'll certainly try!
Final Fight, when mentioned, is generally taken as the first game, whereas Streets of Rage is seen more as a collective series, so as this debate could span a time frame which would see Connor MacLeod grow a bit grey and creaky, it's best to stick to some brief points focusing on the more famous titles of each. Mainly, the Final Fight arcade game vs the first two Streets of Rage games. We will however comment on the other entries in the series later on.
Final Fight, when mentioned, is generally taken as the first game, whereas Streets of Rage is seen more as a collective series, so as this debate could span a time frame which would see Connor MacLeod grow a bit grey and creaky, it's best to stick to some brief points focusing on the more famous titles of each. Mainly, the Final Fight arcade game vs the first two Streets of Rage games. We will however comment on the other entries in the series later on.
Final Fight gave the world the combo system. Concept
Our first section looks at who did what first, and the first points without a doubt go to Final Fight.
Released a full two years before the first Streets of Rage game came along, it's various themes and concepts became ingrained in the beat 'em up world in a genre changing way that was seldom rivalled in the years after.
Before Capcom's game, there had only really been Double Dragon 1 & 2, Shadow Warriors, Renegade and the Irem games. Various clones popped up here and there, but nothing really of note, and most of those games featured separate punch and kick buttons. Final Fight was the first to almost completely redefine the formula, and introduced a specific one button mash attack combination along with the now famous yellow on red lifebar theme, plus a special move (also known as a panic move). All of which were absolute staples of future scrollers in the 90's and beyond. Other features, like interchangeable weapons and food items were introduced, and while breakable objects were first shown in Shadow Warriors, the feature of the player being able to smash them with their bare hands (instead of having to lob a bad guy into them) was a new one.
It's common knowledge that the first Streets of Rage game was made in answer to the SNES port of Final Fight (and to address the rather noticeable lack of beat 'em ups on the Megadrive at that time).
The attack combo system, the bad guys character design, and even some of the levels were blatantly based on Capsom's brawler. Even the blonde haired, white t-shit, blue jeans wearing design of Axel was obviously based on Cody. This went one stage further with Streets Of Rage 2 where they introduced a burly wrestler as a mirror for Haggar, and even included the yellow/red lifebars with matching baddie info beneath, which again was first seen in Final Fight.
Our first section looks at who did what first, and the first points without a doubt go to Final Fight.
Released a full two years before the first Streets of Rage game came along, it's various themes and concepts became ingrained in the beat 'em up world in a genre changing way that was seldom rivalled in the years after.
Before Capcom's game, there had only really been Double Dragon 1 & 2, Shadow Warriors, Renegade and the Irem games. Various clones popped up here and there, but nothing really of note, and most of those games featured separate punch and kick buttons. Final Fight was the first to almost completely redefine the formula, and introduced a specific one button mash attack combination along with the now famous yellow on red lifebar theme, plus a special move (also known as a panic move). All of which were absolute staples of future scrollers in the 90's and beyond. Other features, like interchangeable weapons and food items were introduced, and while breakable objects were first shown in Shadow Warriors, the feature of the player being able to smash them with their bare hands (instead of having to lob a bad guy into them) was a new one.
It's common knowledge that the first Streets of Rage game was made in answer to the SNES port of Final Fight (and to address the rather noticeable lack of beat 'em ups on the Megadrive at that time).
The attack combo system, the bad guys character design, and even some of the levels were blatantly based on Capsom's brawler. Even the blonde haired, white t-shit, blue jeans wearing design of Axel was obviously based on Cody. This went one stage further with Streets Of Rage 2 where they introduced a burly wrestler as a mirror for Haggar, and even included the yellow/red lifebars with matching baddie info beneath, which again was first seen in Final Fight.
Somehow I don't think this was a coincidence.
That's not a boss, it's you! Graphics this size were unheard of before Final Fight. Looks
Now here's a section which is hard to get a grip on. Both are fantastic looking, but each undoubtedly has it's own unique feel.
Final Fight again was the first of it's kind to really push the boundaries and have MASSIVE sprites on screen. It was one of the arcade game's most talked about features, and so it'd be mad not to give points for it here.
The game itself goes with a much more gritty looking environment, and as such Metro city is filthy and grimy with a really seedy feel. Even the nicer parts of the city look a bit dowdy, with drunks at the bar, and people watching fights in the background. It's a wonderfully created look that serves the game well in bringing a certain amount of harsh and gritty realism to the proceedings.
Streets of Rage has a different look, but it's one that is equally impressive. Everything in 'The City' has a much cleaner and more cartoon like look to it, feeling very much like an upmarket place, and the game absolutely excels at colour. The first level of the first game alone, with its animated neon everywhere, is just amazing. This is mimicked in the second game too for its first level, and the beautiful detail is stunning.
There is a difference in sprite detail in the games though. Final Fight (arcade and SNES) obviously wins over the first Streets of Rage game, which had smaller sprites and more limited animation. However, Streets Of Rage 2 thundered on with some very mighty graphics indeed, which saw the sprite size and animation frame count balloon.
It's hard to say who wins this bout. It depends on what kind of decor you prefer when you're mashing someone's head in with your foot, so you pays your money and takes your choice.
Now here's a section which is hard to get a grip on. Both are fantastic looking, but each undoubtedly has it's own unique feel.
Final Fight again was the first of it's kind to really push the boundaries and have MASSIVE sprites on screen. It was one of the arcade game's most talked about features, and so it'd be mad not to give points for it here.
The game itself goes with a much more gritty looking environment, and as such Metro city is filthy and grimy with a really seedy feel. Even the nicer parts of the city look a bit dowdy, with drunks at the bar, and people watching fights in the background. It's a wonderfully created look that serves the game well in bringing a certain amount of harsh and gritty realism to the proceedings.
Streets of Rage has a different look, but it's one that is equally impressive. Everything in 'The City' has a much cleaner and more cartoon like look to it, feeling very much like an upmarket place, and the game absolutely excels at colour. The first level of the first game alone, with its animated neon everywhere, is just amazing. This is mimicked in the second game too for its first level, and the beautiful detail is stunning.
There is a difference in sprite detail in the games though. Final Fight (arcade and SNES) obviously wins over the first Streets of Rage game, which had smaller sprites and more limited animation. However, Streets Of Rage 2 thundered on with some very mighty graphics indeed, which saw the sprite size and animation frame count balloon.
It's hard to say who wins this bout. It depends on what kind of decor you prefer when you're mashing someone's head in with your foot, so you pays your money and takes your choice.
Stunning use of colour and vibrancy!
The master himself Koshiro-San. Sound
Now this section may seem irrelevant, but it's not so clear cut as people may think.
Streets of Rage has one of the most famous soundtracks in game history, and it's true! The music is brilliant, emotive, inventive, and chock full of amazing melodies. The only thing better was the Soundtrack to Streets Of Rage 2 which was a masterpiece. It's problem is that it's SO rooted in the dance and house genre that it can be offputting to some who just aren't into that style of music. I actually do know people who don't like the soundtrack becasue it's "too dancey" as they put it. and although I adore the music, I can also see their point.
Yuzo Koshiro wasn't shy about blatantly ripping off certain European EDM songs either (seriously, "Under Logic" from Streets of Rage 2 is a pretty shameless lift from "Move any Mountain" by The Shaman).
Final Fight's music is certainly one of its weaker points, in that, quite honestly, out of the whole game there's only really about three or so tunes which are any good, and a lot of the time the songs are lazily re-used for later levels. This is surprising as there is enough actual music in the game for each stage, but it's distributed really weirdly. For example Westside starts with by re-using the slums theme before changing to original music at the cage fight, and Bay Area has THREE separate pieces of music for the whole stage - one of which just lasts the short length of the toilet section (Eeee!). The standout tracks are certainly The Slums theme, the aforementioned Westside Part 2 (Cage fight), and the absolutely brilliant and melodic Bay Area theme Part 1. Aside from perhaps the Rolento elevator theme, the rest of the songs are actually fairly bland, and some are overly happy considering the tone of the game. However, to be fair, in the arcade environment they served more as a 'feel' rather than a listenable experience.
Sound effects wise, Final Fight absolutely kills, and has some truly amazing high quality samples, with possibly some of the best sounds effects EVER in a game of this sort. Every punch and kick sounds thick and painful, with special note going to the highly distinctive voice samples. Who could ever forget Guy's amazing "AY-YA!" scream, or Haggar as he launched into a growling spinning lariat.
TRIVIA - Cody's special move voice sample was taken from the Bruce Lee film "Fist Of Fury". You can hear it when the Karate master throws Lee over his head in the first confrontation in the Japanese martial arts school. Similarly, the scream that Belger makes when he falls from the building seems to be taken from a film too. If you listen to the sample on it's own you can hear slight harp like music at the tail end.
Streets Of Rage 1 doesn't fare quite as well, with the main punch sound effect sounding like a cardboard box being kicked. Others are just too 'synthy', and are interspersed with some rather distorted sounding voices (the Megadrive's sampling capabilities were always lo-fi and very rough). It's all passable stuff, but these days it's incredibly unspectacular and makeshift.
Streets Of Rage 2 improved apon this with some beautiful crunchy sampled sound effects which hit the spot so well it's hard to remember that this is a console game. Even the voices had some clever effects added to the to mask the dreadful sample quality.
All games undoubtedly have their strengths and weaknesses, but I think it's safe to say that Streets Of Rage wins this bout in an overall contest, with Final Fight being superior with its Foley design.
Now this section may seem irrelevant, but it's not so clear cut as people may think.
Streets of Rage has one of the most famous soundtracks in game history, and it's true! The music is brilliant, emotive, inventive, and chock full of amazing melodies. The only thing better was the Soundtrack to Streets Of Rage 2 which was a masterpiece. It's problem is that it's SO rooted in the dance and house genre that it can be offputting to some who just aren't into that style of music. I actually do know people who don't like the soundtrack becasue it's "too dancey" as they put it. and although I adore the music, I can also see their point.
Yuzo Koshiro wasn't shy about blatantly ripping off certain European EDM songs either (seriously, "Under Logic" from Streets of Rage 2 is a pretty shameless lift from "Move any Mountain" by The Shaman).
Final Fight's music is certainly one of its weaker points, in that, quite honestly, out of the whole game there's only really about three or so tunes which are any good, and a lot of the time the songs are lazily re-used for later levels. This is surprising as there is enough actual music in the game for each stage, but it's distributed really weirdly. For example Westside starts with by re-using the slums theme before changing to original music at the cage fight, and Bay Area has THREE separate pieces of music for the whole stage - one of which just lasts the short length of the toilet section (Eeee!). The standout tracks are certainly The Slums theme, the aforementioned Westside Part 2 (Cage fight), and the absolutely brilliant and melodic Bay Area theme Part 1. Aside from perhaps the Rolento elevator theme, the rest of the songs are actually fairly bland, and some are overly happy considering the tone of the game. However, to be fair, in the arcade environment they served more as a 'feel' rather than a listenable experience.
Sound effects wise, Final Fight absolutely kills, and has some truly amazing high quality samples, with possibly some of the best sounds effects EVER in a game of this sort. Every punch and kick sounds thick and painful, with special note going to the highly distinctive voice samples. Who could ever forget Guy's amazing "AY-YA!" scream, or Haggar as he launched into a growling spinning lariat.
TRIVIA - Cody's special move voice sample was taken from the Bruce Lee film "Fist Of Fury". You can hear it when the Karate master throws Lee over his head in the first confrontation in the Japanese martial arts school. Similarly, the scream that Belger makes when he falls from the building seems to be taken from a film too. If you listen to the sample on it's own you can hear slight harp like music at the tail end.
Streets Of Rage 1 doesn't fare quite as well, with the main punch sound effect sounding like a cardboard box being kicked. Others are just too 'synthy', and are interspersed with some rather distorted sounding voices (the Megadrive's sampling capabilities were always lo-fi and very rough). It's all passable stuff, but these days it's incredibly unspectacular and makeshift.
Streets Of Rage 2 improved apon this with some beautiful crunchy sampled sound effects which hit the spot so well it's hard to remember that this is a console game. Even the voices had some clever effects added to the to mask the dreadful sample quality.
All games undoubtedly have their strengths and weaknesses, but I think it's safe to say that Streets Of Rage wins this bout in an overall contest, with Final Fight being superior with its Foley design.
Streets Of Rage 2 introduced vertical scrolling to the genre. Play
Now for the tricky part. Both games have incredibly similar play mechanics due to pretty much being the same game at heart, but there are some not so subtle differences.
The main complaint with Streets Of Rage 1 was that all the player characters were pretty much the same. They were the same size, they had pretty much the same moves, and there was just no real variety between the characters. It also suffered from a lack of any real re-usable panic move, featuring instead a 'reverse' move (possibly a throwback to Golden Axe), and an annoying bug of not being able to hit enemies if they were off the edge of the screen, although they could hit you. The game somewhat makes up for this by adding in some very smart counters to things like being thrown so that the player can land on their feet (a MAJOR advantage over Final Fight), and much more co-op interaction between the character in two player mode.
Final Fight was one of the very first ever games, along with Golden Axe, to offer true player character variety, as up until then it had just been red/blue clones fighting with each other, a la Double Dragon and Shadow Warriors.
Of course, Final Fight isn't without it's problems. Haggar is fine, he is unique in look and style, but there honestly isn't 'that' much difference between Cody and Guy, and it's a bit of a bummer. Both have spinny kicks as special moves, both do a knee and a shoulder throw as grab moves, and aside from Cody's stabby-knifey talent, both handle weapons pretty much the same.
It's a bit of a waste as there are three weapons which could have been tailor made for each character. I'd love to have seen Guy do something a little more flashy with a sword given his Ninjutsu background, but he just swings it the same as any old goon. Cody could have had a few more dirty 'street brawler' or jujitsu style moves added to add further differentiation, and just make Guy the proper martial artist. A little bit of wasted potential there for sure.
Streets Of Rage 2 has a real advantage in that there are four characters to choose from, and each are MEGA different to one another. Max with his lumbering speed, but immense power, Axel and Blaze as the middle (wo)men and that little shit Skate who should have been shot at birth (terrible character in my opinion). The level design of Streets Of Rage 2 offers vertical scrolling sections (although this is not new, as the feature was first seen in Sega's own Dyamite Dux), and while it doesn't change the play much, it does make it feel like there's more going on than usual.
Pacing is another difference between the franchises. Both Streets Of Rage 1 and 2 play at quite a controlled and slow pace, but this is offset by some more stylish moves. This helps to appreciate the coolness of it all when you slam someone into the ground in a rather snazzy fashion. Final Fight however, has an advantage in that it's speed is just out and out mental! The game is so frantic, and there are so many enemies just piling on to you at any given moment that you just can't help but feel a surge of concentrated adrenaline. This is doubled in two player mode, and it's just one of the biggest rushes you will ever experience in any game of this genre.
Now for the tricky part. Both games have incredibly similar play mechanics due to pretty much being the same game at heart, but there are some not so subtle differences.
The main complaint with Streets Of Rage 1 was that all the player characters were pretty much the same. They were the same size, they had pretty much the same moves, and there was just no real variety between the characters. It also suffered from a lack of any real re-usable panic move, featuring instead a 'reverse' move (possibly a throwback to Golden Axe), and an annoying bug of not being able to hit enemies if they were off the edge of the screen, although they could hit you. The game somewhat makes up for this by adding in some very smart counters to things like being thrown so that the player can land on their feet (a MAJOR advantage over Final Fight), and much more co-op interaction between the character in two player mode.
Final Fight was one of the very first ever games, along with Golden Axe, to offer true player character variety, as up until then it had just been red/blue clones fighting with each other, a la Double Dragon and Shadow Warriors.
Of course, Final Fight isn't without it's problems. Haggar is fine, he is unique in look and style, but there honestly isn't 'that' much difference between Cody and Guy, and it's a bit of a bummer. Both have spinny kicks as special moves, both do a knee and a shoulder throw as grab moves, and aside from Cody's stabby-knifey talent, both handle weapons pretty much the same.
It's a bit of a waste as there are three weapons which could have been tailor made for each character. I'd love to have seen Guy do something a little more flashy with a sword given his Ninjutsu background, but he just swings it the same as any old goon. Cody could have had a few more dirty 'street brawler' or jujitsu style moves added to add further differentiation, and just make Guy the proper martial artist. A little bit of wasted potential there for sure.
Streets Of Rage 2 has a real advantage in that there are four characters to choose from, and each are MEGA different to one another. Max with his lumbering speed, but immense power, Axel and Blaze as the middle (wo)men and that little shit Skate who should have been shot at birth (terrible character in my opinion). The level design of Streets Of Rage 2 offers vertical scrolling sections (although this is not new, as the feature was first seen in Sega's own Dyamite Dux), and while it doesn't change the play much, it does make it feel like there's more going on than usual.
Pacing is another difference between the franchises. Both Streets Of Rage 1 and 2 play at quite a controlled and slow pace, but this is offset by some more stylish moves. This helps to appreciate the coolness of it all when you slam someone into the ground in a rather snazzy fashion. Final Fight however, has an advantage in that it's speed is just out and out mental! The game is so frantic, and there are so many enemies just piling on to you at any given moment that you just can't help but feel a surge of concentrated adrenaline. This is doubled in two player mode, and it's just one of the biggest rushes you will ever experience in any game of this genre.
Big ass everything! Legacy
As we all know, both Streets of Rage AND Final Fight are trilogies, and although the Streets Of Rage games did not received any ports to different systems (bar one unofficial title), here we ask what the rest of the sequels and various conversions were like.
Streets Of Rage 2 has been talked about and I think everyone knows the score here.
Sega took their original game and improved everything - and I mean EVERYTHING!!!! The graphics, the sound, the gameplay, the moves the tone, everything was shifted up a gear, and so was born one of the greatest games for the Megadrive, or indeed any system! My only complaint is that Adam was replaced by Skate, who is in my opinion, a terrible character. His age just breaks the suspension of disbelief, and I'd perhaps rather have seen another female hero to compliment Blaze. There could have been a touch more blood with the swords and knives too, but that's small gripes.
Interestingly enough, the phenomenal sequel was not developed by Sega and Team Shinobi who did the first game, but by Yuzo Koshiro himself and his company Ancient. His sister Ayano Koshiro was responsible for the art and character design in the game, with Yuzo handing all the audio work, and everyone designing the gameplay with the help of outsourced programmer (a lot of whom worked on the first game).
As we all know, both Streets of Rage AND Final Fight are trilogies, and although the Streets Of Rage games did not received any ports to different systems (bar one unofficial title), here we ask what the rest of the sequels and various conversions were like.
Streets Of Rage 2 has been talked about and I think everyone knows the score here.
Sega took their original game and improved everything - and I mean EVERYTHING!!!! The graphics, the sound, the gameplay, the moves the tone, everything was shifted up a gear, and so was born one of the greatest games for the Megadrive, or indeed any system! My only complaint is that Adam was replaced by Skate, who is in my opinion, a terrible character. His age just breaks the suspension of disbelief, and I'd perhaps rather have seen another female hero to compliment Blaze. There could have been a touch more blood with the swords and knives too, but that's small gripes.
Interestingly enough, the phenomenal sequel was not developed by Sega and Team Shinobi who did the first game, but by Yuzo Koshiro himself and his company Ancient. His sister Ayano Koshiro was responsible for the art and character design in the game, with Yuzo handing all the audio work, and everyone designing the gameplay with the help of outsourced programmer (a lot of whom worked on the first game).
Final Fight 2 had beautiful arcade quality graphics and solid gameplay but offered nothing new. Final Fight 2 was released as a SNES exclusive in 1993 to a lukewarm and rather bewildered reception. The game was a solid scrolling beat 'em up which looked absolutely gorgeous, but apart from the obvious fact of not being very "Final" it strangely offered absolutely nothing new to the gameplay whatsoever. The development team had a full year to study the competition - which was Streets Of Rage 2 - and improve vastly on the play mechanics. However, what we ended up with was rather a by the numbers and very repetitive game, and one which completely wasted the SNES's six-button joypad by offering no new moves. It even had the cheek to rip off the vertical scrolling sections of its rival.
Two new characters make an appearance - one of whom gratefully breaks the 'male only' trend of the first game. Maki is a great addition, and her history with the popular Guy character only makes her even more interesting. Carlos however is rather a bland and forgettable chap who appears to be somewhat of an amalgamation of Guy and Cody, but with none of the personality. The price of these newcomers is that Cody and Guy themselves are both absent, which is a major downer for fans of the original.
The music was a blend of some overly happy, inappropriate, and unmemorable tunes, mixed with some decent tracks later in the game, and the sound effects were a collection of splatty thwacks lashed with that horrible SNES delay/echo. Aside from the lack of anything new, Final Fight 2's biggest flaw was taking the action out the grimy streets of Metro city and into an international setting (most likely to capitalise on the Street Fighter II craze which was absolutely rampant at that time). This shift from sleazy urban wastelands into posh French street cafes, Italian waterfronts, and Dutch countrysides completely changed the feel of the action, and not for the better either. Make no mistake, though, the game is solid and the graphics are sumptuous, but there is nothing original here whatsoever.
Two new characters make an appearance - one of whom gratefully breaks the 'male only' trend of the first game. Maki is a great addition, and her history with the popular Guy character only makes her even more interesting. Carlos however is rather a bland and forgettable chap who appears to be somewhat of an amalgamation of Guy and Cody, but with none of the personality. The price of these newcomers is that Cody and Guy themselves are both absent, which is a major downer for fans of the original.
The music was a blend of some overly happy, inappropriate, and unmemorable tunes, mixed with some decent tracks later in the game, and the sound effects were a collection of splatty thwacks lashed with that horrible SNES delay/echo. Aside from the lack of anything new, Final Fight 2's biggest flaw was taking the action out the grimy streets of Metro city and into an international setting (most likely to capitalise on the Street Fighter II craze which was absolutely rampant at that time). This shift from sleazy urban wastelands into posh French street cafes, Italian waterfronts, and Dutch countrysides completely changed the feel of the action, and not for the better either. Make no mistake, though, the game is solid and the graphics are sumptuous, but there is nothing original here whatsoever.
Not much new here and a bit rough around the edges. Streets of Rage 3 is a bit of an opinion splitter, and in my opinion, is the weakest in the trilogy. The game feels more like Streets Of Rage 2.5, or some sort of fan mod with a few new moves thrown in.
It was a step down in the cosmetics department, with grubbier graphics, and re-used sprites from the second game, along with some very divisive sound.
Remember that issue I pointed out with the Streets of Rage soundtracks before? Well times it by a million and you have the music to Streets Of Rage 3. You will either see this as an incredibly innovative work of pure sonic art, or you'll find it one of the most annoying pieces of aural bullshit you're likely to hear in your life.
Yuzo Koshiro's name maybe be on the credits, but in all honesty, this score sounds like it's 90% Motohiro Kawashima's work, Kawashima provided the more hardcore Techno songs of the second game such as "Expander".
The soundtrack for Streets of Rage 3 went full on Spaz techno, and something that extreme was bound to ruffle a few feathers, as well as gain some hardcore fans. Pretty much gone are all the beautiful melodies that were entwined in the previous game's work, and the score is a much more raw and sinister affair this time round. The sound effects are weaker this time, with less "crunch" and more "slap", and overall not quite as impactful as the second game. Plus, very often they don't even fire when you hit a bad guy too due to some sample priorities overlapping. Not a bad game by any means, and it's faster then the previous entries, but it feels more like a fan made expansion pack rather than a true sequel. Streets of Rage 2 was an astronomical leap forward from the first game in all areas, but Streets of Rage 3 barely feels like a drunken shuffle, and one which often seems like it takes a few steps back.
It was a step down in the cosmetics department, with grubbier graphics, and re-used sprites from the second game, along with some very divisive sound.
Remember that issue I pointed out with the Streets of Rage soundtracks before? Well times it by a million and you have the music to Streets Of Rage 3. You will either see this as an incredibly innovative work of pure sonic art, or you'll find it one of the most annoying pieces of aural bullshit you're likely to hear in your life.
Yuzo Koshiro's name maybe be on the credits, but in all honesty, this score sounds like it's 90% Motohiro Kawashima's work, Kawashima provided the more hardcore Techno songs of the second game such as "Expander".
The soundtrack for Streets of Rage 3 went full on Spaz techno, and something that extreme was bound to ruffle a few feathers, as well as gain some hardcore fans. Pretty much gone are all the beautiful melodies that were entwined in the previous game's work, and the score is a much more raw and sinister affair this time round. The sound effects are weaker this time, with less "crunch" and more "slap", and overall not quite as impactful as the second game. Plus, very often they don't even fire when you hit a bad guy too due to some sample priorities overlapping. Not a bad game by any means, and it's faster then the previous entries, but it feels more like a fan made expansion pack rather than a true sequel. Streets of Rage 2 was an astronomical leap forward from the first game in all areas, but Streets of Rage 3 barely feels like a drunken shuffle, and one which often seems like it takes a few steps back.
Not quite living up to the legacy! Final Fight 3 was a sad case of being too late to the game. It was an improvement over the second entry in terms of new moves, and Guy made a welcome return to the series, but by 1995, one-on-one fighting games were all the rage, and the Playstation was about to change the face of gaming forever. With that in mind, a poxy scroller on a five year old console, which was already saturated with similar games, just wasn't going to make any real waves.
It was a decent enough game, although seeing what looked like a badly animated and asthmatic Haggar walk like he'd shat himself while sporting a mullet pony tail, was a little much to take for us hardcore fans. The game also felt more like a second rate Jaleco brawler rather than a super finely tuned Capcom classic. This was most likely due to the fact that some six years on, it was a safe bet that none of the original team who made the Final Fight arcade game were involved in this sequel.
A grimy looking but highly accurate port! Final Fight CD was released in 1993, and almost singlehandedly saved the Mega-CD from total failure. The game is more or less the arcade machine on the Megadrive, which is achieved by the CD-ROM format basically having what is pretty much unlimited storage memory. There are some differences though. Sega handled the conversion themselves with no input from Capcom, and whether this would have made any difference or not is unknown, but there are definitely some bad points here.
To start with, the graphics are quite rough. The colour palette is dreadfully drab, with some hideous dithering going on which makes everything look jagged and grubby. There is also some animation lag when a player swings a weapon or performs a grab move on a bad guy, and it just looks a bit sloppy and not very tight. The jump height in some of the moves is a bit less too, although it doesn't affect the gameplay any. Apart from that, it's pretty much a carbon copy of the coin-op original, with the added bonus of some awesome CD quality renditions of the music, and a few extra time based stages. Due to the developers seemingly trying to fill all that masses of memory on the disc, the game is also home to the world's worst voice acting EVER! The bad thing is that there is no option to switch it off, and just have the original text based intro and ending.
To start with, the graphics are quite rough. The colour palette is dreadfully drab, with some hideous dithering going on which makes everything look jagged and grubby. There is also some animation lag when a player swings a weapon or performs a grab move on a bad guy, and it just looks a bit sloppy and not very tight. The jump height in some of the moves is a bit less too, although it doesn't affect the gameplay any. Apart from that, it's pretty much a carbon copy of the coin-op original, with the added bonus of some awesome CD quality renditions of the music, and a few extra time based stages. Due to the developers seemingly trying to fill all that masses of memory on the disc, the game is also home to the world's worst voice acting EVER! The bad thing is that there is no option to switch it off, and just have the original text based intro and ending.
The number 1 port of Final Fight. Practically perfect in every way! The Sharpe X68000 is the forgotten gem of the Final Fight conversions. It is without a doubt the most accurate conversion of the game ever made, with the only differences being that the colours on the time numbers are blue instead of purple, the instrument choice in the music is slightly different and there are one or two less baddies on screen. Apart from those three things, it is an almost perfect copy of the arcade machine. Given that Capcom used the X68000 for development purposes due to it's hardware similarity to the CPS-1 board, it isn't surprising.
A great port for 1990! It would be folly not to mention the SNES port of Final Fight in this comparison. The game was the very first home version of Final Fight ever made, and it has received equal amounts of acclaim, as well as criticism.
The game was highly praised at the time for accurately duplicating the arcade machine's graphics and play mechanics to a level unseen before on a home system. It also scored very well in magazines of the time for both it's Japanese and Western releases. The game was also heavily lambasted for the lack of a two player mode, plus the omission of the Guy character and the Industrial area level.
This was simply due to limitations of the time though, as the game was one of the launch titles for the Japanese Super Famicom, which was the first ever version of the console which would become the Super Nintendo in the west. Due to this, third party developers like Capcom would not have been familiar with what was at the time, brand new hardware, and wouldn't know all the processing and RAM saving tricks and techniques to include a two player mode.
Some blame must line with Nintendo itself for cheaping out and loading the SNES with a woefully slow CPU in the Ricoh 5A22, which ran at a pitiful 3.58Mh. When compared to the Megadrive's Motorolla 68000 CPU, which clocked in at over twice that speed at 7.60Mhz, it's easy to see why the SNES struggled with all these large sprites on screen, and why the port of Final Fight was limited to just three baddies on screen at any one time. Due to being a relatively lesser known CPU, the assembler programming language for the Ricoh 5A22 wouldn't have been quite as well known as the very popular 68000, and that would have been even more time spent by the developers trying to work stuff out.
Had Nintendo not been so stingy, and loaded the SNES with a 68000, or even a faster 68010 or 68020 CPU, PLUS all those custom chips, then it could have easily been a near arcade perfect port with tons of baddies on screen, a two player mode, and no slowdown.
The other omissions were due to the fact that, in 1990, the largest storage memory size for a Super Famicom cartridge was 8 Megabits (1 Megabyte). As such, there was simply no room for absolutely everything, especially as there were no compression routines for the graphics. There are indications that it was perhaps a bit of a rush job, and it's not really a game you would bother with these days what with MAME being freely available.
However, the fact that it was released just a year after the arcade game came out while still managing to retain most of the original's popular features deserves a good bit of respect.
The game was highly praised at the time for accurately duplicating the arcade machine's graphics and play mechanics to a level unseen before on a home system. It also scored very well in magazines of the time for both it's Japanese and Western releases. The game was also heavily lambasted for the lack of a two player mode, plus the omission of the Guy character and the Industrial area level.
This was simply due to limitations of the time though, as the game was one of the launch titles for the Japanese Super Famicom, which was the first ever version of the console which would become the Super Nintendo in the west. Due to this, third party developers like Capcom would not have been familiar with what was at the time, brand new hardware, and wouldn't know all the processing and RAM saving tricks and techniques to include a two player mode.
Some blame must line with Nintendo itself for cheaping out and loading the SNES with a woefully slow CPU in the Ricoh 5A22, which ran at a pitiful 3.58Mh. When compared to the Megadrive's Motorolla 68000 CPU, which clocked in at over twice that speed at 7.60Mhz, it's easy to see why the SNES struggled with all these large sprites on screen, and why the port of Final Fight was limited to just three baddies on screen at any one time. Due to being a relatively lesser known CPU, the assembler programming language for the Ricoh 5A22 wouldn't have been quite as well known as the very popular 68000, and that would have been even more time spent by the developers trying to work stuff out.
Had Nintendo not been so stingy, and loaded the SNES with a 68000, or even a faster 68010 or 68020 CPU, PLUS all those custom chips, then it could have easily been a near arcade perfect port with tons of baddies on screen, a two player mode, and no slowdown.
The other omissions were due to the fact that, in 1990, the largest storage memory size for a Super Famicom cartridge was 8 Megabits (1 Megabyte). As such, there was simply no room for absolutely everything, especially as there were no compression routines for the graphics. There are indications that it was perhaps a bit of a rush job, and it's not really a game you would bother with these days what with MAME being freely available.
However, the fact that it was released just a year after the arcade game came out while still managing to retain most of the original's popular features deserves a good bit of respect.
Yep, piss all difference here! Two years after the original game, Capcom released Final Fight Guy on the Super Famicom.
The game reinstates the Guy character, but at the expense of Cody, and this updated version of the game angered fans for the lack of any real improvements.
By 1992, a two player mode could have been easily implemented, and the Industrial area level could have been swapped for the Bay Area creating a truly complimentary game. Final Fight Guy was seen by fans as a cash grab by Capcom, as they released the game at full retail price, but deliberately did not make one version of the game better than the other in order to encourage people to buy both.
The game reinstates the Guy character, but at the expense of Cody, and this updated version of the game angered fans for the lack of any real improvements.
By 1992, a two player mode could have been easily implemented, and the Industrial area level could have been swapped for the Bay Area creating a truly complimentary game. Final Fight Guy was seen by fans as a cash grab by Capcom, as they released the game at full retail price, but deliberately did not make one version of the game better than the other in order to encourage people to buy both.
Some nice graphics and smooth mechanics ruined by only having about 3 plodding moves for each character. (Amiga 500) U.S. Gold bought the rights to Final Fight and were given the task of bringing the game to the home computer market in 1991. Generally considered a disaster, the 8-Bit games were little more than cashing in on a name. Final Fight by design was never intended for hardware of those limited sorts, and a decent port on any of the 8-Bit machines would have been impossible from the outset.
The 16-Bit versions on the Amiga and Atari ST fared a little better, and featured some excellently accurate graphical rips and some smooth foundations. However, this was completely ruined by a lack of music, and stripping the main characters of pretty much all of their moves, thus creating sterile and hugely monotonous play mechanics.
U.S. Gold were notorious for producing poor quality ports on the home systems due to them being famously stingy with resources to their developers. They often hired just one person to handle all of a port from scratch, with only a bare arcade PCB as a reference, and a few months to complete the task in.
The 16-Bit versions on the Amiga and Atari ST fared a little better, and featured some excellently accurate graphical rips and some smooth foundations. However, this was completely ruined by a lack of music, and stripping the main characters of pretty much all of their moves, thus creating sterile and hugely monotonous play mechanics.
U.S. Gold were notorious for producing poor quality ports on the home systems due to them being famously stingy with resources to their developers. They often hired just one person to handle all of a port from scratch, with only a bare arcade PCB as a reference, and a few months to complete the task in.
Familiar places can be visited in the Streets of Rage remake! The Streets Of Rage Remake was a 100% freelance and independent PC only project released in 2011 by Bomber games. The game is a fully re-done imagining of all three Streets Of Rage games in one, where you can play through any of the games storylines and locations with any of the three version's characters. A plethora of added features, new side missions, and path splits have been included, as well as some modern style particle effects and features - all of which are customisable.
The game was written from scratch over a staggering EIGHT year period, and featured some newly drawn graphics, such as a Streets Of Rage 2 version of Adam, and larger versions of the original Streets Of Rage 1 Axel and Blaze.
The game has a few small flaws in that the attack combos will occasionally go through their sequence whether you hit an enemy or not, and the enemy stun time is reduced making grabs a bit harder.
The remixed music, while good, also annoyingly changes the structures of the iconic songs with no option to select the original. If you are a saddo freak like me who likes to time doing cool things to the tunes, then it's more than a little shit. Aside from that, it is without a doubt an incredible achievement. Sega came under heavy fire from fans when they issued a cease and desist to Bomber Games. Many felt that both companies could have worked together to bring the game further afield to fans in an official status, but were being unreasonably brutal to what was a lovingly made tribute. The game is nevertheless, still widely available on the internet, and is well worth checking out.
The game was written from scratch over a staggering EIGHT year period, and featured some newly drawn graphics, such as a Streets Of Rage 2 version of Adam, and larger versions of the original Streets Of Rage 1 Axel and Blaze.
The game has a few small flaws in that the attack combos will occasionally go through their sequence whether you hit an enemy or not, and the enemy stun time is reduced making grabs a bit harder.
The remixed music, while good, also annoyingly changes the structures of the iconic songs with no option to select the original. If you are a saddo freak like me who likes to time doing cool things to the tunes, then it's more than a little shit. Aside from that, it is without a doubt an incredible achievement. Sega came under heavy fire from fans when they issued a cease and desist to Bomber Games. Many felt that both companies could have worked together to bring the game further afield to fans in an official status, but were being unreasonably brutal to what was a lovingly made tribute. The game is nevertheless, still widely available on the internet, and is well worth checking out.
Conclusion
So who wins the battle then?
Actually, no-one does, becasue at the end of the day it's all subjective. We all each have our tastes and preferences based on totally different things, and to say one is better than the other is a false absolute. All it takes is for one person to disagree to make the argument crumble. Popularity is not a sign of quality either, so at the end of the day you just go with what you like.
All I can do is give my humble opinion on the subject, and for me, I actually consider the Final Fight arcade game to be the greatest scrolling beat 'em up ever made. This is simply due to the fact that originality plays a big part for me, and Final Fight not only came first, but it, invented most of the features seen in pretty much all future games of this sort - including the Streets Of Rage series.
Innovation is always much harder than imitation, and it's easy to copy something then add new things when you have a point of reference. Sega not only had that reference, but it took them two games and three years to really come up to par. Again, this is of course just my own opinion and is not in any way some official declaration of a "winner".
So there we have it. At the end of the day, both franchises are here to stay, and everyone's opinion is valid.
Remember, there is no "best". There is only "favourite".
So who wins the battle then?
Actually, no-one does, becasue at the end of the day it's all subjective. We all each have our tastes and preferences based on totally different things, and to say one is better than the other is a false absolute. All it takes is for one person to disagree to make the argument crumble. Popularity is not a sign of quality either, so at the end of the day you just go with what you like.
All I can do is give my humble opinion on the subject, and for me, I actually consider the Final Fight arcade game to be the greatest scrolling beat 'em up ever made. This is simply due to the fact that originality plays a big part for me, and Final Fight not only came first, but it, invented most of the features seen in pretty much all future games of this sort - including the Streets Of Rage series.
Innovation is always much harder than imitation, and it's easy to copy something then add new things when you have a point of reference. Sega not only had that reference, but it took them two games and three years to really come up to par. Again, this is of course just my own opinion and is not in any way some official declaration of a "winner".
So there we have it. At the end of the day, both franchises are here to stay, and everyone's opinion is valid.
Remember, there is no "best". There is only "favourite".
 | Striding forth from his lair at Castle Stareskull one morning, Prototron decided to not reign down terror on the villagers, but instead go back inside, crack open a beer and load up Streets Of Rage 2. One hundred years later, he's still there. A avid music maker (of TERROR!) and retro gamer, he can be found whooping any and all heroes at all manner of SNK-based challenges. |
