Final Fight 2 Review

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In 1993, Capcom released Final Fight 2 for the Super Nintendo making way for Mike Haggar and co. to clean up the international streets of crime again. The beat ’em up didn’t change much of the gameplay and kept the same villains from the original game. Would it keep the same fun? “I like kicking butt in this Final Fight 2 review”.

Final Fight 2 Plot:

Metro City is at peace after Mayor Mike Haggar and his pals Cody and Guy took down the notorious gang called the “Mad Gears”. Previously, they had kidnapped Mike’s daughter Jessica, who happens to be Cody’s girlfriend. After rescuing her, Metro City returned to peace…or so we thought!

The Mad Gears have come back with vengeance, this time on an international hostage situation. Guy’s companions are the targets as they kidnap his girlfriend, Rena, and Guy’s sensei Genryusia. Rena’s younger sister Maki, calls upon Haggar to help with the investigation because Guy is nowhere to be found!

Haggar, Maki, and Haggar’s friend Carlos, travel together to find the kidnapped hostages. The Mad Gears must have an international presence because you’ll be fighting in Hong Kong, France, Holland, England, Italy, and Japan to find Rena and Genryusia. Eventually, the three of them break into the headquarters in Japan and find the hostages tied up. The final fight is ushered in by a pink-haired master ninja named Retu. After defeating him, Rena and Genryusia are freed!

Final Fight 2 Gameplay:

My Final Fight 2 review starts dramatically with the opening cut scene. Haggar calls his pal Carlos who informs him “he loves butt-kicking” so he’s in as a photo falls to the ground surrounded by fire. I found it unrealistic to take hostages across the world without anyone noticing as the Mad Gears apparently aren’t just a Metro City small gang, but an international crime syndicate. I know, I shouldn’t comment on how realistic the game is when one mustached suspenders-wearing man kicks the butt of over 500 criminals across the world. But whatever, let me poke my finger at the game if I want.

Not much changes from the first Final Fight as you’ll fight about three guys on screen at a time. They don’t change much and it will be the same ones each level. One thug that they included in the second game was a fat guy who had electric shockers. He’d charge at you and if he touches you, you’ll get fried. Andre the Giant err, Antone, or whatever they call him is back too but I liked seeing him throw his belly around. Like the first Final Fight, the enemies don’t pick up new moves, but their health bar just gets longer. Each level in my Final Fight 2 review has 99 seconds to beat, but they don’t tick fast, it’s more like ten minutes to beat the level and the most the timer ever went down for me was in the 70s.

Boss fights were less fun this time around during my Final Fight 2 review. In the first game, they were memorable like fighting the samurai in the wrestling ring or the final boss in his wheelie chair. This time, the bosses were on the boring side. The first guy was named WonWon and I honestly don’t remember what he looked like. Freddie was a big army guy that I easily tossed around, and the third boss looked like a prisoner. The only boss that looked distinguished was a clown named Philippe. He was super easy to beat though. Okay, so he was easy to beat because I had the game genie code activated…but hey at least I admit it! I kept track of how many lives I lost during the fight and I would have made it to the fourth stage before my defeat but with a little help from my friend the game genie I made it to the end.

I think the toughest boss was Rolento during my Final Fight 2 review who moved around the screen like a shadow chucking grenades. The grenades weren’t the tough part, I barely was hit by any of them. It was his shifty nature that took a while to get down. I had to corner him against the wall to get any hits on him before he zoomed away again.

Retu is the final boss. He doesn’t use cheap tricks to beat you, he just has tons of health. I learned his pattern but I still was kicked around by his spinning legs a few times during my Final Fight 2 review. It took some time but I widdled down his health bar and threw him through the wall. Speaking of throwing, all I did the entire playthrough was punch. In the first game, I used Haggar’s throwing abilities much more, I guess I should mention that I played as Haggar again. Anyway, his combat felt reduced but I did pull off a few tornado throws but not at the same rate as the last game. When you beat Retu, Rena says “you must have had a hard time finding us?” and I’m like no shit, I just traveled through seven countries to track you down!

Mini-games are back including smashing the car and the glass sheets are replaced by barrels. During levels, you can pick up weapons but I found them more scare than the first game. You can grab food to raise your health so if you are playing the honest way unlike myself, you’ll need it. The graphics were detailed and I enjoyed visiting the different countries that offered different backgrounds and atmospheres. I always pictured Holland to be beautiful but for some reason it was littered with mines and looked like a war-torn country, perhaps I’m missing something.

Memories:
I didn’t know anyone that played Final Fight growing up so the only memory I have of the series is recently playing them.