Its nice to see classic arcade games getting a re-release on the Game Boy Advance. Capcoms latest offering is Final Fight One, the scrolling beat-em-up responsible for many a misspent youth. Final Fight was one of the first titles for the SNES. Back then, levels and characters needed to be removed to fit it onto a SNES cartridge. Final Fight One is a faithful translation of the original arcade version and features two-player simultaneous play by using the link-up cable.
Metro City is a well-known crime capital, and the police struggle to maintain order against the violent gang Mad Gear. Enter Mike Haggar, the new mayor of Metro City and former street fighter. Mike has plans to clean up the city and make it a safe place once again. Unfortunately, Mad Gear have plans as well. They have kidnapped the mayors daughter Jessica and they will only exchange her for his co-operation. Mike is not one to succumb to threats, so he takes to streets to rescue his beloved Jessica.
In Final Fight One you play as Guy, Cody or Haggar. Each character has its own unique moves, combos, throws, strengths and weaknesses. Cody is good at combination moves and is quick, but if he gets clipped by one of the big bruisers he takes a lot of damage. Haggar on the other hand, is as slow as they come but only needs to land a few punches to knock enemies out. All characters can sacrifice a little of their energy bar for a special move that knocks down all surrounding enemies. Very useful if you are pinned down and are taking lots of damage.
Final Fight is an enjoyable game to play and you only have a small handful of continues with which to complete the game. Limited continues means that you have to develop enough skill to win the game, with none of that continuing until you win business. Naturally, you can pick up food that replenishes your fading life bar and you can also use items such as knives and pipes to your advantage. Its time to clean up Metro city and rescue Jessica.