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Final Fight is without a shadow of a doubt the most influential brawler ever made. It introduced concepts like unique playable characters, contact-based grabs, and health-draining "death-blow" attacks that would all become genre standards. Even its art style, featuring gigantic sprites and outlandish enemy design, defined the following decade of beat 'em up games.
Final Fight was originally entitled "Street Fighter '89" but was renamed due to fan confusion concerning the name. Final Fight's plot is heavily based off of the 1984 film "Streets of Fire" which features a knife expert named Tom Cody who has to take down a street gang that kidnapped his girlfriend. Final Fight's plot is heavily based off of the 1984 film "Streets of Fire" which features a knife expert named Tom Cody who has to take down a street gang that kidnapped his girlfriend. Almost every enemy and boss is modeled after an 80's pop culture icon. See the Enemies tab for more info. Cody, Guy, Sodom, and Andore (aka Hugo) all appear in Street Fighter games starting with the Alpha series. Haggar appears in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. There are three Final Fight spin-offs: Final Fight Revenge, which is a 3D fighting game released in arcades and later ported to the Sega Saturn, Final Fight Streetwise, which is a 3D open-world brawler on the PS2, and Mighty Final Fight, which is an NES "parody" version (in the same vein as Parodius).
Final Fight is the king for good reasons. It took Double Dragon's proven combat engine, made it more accessible, added distinct fighters, made the sprites gigantic, and threw in a ton of personality. It's satisfying, challenging, and unforgettable. It's the gold standard that every subsequent brawler aspired to but few have even come close.
