Beat 'em ups are without a doubt one of the most beloved genres in the history of arcade gaming. Despite the relative brevity of the genre's popularity – lasting roughly from the release of Technos' Double Dragon in 1987 until the one-on-one fighter explosion that followed in the wake of Capcom's Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in 1991 – it has nevertheless produced some of the most fondly remembered games of its time, and to many, Capcom's 1989 release Final Fight is the pinnacle of the genre. Originally conceived as a sequel to the "everyone forgets it existed" original Street Fighter, Capcom decided to created a new IP when it became clear that the gameplay differences were too vast to link the two games.
Clearly, Final Fight was not the first game of its kind to emerge. Along with the aforementioned classic Double Dragon, there were a number of other earlier games such as Irem's Kung-Fu Master in 1984 that had begun to lay the groundwork for the side-scrolling beat 'em up formula. All these earlier games featured the same "walk left/right and beat the crap out of anyone you come across" style of play we all know and love, but Final Fight really cemented many of the more subtle gameplay and stylistic conventions of the genre.
For me, Final Fight is the absolute archetype of beat 'em ups. It's got it all: a strong but slow/middle ground/fast but weedy choice of characters (featuring one Mike Haggar – the most badass former pro wrestler turned city mayor in the history of mankind); a stereotypical "save the girl" plot; '80s cityscapes ranging from decaying slums and the obligatory subway stage right up to the inevitably palatial hide-out of the main villain; a tidal wave of generic punks and thugs to smash your way through; the pop-up name and health bar displaying the details of whoever you were pummeling (all named after pro wrestlers and thrash metal bands), and the beefy cheap-tactics-using boss at the end of each stage. In retrospect Final Fight couldn't look more generic if it tried, but it's only because it defined so many of the genre's cliches in the first place. It's also part of the charm; if you want to play "a beat 'em up" you couldn't find a more satisfyingly traditional experience than Final Fight.
But nostalgia and trend-setting are by no means the real reasons that Final Fight is the best beat 'em up ever; that honour goes without doubt to the gameplay itself. I adore 2D beat 'em ups, and have played a hell of a lot of them as a result. While there are many great games in the genre, none just "feel" as right as Final Fight does. The main reason for this seems to be that the controls are so tight. Everything just responds perfectly, and while you'll frequently be the one on the receiving end of a barrage of fists it never comes down to sloppy controls hampering your performance. Sega's Streets of Rage series on the Mega Drive/Genesis comes close, but the controls in Final Fight feel that little bit more solid.
As well as the great gameplay, Final Fight is one of the most graphically pleasing beat 'em ups out there. The sprites are large, detailed, colourful and classically Capcom, and the fantastically cliched stage backgrounds are just as good. If you want a game that has a really strong "late '80s" feel, this is it. The sounds and music are of a similarly high standard, and the game has a great, satisfying "hit" sound – something of paramount importance in any good beat 'em up to make you feel like you're really dishing out some punishment.
If by some miracle you haven't already played Final Fight, in my eyes you cannot pick a better beat 'em up. The game's fully playable in MAME, and there are ports for a myriad of different systems, including a recent double pack release with Magic Sword as Final Fight: Double Impact, available on XBLA and PSN and which also features online multiplayer – a must for that classic two-player experience. Pick it up now and punch some face.
