Final Fight III

The first Final Fight game in the arcade sucked quarters out of my pocket out of my pocket faster than a vacuum cleaner. I was pleased to see it translated to the SNES. It was a pretty faithful port of the arcade game. Final Fight II passed me by with hardly a glance. Final Fight III arrived on the scene and proved once again you can never stop beating a dead horse once you've found a successful formula.

I mean, c'mon -- how many times is Haggar supposed to save the damn city? As Mayor, doesn't he know anything about legislating municipal laws instead of beating thugs to death with his bare hands? And how does he keep getting elected when crime is so rampant? Final Fight III (an oxymoron if there ever was one) pits the city's underworld against Haggar and friends. The biggest innovation FF3 brought to the table was the computer controlled AI buddy that fights along side you if your brother doesn't want to play a two-player game. (It's really too bad this AI buddy method didn't become popular with other side-scrolling figthing games.) The AI weren't always effective but at least it gave the baddies another target -- a distraction so you can sneak up behind the bad guys. Of course, this can't make up for the very repetitive nature of side-scrolling punch 'em ups.

The standard mechanics of the genre are all executed very well -- lots of moves, different characters to choose from, and wave after wave of grunts capped with a boss encounter. It's the same hot dog with different bun and condiments.

Graphics are big and bright. The characters themselves are easy on the eyes and big, without overtaking the screen. Natch for the enemies as well. Animation is probably better than the previous two games, but 

there is the occasional bout of choppiness when playing with two players. The backgrounds all have the distinct (but subtle) features that Capcom games ooze. Same for the music -- it's as if Capcom games are made by one guy that likes bright colors and catchy midi-music. (It's the same thing with scores written by John Williams. There's just something about them that says, "John Williams wuz here!") Also seen are computer comments on your moves and combos at the bottom of the screen: "Great" or "Awesome" being the favorites. Hard to say if these comments result in more points, but it's a definite precursor to the now standard comments in Capcom fighting games.

Difficulty is so-so. The bosses can take an inordinate amount of damage in comparison to the regular grunts that can often be taken out in punch-punch-kick combo. Regular grunts offer little resistance to your offensive moves but the Bosses can be kicked around for upwards of ten minutes (if you live that long) before they fall.

Final Fight III offers a decent distraction but it's so repetitive by today's standards it won't hold your interest for long.

- Omni