In my opinion, Capcom will forever be remembered for the industry revolution their original arcade game,
Street Fighter II, caused in the early 1990’s. In that area, beat ‘em up games reigned supreme. Who doesn’t remember
Double Dragon,
Streets of Rage, Mortal Kombat,
Rival Turf or
Final Fight? For those of us who do, these games represent a wonderful period of entertainment in which roaming cities, punching, kicking, and mastering complicated controller button combinations were a part of life. Those who don’t are treated with new versions of the licenses that dazzle visually, but fall flat when compared to the original titles of yesteryear. Enter
Final Fight: Streetwise.
The graphics in Final Fight: Streetwise are, all factors considering, pretty tight. Capcom has certainly mastered the art of using visuals to capture mood. A majority of the game play leads across a decrepit city of poorly lit streets, back alleys, and run down clubs. The background visuals are appropriate and contribute to the theme of the action; the character models, however, aren’t quite so clean. Expect muddy textures and choppy animation during the game play. Adding to the disappointment is a pretty lame script (clearly the result of a poor English translation) complete with a generic roster of cliché punch and kick noises. The soundtrack (though licensed) is fairly weak as well with tracks that distract rather than subtly go with the flow of the in-game atmosphere. As a small redemption, the cut scene animations are well done, as is the in-game lighting.
