Final Fight Guy (SNES) review "What the player actually gets is the exact same game as the original SNES version with one difference — Cody is gone and replaced with Guy. Yep, that’s it. The fourth level doesn't find its way back into the game and there still is no two-player mode. But, uh, you do get to play with Guy and that has to amount to something, right? "

So, have you ever played the arcade version of Final Fight? And then followed that up by playing the Super Nintendo version? If so, did the home version give you the distinct feeling that something just might be missing?

It should have. In order to fit the arcade game into a cartridge, Capcom had to make a few major cuts. First, they dumped the fourth level. Personally, this didn't bother me all that much, as my main memory of that level was getting repeatedly incinerated by these jets of fire that regularly blasted out of the floor. However, the other major cuts could likely be seen in a bit more negative of a light. Not only was the game purely a single-player effort now, with no cooperative play, but one of the three characters apparently was told his services were not needed.

Guy, the small, lightning-quick dude, wound up on the cutting room floor, depriving home players of the right to use him. This sort of left a void as far as diversity goes in this game. Haggar is a slow guy with a ton of strength — making Guy the perfect alternative to him. However, the other character that made the cut was Cody. I'm sure he's a nice, heroic young man, but he's a pretty vanilla character. Cody's not as strong as Haggar, nor as fast as Guy, making him the most generic of the three, as he really has nothing to set him apart from the other two....other than his inferiority.

Apparently, a number of people weren’t especially pleased with the omission of Guy, because a couple of years later, Capcom prepared to release Final Fight Guy for the SNES. So, would the terrific trio of the arcade game be reunited?

No. Turns out that this game apparently was nothing more than Capcom’s devious plan to squeeze a few more dollars out of their series with a minimum of effort on their part. What the player actually gets is the exact same game as the original SNES version with one difference — Cody is gone and replaced with Guy. Yep, that’s it. The fourth level doesn't find its way back into the game and there still is no two-player mode. But, uh, you do get to play with Guy and that has to amount to something, right?

To be honest, it does. While I've always preferred controlling Haggar, Guy is a fun guy to play with on those days I want a different sort of challenge. While both SNES versions of Final Fight aren't near the same level as the arcade game, they still retain a good amount of its charm and I still find myself playing this one from time to time when I want to unwind after a long day slaving away in the office.

To sum things up, you'll brawl through five levels to rescue the fair Jessica from the evil street gang that kidnapped her in a vain attempt to "persuade" Haggar and friends to keep out of their business. Standing in your way are large amounts of thugs. You have a lot of low-level scum with creative names like Bred and Dug (to go with the innovative and deadly fighting style of slowly walking up to you and attempting to slowly punch you if you don’t react). Fortunately, other enemies display a bit more ambition. Whether it be the knife-wielders and their multiple painful attacks, the fat guys who prefer to simply run over you, the pro wrestler-inspired Andore family and a handful of bosses (some of whom can be very tricky to defeat) — you’ll find a good variety of tough foes to challenge you.

Really, the major qualm I have with Final Fight Guy is that it simply isn't ambitious enough. I find it to be a fun way to kill a little time every once in a while, but I have to admit that I find this game to be a bit disappointing due to Capcom's laziness. This game came out in America nearly three years after the first Final Fight. With the way developers were getting more and more out of the available memory in a SNES cartridge, you know they could have at least made an honest attempt at making this game a bit more faithful to the arcade original. But instead, they simply replaced Cody and his moveset with Guy and his. While that in itself is an improvement, I can't help but think Capcom could have done so much more.

Staff review by Rob Hamilton (January 07, 2009) Rob Hamilton is the official drunken master of review writing for Honestgamers.