Final Fight One on GBA, an honorable port of Capcom's beat'em up. Metro City in the palm of your hand. Less visually impressive than the original but gameplay remains intact and satisfying.
Your verdict
Category
Beat-'Em-Up4 players12+
Co-op
Description
GBA port of Capcom's arcade beat-em-up Final Fight, published in Japan in June 2001. Mayor Mike Haggar, Cody and Guy traverse the six districts of Metro City to rescue Jessica from the Mad Gear gang. Memorable bosses including Sodom, Edi E. and Abigail, recoverable ground weapons and recurring enemies including Poison and Andore. Three playable characters with distinct styles, two-player link cable mode to fight Mad Gear together and two selectable difficulty levels.
Final Fight One review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
The conversion restores the cabinet's broad sprites at the cost of a very tight frame: the three playable characters keep their build and their striking animations, but the screen now shows only a portion of street at a time. The Metro City scenery keeps its signs, stacked tyres and bystanders, the elements that made the original dense.
The arcade themes are re-recorded with the handheld's timbres: drier bass, shallower percussion, but melodic lines preserved right down to their ornaments. The first district's piece, familiar to anyone who frequented the arcades, keeps its hammered rhythm and its characteristic rising motif.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Roaming the streets of Metro City fists flying, picking up a pipe or a knife and sending hordes of thugs reeling: the beat'em up rediscovers all its instant rage here. Two-player co-op multiplies the fun and the laughter. Faithful to the arcade while staying snappy and readable, a street-fighting classic ideal to savour in tandem.
The Japanese version of Final Fight One is the most coveted of the three and the only one rated rarity 3, released first on 21 June 2001. It is the original printing of the Capcom port, prized for its Japanese cover art and its reference status among series collectors. While loose and CIB stay moderate, the Japanese sealed copy reaches the highest peaks and is the hardest to find intact. Demand rests on Capcom's domestic aura and purists' preference for the first pressing of the Metro City run.
Is Final Fight One still worth playing in 2026?
A GBA port of Capcom's Final Fight, Final Fight One brings back the benchmark beat them up that defined the genre in arcades, with Haggar, Cody and Guy clearing the streets of Metro City. The conversion is surprisingly faithful, restoring the impact of blows, the level breakdown and the readability despite the format's constraints. The smaller screen and the lack of two player co-op weigh a little, but the pleasure of pummelling stays intact. For a retro beat them up fan or someone curious about a genre classic on handheld, the title keeps a raw, gratifying effectiveness.
