POSTED:  Feb. 10th, 2019           

 UPDATED:  June 2022

Final Fight Retrospective

  

In February 2019, Capcom's official "Shadaloo Combat Research Institute" website posted an interesting interview revealing new information about the company's iconic 2D beat-em-up title and arcade smash hit, Final Fight. The article features commentary by influential Capcom developers: Akira Yasuda (Akiman), Akira Nishitani, SY, and Nissui. " Originally considered a 'sequel' to the Street Fighter 1 (with the early title of Street Fighter '89), Final Fight made a tremendous impact on not only the Street Fighter universe... but video games as a whole." Any old school fan will tell you how Final Fight defined the image of Capcom in the early 90's, later to become "one" with the Street Fighter universe. Here in TFG's retrospective article, enjoy reading about the history and development of the Final Fight and its sequels, and learn more about the inspirations behind the game's original storyline and characters.
 


 
So grab a cup a' cawfee (or a roast turkey) and take a walk back to one hell of an influential year... 1989. Scroll down to feast your eyes on a collection of nostalgic, high-quality art, prom posters, early development concept art & images, and finally, plenty of FUN FACTS!

 


  Final Fight 1 - How to Play (English) materials from Capcom. This explains the basics of how to play the game, detailing the Deathblow and Grab gameplay mechanics.


  Original Final Fight arcade poster artwork from 1989 - drawn by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda. (Hugo survived the head concussion and is doing just fine, btw.)

 

  Final Fight "good guys versus bad guys" artwork / Metro City map illustrated by Bengus.

 

  Cody Travers and Mike Haggar rare concept art by Akiman.

    

  An image from a Capcom arcade flyer showing the early arcade cabinet concept from when the game was originally dubbed Street Fighter '89.

    

  Final Fight official artwork / Super Famicom cover illustration.


  The glorious, iconic, unforgettable Super Nintendo box artwork.

  

    

■  Above, Final Fight Japanese manual artwork / character profiles.



■  Final Fight / Final Fight CD official Character Art for the entire cast! Continue scrolling down to see a ton of individual character artworks for Final Fight's loveable and influential heroes and baddies.

 

cody-finalfight-artwork-color-fix.png (108076 bytes)
              cody-ffcd.png (230832 bytes)              haggar-ffcd.png (163051 bytes)              haggar-finalfight-artwork-color-fix.png (206239 bytes)
 
guy-ffcd.png (145921 bytes)
              edi-cd-artwork.png (180427 bytes)              abigail-finalfightcd-artwork.png (211978 bytes)              hugo-original-ff.png (167913 bytes)
 
poison-finalfight.png (126308 bytes)              poison-roxy.png (116829 bytes)              poison-roxy-finalfight-early-concept-sketches.jpg (27069 bytes)              poison-cd-artwork.png (184937 bytes)
 
damnd-original-artwork.png (192362 bytes)              sodom-katana-final-fight-original-artwork.png (260672 bytes)              damnd-cd-artwork.png (262146 bytes)              sodom-cd.png (197371 bytes)
 
                            edi-artwork.png (268647 bytes)              belger-originalartwork.png (136963 bytes)
 

■  Final Fight / Final Fight CD official character illustrations (continued).

 
rolento-finalfight2.png (242400 bytes)              rolento-ffcd.png (190821 bytes)              belger-finalfightbust.png (277837 bytes)              belger-finalfightcd-artwork.png (275245 bytes)
 
axl-finalfightcd-artwork.PNG (96508 bytes)              bred-finalfightcd-artwork.PNG (220909 bytes)              jake-finalfight-artwork.PNG (702971 bytes)              axl-finalfight-artwork.PNG (1007895 bytes)
 
bred-finalfight-artwork.PNG (224811 bytes)
              dug-finalfight-artwork.PNG (676264 bytes)              bill-bull-finalfight-artwork.PNG (310762 bytes)              graham-oriber-finalfight-artwork.PNG (241386 bytes)
 
elgado-finalfightart.png (173351 bytes)              abigail-finalfight-original-artwork.png (189498 bytes)              holly-wood-finalfight-artwork.PNG (732190 bytes)              simmons-finalfight-artwork.PNG (1212895 bytes)
 
j-finalfight-artwork.PNG (775913 bytes)
              two-p-finalfight-artwork.PNG (179207 bytes)              j-finalfightcd-artwork.PNG (295367 bytes)
 

           



 

■  Final concept art for Poison, Cody, Guy, Haggar, El Gato, Edi, J and Two P.



 

■   Final Fight 1 Japan character concept illustrations.



 

■   Final Fight 1 North America promo flyer / game description from Capcom U.S.A.


 

■   FUN FACTThe second season of the American Street Fighter animated series had an episode titled "Final Fight" directly based on the original game. The episode centered around Cody and Guy teaming up with Ryu and Ken to rescue Jessica from the Mad Gear gang. While Cody and Guy eventually became playable Street Fighter characters, this episode actually predates Cody's SFA3 appearance. The full episode is included as unlockable content in Final Fight: Double Impact.


 

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