Final Fight: "Streetwise"

The Good
Capcom Studio 8's last project "Final Fight Streetwise", brought the demise of the development group with a sustained and embarrassing whimper.

A small bit of history before I go into the meat of likes and dislikes. The finished game that was put on the shelves was NOT the original vision of the title. The first playable demo was named "Final Fight - Seven Sons". The theme was low intensity cyberpunk. The original demo was a 3rd person action brawler. The camera was set on a cambox principle that roughly "imitated" a railcam system. The original demo had compelling gameplay that was fierce, dynamic, deep and layered. It felt very much like a traditional Final Fight incarnation that had leaped from 2D to 3D. The visual style had cel shaded characters with toonish gritty backgrounds. When told by corporate that, "The game while fun to play, was visually not suited for its core audience". The message was misinterpreted to the team as saying, "We don't like it at all, continue with the brawler aspect with a theme American gamers could appreciate". The original gameplay core that was established was swept away making way for "Streetwise", (Mass urban thug appeal in an already over-saturated market.) and it was all downhill from there. "Broken Process" & "Politics" are the relevant terms that plagued the team from the beginning of "FF Streetwise" to its wretched end.

Now that you know the truth, allow me to gage the game as a player. Sadly there are very few positives I can give this game. A select few character designs are passable. Environments are generally devoid of life, and are bland. Interiors had some nice elements. Dialogue was trite, but had a few good one liners before it was censored and re-written. Sound in general is unremarkable and buggy. I firmly believe that this could have been at least a competent title "if" the core team had been allowed to do its job properly without interference from incompetent management.

The Bad
Just about everything. The core gameplay feels shallow, ineffectual and downright boring. The camera implementation was awful. The game engine was taken directly from Maximo 2 without really considering whether it could preform the task well. "Maximo" a cartoonish platformer... going to "Streetwise" a realistic brawler. So many of the core attributes and limitations of the engine worked against the project. it was a wonder the project was completed.

Fighting hand to hand, and with weapons offered very few perks. Buying moves at the gym was really pointless. The instinct function does not give enough beneficial power to the player to become satisfying, and is woefully short of feeling addictive.

The story is point A to B with no depth, with unnecessarily over dramatized cheese. Granted, the stories of its predecessors were simple too, but in this case it is easy to tell the difference between "SIMPLE" and "LAME". Furthermore, the underlying themes in "Streetwise" are completely out of place for Final Fight's established genre.

The Bottom Line
Final Fight Streetwise has gameplay designed around a story, rather than potent mechanics a brawler should have as its primary core. Look elsewhere for a good game experience when holding the case, put it back, and wash your hands.

The Good
"Final Fight" was one of the best fighting series since "Street Fighter II." They haven't been in a home console since the SNES days until they finally named a somewhat absurd title called "Final Fight: Streetwise" for PS2 and XBOX. Let's be honest, it's a Street Fighter nightclub filled with brawlers and hustlers. The character designs were a little disappointing, but on the positive side I actually like the fact that Capcom's last studio in Japan gave everything they had to start making a game from scratch and putting past fan favorite characters like M. Haggar, Guy, and Cody to put to the test. Also, I don't know about Cammy White. She's tougher as nails. I thought Poison was going to be in the game, but eventually it was scrapped. So Cammy was the right choice and she's pretty awesome. Remember she made a Street Fighter spin-off of her finishing move named before the game released on the ill-fated Dreamcast?

The Bad
The sad part about the game is a lack of frustrating choices. I felt that the story mode is pretty lame and not in a old-fashioned Arcade renaissance. Voice acting is so terrible, terrible as in original Resident Evil terrible. And I thought this was a no BS Def Jam rip-off, but the core gameplay and the weapons that you have to choose is boring. I remember when the WWE used the Hardcore Championship belt and watched all the wrestlers like Al Snow vs. Bob Holly taking it over the limit where there's no rules and falls count anywhere. On the other hand, "Final Fight: Streetwise" isn't so hardcore after all.

The Bottom Line
I think it's time for the "Final Fight" franchise to reboot the series. Back 2 years ago, "Street Fighter IV" made a stunning look at what gamers are playing right now, and that's why I'm hoping Capcom should bring back the characters and turn it into a 3-D makeover. Soon, they'll be taking the page out of the "Street Fighter IV" strategy guide. I know there are a lot of tweets and Facebook friends desperate to bring back a Capcom classic to be revisited from "Mega Man" to "Breath of Fire." So, in my conclusion, "Final Fight: Streetwise" isn't a bad game, it's just not ready for a challenge.