Final Fight

The Good
The Sega CD version retains many of the features that were cut out from the Super Nintendo ports due to memory limitations. The CD edition has a 2-player mode, the option to play as any of the three urban heroes and includes all the original arcade game levels. Unique to the CD version is an original sound track, voice work during some of the intermission sequences and a special time attack mode.

It remains one of the few side-scrolling, brawler action games for the Sega CD with a 2-player mode. Their are also some nice options such as the ability to adjust the level of difficulty.

The Bad
The severe hardware limitations of the Sega CD, meant that the 1993 CD port can not perfectly recreate the quality of an older arcade game. It could not even match the graphic capabilities of the Super Nintendo.

Final Fight CD, even if it had been a perfect port, suffers from being an 1980's brawler game without many of the improvements seen in subsequent 1990s games in that particular genre. Sega's own Streets of Rage 2 offers playable characters with many more offensive and defense moves, which are much easier to execute them the limited, often more cumbersome controls found in Final Fight CD.

One of the more common problems with early brawler games was the nasty habit of the computer to pull some pretty dirty moves out of its programming. For example, when your character falls down, thugs or even bosses often gather around you, thus ensuring that you will take some serious damage.

Last, but not least, Sega apparently still felt the need to censor the game. The transgender-women thugs were allowed to stay, but with less revealing attire. Certain Mad Gear thugs, such as 'Sodom' were given different names and bits of profanity were also toned down.

The Bottom Line
Final Fight CD is a solid port of a 1980s, brawler arcade game. Of the 16-bit ports it is closer to the original arcade game in terms of the number of playable characters, levels, bonus rounds and overall basic game play, with a few nice little extras, such as a cool sound track and the ability to adjust the level of difficulty.

If you can get past the Sega CD hardware limitations and the petty censorship, then you are left with one of the best games released for the Sega CD and one of the few Sega CD games with a 2-player mode.