Retronauts Episode 377: Final Fight
There's no justice like street justice
Today's episode is a not-so-secret entry in our ongoing series on the 30th anniversary of Street Fighter II. We began with the original game (and Street Fighter 2010) before speaking at length about the impact of Street Fighter II. But right in the middle of the four year gap between those releases, Capcom gave the world Final Fight.
First released in 1989, Final Fight was nowhere near the first beat-em-up game, but it injected a shot of life into the genre and served as a template for later games to follow; the cast of heroes has a diverse set of skills, the villains are more than just large punching bags, and the streets are full of breakable objects that contain hidden bonuses (and delicious barbeque).
Joining Jeremy this week are Kurt Kulata of Hardcore Gaming 101 and Diamond Feit (follow me on Twitch maybe) to explain the connective tissue between Final Fight and Street Fighter, lay out what existing conditions inspired Final Fight's development, and lament the ups and downs of its many ports and sequels.
Also, since the film Streets of Fire does come up during our conversation, shout-out to friend of the show James Eldred and his podcast Cinema Oblivia which discussed that movie and its influence on this game.
Description: Jeremy "Punchy" Parish, Diamond "Final" Feit, and Kurt "K.O." Kalata are your three selectable player-character options in this roaming belt-scroll brawl through the history of Final Fight, a burly side story to our ongoing Street Fighter retrospectives.
Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get exclusive episodes every month, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon.
MP3, 45 MB | 1:34:54 Direct download Retronauts on iTunes Retronauts at Libsyn
Artwork for this episode by John Pading and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.
