Final Fight 2 Review - The Mad Gear Gang Strikes Back!

There's a saying, "A bad penny always turns up," and this is perfectly described by the gang of ruffians Mad Gear. These guys didn't learn their lesson and have returned with new determination to take revenge on those who caused them so many problems in the first Final Fight. To achieve their wicked goal, they have kidnapped Genryusai, the master and father of Guy's fiancée, Rena. Since Guy couldn't be located, Rena's younger sister, Maki, contacted Mike Haggar to resolve this conflict; they are joined by Carlos, an experienced street fighter.

The gameplay mechanics of this sequel are very similar to that of the first game; with two buttons, we perform all of our moves, from jumps and hits to special attacks. The best part is that there's no need to memorize complicated combinations, like in many other fighting games, to be able to give a good thrashing to the ruffians that cross our path in each one of the stages.

Perhaps the most notable feature of this version of the game for the Super Nintendo is the option to play in cooperative mode with a friend or relative. Interestingly, this option was omitted in the versions of the first Final Fight and Final Fight Guy for the 16 bits Nintendo console, since they only had a single-player mode. Which is a real shame if you ask me, as playing alongside a companion makes the adventure much more dynamic and fun.

In conclusion, although the main heroes from the first installment, Cody and Guy, are not present in this sequel, the game is still very enjoyable. Maki and Carlos are quite the worthy substitutes. Additionally, I liked that Haggar is once again among the selectable heroes and that many other characters have also returned. The game even has other nice details, like seeing the lovely Chun-Li eating in one of the stages.