Retro is still going strong, and after releasing a couple of buzz-worthy beat’em ups, Final Vendetta wants to show their love for Final Fight. We play it on PC and tell you about our explosive experience.
The 80s were ending and the 90s were beginning. Those of us who lived through that time went to local arcades and, immersed in each machine, we dreamed of other people’s stories, we became seasoned characters. But there was a story that tried to emulate those slums of metropolises destroyed by a society in decline. They kidnapped a very close being and the apparent solution was only one: gather our closest friends and go to deal blows to all the criminals who crossed our pathuntil reaching the captor and rescuing our loved one, sister or acquaintance. Final Vendetta arrives to recreate those golden years.
Sometimes we fall into those concepts of talking about the 80s and 90s and calling them years full of violence. It is true that violence in those years was more normalized, or it was used, in many cases, as part of the means that justified a purpose. But as happens with many social constructions, all “fads” return. Charles Bronson, iconic Hollywood actor, had marked the cinema at the time with the concept of “an eye for an eye”.
His films raised this “you mess with one of mine, I mess with all yours.” It took only one action to justify the ferocity with which revenge was applied. More than 30 years later, this concept returned with films like Taken, starring the great Liam Neeson..
Final Vendetta is, and there is no doubt, a very solid tribute to the classic Final Fight. From the name, to the story and its characters, even the locations and many of its enemies. The beat’em up genre exploded in the late 1980s and 1990s with titles like Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Captain Comando, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Punisher and many more. With well-crafted pixel art graphics, and the concept that everyone who crossed paths was an enemy and had to be beaten to death, these games were all a success.
Final Vendetta wants to remind you of those good times. While Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brought back an already classic, or Street of Rage 4 revived a classic saga from the past, the developers of Bitmap Bureau they wanted to bring something new, but that has an immense comparative load so that, at all times, we are clear that Final Fight It is the blood that runs through the veins of our characters. And the result is a game full of action, that does not give you rest, and that, although it seems easy, the level of difficulty with the passing of the levels becomes more and more complicated to an extreme point.
In Final Vendetta we embody tough characters who have to fight characters who pretend to be tougher. Us, with a fixed goal, and them, just for being rude. We start each level facing enemies that appear walking through the streets, some of them are even sleeping on the floor or sitting doing time.
Be that as it may, everyone is against us. With one button we make the main blow, with another we defend ourselves, and with another we make the special blow, that we are generally going to use it when we see ourselves surrounded and with no apparent way out. This blow consumes energy, not only from the life bar, but there is an exclusive power bar.
At the end of each level, we will have to face a different boss. In each new level, new enemies will appear, that not only hit harder, but also have greater resistance to blows. We have common enemies, who come bare-knuckle to try to stop us. Then we have some punk girls with something similar to a black police baton in their hands.
Some strong men who are going to seek us out with their bodies, other thugs with knives, and so, a variety of different characters that are going to repeat themselves a lot through each level. As it used to be, and usually happens, in this type of game. It is already a registered trademark.
The characters that we are going to be able to select to play are three, each one with its own imprint. Duke Sancho He is the average character, with speed, strength and a lot of agility. Claire Sparks He is the character with the least punch, but with immense speed as well as his agility. Y Miller T. Williams he’s the heavyweight, the big muscled guy who’s slow as hell, but many times, with a single blow, it ends the problems.
Beyond the fact that each one has its own blows and special movements, the difference between one and the other is really noticeable when playing, thus proposing a different experience depending on who we select.
Multiplayer support is a relief to get through the game. As we mentioned in previous paragraphs, the difficulty of the game is very high, since there are several characters and bosses that require a fair and precise execution of our movementsIf not, we are going to find ourselves in trouble. The campaign lasts a little over an hour, but the lives they give us are not enough, and once we lose, we have to start all over again.
There are four game modes that complement the short campaign a bit, and for those who think that the offer is low, we have to clarify two things: the game in Argentina costs less than $300 pesos on Steam and the experience it gives is very rewarding.
Visually the game is beautiful. All locations are full of details, and have the classic setting of what was the Final Fight, albeit with his own imprint. The corridors of the subway, the interior of the formation, the gray streets, the graffiti, the telephone booths, the empty tanks, the interior of a mansion, the alleys, the port, a restaurant… everything is full of small details, from lights in specific places, papers pasted on the walls, boxes with bottles, plants, garbage bags. The art work is really amazing. Alongside is the music, with original themes that go hand in hand with the game. All aspects close completely.
To finish, and after several intense gaming sessions, we can say that Final Vendetta is a full-fledged beat’em upwhich has a very specific quest and makes its love for retro, for the genre and, above all, for Final Fight.
The gameplay is impeccable, and despite its short duration, it is a hilarious game, especially if we play in pairs. One of those games that appear out of nowhere and surprise, that, within its own limitations, they give 100% and end up being, neither more nor less, everything that they promise.
| RELEASE DATE | June 17, 2022 |
| DEVELOPER | Bitmap Bureau |
| DISTRIBUTOR | Numskull Games |
| PLATAFORMAS | PC Steam, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch |