First of all : I'll use Damon Caskey's system for reviews (without poll) since I think it's the most relevant. I suppose he won't mind
Final Fight Gold by PierwolfFinal Fight Gold Champion Edition by Pierwolf
Review Key: 5 - Beyond superb, a new standard has literally been set.
4 - Excellent, certainly the best among any offerings so far.
3 - Of average quality, not bad, but could be better.
2 - Poorly executed, and defiantly needs work.
1 - Shows almost no effort and is a perfect example of what not to do.
Creativity: New ideas, or the 15’th remake of the same game? Are features being used in a new way, or is it the same old punch, punch, grab N’ throw?
Execution: Offsets, collision detection, animation and editing.
Presentation: Cut scenes, graphic and sound quality.
Game play: In game mechanics, character moves, enemy stylistics, control.
Overall: The total package, NOT an average.
This Pierwolf mod was just an experiment, said his author. To practice some modder stuff, like offset, collisions, whatsoever. Well, turns out that this experiment, though not very original, turns out to be really fun to play !
Differences between Final Fight Gold standard and champion :
- FFG Standard : Haggar gets one more undocumented ultimate move : up, up, a. Just like his other ultimate, it's a spinning piledriver but he runs to grab the nearest baddie.
- FFG Champion : 4 new chars (fei long, guile, blanka and ken from street fighter)
- FFG Champion : rise up attack for all chars (not very efficient for all)
Now, the review :
Creativity - 3: There's nothing original in using Final Fight and Street Fighter sprites and background and making a mod. 3 classic (but useful) modes : Arcade, training and boss mode. There are 3 nice features though :
- this mod made me discover how nice it is to play in
16/9. I think it gives more possibilities for gameplay, without changing the basics. Just seeing the baddies arrive from further is cool.
- some
branches, always nice for a replay
- the
4 caracteristics for chars : classics speed, strength and stamina + "
skill" which is the speed the special bar refills up. This is interesting (see "Gameplay").
Execution – 3,5: For the goal of this mod,
the execution is perfect in terms of collision detection, animation and so on. Different sprites have been well resized and colored. You just get the feeling you're playing the original Final Fight with something "more" which "completes" the original feeling
Rythm and atmosphere of stages (and 2 -not that good- bonus stages) will keep you ready to fight til the end, though the game might seem a bit repetitive from time to time.
But the
two main weaknesses of this mod are :
-
the enemy AI : baddies are too predictable, seem to walk randomly and act only when they see you in the same z axis.
BUT stupid baddies make fighting a horde of them easier and much fun !
-
the "2 enemy bug" : quite often, when you get hit by 2 baddies at the same time, you'll just lose all of your life in a snap.
BUT if you're 2 players or more, you can use it like a incredible "
TEAM FATALITY" by hitting the same baddie (works with bosses, too !) together.
As you can see, these two weaknesses have a bright side, too. That's why I gave 3,5 : better than "average quality, not bad, but could be better" but not "Excellent, certainly the best among any offerings so far."
Presentation – 3,5: Cinematics and story are kept to a minimum, but who cares ? It's Final Fight, the story's been the same for 20 years
. The "
How to play" section is perfect and I always like it when in the
Controls option only useful buttons are listed (and renamed). Music fits perfectly for intro, menu and gameplay but tends to be too repetitive sometimes. Graphical effects when making specials are perfect : light and beautiful.
Game play - 4: This is where the game really shines. With the 4 caracteristics, each player has the
same basic gameplay with its own specialty. Examples : Haggar has both power and stamina but is slow and his skill bar refills slow, so he can't make specials very often. Lucia is weak but quick and has a quick refill so she can makes specials way more often than Haggar, making her potentially more powerful than Haggar if played well. Ken and Guile have their hadouken that can cross the screen, Blanka his rolling attack which can be used to escape enemies or cross the flames in the "Industrial Area"...
Overall – 4: Without the two weaknesses I mentionned I would have put 4,5 because it's not a "new standard" but it's a perfect mod if you're looking for an
"enhanced old school" feeling. I think it is what I'm looking for by playing Openbor mods. Pierwolf, you made a great job on this. Just remove a bit of monotony (was a weakness of your Knights and Dragons, too), enhance baddies AI and you'll be the king of EOSF (enhanced old school feeling) mods
And also, seeing the wip videos, upcoming utunnel's and DC's Golden Axe remake might become an EOSF reference, too. Love your work, all of you modders !
Thanks for reading !
Fredo46