Mighty Final Fight -NES- 8

February 21, 2024

Mighty Final Fight was a late release title for the NES, and I just beat the game with Cody. This came out in 1993, a couple years after the SNES had already debuted. Therefore, it did not sell very many copies, and is now seen by many as a hidden gem for the 8bit system.

Mighty Final Fight is a satirical spin-off of the original Final Fight from the arcades, sporting a cutesy motif with super deformed characters. You can choose between three characters: Cody, Guy, and Haggar. I chose Cody during my playthrough, because he had a good balance of strength and speed.

I think Mighty Final Fight is the best beat ‘em up that I have played on the NES. It’s a shame that there is no 2player option, but playing solo is still a lot of fun. Capcom did a very good job with this title, and it has the same level of polish you would expect from the company in the 1990’s. Most beat ‘em ups can get a bit repetitive, but MIghty Final Fight alleviates that by sticking to five short but sweet levels. And each character plays differently, so there’s some good replay value to be had.

I loved fighting enemies with the simple but precise controls. The hit detection is spot on, and everything feels very tight. The game even sports light rpg elements in that you earn experience and level up. Once you reach level four, Cody can throw a hadouken, which helps a lot during boss battles. Punching enemies and pulling off combos feels very satisfying, as every hit feels like it has impact.

Due to hardware limitations, there are never more than 2 enemies on the screen at once, but this works well for allowing the player to fight smart and plan their strategy. Certain enemies will constantly block your punches, and you’ll need to execute a throw to hurt them. And others, specifically bosses, will punish you for jump attacks at the wrong time. There’s a good variety of bad guys here for how short the game is.

The music is also catchy and enjoyable, and the graphics look good for an 8bit title. I’m giving Mighty Final Fight an 8 out of ten. Even though many players had moved on to the 16bit consoles by 1993, this title still showed that the 8bit NES still had some life left in it.