FINAL FIGHT STREETWISE - A Story of EPIC FAILURE ! - Gaming History Documentary

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In today's content we look back at Final Fight Streetwise, the final entry in the franchise. What was so bad about this game that there would never be a new Final Fight game made again? It has been fifteen years since this game crashed onto the scene, so let's look back at what went wrong.
Information Sources
www.unseen64.n....
www.unseen64.n...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.gamespot.c...
• Life as a CAPCOM conce...
xbox.gamespy.co...
www.ign.com/ga...
www.eurogamer....
New Additional Gameplay Sources
Final Fight Streetwise Gameplay - Long Play Archive - • Longplay of Final Figh...
Maximo - xTimelessGaming - • Maximo: Ghosts to Glor...
Crash Bandicoot - NTSC Jani - • Video
Maximo Army of Zin - Rangris - • Maximo vs. Army of Zin...
Final Fight Seven Sons - Unseen64 - • Final Fight: Seven Son...
Medal of Honor - AFGuidesHD - • Medal of Honor Frontli...
The Getaway - XtimelessGaming - • The Getaway PS2 Gamepl...
GTA3 - Ghos7bear - • [HD] Grand Theft Auto ...
Additional Art Source
www.newgrounds...
#finalfight #finalfighthistory #retrogaming #finalfightstreetwise

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Please consider supporting my work on Patreon! Yeeeeeeeaaaaaahhhh - www.patreon.com/user?u=4432923

[@Invidente7]

Do you have a clue on what was Seven Sons about? Since streetwise's twist was the main villian being belger's brother, could we asume we would end up figthing belger's seven sons?

[@devingiles6597]

Hey, Top Hat Gaming Man. Can you please do a video on the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64?

[@howlingwolffang2221]

I personally liked the game, the combat mechanics where fun, story was serviceable, and the main character had a good arch to him, the only downside to it was the graphic style, that damn sliding puzzle, and the fact that you could only recruit Guy and Haggard as NPC’s instead of PC’s, other then that the game had a lot to do, I was never starving for a fight, dropped weapons where plentiful, and I could store them away for later if I felt more like a bare-knuckle, the bosses where fun all except glow weasel and to an extent knives, pit fights where technical and different enough for me to feel like I was playing a fighter version of the game, a lot of the in game music was good, and the end game content again was varied enough for me to feel like I was playing another version of the game, I can see why people throw a lot of shade on this game, in all honesty some of it’s deserved, but if you’ve read this far I nudge ya to give it a second chance, katanas are the best weapons in the game.

[@AlexB4tman]

Same

[@Tom1kr]

I agree with you. I can definitely see the flaws there are much, that should have been sharper and tighter. But the story the last act a side, where not awful, the fights. While could have been more dynamic and responsive, were fun and a lot of mini games were silly. I think they had something good going here, just needed more work and polished

[@sukmykrok3388]

We ARE the minority

[@Kurse84]

I loved this game! I did multiple playthroughs, cool story. The rat and roach levels were annoying af but aside from that I loved every bit of it.

[@jadedheartsz]

same, I never got the hate for it myself.

[@cashordeals3672]

They should give final fight the streets of rage 4 trement man can't wait for the dlc

[@WillieSlackmer]

According to a leak, there is a remake on the way

[@Nick_Nightingale]

@@WillieSlackmer I would like to see a collection (Ff1/Ff2/ff3), than 4. Oh and NO 3D!

[@Invidente7]

@@WillieSlackmer as if, a Final Fight 1 remake?

[@WillieSlackmer]

@@Invidente7 yep, in 2024

[@ajm2748]

Streets of rage cross final fight the ultimate beat em up!

[@KalHimself]

I actually loved this game. It was actually hard to find when I was looking for it at the time.

[@hatebreed516]

I will always defend this game, personally I found it very fun

[@Invidente7]

Trent kaniuga even voiced Kyle and did a decent job.

[@OnAPlain88]

I know right! It wasn't a masterpiece but it was a very decent game 🤨. He didn't even talk about the soundtrack which was huge part of the gaming experience.

[@binkaram6577]

me too i loved this game and still playing this game although story sucks with zombie elements but still i love this game for 3D beat em up

[@hatebreed516]

@@OnAPlain88 also while yes it does sorta have a GTA feel, compare the combat in this to GTA, this has beat em up feel all the way to me, and when he says the brutalism of the backgrounds and buildings etc. okay so the original game may have had brighter color pallettes and all, but did you ever actually look at the areas, they are slums and hood like areas, go in depth on those streets that is what the environment would actually look like, far from a failed representation in my opinion

[@mr.vargas5648]

Same bruh never understood the hate.

[@loneblade201]

The soundtrack was really good.

[@GVGINU]

You should do a video on Beatdown: Fist of Vengeance. That's a game that should have been Final Fight and it was made by Capcom.

[@emanuelespinoza9325]

I think he should also cover Spikeout, both the arcade version and the Xbox version.

[@AlexB4tman]

Totally

[@KenMasters.]

Streetwise is more like a knockoff of Beatdown.

[@archiedx]

Beatdown was a banger

[@aAaAaAaAaA1234567ize]

You guys in tis comments section are hitting on something that i've been thinking for years; that Streetwise and beatdown should have been a single game with more time put into it. I've been thinking about a possible sequel and i have the entire thing planned out now

[@larrymasif5851]

I ended up playing the crap out of this game on Ps2. It’s exploring environment was kind of interesting, if only it expanded to a bigger & wider SandBox game for maybe 1 or 2 more titles.

[@kyleolson8977]

A brutalism reference. Wonderful. While we never had the same amount of brutalist housing projects that were found in Jolly Old England, here in Seattle we had The Kingdome, the most brutalist sports stadium. If you ever wanted to watch football or baseball in an oppressive concrete structure, this was the place for you.

[@gloverdragon6854]

Brutalistic buildings here in london are very dominating and stand out. Their “ugliness” is what makes them beautiful. So many iconic brutal buildings and housing estates in london that are a photographers dream and filmmakers haven. Really don’t agree with top hats view on them but I respect his opinion.

[@10shu]

One angle you forgot to mention is that few years earlier Capcom tried to do a sequel of SF2 keeping it old school (2d sf3) and it flopped because it wasnt "moden 3d fighting game" so they tried a different approche with FF streetwize and failed again :D

[@sprnightfire]

What Capcom needs to do is bring back Final Fight and give us part 4. Make it a classic 2D beat em up just like Streets of Rage 4. Have it be a direct sequel to part 3.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

.... Love Revenge of Shinobi, Joe 👍.... sick profile. Capcom still sleeping on Onimusha & Maximo franchises. I wish they'd remaster these series. That one-off Onimusha remaster was just confusing, on its own. Too bad Genma Onimusha is locked down by M$ on the OG X-Box.

[@adrenalinex4]

And add sf characters

[@sprnightfire]

@@TexasHollowEarth You have a good taste my friend. 😊 Capcom did remaster Onimusha but what about the other 3 games? Yeah it's a shame they didn't put the Genma content in there. I like to see them also put Street Fighter on the side and give us Darkstalkers 4. Maximo was excellent. Think I'm going to have to go to my Retro store and see if they have that.

[@Invidente7]

I wouldn't say FF: Streetwise is criminally underrated and there were better options at the time like say, Mortal Kombat: Shoalin Monks and The Warriors but there IS some value on streetwise despite it's many flaws. At least it HAS a two-player mode.

[@Invidente7]

@Brian Babin I didn't say IT WAS underrated.

[@chrisfarleyshrek4347]

Good as a game on it's own. Pretty bad as a Final Fight game.

[@anthonybird546]

The Warriors was the best brawler at the time.

[@beckythompson4538]

I loved this game! My best friend and I rented it and almost beat it over a weekend. But I mentioned it and he had no idea what I was talking about so I guess it wasn’t as good as I thought

[@krissymarklewis1793]

What they need to do to revive this franchise is do a Streets of Rage 4 with it, was playing the original the other day on the Capcom classics collection and it still holds up. Been waiting for you to cover this crapfest for a while.

[@VictorHernandez-nj2lo]

Please talk bout dungeons & dragons:tower of doom & shadow over mystara,the bouncer on ps2,urban reign also on ps2,mortal kombat shaolin monks,scott pilgrim vs the world game,dragon's crown,mighty morphin power rangers mega battle,revenge of the wounded dragons,& the fighting/beat em up hybrid pit fighter

[@vaporwave2345]

Urban Reign *oh my god yes.* 💃

[@TheBeird]

Capcom gotta be looking at the success of Streets of Rage 4 and think 'we gotta get us a piece o' that!' Streetwise can't be the end of Final Fight

[@EpicLebaneseNerd]

Big daddy, listen please, around the same time, a game called BEAT DOWN : FISTS OF VENGEANCE was released and that game is a pure example on how this game was supposed to be, how about u consider it for a future episode ?

[@vaporwave2345]

Duuude just in time, as I've been revisiting the classic Final Fight in the Capcom Beat-em-up bundle. *This game though? Yuck.*

[@zackschilling4376]

Armored Warriors is my jam. Too bad we didnt get a physical release. Id love to see Konami do a similar release, Konami Beat Em Up Classics. It would be hard with 2 of the games that would need to be on there being licensed properties - X-Men(I love the 6 player cabinet, we had one at our local Aladdin's Castle) and TMNT The Arcade Game(dont really care about Turtles In Time as I think the SNES port is superior to the arcade release). But there are still awesome non-licensed beat em ups like Violent Storm and the severally underrated Metamorphosis Force. Hell, just those 4 games would be make it an awesome package. You can really tell that Metamorphosis Force was made with the same game engine as X-Men, check it out! I think SNES Drunk did a review of it I think a lil while back. I forgot one, a lil beat em up called The Simpsons.

[@subliminallime4321]

I want a Final Fight game in the style of Hyrule Warriors. That'd be sick.

[@AlexB4tman]

There are some good combos and character design, and also the idea of a ficcional drug that creates interesting commentary open to creative enemy design, story complexity and mistery, and also is fitting to the series theme about gang wars in a fictional setting

[@aAaAaAaAaA1234567ize]

This was unironically my favorite ps2 game and i would love a chance to discuss it

[@moebiusjdx7288]

I feel physical pain whenever I remember popping Final Fight Streetwise into my PS2 and running it for the first time. My expectations were betrayed so goddamn hard!!!!

[@voodooman7387]

We need a weird Capcom Sega collaboration, Final Fight vs Streets of Rage

[@heartbreakkid2]

Love the game docs

[@Golden-God]

👍 for Snatch!

[@johnpenguinthe3rd13]

I legit enjoyed Final Fight Streetwise. Yes, it has it's flaws, but I still enjoyed Final Fight Streetwise. I've played far, FAR worse games. I have an Atari Jaguar. I have played Atari Jaguar's Supercross 3D... that is a VERY dreadful game (5 frames per second... seriously, not exaggerating... it freaking moves at 5 frames per second... on the original hardware). Final Fight Streetwise had a really fun M rated charm to it's story. I still love the porn theater. LOL.

[@Invidente7]

I loved the bonus boss fight against Cammy as well.

[@RedMinotaur808]

I personally glad I brought this game, brought it for super cheap and wasn't expecting much. I was surprised how much fun it was. this game taught me how to play darts lol

[@Slayerthecrow]

Wondering, what would have happened if the game was more like God Hand in the mechanics but with cel shading style that they originally intended?

[@simonchai3040]

2 dislikes already? Some people hate without even watching the video

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Yeah, there are a lot of sad pathetic losers out there in the world. Let's be fair!

[@Iknowyoumadnow]

Or they are just SICK of hearing about final fight 😬

[@gloverdragon6854]

Brutalistic estates are some of the best architectural styles of buildings in London. These are some of the most interesting types of buildings to take pictures of if you’re the type who is interested in photography.

[@konstantinkoverchenko9587]

That game was cool, but it wasn’t really a great upgrade to expanding on what made the franchise so awesome.

[@TheShadowsega75Terryman]

Capcom should make a Final Fight 4 by teaming up with Dotemu, Guard Crush Games and Lizardcube and make it 2D let it be a direct sequel where 3 left off where Mike Haggar frees Cody from prison and Carlos and Maki rejoins Haggar to stop a newly formed Mad Gear gang and a resurrected Horace Belgar who is now a cyborg like in Mighty Final Fight.

[@davideselvi3906]

That should be urgently made!!!! After the success of Streets of Rage 4, we need a new Final Fight!!!

[@Invidente7]

Cody IS finally redeemed and he's currently the new metro city mayor. And Lucia from FF3 showed up in SFV so they haven't forgotten about them.

[@SicSemperBeats]

As an adult now, the concept of a former prisoner still wearing his orange prison clothes is wild for multiple reasons lol

[@sf6ftw833]

Need a FF sequel in the similar style to SOR4. With Chun and Cammy as playable characters as well. They’ve both made cameos in FF!

[@sukmykrok3388]

I feel like I'm the only person that enjoyed this game. I do agree that it is the worst game in the series, but I honestly don't think the game is as bad as people make it out to be. I may be in the minority, hell, I might BE the minority, but I actually like this game. That said, Capcom NEEDS to make a Final Fight Anthology for the switch, seeing as how predominantly it was a Nintendo exclusive.

[@FireBomberBassist]

Always wanted to play this out of curiosity.

[@OzzieAstaroth]

I didn't hear about this game existing for a long time after it was released. I really enjoyed the Final Fight series on SNES so if it had been released here, and on a console I owned, I would have definitely played it. All I've heard are bad things, but I'd still like to give it a try, but I'll likely never get the chance.

[@TexasHollowEarth]

Modded OG X-Box is a good way to play this game. X-Boxes are ubiquitous & cheap.

[@jediknightgeo]

Great video once again Top Hat. Just a quick correction though as it was Cavia that developed Beatdown Fists Of Vengeance, Capcom only published it 😁

[@XionAzura1]

To this day, I’m still one of the only people that hat fun with that game.

[@Y2G]

I enjoyed streetwise considering its faults. I think the dull look is just a thing of some games around a certain age

[@Chaz4543]

Same here. I could tell it wasnt finished or complete. If they had more time to work on it it would have been better. Im not saying its a good game Im saying I didnt hate or despise it. I might have been starved for any 3d fighter at the time so I was willing to overlook its obvious flaws. Plus having the original FF as an unlockable was a huge plus even if it turned out bad.

[@100gendos]

Given that the plot of Captain Commando is the future of Final Fight, and where street gangs still dominate the city, it is not surprising that Mer Hager's career failed.

[@williecunningham3725]

Anyone know the name of the big 4 player arcade game similar to these 2 fight games and it had guys fighting on flat bed trucks, and player would use a bag of flour and hit others and pigs would run from the bags. It was an arcade game.

[@georgelmfao]

Thing is, I don't think a GTA inspired open world beat em up is necessarily a bad idea. Maybe if they put it in a bright and flashy setting like Las Vegas. Somewhere with some color!

[@seanmyster6]

I think that Capcom should commission WayForward to make a new sprite-based Final Fight game in the vein of Streets of Rage 4. The two have already partnered in the past for DuckTales Remastered, and WayForward have proven their worth in the beat-'em-up genre with Double Dragon Neon and River City Girls.

[@chiefgilray]

I liked Streetwise but I got stuck Inna health/progress loop... Ended up not getting any further and panning it

[@Raiden3651]

Funny seeing the Sengoku Basara billboard ad for the JPN version of Streetwise.

[@linx832]

I actually liked this game. The story was a lil off but somewhat tolerable. The gameplay was decent for a beat-em-up at the time. The music however was probably the best part of the game, it kept me playing to the end.

[@lordvlygar2963]

I love Streetwise. It's a great game until it turns into a bad Resident Evil knock-off.

[@juanmartinstehle5047]

Back to the old beat em' ups... You should do a video on Denjin Makai. An obscure Japanese beat em' up developed by WinkySoft and published by Banpresto.

[@SuperKillekille]

I guess Bomberman was also too colorful and cutesy for us outside Japan, and tried to do same thing with Bomberman Act-Zero. Thankfully it didn't kill the series.

[@hattyhenben]

i have to find this version of the game. never knew it existed

[@entertainmentwizard2703]

They should go back and finish that cell shaded Final Fight game and it was bad of Capcom for closing the studio after this game, they just did what they where told to do!

[@Invidente7]

Seven Sons, huh? I wonder what was that about.

[@HiddenChimera]

I never got why this game always gets so much hate. I enjoyed it just fine. Soft 7 hard 6. Pretty much every aspect that people complain about: graphics, gameplay, story, voice acting, etc. I say the same thing, “Yeah, it’s not especially good, but I’ve seen way worse.”

[@timtapp5931]

Absolutely breaks my heart that the Dega Saturn didn't find it's proper success outside of Japan due to poor business management. It's such a great system! Glad it's getting more love now.

[@megagrey]

The moment I saw it involved stomping rats, I truly understood the depths of Streetwise's depravity.

[@devingiles6597]

Hey, Top Hat Gaming Man. How about you do a video on Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game?

[@Low_Standards_Gaming_YT]

It's hard to believe how Capcom nearly destroyed itself durring that era.

[@sudolinuxfish]

Excellent as always

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Only thing good about Street Fighter Streetwise was it inspiring Red Rappers Final Fight Song " Lemme Show you how to knock out a Light" for Cody in SF4.

[@ZombiAstral]

How hilarious that NAMCO's URBAN REIGN did what this game tried 15 times better. Delivered a superb beatemup experience, that played better, looked better and was more successful. Beatemups CAN be even better in 3D with enough passion and hard work. Urban Reign, GODHAND (admittedly a financial flop) and MORTAL KOMBAT: SHAOLIN MONKS are examples of some of the absolute best in the business to this day.

[@timzster]

Another awesome video, and one that covers a game with a legacy so bad it hasn’t age well (nice Brutalism reference too). I actually played and beat FF Streetwise - and it was a few years coming from all the GTA and Getaway games that came out for the PS2 that were highly superior in terms of capturing that “sandbox” style feel. While I don’t think the game is a classic, it wasn’t bad and the soundtrack/ remix songs were ok. I was actually surprised you didn’t mention Shenmue save for the developer screenshot -as I feel this game had a lot more in common with the Yu Suzuki game series thanks to its camera, mini games, & beat em up style fights and upgrades.

[@boromir0062]

The music is amazing, the voice acting is so bad its good. It has coop. You can play the origiNal final fight. Idk. I don't get the hate outside of the horrible camera

[@cherokeefit4248]

KFC used to have an item off the menu called streetwise. Ever since than, FF seemed off with that name.

[@newageBoundhippie]

it's also kind of interesting that Capcom has only ever re-released the original Final Fight....hell I own it twice between Final Fight Double Impact on Xbox 360 and Capcom Beat-Em Up Bundle on Xbox One. I'd love to get 2 & 3, and even Mighty Final Fight as well...wonder why they remain exclusive to the SNES & NES respectively

[@TheCyndicate]

Dude,.. that's not "Snatch". That's the basement from Fight Club.

[@AcornElectron]

Yeah, not everything Final Fight was gold Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.

[@milestrombley1466]

A 3D beat em up can still work, but they made the game too gritty.

[@sarkasmdaimyo2572]

I still got this It definitely could've been better, only four arears to patrol with lack of exploration. The Hip-Hop soundtrack to the game made it feel you were in the nitty-gritty of New York (Metro) City, there should've been more Mad Gear members lurking around to tie-in with the story, Capcom cheap-out turning it into Incredible Resident Evil Hulks marauding the place at the end. Go figure!!!

[@BigEOT3]

Maki best girl. We need a Streets of Rage 4 style revival with all the major characters including Maki and Lucia playable.

[@barbedwire4452]

Why are the games i love the failures of the franchise

[@PANTYEATR1]

i think if Capcom would have kept Final Fight 2D like the original and added more move sets like the original Saturday Night Slam Masters, it would have done much better. like a side scrolling SNSM that played like Final Fight.

[@Wolfsays]

I actually liked that game lol.

[@sajmeister]

Thanks for doing this video, even though this game was pure 💩💩

[@sosunnyjoe]

I loved this game didn't know it was hated i wanna play it again now.

[@SandroSensei]

Great!

[@kadosho02]

Sometimes a series has to experiment to find a win or failure. Streetwise had neat ideas. But the results sounded super meh. I never heard of or played Streetwise. Alpha with Cody & Guy felt right (plus with Cody being mayor in SFV) Could FF return? Maybe. But to reconnect with the past, and bring it to modern platforms. Definitely possible. Hopefully the right Dev team gets a chance to create it someday soon.

[@sanderbakker2126]

No more double dragon games,no more turtles games and now no more final fight games😱😱😱 whatever will we watch on Sunday now???

[@rexgamewell]

Never ever heard of streetwise.

[@morganmcgill3169]

The warriors from Rockstar is a better 3D Final Fight than Street wise.

[@rampage88atp77]

Great content as always 👍🏻👍🏻

[@Risperdali]

I mean, it's not impossible to make a good 3D beatemup. The Warriors came out around the same time (maybe a bit later), and it was much better!

[@realamericannegro977]

This game would have been incredible if they did it correctly. I think they should take another crack at it and listen to feedback.

[@bruceleeds7988]

As a GTA clone IT FLOPS! for what it is... I LOVE THIS GAME!

[@TheCyanideSmoker]

Why is damn near every studio unable to make a good 3d beat-em-up?

[@boromir0062]

Not gonna lie I love this game for how stupid and edgy it is

[@baboner1046]

Imagine the yakuza team tackling final fight

[@cipher2956]

i loved the game back then didnt know it was a failure

[@agentrevenge3370]

You should check out The TakeOver on PC and the PS4.

[@abdelali9279]

10:33 what was that girl doing under the guy's desk? 😳

[@troystrain2436]

This game looks like it could've been cool if it was done right.

[@Invidente7]

They wanted to do it right, but the suits forced'em to do a GTA clone.

[@DarkkingForever]

I wish we would of gotten that unleased version of Final Fight.

[@coyotestylepro1150]

How does Streetwise compare to Fighting Force 64?

[@Badguy10472]

I am probably 1 of the few people who walks this earth who rather enjoyed final fight streetwise. Let me be clear this game isn't the greatest. Horrible graphics, Camera Angles aren't perfect, controls are above average. Needless to say it has great music and its a decent semi open worldish game. Very gritty presentation. The game is a 7 or 7.5 at best. It was cheap, it was enjoyable for what it was, it entertained.

[@generalkenobi7148]

*"Hello There! This is good stuff keep up the great work!"*

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

General Kenobi!

[@generalkenobi7148]

:)

[@Volcannon]

A new Final Fight game would be the bees knees IMHO.

[@realamericannegro977]

Too many blue prints these days for a 3D Final Fight game to be bad.

[@stevensonchambers5577]

So basically it's a contest between Final Fight Revenge and Final Fight Streetwise for the worst Final Fight game ever

[@etrotm12thebluewolf15]

Okay so my feelings about Final Fight Streetwise..... Its alright. Its not one of the best games out there of all time of course, but its enjoyable to me. I actually like how it controls, i thought the GTAish approach was interesting (not needed but interesting), but my favorite thing about this game was the Bonus Feature you unlock in this game. The things i really disliked about Street wise was the zombie stuff. It just doesnt suit Final Fight as it started to feel ike like this was turning into Final Fight X Resident Evil..... But the RE characters were missing. I dont know what they were thinking when they made the story. As for that cancelled Final Fight game, that actually looks MILES better than Streetwise. I would have loved to play that. And Cammy getting her own FPS game would be awesome honestly. That reminds me of how Nina from tekken got her own spin off game called "Death by Degrees". But i do like the concept of the Final Fight Streetwise, but the execution just has me feeling mixed about the game since there are things i do genuinely like but also dislike too.

[@danielochoa4905]

i freaking love brutalism

[@elkaro5]

Man, I love brutalism. But not early polygon games.. 🤣🤣