The arcade version is absolutely fantastic and completely blew me away. Now, we already got two great brawlers in '89: Golden Axe and TMNT, but Final Fight really brought more quality and refinement to the fledgling genre. Huge gorgeous sprites, great animation that feels distinct among the three fighters, massive number of enemies on screen and the core fighting is simply outstanding through the entire ~1 hour playtime. Haggar the wrestler feels completely different from Guy and Cody with Guy being the most nimble and Cody having the best balance. They bash and biff their way through the entire Metro City to save Mayor Haggar's daughter Jessica from the street gang Mad Gear and their despicable boss, Belger.

Capcom really raised the bar in '89 and ushered in a new era for the beat-'em-up genre.