Final Fight 2 (Super NES, 1993)

Going to the SNES version for this one. This is a game I rented a TON as a kid, more than the first one. I considered this by far the superior one. Though at this point in time I definitely like the first more and am not sure what I saw in the second. Let's do it.

We get a recap of the first game. Looks like Cody is the one who defeated Belger in the canon.

Everyone lived happily ever after! ...and nobody saw Cody again in any of these games. Haggar looks like he just had an accident in his pantaloons.

Cody and Jessica went on vacation...forever. Now who will the Mad Gear Gang kidnap?

The answer: Guy's fiancee! What's next, Mrs Haggar? We're running out of significant others!

The playable characters for this game. Haggar is the only one who's playable across the whole trilogy, and you know what you're getting with him. Maki is the quick but low-damage character and Carlos is the medium balanced character who can't hit as hard as Haggar or move as quick as Maki.

Carlos is a Spaniard Sensation and an accomplished bullfighter. I usually played as him back in the day. Judging from this giant map of Asia, the Mad Gear Gang has gone global. Since we're gonna be going all over the place in this game, it reminds me a lot more of Street Fighter II now.

He's got some solid animations, but I'd rate him higher if he shouted "OLE!" and "GOAAAAAAL!" during his attacks.

Haggar is...Haggar. Playing this now I kind of have that anti-step-parent syndrome with the new characters. Where are Cody and Guy?

When I was a kid though, I played this one more, so Carlos and Maki were the "real" cast.

Oh yeah, then there's Maki. She somehow is able to kick-as-an-uppercut.

Her super-move (ala Haggar's clothesline) is this handstand Spinerooni deal. What's Carlos' super move? I'll get to that.

The bosses in this game are considerably weirder than the first game, but at least they still look like real bosses. Final Fight 3, while the best game in the series, mostly has bosses that look too much like regular enemies.

Oh yeah, not only was Guy's girlfriend kidnapped, they also kidnapped Maki's dad, who is also Guy's kung-fu teacher. And also Guy's girlfriend is Maki's sister.

Wait, why isn't Guy playable in this? He has skin in the game and all. Carlos is just some guy that Haggar met at a bullfighting tournament or something.

Next stage: Paris. Gay Paree. Somewhere in the background we can see a quickening. It must be Monday night and Duncan Macleod is in town.

Maki likes to put her knee in people's faces. Are the other guys looking on with fear or envy? Or both?

KNEE TO THE FACE!

"Yeah! Yeah!" say the onlookers.

The car breaking minigame returns. This feels like such a sister-game to Street Fighter II.

Holland is the next level and it looks post-apocalyptic. What's the Mad Gear Gang doing in Holland? Trafficking illegal windmill grain?

Andore now sports overalls.

Few things carry the satisfaction of wailing on a big group of foes with a 2x4 like Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

This dude looks like Dr. Lugae's robot, Balnab. The less said, the better. Haggar unleashes his spinning clothesline super move and it occurs to me that a pro wrestler should have had this as their big move at some point.

Next stage is London, and it's a trainyard which is cool. Speaking of wrestling, Haggar and Andore are fighting over the last ticket to All In at Wembley Stadium.

I'm sure Haggar can get a comp since he's a famous mayor and wrestler / crime fighter. For Andore though, this is his one chance to finally live a childhood dream. Let him win, Haggar. Let him win.

Philippe is this game's total bastard of a boss. He zips around and swings a big cane. Man, F this guy.

Italy! 12 PM! This game is over way too fast, like most games from this era. They relied a lot on being difficult to draw out the runtime. This one isn't particularly difficult though, and I remember finishing it in one afternoon with ease the several times I rented it. Back then you could rent games for $1/day which was pretty awesome. If something took you one afternoon, you just saved $59. If it took you a whole week, you just saved $53. Course I'd still buy the really exceptional things, your Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG type things that I wanted to spend a ton of time on, and renting allowed me to check out a lot more things in small doses.

At long last, here's Carlos' super move. He just spins around wailing on everything with the sword. It's the best of anyone's super moves.

"GOOOOOOOAL!"

Tourists applaud in the background as Carlos whoops up on the subway. Don't get arrested, Carlos! Good samaritans are a dying breed for a reason!

We get some platforming action. Don't fall into that murky Italian water, we don't know what's in it.

Rolento makes his return. Damn, the last boss I wanted to fight again. This guy is such a bastard that he blasts Carlos' entire groin area out of existence!

Japan is the final and deadliest stage. Of course! Not sure why the Mad Gear Gang is based out of Japan now.

Watch out for this electrode-sporting guy. He goes right for the nipples.

The final boss is this guy. How does he fight in those shoes?

Haggar takes him to SUPLEX CITY.

And that's it for this game. It really needed Guy as the fourth, playable character. He was totally shafted in the SNES versions of this series, for some reason. Even the arcade version of this game didn't have him, though.

Next up: The third and best of the series.