Though it's not incredibly unique or impressive, Final Fight 3 does pack a pretty good punch. It pales in comparison to Final Fight 2 and it's not really even as classic as the first one, though the playability is better because the difficulty is more tame. Just like the Streets of Rage series, it seems that this installment was a little rushed. And as long as we're talking beat-em-ups, though it's apples and oranges, I did enjoy SOR3 much better than FF3. The story line of FF3 seems a bit more intriguing than the others, because it's not too far fetched and you're basically taking care of street gangs that are trying to throw riots around the city. Much more believable than traveling around the world beating up stray members of the Mad Gear in back alleys and restaurants, and it doesn't lack updated story progress like the first one.

Improvements I would say are the gameplay, the dash feature is an incredible step up, because you can run at your opponents (haha, payback time Andore) and create any kind of combo (except for Dean, he just slides and trips them...yawn). The damage done with characters like Guy and Haggar with this dashing move are substantial, and sometimes can drain half of your opponent's life bar. Looks like the scales are finally balanced here Capcom, Thank you! You can also hop backwards to avoid fire and opponents' attacks which helps a lot.

I'd say the difficulty is average. A little too easy at first (you'll see what I mean) but as you progress through the game the difficulty redeems itself to classic final fight status.

I'd like it if after every round the storyline updates you on where you're going and why. For instance, first I'm at a Chinese restaurant and now I'm at a welding factory. How did I get there and what am I doing there? It's like they gave up after the first two rounds and only tell you what's going on before the big boss. Who is the big boss? Why is he so angry? (can you feel me?)

The sound also is below par (the hits are almost inaudible) and every time you pause the game you listen to 7 seconds of "pause" music before it stops. The grammar is bad in some spots (Congratulations. Now try next level.) The game baddies are a bit boring and some of them don't really do anything ('Joe' kicks you in the back of the head once in awhile, and 'Hunter' will swing his bat if you leave him open for about 4 seconds). As I said though, the difficulty evens itself out. Defeating the end boss was less than rewarding but welcomes you back to play the game again at a harder difficulty.

Overall I thought this game was 'fair'. Not fantastic, not good, not even horrible, but 'fair'.

3/5
Though it's not incredibly unique or impressive, Final Fight 3 does pack a pretty good punch. It pales in comparison to Final Fight 2 and it's not really even as classic as the first one, though the playability is better because the difficulty is more tame. Just like the Streets of Rage series, it seems that this installment was a little rushed. And as long as we're talking beat-em-ups, though it's apples and oranges, I did enjoy SOR3 much better than FF3. The story line of FF3 seems a bit more intriguing than the others, because it's not too far fetched and you're basically taking care of street gangs that are trying to throw riots around the city. Much more believable than traveling around the world beating up stray members of the Mad Gear in back alleys and restaurants, and it doesn't lack updated story progress like the first one. Improvements I would say are the gameplay, the dash feature is an incredible step up, because you can run at your opponents (haha, payback time Andore) and create any kind of combo (except for Dean, he just slides and trips them... yawn). The damage done with characters like Guy and Haggar with this dashing move are substantial, and sometimes can drain half of your opponent's life bar. Looks like the scales are finally balanced here Capcom, Thank you! You can also hop backwards to avoid fire and opponents' attacks which helps a lot. I'd say the difficulty is average. A little too easy at first (you'll see what I mean) but as you progress through the game the difficulty redeems itself to classic final fight status. I'd like it if after every round the storyline updates you on where you're going and why. For instance, first I'm at a Chinese restaurant and now I'm at a welding factory. How did I get there and what am I doing there? It's like they gave up after the first two rounds and only tell you what's going on before the big boss. Who is the big boss? Why is he so angry? (can you feel me? )

The sound also is below par (the hits are almost inaudible) and every time you pause the game you listen to 7 seconds of "pause" music before it stops. The grammar is bad in some spots (Congratulations. Now try next level. ) The game baddies are a bit boring and some of them don't really do anything ('Joe' kicks you in the back of the head once in awhile, and 'Hunter' will swing his bat if you leave him open for about 4 seconds). As I said though, the difficulty evens itself out. Defeating the end boss was less than rewarding but welcomes you back to play the game again at a harder difficulty. Overall I thought this game was 'fair'. Not fantastic, not good, not even horrible, but 'fair'. 3/5