Price: £22.49 eShop (£29.99 Physical via Amazon)
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Publisher: Numskull Games
Players: 1-2
Back in the day, there were shooters, brawlers and some other games. An endless diet of Double Dragon, IK+, Renegade, Final Fight, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Streets of Rage, Ninja Turtles and sooo many more. So engrained are they in my little brain that there's a twinkle of delight when a new one turns up. Having loved Streets of Rage 4 to bits last year, now we have Final Vendetta.
It comes from Bitmap Bureau, the team behind the sublime Xeno Crisis, clearly people who know a thing about making a classic genre stand out in a modern game. And Final Vendetta looks and plays the business - with one or two players setting off to the rescue across six shortish stages.
Claire Sparks has the most to lose as her sister is kidnapped (heaven forbid a developer break away from this cast-iron trope) by an evil gang, Syndic8. She can be partnered with Duke Sancho or butch Miller T. Williams if you have a mate to play with (local only). Pick wisely, then head into the mean London streets to kick butt, barrels and the odd British phone booth.
The controls keep things simple with attack, block (if you want to play it properly, but it feels like a strange addition), jump (more pain than its worth) and super move buttons. Play around with the controls and you can find some fun special moves, powered by the Super bar.
Dashes and vertical movement can help you get clear or wade into the fight. The early battles help players find their feet, and knock the enemy off theirs to give them a good kicking (definitely a British trait). Spamming attack seems to work, but there's something special about a well timed jump and kick, or wiping out a bunch of enemies with a special move.
The street furniture and small roster of cookie-cutter villains instantly bring to mind the classics. In that respect, Final Vendetta perhaps plays it a bit too safe. But once you're happy kicking goons into the scenery, the action races along as gangs are dispatched down in the Underground, the mandatory elevator scene, and some more familiar London landmarks. Just don't look for a hyper-fighting refined combat system, the kicks and blows feel a little too primitive for that.
The modestly-paced action is sound tracked by some slick Utah Saints beats and other artists, but nothing that screams retro brawler unfortunately. And I think the Bitmaps could have dropped in a few London gangland classic movie nods to treat its audience. Otherwise, Final V feels like its done a quick blag and scarpered, with no need for a sequel - just as well given the title.
While I still play Xeno Crisis most days, the nature of Final Vendetta as a brawler means it won't be as long-lasting, once I've found the few secrets, but that's no bad thing. It will always be there when I feel the need to dish out a good (short) pummelling. Add in boss rush and versus mode to stretch the lifespan out a bit beyond the hour and a bit of main game, and this feels like a basic but solid addition to the punchy roster of Switch scrappers.
Score 4/5
