Final Vendetta

Final Vendetta's gameplay is dated but solid and fun. It's more than worth it for any fan of fast action games.

Final Vendetta does an able job of using and enhancing tried and tested formulas of the past, and is great fun for either one or two players. Its brevity is ameliorated by its single-credit format; a bold but welcome move that makes learning to clear it rewarding for all the right reasons – but it’s a setup some may struggle with. There’s still room for experimentation in this genre with regard to original systems, and sadly Final Vendetta doesn’t really attempt any of that, instead opting for more traditional '90s arcade fare – albeit with lots of variation in how you smack people around. If ...

A short burst of nostalgic cartoon violence, Final Vendetta is uneven but mostly entertaining.

Final Vendetta looks and sounds like a mountain of games that came before it but does nothing to separate itself from those same games.

Final Vendetta is so very nearly another scrolling beat 'em up revival that could have rubbed shoulders with Streets of Rage 4. Instead, it's scuppered by an egregious level of difficulty that slowly sucks the fun away. If you crave retro beat 'em up nirvana, then do yourself favour, and play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge.

Final Vendetta isn’t a bad game, but in trying to ape the classics it loses sight of the true goal post: the games that currently rule the roost. Even then, we’d still rather play the original Final Fight or Streets of Rage than this middling effort that just simply doesn’t feel as welcoming or enjoyable. Ultimately, if you’re a huge fan of the genre and have a great deal of patience you might get some fun out if it, but it’s never going to be remembered as a classic.