Glorious nostalgia was once again brought to me as I popped “Capcom Classics Collection” into my PS2 a few days ago. Me and wifey were in the game store and wanted to buy something but were peeved at their selection. So we bought a used copy of CCC becasue it was cheap and actually had the original Final Fight on it. I figure since I’ve been going on and on about Streets of Rage, I might as well remind myself of the game that originally got me into SOR.
Everyday after school, I’d stop by the local bodega where they had the Final Fight coin-op and popped in as many quarters as I had left from my lunch money. Some days, I purposely ate light just so I could have enough money to play it sufficiently. I never got very far. But I always picked big ‘ol Mayor Mike Haggar. He was my favorite. I don’t know why– I wasn’t into bears or big burly men or anything. Maybe I was just responding to what an ingenius character the guy is. This former Street Fighter, now Mayor of an urban hellhole, takes the law into his own hands, along with a couple knives or pipes.

When Street Fighter 2 replaced Final Fight at the corner store, I was awestruck and immediately forgot about Final Fight. Little did I know back then that Street Fighter and Final Fight were created by the same guy. And get this– SF2 was originally supposed to tie-in to Final Fight with the inclusion of Haggar! Sometime during production of the game, however, Haggar was changed into a new character, Zangief. This is the real reason why Zangief and Haggar have the same moves. To explain this in the storyline (now that Final Fight and Street Fighter are truly united) it’s said that Zangief and Haggar trained together. Sadly, Haggar hasn’t been playable in a Street Fighter game yet even though all his lackeys have. So this is my tribute to my favorite Mayor and a truly awesome game. (Which I finally beat since Final Fight on Capcom Classics Collection has unlimited continues! It’s almost the equivalent of popping about 10 bucks into a coin-op! ^___^)


I’m also including another censored Splash Page preview from Anti-Heroes Issue #3. This one features Nuke, whom I talked a little about in my last post. Enjoy!