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Beat-em-up games have experienced a significant resurgence in the past few years, with triple-A titles like Streets Of Rage 4 and re-launches like the Capcom Beat-Em-Up Bundle. In addition, plenty of smaller studios are taking it to the streets with 16-bit beat-em-ups. Take, for instance, Bitmap Bureau and Numskull Games' Final Vendetta.
Final Vendetta follows Claire, Miller, and Duke as they roam the streets of London in pursuit of Claire's kidnapped sister. Many familiar archetypes from beat-em-up history appear in this tribute game, such as women with whips, streetwise gangsters, and more. In addition, Final Vendetta is just as brutal, if not more so, than its predecessors. With such a steep difficulty curve, how can you beat the game without losing all your lives first?
Discover Hidden Attacks Through Different Button Inputs
In Final Vendetta's Arcade tutorial, you'll get a breakdown of the control scheme, including attacks, jumps, guards, back-attacks, and super moves. However, the last message of the tutorial encourages players to experiment with new input combinations to discover new attacks.
We can confirm that there are hidden attacks to discover. For instance, pressing both the Special and Guard button unleashes a powerful attack that doesn't rely on the super meter.
The properties of this hidden move vary between the three characters. For instance, Duke's hidden attack unleashes a robust series of punches, whereas Claire's attack pushes enemies away with a Kikosho-Esque energy wall.
As of the writing of this article, we cannot confirm any other hidden attacks. However, we encourage you to continue looking for new maneuvers. You may surprise yourself with a game-changing new move!
Master Defensive Maneuvers To Preserve Your Lives
If you've played through Arcade mode once, you know that even the Easy difficulty is challenging. Unfortunately, Final Vendetta does not offer continues. So, if you lose all your lives, it's GAME OVER. Therefore, managing your lives is essential.
In this regard, Final Vendetta is a highly defensive game. Blocking is imperative when faced with enemy attacks. Still, the guard function does not protect your character from everything. More powerful attacks and throws can easily disable your guard. Therefore, your other essential defensive function is dodging.
You'll have to make plenty of judgment calls when defending against enemies. Sometimes a block leading into a counter is the best move. Sometimes, making space with a quick dodge will give you a chance to breathe.
Then, of course, there will be times when playing the turtle will get you surrounded by enemies. So, you can take Final Vendetta's defensive functions too far. Finding the right balance between attack and defense is your best bet for making it through all seven stages.
Avoid Getting Cornered Whenever Possible
Considering Final Vendetta's unforgiving "no-continue" policy, you can't risk incurring too much damage. Therefore, getting cornered or surrounded by foes is a situation you should avoid whenever possible. Otherwise, you'll find yourself a life shorter in a matter of seconds.
So, what are some ways you can make space between yourself and your enemies? Your back attack and super move are both efficient options. Back attacks can help ward off enemies behind you, giving you a route to escape the corner of the screen. Furthermore, super moves are great at knocking back multiple opponents at once.
Another helpful strategy for more cautious players is traveling through the screen slowly. Most likely, enemies will not target you until they're in your line of sight. Therefore, the more you progress through a stage, the more enemies you'll take on at one time. This strategy will allow you to focus on one or two targets simultaneously rather than dozens.
Learn Your Attacks' Spacing To Land Expert Hits
Attack range is another significant aspect of Final Vendetta's gameplay. After all, since the game prioritizes life preservation, rushing in close to an enemy makes you wide open for attacks. In this regard, any opponent you approach is an invitation for damage.
But how else can you beat down opponents? The solution is not to avoid fighting. On the contrary, you should know your attacks so well that you understand how far away from an opponent you can be while still landing it. This kind of mastery of space will help you approach opponents without punishment.
Another good idea is using your attacks as a means of approach. For example, Duke's hidden attack propels himself forward, so you can use it to get closer to an opponent without taking damage from their attack.
Chaining Attacks Will Help Defeat Opponents Faster
Chains are a significant mechanic in Final Vendetta. From a scoring perspective, maintaining a chain of attacks without getting ambushed is a fantastic way to rack up bonus points at the end of a stage.
However, chaining attacks together to create combos is even more critical. If you can lengthen your attack string, the enemy has less of a window to fight back before you knock them out. In this regard, a healthy offense reinforces a robust defense.
There are various ways you can string attacks together in Final Vendetta. For example, you can launch an opponent into the air with a standard attack combo and then juggle them with a special attack. Or, you can rush in for some ground attacks after knocking down an opponent. What matters is keeping the enemy from fighting back.
The Family Photo Item Grants An Extra Life
Playing with a limited number of lives gets frustrating in Final Vendetta. Luckily, there are secret lives throughout the game. Family photo items represent these lives. Therefore, you should take your time to examine as many parts of a stage as you can before moving on. Otherwise, you may miss one of these game-changing one-ups!
Anticipate Stage Traps To Avoid Unnecessary Damage
As you progress through Final Vendetta's stages, you'll start to pick up on the pattern of events and enemies leading up to each boss. We recommend becoming familiar with these patterns as much as possible so you can develop strategies appropriate for each stage.
One huge pattern to look out for is stage traps. These are especially prevalent in stages like The Elevator and The Docks, when obstacles like cranes and barrels fly at your character. You'll suffer significant damage if you do not notice and dodge or attack these obstacles. Additionally, we encourage you to note any stage traps that trip you up repeatedly.
Weapons Sometimes Are Not The Best Option
Coming across a shiny new weapon in a beat-em-up is always an exciting moment. After all, who doesn't want to hack and slash enemies with a samurai sword? Plus, depending on the situation, a weapon is helpful in a pinch. Still, they can also become more trouble than they're worth.
Most of Final Vendetta's weapons come with extended range and more attack power. However, these attributes can come at the cost of speed. For example, a paddle in The Underground stage can knock out half a life bar in one hit. Plus, the paddle covers at least a whole person's worth of space. Still, this weapon has a slow start-up, which can get interrupted quickly, leading to a rough punishment.
Therefore, when you see a weapon in Final Vendetta, it's best to decide if you need it or not before equipping it. Often, you'll find that you can get more done with your fists than anything else.