1988 · Taito · Boxing · Sports

Final Blow

Final Blow is a boxing arcade game created in 1988 by Taito. The name would remain the same for all ported platforms, except for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis versions, which Sega released outside Japan as James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing featuring Buster Douglas himself in 1990 immediately after his victory over Mike Tyson.

Released: 1988
Platforms: Amiga Arcade Atari ST Atari ST/STE Commodore 64 Commodore C64/128/MAX FM Towns Master System Nintendo Switch Sega Genesis
Genres: Boxing Sports
Developers: Taito
Publishers: Taito
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action Non-fiction
Country: Japan
Languages: English

About

Final Blow is a 1989 boxing video game developed and released by Taito in arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1989 and in North America in June 1989 by Romstar.

In 1990, Sega released a port for the Sega Genesis titled James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing, which features American boxer James "Buster" Douglas immediately after his upset victory over Mike Tyson, who signed with Nintendo to appear in Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Entertainment System years earlier. (The Master System game released under the Knockout Boxing title in North America is a distinct game developed by Sanritsu Denki; it was released in Europe under the title Heavyweight Champ, taken from a previous Sega arcade boxing game.)

Keywords

boxing
licensed game

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Final Blow is a side-scrolling boxing game where the player moves left and right to control a screen sized boxer. When the timing is right, the player can unleash a final blow punch which can sometimes KO the opponent in a single strike.

The home versions contain a spectator mode where the player can watch their favorite boxers compete.

Story

The game follows a single season boxing championship run. There are five fictional fighters competing: Dynamite Joe - The Miracle Fighter, Fernando Gomez - The South American Eagle, Kim Nang - The Korean Comet, King Jason - The Black King - The Detroit Kid & The Invincible Black Panther.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Final Blow on their June 1, 1989 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Mega placed the game at #9 in their list of the 10 Worst Mega Drive Games of All Time.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
Arcade	1 June 1989	North America · Japan 31 December 1989
Sega Genesis	23 March 1990	Japan · North America 1 December 1990 · Europe 1 June 1991
FM Towns	31 December 1990	Japan
Amiga	31 December 1991	Europe
Commodore C64/128/MAX	31 December 1991	Europe
Atari ST/STE	31 December 1991	Europe