Final Fight 3

The second of two SNES-exclusive sequels to Final Fight. Unlike Final Fight 2, this one feels more like a proper follow-up rather than just another version of the original, with various new play mechanics such as dashing, moonwalking, input-based special attacks and even a super move gauge. Guy returns in this entry, fresh off his competitive fighting game debut in Street Fighter Alpha, giving SNES players who missed out on Final Fight Guy a chance to try out the Bushin-ryū successor.

Test Area


Using the Stage Select menu option "TR" (seen below) or the Pro Action Replay code 7E1F032B, you can access a small debug area. It starts out exactly the same as stage one, but when you get to the first stop, there will be barrels. Each barrel will have a different object in it. Once the items cycle, each of the regular enemies in the game will appear, but one hit will defeat each of them.

Once you defeat the enemies, you're stuck there. Kinda neat to try out though.

Debug mode


This game has a monster of a debug mode! To activate it, change ROM address to  (or use the code ) and hold Select until the Capcom logo fades out. (This address contains the first digit of the game's last build date/time, as displayed in the screenshot. Any non-zero value will enable debug mode; was used here for aesthetic reasons.)

The PAL version of Final Fight 3 has the debug mode enabled by default, no changes necessary (was this overlooked by the programmers when porting the game?)

Pressing A, B, X, or Y activates one of four presets, which automatically set appropriate debugging flags for certain tasks; for example, the "TAKE A PICTURE" preset (see image) would have been used to take screenshots of the game.

Each option corresponds to one of the 16 bits in RAM address, starting with the most significant bit.

Error messages
A number of ASCII error messages are sprinkled around the program code. All but one of them are preceded by, which is a BRK (break) instruction, and some code paths do indeed end up here. Unfortunately, the only code at the BRK vector is a BRA (branch) that points to itself, effectively freezing the game. Presumably, if the game locked up during testing, the developers could trace the code back to the point where it broke and read the error message stored there.


 * Score write overflow (this one is not preceded by a BRK)
 * Auto Command Un-Non
 * Tehas Scroll Pointer Un-non
 * Seqence Command Un-non
 * Tsukami aite nashi (つかみあいてなし, 掴み相手無, "No opponent to grip.")
 * Stage Seqence Err
 * Map color Change Method Error
 * ItemControl Command Err
 * Sound Command Un-non