Burning Fight

In Japan, Game Machine listed Burning Fight as the eighth most popular arcade game of June 1991. Likewise, RePlay reported the game to be the second most popular arcade game of that month. Since its release, the game has received generally mixed reception from critics, with most comparing it with better known competitors in the beat 'em up genre. Both the Neo Geo and Nintendo Switch versions hold a 55% and 30% respectively on the review aggregator GameRankings. AllGames Kyle Knight regarded Burning Fight as a Final Fight rip-off of inferior quality, criticizing the "jerky and stiff" character animations, lack of enemy variety, as well as the repetitive fighting system and gameplay; however, he commended the controls and audio. In contrast, Consoles Plus Loulou and El Nio Nio compared the game with both Final Fight and Streets of Rage, but praised the presentation, graphics, animations, hard rock-style soundtrack, gameplay and longevity. Computer and Video Games Paul Rand and Tim Boone also regarded Burning Fight as a Final Fight rip-off, while Rand in particular drew comparison between Cody and Guy with two of the playable characters. Unlike Knight, both Rand and Boone praised the visuals, sound, gameplay and longevity, but criticized the absence of unlimited continues in the AES version. GamePros Slasher Quan wrote that Burning Fight was similar to Final Fight in terms of visuals and gameplay, but also praised the presentation and music. Both Joypads Steph and Joysticks Jean-Marc Demoly compared Burning Fight to Final Fight, Ninja Gaiden, and Streets of Rage, but praised the audiovisual presentation and controls. Player Ones Cyril Drevet compared its two-player mode with Double Dragon but commended the visuals, animations, audio, difficulty and longevity. However, Sinclair User highlighted a sense of dullness in the game, stating that "Burning Fight is a competent journey along the usual beat-'em-up road..." Burning Fight has been met with a more mixed reception from critics in recent years, with Eurogamers Dan Whitehead in particular regarding the game as a blatant copy of both Final Fight and Streets of Rage. IGNs Lucas M. Thomas also compared its gameplay to Double Dragon, but regarded it as more playable than Ninja Combat. Nintendo Lifes Damien McFerran and Dave Frear were critical of the game when reviewing the Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch releases respectively, comparing the playable cast of characters with those of Final Fight, while McFerran criticized the poor character animations.