Final Vendetta

The price is way too high for this amount of content and replay value. Try to get it through a bundle instead.
If you just want to hit hard, you don't have to wait. After a short, stylish intro, you choose one of three characters: Duke is the all-rounder, Claire is particularly nimble, and wrestler Miller is a bit more ponderous, but hits all the harder for it. Alone or in pairs you fight your way through six mostly horizontally scrolling London stages and mix up masses of gang members. At first, the brawls are reminiscent of Capcom's fighting games. At the bottom of the screen, a super bar loads up for successful actions, there is a dedicated block button, and you also have nimble sprinting and dodging actions in your repertoire. This makes for a nice learning curve and enables approaches that go beyond classic punching and mashing.
You'll need them, too, because Final Vendetta is pretty tough: Enemy hits drain a lot of energy, the bosses in particular are pretty tough, and the game doesn't help you much in other ways, either. Weapons you pick up disappear immediately if you lose them or throw them away during a grab or special, and there are no continues in Hard or Easy mode! However, a new casual variant got added via patch, which will allow even inexperienced street brawlers to reach the end of the game.
Each character has a unique set of double-tap special strikes that may be chained together with the super button. Duke is particularly adept at this, as he can transition from a rush to a flash kick, sending punks skyward for some juggling. All characters have the Streets of Rage 3 dodge and grab repertoire as well, allowing you to grab an enemy and toss them behind you, crack them one (very literally with Miller's backbreaker), or vault over them to transform them into a concrete pancake.
You can block, fly kick, kick-bounce, dodge, down-drop strike, and even kick floored adversaries in the gut, which is a rewarding feature reminiscent of Konami's Vendetta. It's a tremendously expansive repertoire that, with skill, can be utilized in a smart, deliberate blow. It also feels good to mix it up with intent; to throw a few of knees to the gut and then hold forward to kick a person across the screen before firing a scorching super into a nearby crowd.
The enemies are well-balanced, including big males, small guys, fast gals, and those who windmill-kick dangerously on wake-up. There are just two topics that stand out in the combat negotiations. To begin, with the basic standing-punch combination, you must temporarily suspend your inputs to activate your double-tap moves; and second, none of the twenty-four preset input configurations let you to attach shoulder buttons. The latter, on the other hand, has been done on purpose since Bitmap Bureau wants you to master the game as it was designed.
The soundtrack is a well-balanced blend of techno, breakbeats, and funky jazz-inspired loops. The music of Utah Saints, the '90s dance act that contributed with the game's scoring, will be familiar to anyone who knows their work, and having them featured is a great bonus. The audio isn't quite on the same level as Streets of Rage, but it's close.
Downside
You suffer a lot of damage from foes, and it's easy to get ganged up on quickly. These variables make it difficult to get through it without doing any continuous meaningful work, even on Easy, and it's usual to drop lives early on until you gain a feel for your character's advantages and approach each juncture pragmatically. It's well-structured in that it takes more concentrated learning and on-the-fly ability than Streets of Rage, but it's nowhere like as harsh as Final Fight. Instead, it falls somewhere in the middle. It's fun to master each segment, the many types of threats, and the best approach to give out licks without taking any in return. This is facilitated by numerous weapons, such as knives and swords.
The most serious complaint, while indisputably sleek, is the lack of creativity and the price. Later on, there are a few traps to avoid - things that must be memorized lest you get swatted or squished - but overall, one couldn't help but feel there's more that can be done with the genre. While its diverse move set is a benefit, its lack of originality elsewhere is a letdown. It plays well, and a lot of care has gone into its mechanics, yet the backstreet, the train, the elevator, the dock, the nightclub, and the henchman's manor are neither distinctive nor inventive. Combined with the high price and the 60 minute time you need in order to reach the ending... I would definitely recommend getting this but via bundle.
Conclusion
The British brawler also comes across quite a bit more classic compared to the aforementioned titles, and even if you've just relaxed your way through the Ninja Turtles story mode, the gang members in Final Vendetta will quickly give you a run for your money. Only those who use all available options wisely will make it past the third stage here. However, the crisp difficulty here contributes significantly to the motivation: You'll notice yourself getting a little better and more proficient at the game with each attempt - and likewise, you'll notice that Final Vendetta borrows from the arcade classics but ignores their unfair coin-eating tactics. If you got a taste for sidescrolling brawlers with a bit of Ninja Turtles and Streets of Rage 4, you'll have a blast with Final Vendetta, especially in two-player mode.

A word of warning: if you're wondering whether Final Vendetta is a good beat-em-up or not, depends on how long have you been playing the many games in this particular genre, and if you can appreciate this title's attempts to reference the older arcade classics without having any intentions at all of reinventing the wheel in the process.
The story is serviceable and nothing more. One of the heroes' sister has been kidnapped by a criminal gang and is up to our heroes to beat the snot out of everyone in their way until they find her. You'll come across the typical items to help you in your quest such as food and the ocassional weapon just lying in the floor or inside something an object you can break. There are hidden lives as well which are somewhat better hidden than the average item so keep an eye out for them.
Our three heroes seem to follow the usual archetypes found in the genre. Claire is the fast character with weak moves and good range, Duke is the all-rounder with some great combo tools and Miller is the heavy type character with powerful throws. Their repertoire of moves has a nice depth and you can pull off some nifty tricks if you're willing to put in the time to practice.
Despite only featuring six stages (typical arcade beat em up length), challenge wise, the game has something for everyone. Casual and Easy will acomodate beginners and those who simply want to have some fun beating up everyone coming their way; while Hard and Ultra (unlockable) will demand your attention and a deep knowledge of what your chosen character excels at, as well as what each enemy type can do if you hope to beat the game.
There are also a few unlockables such as a few extra game modes, an extra difficulty level, and a couple more goodies, if you're willing to put in the work for them. Thus, it is safe to say the game is not lacking on things to do should you want to keep playing once you beat its arcade mode.
The game looks quite nice. Featuring big, colorful sprites that are nicely animated and some nicely detailed backgrounds. Soundwise, the game is no slouch either. Decent (if sparse) voice work and sound effects do their job and a kicking soundtrack featuring songs from Utah Saints and Featurecast set the mood for brawling.
With so many things going for it, the game does feature some downsides. The main campaign is short, gameplay is quite solid but won't impress anyone who's used to the flashy combo geared gameplay from the likes of Streets of Rage 4, Streets of Fury or Fight'n Rage, just to name a few. Also, this is a game you would want to buy on a deep sale since it's default asking price is a tad too high.
Many gamers state the game's greatest fault lies in it's lack of innovation, but that's an unfair statement in my opinion. The game is obviously a tribute to the older games in the genre and it is a solid game at that. If you're looking for another beat em up to add to your collection, provided you have played all the other heavy hitters available first, this one is a solid choice. It won't blow you away, but it will give you a good time and a solid challenge if you stick with it!

Perfect on the Deck.
Very bare bone. Can be finished in 45mn, 4 characters, 6 levels, 6 bosses. Can be replayable if you're looking to unlock achievements, otherwise meh. Got it in a bundle, fine for 3€.

No matter the genre Bitmap Bureau always delivers an awesome experience!
It doesn't do anything groundbreaking but movement and sidestepping feel really good. Final Vendetta also has the right amount of challenge on Hard mode to have a good time because there are no continues.

The game doesn't try much new but is a decent raw brawler.
It has good pacing and flow with good encounter layout / design.
You get a block, also a side dodge, which if you take the fight to the top or bottom screen bounds it then turns it into a duck and weave without altering character positioning, nice. Use it often, It works well.
What's odd is the game never states the above is possible and doesn't even tell you all the moves you can do. You just come across new things as you play.
A couple annoyances are with highest difficulty being gated behind having to clear the game with the heavy slow character and a couple bosses have too many invincibility moments making them less fun to fight.

Awesome, classic beat'em up game. However, it is EXTREMELY short and is overpriced. It has a great soundtrack, and the pixel graphics are gorgeous. I would recommend it on sale.

I really like this game. I'm no good at beat em ups so I only beat it on easy but it's a really easy to understand and fun classic style beat em up. I also really like the length of the game, because other beat em ups take forever to finish whereas this game is a good thirty minutes or so. I hope they make another one, this game is sick, definitely gonna try for the higher difficulty clears!