Nationality American Birthplace Manhattan | Fighting style Professional Wrestling Designed by Akira Yasuda | |
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Voices Tesshō Genda (Namco x Capcom), Kiyoyuki Yanada (Marvel vs. Capcom 3), Richard Newman (Street Fighter cartoon) Similar | ||
Michael Duncan "Mike" Haggar (マイク・ハガー, Maiku Hagā), also known simply as Haggar, is a fictional character in the Final Fight series of video games. Haggar first appeared in the 1989 Capcom arcade game Final Fight and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in the Saturday Night Slam Masters series of video games and various other video game appearances.
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Design and characteristics
Haggar is depicted in the original Final Fight wearing olive-colored trousers with brown shoes and a brown strap over his right shoulder, which is the usual depiction of the character. Some games deviate slightly from this design. For example, in the Slam Masters series, he wears green tights with a red trim and brown wrestling boots. By the events of Final Fight 3, he is given a pony-tail hairstyle and wears green bicycle shorts as part of his outfit. Haggar is of Scottish descent, and even keeps a Scottish flag hanging in his gym.
In video games
Introduced as one of the three playable characters in Final Fight, Haggar is a former professional wrestler turned mayor of Metro City, which is plagued by the Mad Gear gang: the most dominant street gang in the city. After he refuses their bribe, they kidnap his daughter Jessica in hopes of forcing Haggar into a reluctant cooperation with them. Haggar recruits the help of Jessica's boyfriend Cody and mutual friend Guy to rescue her and defeat the gang. Haggar later appeared in the sequel games of Final Fight, in which he battles against a revived Mad Gear in Final Fight 2 in order to rescue Guy's girlfriend and sensei, and fighting against the Skull Cross gang in Final Fight 3. He also appears in related titles such as Final Fight Revenge, in which he fights against members of Mad Gear while searching for his missing daughter, and Mighty Final Fight, which happens to be a parody of the original Final Fight. Haggar also appears in Final Fight: Streetwise as a retired mayor in charge of a boat repair shop and training gym, offering assistance to Cody's brother Kyle. While not playable in the game's story mode, he can be recruited as a temporary computer controlled ally and is playable in the game's arcade mode. As such, Haggar is the only character to be playable in every Final Fight game.
Beyond the Final Fight series, Haggar appears as a playable character in Saturday Night Slam Masters and its two sequels, Muscle Bomber Duo and Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2. He was also intended to appear in the canceled 3D fighting game Capcom Fighting All-Stars as a selectable character, reprising his role as mayor to save Metro City from a bomb attack. He also appears as one of several playable characters in the crossover game Namco × Capcom, and as a character card in each of the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash titles. Haggar appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Haggar has also made several cameo appearances such as in Alex's ending sequence for Capcom Fighting Evolution; in the backgrounds of Guy's Final Fight-inspired stages in Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Super Street Fighter IV; Chun-Li's background in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo; and with Zangief wearing his clothing as an alternate outfit in Street Fighter IV. Haggar made a brief appearance in one of the 2011 trailers for Street Fighter X Tekken where he gets beaten by King, and also appears within the game's "Mad Gear Hideout" stage, where he arrives during the final round of a match and attacks several Mad Gear members decked in kabuki attire before chasing fellow Final Fight character Sodom; this same stage reappears in Ultra Street Fighter IV, with Haggar once again making an appearance. Haggar is one of the few prominent character of the Final Fight series who has never been a playable character in the Street Fighter series.
In other media
Haggar appears in the American Street Fighter cartoon episode "Final Fight". While the plot followed that of the same arcade game, Haggar was unable to act against the Mad Gear gang due to them holding Jessica hostage, and instead recruited the help of Ryu and Ken to rescue her, along with Cody and Guy. He reappears at the conclusion of the episode to be reunited with his daughter shortly before Mad Gear's defeat. Haggar makes occasional appearances in the Street Fighter comic series. Here, Haggar's backstory has been slightly changed, with the character being portrayed as both a professional wrestler and an action-film star prior to his political career. Haggar also appears as a Mayor in the online flash cartoons Weebl and Bob's Team Laser Explosion, and appears as the protagonist in the stop-motion animation "A Sentinel in Metro City."
Critical reception
Noted as the star of the Final Fight series, Haggar has been described as both iconic and one of the most unforgettable characters in gaming history. Haggar was named by Gamest magazine the best video game character of 1990, placing first in their top fifty characters list and appearing on the issue's cover, and later named the forty-fifth best character of 1993. In 2006, he was cited by Retro Gamer as one of the heroes of classic video gaming. In August 2009, GamesTM featured him in their "Hall of Fame", describing his character background as "wonderfully layered", with his aspects of being a father, a hard-working mayor, and former wrestler giving him "a sense of humanity" and "instantly memorable". They went on to state that without the character, the Final Fight series would not be as notable, calling Haggar "integral to its charm". Nintendo Power listed Mike Haggar as having one of the best mustaches.
Haggar has been called one of the best and most enjoyable characters to use in the Final Fight series by reviewers of the titles, and GamesRadar described him as "arguably the most beloved character to come out of the Final Fight series", expressing their wishes to see him appear in Super Street Fighter IV. He ranked third in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the top ten video game politicians, in which he was compared directly to former Minnesota governor and wrestler Jesse Ventura. Play further discussed Mike's position as a Metro City's major alongside his actions to the point of listing him in their "Top 8 Morally Neutral Characters On PS3" feature. In another article, Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the character's behavior and actions in Final Fight, citing him as their favorite aspect of Capcom Classics Collection and stating "You'd have to be a damn communist not to vote for this guy". IGN listed him as a character they hoped to see as an unlockable character in home ports of Street Fighter IV, noting his fighting style as "a perfect fit" for the title; they later named him one of their favorite wrestlers in video games. GameSpy named him one of the "25 Extremely Rough Brawlers" in video gaming, praising the brutality of his fighting style. GameDaily named Haggar one of their favorite Capcom characters of all time, placing him 18th on their "Top 25" list, and later named him one of their favorite heavily muscled characters in video games.