Capcom has been on a roll when it comes to releasing new games or even remastering older games from their catalog. Their latest effort is the Capcom Fighting Collection offering the fans a chance to experience some lost gems from the amazing library of fighting games. Among them are titles that had never seen the light in the West which means this is the first time fans will be able to experience them.
This collection contains ten fighting games, five of which are Darkstalkers-related, making it the essential collection to purchase if you are a fan of this dormant franchise. If you’re not pleased with the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, there are three other titles in the series to choose from. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix are all included. Finally, there are two new IPs that most Western fans are unlikely to have heard of. They are Red Earth and Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness.
I only recall some of the Red Earth characters being in a Capcom crossover fighting game, and the same is true for Cyberbots, where I know Jin Saotome from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It was a pleasant surprise to finally play the games in which these characters first appeared. Both of these games are a lot of fun, and they have a new take on typical fighting games.
Red Earth plays more like an action RPG with a story focus. It lacks the intricacies of a standard fighting game, but it compensates with a solid combat system and some minor RPG mechanics. In comparison to Red Earth, Cyberbots is more of a fighting game, with an emphasis on mech vs. mech battles as well as conventional conflicts. Both are completely localized in English and, to my knowledge, are playable outside of arcades for the first time.
While it’s great to see so many new titles in this bundle, there are a few omissions. Capcom had the option to include some of their iconic games, as well as some crossovers, such as Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. They may be constrained by license agreements here. Aside from that, there’s the Capcom Fighting Evolution, which is best avoided. Capcom appears to have a perfect opportunity to work on a collection of Marvel crossover games, which would be fantastic to have in a bundle. This leaves us with Capcom vs. SNK games that cannot even be played on modern consoles.
The Darkstalkers games are enjoyable if you are a fan, but two of them are duplicate versions of the same game, which feels like a missed opportunity. They just take up a place in the collection and only provide tiny differences, such as slightly different characters. Unless I’m mistaken, these versions were only available in Japan, thus it makes sense to include them, but they could be displayed as a submenu on the Night Warriors selection menu. They also cause a small inconvenience while browsing the game selection menu because the UI immediately switches to the Japanese version for all other titles.
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix was one of the more entertaining games in the bundle for me. It not only boasts a lovely graphic style that features some of the iconic Street Fighter cast, but the battle mechanism is also rather inventive, making it a fun game to play. I hadn’t played Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, but while it has a distinct chibi art style, it is a Street Fighter-focused take on the gem-matching genre, which I dislike.
If you already own Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, there’s still some fun to be had here thanks to the inclusion of two classic Street Fighter games with their unique twists. Aside from that, we have the Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, which is the original Street Fighter 2 with additional features like Turbo mode and other characters that were later introduced to the game. It feels like a title that was unnecessary for this package and could have been replaced with anything else, especially since Capcom had recently published another Street Fighter-themed bundle.
To say the least, the porting work here is impressive. Each of these games has save states, a slew of bonuses, and the opportunity to play both the English and Japanese versions. The art style is preserved via a scanlines filter that runs by default, but we also have the option to change between a series of additional filters that either leave the image unaltered or apply some upscaling to it. The aspect ratio is kept but borders are placed to the sides to give the impression that they are being played in an arcade.
Overall, even at launch, this bundle is definitely worth the price, despite some small disappointments and the issue with Darkstalker effectively having duplicates. Red Earth and Cyberbots are two excellent titles, while the Darkstalkers series has a lot to offer, including some very creative character designs. If you enjoy the genre overall, I recommend giving Capcom Fighting Collection a shot.
Capcom Fighting Collection Game Information
- Price: $39.99
- Publisher: Capcom
- Developer: Capcom
- Platform: PS4 (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
