Capcom’s collections of fighting games are made with two types of people in mind: the hardcore, and those who are new to fighting games and would love to experience a bit of history. The former category doesn’t need a review like this, as they’ve got their pre-orders locked in already in the hopes that it’ll inspire Capcom and SNK to greenlight a third entry in their crossover series. Quality doesn’t matter, it’s about celebrating the past to try and revive a future. But what about that other group? Is Capcom Fighting Collection 2 worth picking up?
For the most part, absolutely. The selection of games on offer here, from juggernauts like Capcom Vs SNK 1 and 2, underappreciated bangers like Project Justice and more casual party games like Power Stone help ensure that Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is the most varied collection to date. Sure, the Marvel Vs Capcom Collection had a beat ‘em up thrown in there, but there’s a healthy selection of 2D and 3D fighting games here, a realm that Capcom didn’t touch as much compared to Namco or SEGA.
Each game comes with plenty of gallery items, concept art and more for those looking into the history of each or are simply cruising for a new custom background on their Xbox. Full training modes, one button supers and extra options like secret characters being unlocked help enhance the ports too, making it more than just a random selection of arcade ROMs, while Capcom have also gone out and created updated soundtracks for most of the games as an optional extra that players can toggle. The results are,well, the classics are the classics for a reason.
As for the quality of the games featured, most of the games featured are some of Capcom’s best, though one particular outlier is Capcom Fighting Evolution. Just because it’s not of the same quality as the other games in the collection though doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to be remembered. SNK didn’t shy away from their less well-received games when they re-released SVC Chaos: SNK VS Capcom, so it’s nice to see Capcom do the same.
Perhaps the biggest reason why this collection succeeds though, along with other Capcom collections, is the inclusion of online play with rollback netcode for every game, meaning communities who play Power Stone, Project Justice and Capcom Vs SNK can do so in a much easier manner. Sure, services like Fightcade exist, but at the end of the day, not everyone is able to play games on their PC. For the console faithful, collections like this ensure that the old school fighting games receive a new competitive lease on life, which can only be a good thing.
Going back to the arcade ROMs for a second though, something that we mentioned in our preview last month that bears repeating again is that it’s purely the arcade ROMs that Capcom are using for the games here. Games like Alpha 3, Capcom VS SNK 2 and Project Justice had much more fleshed out console ports with additional modes. It’s just something that those who didn’t play these games in arcades should consider, though it’s not a dealbreaker in any sense.
The only real head scratching inclusion in this Collection is Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper. While it was a pretty robust update to the original arcade game, including additional characters from earlier home console releases, vanilla Alpha 3 was included in the 30th Anniversary Collection a few years back, making Alpha 3 Upper feel like a bit of a wasted spot. On top of that Alpha 3 Max in particular, the PSP exclusive, even added Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution, a game featured in this bundle, which makes you wonder why that wasn’t included instead.
Would it have been unreasonable to add Alpha 3 Upper as an update to the 30th Anniversary Collection instead? Perhaps, but the real question is what would Capcom have used to replace it, as their library of fighting games beyond what’s been included in previous collections is starting to run thin. At this point, Capcom Fighting Collection 3 would be both Saturday Night Slam Masters games, Final Fight Revenge and whatever licensed fighting games Capcom could negotiate for. Tatsunoko Vs Capcom would be a good shout, but it only ever received a Wii release, and these collections have been strictly arcade only.
At the end of the day, this is a collection for collectors, specifically those who love to collect fighting game history, and Capcom Fighting Collection 2 gathers some of the best and most deserving of love for players to enjoy. Besides, any collection that includes Capcom Vs SNK 2 is a good collection by default.
Xbox key provided by PR for this review.
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