Capcom Fighting Collection (PS4) Review

Capcom are back with another retro collection. This time, they’ve decided to focus on ten titles from their long, storied career in developing pulse-pounding, blood pressure-raising fighting games. The Capcom Fighting Collection comes into the ring with the following titles from their extensive catalogue: Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness, Red Earth, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge, Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire, Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalker’s Revenge, and Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire.

Now, if you’re looking at that lineup and are thinking that the Darkstalker titles are a major selling point for this collection, you would be right. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that the other titles available are slouches because this is one strong brawling collection. If anything, Capcom have managed to pick a nice selection from their catalogue that not only brings back one fond title for many – Street Fighter II, of course! – but highlights some of their lesser-known titles and many that are just plain fun. In short, there isn’t a single dud in this collection.

That said, if like me you’re an old fogey who hasn’t put much time into 2D fighters in ages, you may marvel at the fact that you were actually ever any good in this genre! Something emphasised by the choice of games, which manages to showcase the evolution of Capcom’s fighting games in general. From the somewhat restrictive movement style of early Street Fighter‘s slower, with their precise timing system; to the faster, easier, and combo-friendly nature in the later Darkstalker titles. The old adage still remains true regardless of which game you choose – they’re easy to pick up but hard to master.

As with the titles in Capcom Arcade Stadium (you can check out our review here), most of these games come packaged with both their English and Japanese versions. The exceptions are Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalker’s Revenge and Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire, which are in Japanese only. Of note, the Capcom Fighting Collection also marks the first time that Red Earth has been released outside of arcades.

When it comes to the lesser-known titles, Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness is an insanely fun Mecha fighting game with high-speed dashing and combo-focused gameplay, featuring changing stages as you fight. Red Earth is a unique take on the fighting genre as it’s a fighting-RPG, in which you take on boss-level opponents in each fight. The game showcases an in-depth RPG story in the “Quest Mode”, where you can level up your fighter and – in ye old days – use a password system to continue your playthrough on your next arcade visit.

The standout title, for me at any rate, has to be Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. It uses fantastic Chibi-character variants of existing Capcom characters, whil also offering less complex gameplay and fun combat moves that are easier to pull off. It had me hooked right from the beginning.

Visually, the games have been remastered to look and play like their original arcade counterparts, with some quality of life improvements thrown in for good measure. For any serious fighting fan, there is both a “Training Mode” and “Move List” you can quickly access in each title. Each game also offers granular difficulty settings – rather than just the coin-eating arcade difficulties – that make all the world of difference when you’re trying to learn. That said, if you really want to test your skill against a brutal A.I., the option is still there. Other modern accessibility features include customisable controls, one-button supers, and a quick-save system to boot.

Of course, all the games in this collection have local-coop support but, valiantly, Capcom have included full online multiplayer for each game in the collection – including Casual Matches, Ranked Matches, and Custom Matches. However, the potentially niche status of some games in this collection (who doesn’t own Street Fighter II in some form or the other already by now?) means you may find yourself in a multiplayer ghost town very quickly if you’re you’re gaming with friends. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test the network performance during my review period as I could rarely find a match and spent the bulk of my time jamming this collection offline.

Finally, Capcom have gone ahead and included a Museum for serious fans to sift through. The Museum contains over 500 pieces of artwork and over 400 music tracks from their games. This gives you access to each game’s full soundtrack, along with new music created specifically for the Capcom Fighting Collection. One upside is that if you do decide to brave the multiplayer landscape, instead of waiting in a lobby, you can wait out your time browsing through the Museum.

Outside of its quiet multiplayer lobbies, and my own wishes for other fighting titles I’d liked to have seen included here – cough, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, cough – there’s nothing bad to be said about the Capcom Fighting Collection. There’s an excellent assortment of games that look fantastic on modern displays and run perfectly, with each title well worth taking the time to learn how to play. Throw in the expansive Museum showcasing a ridiculous amount of art and audio – other developers take note – and Capcom Fighting Collection becomes a must-have for the serious fighting aficionado.

A review code for the Capcom Fighting Collection was provided to gameblur by the publisher.