Capcom Fighting Collection [PlayStation 4] | REVIEW

Capcom have a wealth of classic releases in their back catalogue that gamers are itching to play again, so much so that they’ve been able to release multiple successful collections that’ve spanned across both their arcade and home releases. Capcom Fighting Collection is their latest effort at bringing some of those classic releases to modern platforms, with the genre-specific package packing together ten different titles – some of which gamers might be quite familiar with, and some of which they may have never heard of.

There’s one consistency between them all though: a high quality. Whilst I’ll admit that I preferred some of the titles included in Capcom Fighting Collection more than others, there’s no doubting that they’re all thoroughly enjoyable fighting games that’ve been put together in a collection that feels like a real labour of love. Between the great gameplay, the inclusion of online multiplayer, and the Museum that features a TON of artwork across each title, there’s plenty for fighting fans to appreciate here.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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There are ten titles available in Capcom Fighting Collection, which are as follows:

Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire, Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire, Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness, Red Earth, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, and Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition.

Players itching to re-visit Capcom’s horror fighting series Darkstalkers are certainly in luck, with each of the game’s arcade releases included in this collection. It is worth noting that Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge and Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire are re-releases of Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire; they do modify some aspects of the gameplay as well as change up the roster, but they’re mostly the same experience (think along the lines of the multiple updates that came to Street Fighter II). They haven’t been made available outside of Japan before though, so their inclusion here still feels pretty special.

If you enjoyed playing Street Fighter II, you’re very likely to enjoy Darkstalkers, with a lot of similarities seen between both games – both in how they play and how they look. If I’m being honest, I think I’ve always preferred the Darkstalkers series; I’m a BIG fan of horror across all forms of media, whilst the creative cast of characters are brilliant. Whilst there’ll be a few familiar faces to players such as Morrigan, Felicia, and Jedah, other fighters such as Sasquatch, Pyron, Anakaris, and Q-Bee stand out as fun fighters to play as too. It’s hard to pick a favourite between each of the releases, but having not played a whole lot of the third entry in the series, it was really cool to finally get to check out each rendition of it.

“Whilst I’ll admit that I preferred some of the titles included in Capcom Fighting Collection more than others, there’s no doubting that they’re all thoroughly enjoyable fighting games that’ve been put together in a collection that feels like a real labour of love.”

Cyberbots is all about battling with robots, though there’s a neat element of customisation to it since players can switch around the different parts of each mech in order to change up their stats and how they feel to play. It also features Jin as a playable character, who I’m sure most players might recognise from his appearance in the Marvel vs Capcom series of games. It’s a decent game in fairness, and whilst the smaller roster and somewhat simplified battling mechanics do lack the depth seen in some of the other titles of this collection, it was still fun to play.

Then you’ve got Red Earth – a game that I hadn’t even heard of before seeing it in this collection (though that’s probably understandable seeing as it didn’t get a release on consoles before). Now I’ll admit, I was a little underwhelmed when I first booted up the game and only saw four playable characters, but quickly found Red Earth to be one of the most unique and enjoyable releases of Capcom Fighting Collection. Whilst it’s a traditional fighting game as far as the gameplay is concerned, the way you battle monstrous bosses as opposed to typical fighters certainly helps make it feel distinct. It brings RPG-like elements with its levelling up system too, whilst you’ll even find items in battle to give you a boost when slugging away at each enemy’s high health count. Red Earth quickly stood out as one of my favourites in the package and it’s probably the game I’ve spent the most time playing.

Super Puzzle Fighter II is a game that I’ve never really been a big fan of. Whilst the way that it blends together fighting and puzzling is neat, the concept never really clicked with me (and that’s the same case here). Whilst I know it has its fans and the chance to play online against other folk will appeal to a lot of players, I’ve spent barely any time with it. Sorry, Super Puzzle Fighter II!

On the other hand, Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix was a lot of fun. This is another game that I’d never tried before this but that had always appealed to me with its chibi-fighting, so I’m happy to report that my experience with its frantic (and surprisingly cute) fighting was a pleasant one. It’s oozing with fan service across both its roster and environment design, whilst the gem-based gameplay and colourful move set of each character help make it feel much more playful than Capcom’s other fighting games. Out of the ten games in the collection, this is the one I’ve had the most fun playing multiplayer in.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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Last but not least, we have Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition… it couldn’t be a Capcom Fighting Collection without a Street Fighter game, right? It brings together all of the characters from across each Street Fighter II release in all of their different forms and allows you to run wild with them, mixing and matching their fighting styles to see how frantic battles can be. It’s a lot of fun in fairness, but after spending HUNDREDS of hours with Street Fighter II across the years, I didn’t really find myself that inclined to spend much time with it here. Still, with it essentially offering everything you could possibly want from Street Fighter II as a whole, it’s an easy game to come back to when you’ve got a couple of friends over and want to settle some old scores…

There’s a lot to love across each of the ten games on offer, with something here for all kinds of fighting game fans. Do you want a traditional fighter? Check out the Darkstalkers titles. Do you want something more unique? Red Earth will definitely appeal to you. Do you like your fighting to be more puzzling? Super Puzzle Fighter II it is. Or do you just want to play more Street Fighter II? Well, that’s what Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition is here for. Each game is oozing with quality and bring with them a variety of visual options to change up their look, accessibility options to change their difficulty or button mapping, and the ability to play online with friends and strangers across both ranked and casual matches. It’s an impressive collection that has all the modern bells and whistles to keep players hooked in for a long, long time.

The cherry on top is the Museum which features an array of artwork, music, and design documents from across each of the games. It’s always fun to look at these sort of things, and believe me, Capcom Fighting Collection has a TON for players to check out.

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s): PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Website: https://www.capcom-games.com/cfc/en-uk/