.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1100&h=618&dpr=1.5)
The Capcom Fighting Collection has finally been released on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Following in the footsteps of the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Digital Eclipse gathers together Capcom’s other 1990s fighting games into one package.
What their new collection lacks in big names, it makes up for by improving on its predecessor’s mistakes. However, while it’s a great compilation, it still has a few bugbears that’ll stick into players’ craws. Here are some reasons to love the Capcom Fighting Collection, and reasons not to.
9 Love: A Heavy Dose Of Darkstalkers
The Darkstalkers series has been dormant since 1997. Morrigan, Demitri, Felicia and the others have now made more appearances in crossover games than their main franchise. So, it’s nice to have all three entries in one package on modern machines. Darkstalkers, Vampire Hunter, and Vampire Savior are all here, present and accounted for.
It even includes two previously Japan-exclusive entries called Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire Savior 2. Both games are similar to each other, with Hunter 2 replacing Savior’s new character with older ones, while Savior 2 keeps the newbies in favor of junking some Darkstalkers 1 characters. The latter even has a secret, creepy mimic character called Marionette to unlock and play as.
8 Hate: Where’s The Dee?
Like Street Fighter’s 30th Anniversary Collection, Digital Eclipse are still using the Arcade versions. That made its version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 feel bare bones compared to its Dreamcast, PSP, and even Gameboy Advance ports. It’s less annoying with this collection, as the console ports didn’t get as many re-releases. Though the console version of Darkstalkers 3 had everyone from Hunter 2 and Savior 2 in its roster. There’s also another missing tweak that would’ve been nice.
The Japan-only Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection on PS2 had an arranged version of Savior that let people play as Dee; the evil version of Donovan from his Vampire Hunter ending. Functionally, he was just a mashup of Donovan and Demitri. Yet he had some neat moves, and a nice arcade mode ending too. He would’ve been a nice cherry on top of the Darkstalkers side of the Collection if he was included.
7 Love: Hidden Gems
While a lot of players will be going for the Darkstalkers games, the other entries are a brace of cult classics and underrated treats. Cyberbots combined mecha mayhem with some beautiful, CPS2 graphics. Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo traded physical blows for mental ones with Puyo Puyo-style puzzle bouts using gems. Then Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix takes that game’s gems and chibi art style and puts it in a beginner-friendly fighting game that’s both fun and funny.
The most obscure entry would be Red Earth. This compilation gives the game its first console release ever. Its sumptuous animations are on par with Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. It even switches up the gameplay by adding in some RPG elements where the player can gain new special moves each time they level up. While it didn’t get much love in the arcades back in the day, maybe its unique approach will get it more appreciation today.
6 Hate: Missing Jewels
It’s great that Red Earth and Cyberbots are getting some attention again after so long. Their characters can get more going for them than ‘that dinosaur from Capcom Fighting Evolution’ or ‘that guy with the exploding clothes from Marvel Vs Capcom’. Yet it leaves one wondering if they were really the best games they could include.
For example, Akira Kazama from Rival Schools got a lot of attention when she became part of Street Fighter 5’s last season of DLC. Neither her original game nor its Dreamcast sequel Project Justice have received a re-release since the early 2000s. So, why weren’t they part of the collection? Or Star Gladiator and its sequel Plasma Sword? Perhaps they’ll feature in a second fighting collection, but their absence here is felt.
5 Love: Mercy For Newcomers
The Collection comes with Modern controls like the upcoming Street Fighter 6. If the player goes to the Button Configuration in the Options screen, they can set a button as a ‘Special Move’. Once assigned, doing a Hadouken will be as simple as one button press, and a Shoryuken would be forward & button press. They can even set specific special moves to a button, including super combos.
This is likely to be divisive, as fighting game purists have the classic motions down like the back of their hands. But having it around isn’t going to turn newcomers into Daigo-esque super players. It’s just a nice option for people who just want to pick the busty, green-haired lady in Darkstalkers and mess around for fun. That way they have more options than just Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix.
4 Hate: Only One Save State Slot
However, this beginner friendliness comes with a drawback. All 10 games on the package come with just one save state slot. Not one each. One for the entire game. So, if any players are having trouble beating the final boss in one game, save-state it for later, and try something new, then that’s it. They can’t save another state in another game without overwriting the other.
It’s a bizarre omission. The Sonic Mega Collection on Gamecube and PS2 offered as many save states as their memory cards would allow. Granted, fighting games are more straightforward; players either beat their opponent or they don’t. But unless they wanted to wipe out their progress in, say, reaching Akuma in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, it restricts the player to a do-or-die approach in the other games.
3 Love: Packed With Content
Alongside five Darkstalkers’ games, and a mix of oddities and rarities, there’s an extensive museum section that treats people to 500 illustrations and 400 music tracks in total. That’s pretty beefy. Though why should fans bother with it? Sure, it doesn't affect gameplay. However, Capcom’s art department was on point during the 1990s, and especially for the Darkstalkers series.
Classic, traditional pieces by Bengus stand alongside newer, digital ones by Shinkiro. Alongside that, there’s concept art that details how certain characters got tweaked over the course of times. Like how Morrigan could’ve been a buff, Amazonian vampire, or how her sister Lilith was going to be an angel. The music isn’t to be sniffed at either. Some of this art was even arranged as border options if players wanted to stick to the game’s original resolutions.
2 Hate: Ow, My Wallet!
The Collection is a treat for any fighting game fan. But its price is on par with other new releases. It costs $39.99 on PC, and $44.99 on console. Back in the past, this was the cost for a new, intact game. Rather than the $50+ on top of $20 Season Passes and $5.99 additional characters. So, the cost is as retro as the games!
That’s a hefty chunk of change for a retro collection. The Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, while weaker by comparison, went for a cheaper price on release and offered more well-known games. It’s not a dealbreaker like Nintendo’s approach to retro games. Though outside of eager fighting game fans, it might be best to wait for the price to drop before picking it up.
1 Love: We’re All Connected
One of the more disappointing aspects of the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection was that only a handful of its games had online modes. While Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, Alpha 3, and Super Turbo were its most popular entries, other games that would’ve benefited from the online treatment got overlooked. Luckily, every game in Capcom Fighting Collection has online play, including Red Earth.
It’s been too early to tell how good the quality has been exactly. So far it's been solid, which is a good sign considering how fast and frenetic Darkstalkers matches can get. It even uses rollback netcode for extra reliability. While the games in this series got overshadowed by the Street Fighter series, this Collection helps them get one-up over it for the first time in ages.