Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Review—A different level of Nostalgia

I honestly don't know if those arcade machines we used to play a very long time ago are still a thing, but judging by the latest Tekken 8, which dedicated an entire section of the game to them, those might still be popular in some parts of the world.

In any case, fighting arcade machines marked many gamers' first gaming experiences, myself included, and they definitely hold a very important place in my heart. I remember rushing after school, when I was only a third grader, to spend the last money my parents gave me for food to play a round or two of Street Fighter and then going back home hungry as a wolf—those were the days.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't know anything about Capcom's plans to relive those games and make a collection for us to play on modern consoles and PCs, and when I finally downloaded this collection, there was no happier person than me on this God's green Earth.

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Capcom Fighting Collection 2

In Capcom Fighting Collection 2, you'll have the opportunity to play eight Capcom classics released at the beginning of the 21st century, with many of them being released for the earliest gaming systems and perhaps all of them being playable on the arcade machines of that particular time.

The games' controls you'll play in this collection will closely replicate the controls from arcade machines, too. The left stick is for the character movements, which means you can go forwards and backwards, you can jump and duck, and you can do all that in a recognisable 2D perspective.

The buttons dedicated to attacking are usually Square and Triangle (the PlayStation controller), with the addition of trigger buttons for some simplified attacks. I tell you, Capcom changed almost nothing to preserve the same feeling we had while playing those iconic games on the arcade machines.

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Capcom Fighting Collection 2

I already mentioned there are eight different Capcom titles in this collection, and if you're interested in which games you'll get if you decide to give this collection a go, there is a full list: Capcom Vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001, Capcom Fighting Jam, Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper, Power Stone, Power Stone 2, Moero! Justice Gakuen, and Star Gladiator 2: Nightmare of Bilstein.

All the games are designed in almost the same way, with the only differences being in different collections of fighters and different arenas, preserving the same visual style for which those games were famous.

Speaking of visual style, the collection preserved the same look but with a bit sharper and higher-quality textures and, of course, better resolution. The graphics are pixelated, featuring a 4:3 aspect ratio with portraits of characters filling the empty space on the sides—a very neat trick to keep the original look and a small touch of modern at the same time.

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Capcom Fighting Collection 2

The good thing is that all the games can be played in online competitive mode as well, so instead of fighting your friend on the same arcade machine you used to do earlier, you'll be able to fight the other fighters from all over the world if you decide to play the collection online.

For those who prefer offline play, you'll have a chance to try arcade mode, in which you choose two fighters and fight the computer opponents one after another; you can choose versus mode to play against your friends using two controllers and training mode to hone your skills.

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Capcom Fighting Collection 2

As you progress through games, you'll unlock new fighters and new challenges. Apart from this, you'll be able to browse a special in-game museum, in which you'll unlock key art of all the games, featuring very nice pieces of artistic creations. All in all, this collection features some very nice games and enough challenges to keep you occupied for a very long time.

Regarding sounds, the same digitalised soundtracks and sounds in general have been preserved as well, and if the developers did otherwise, it wouldn't capture the real essence of the old, nostalgia-fuelled moments. On top of this, there's an entire section of all the soundtracks used in the game; you can listen to them one by one, so if you're a fan of those music pieces, you can enjoy them endlessly in this game.

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Capcom Fighting Collection 2

Conclusion

There truly aren’t enough words to commend Capcom for their efforts in preserving these iconic and timeless fighting games. Not only have they rescued them from fading into obscurity, but they've also breathed new life into them. Whether you're a veteran gamer who fondly remembers the arcade era or a newcomer drawn to modern fighting games, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 offers something for everyone.

With faithfully preserved visuals that have been smartly modernised, a rich roster of fighters, a well-thought-out progression system, and robust online and versus modes, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 earns our highest recommendation. It's a brilliant move by Capcom—hats off, gentlemen.