Many ‘90s kids will remember their parents describing arcades as dens of debauchery. Surrounded by echoing voices of Ryu going “Hadoken” and Dhalsim shouting “Yoga Fire”, those were the days of fighting games. Capcom’s latest retro gaming collection instantly transports you to those days.
Capcom Fighting Collection is an eclectic mix of one-on-one fighting games, a genre that the company has dominated to this day. This genre of gaming features a colourful cast of characters you can choose from. You can beat up your opponent’s character using an array of combinations and special power moves. This genre saw games such as Mortal Kombat and Samurai Shodown. To deal with the onslaught of competition, Capcom threw a host of creative twists on the genre, inspired by monster movies, Transformers, Dungeons and Dragons and more.
The game you will most recognise here is Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, a version of Street Fighter II Turbo with more characters. You might also be familar with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, which combine gem puzzles with Street Fighter characters. Then come all the Darkstalker and Vampire Hunter games. For those who have not heard of Darkstalkers, it is an answer to this question: What if Dracula, Frankenstein and a whole lot of other gothic monsters faced off against each other? Red Earth and a robot fighting game called Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness form the rest of this fun collection.
These games will be special for a lot of people who grew up in the ‘90s and early noughties. Street Fighter is likely to be the most favourite. That, however, is not the only gem in this collection. Darkstalkers was my jam in those days. While the series is well represented, Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge and Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampires are in Japanese only. Capcom could have spent some time translating, given that it was a worldwide release.
The other fantastic game in this collection is Red Earth, which is a unique fighting game with a fantasy spin. While there are four characters to choose from, you have a single player Quest mode, which lets you duke it out against computer opponents. The other is a Versus mode, which is a traditional fighting game.
While the collection is available on all platforms, it is best played on Nintendo Switch, given that you can take the fight on the go. Capcom Fighting Collection is a walk down the memory lane. It, however, comes with a hefty price tag.
