Last month, Capcom released an optimised showcase of ten of their popular vintage arcade games as part of the ‘Capcom Fighting Collection’. Capcom’s fighting games go back decades and form an important part of video game history. This collection comprises Street Fighter II, Red Earth, Vampire Hunter: Darkstalker series, and some stray fighter games with recurring characters.
I must give credit to Capcom in its efficient translation of arcade games to a modern console format. For example, we can now modify the grainy pixel graphics and make them smoother, or change the aspect ratio for gameplay. The most notable customisation option is to personalise your buttons for special combos, and options to reduce difficulty. These aren’t revolutionary changes but thoughtful updates Capcom has provided considering these were coin-operated arcade games.
Capcom has also introduced an online play mode where you can be paired with other players on the same platform. Being constantly thrashed by the AI on Street Fighter II, I have not had the courage to try the online mode yet. The current collection is available for the PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox. I played this on Switch myself, and recommend playing these with a controller rather than with the keyboard or mouse.
My favourite from the collection is Red Earth, aka War-Zard. Red Earth features only four playable characters—each of these characters have their own storyline, with different cutscenes that introduces the story for them. The game also spawns monster enemies, making each battle something like a boss battle. The progression in the offline mode felt different compared to the rest of the collection.
Super Gem Fighter and Cyberbots were visually amusing. I also liked Puzzle Fighter, the only non-fighter game in the series. I love that the collection also has a “museum” in the menu, which gives us access to the original art for these games. It is easy to rate this collection a 7/10—I enjoyed playing most of them.