Capcom has largely ruled the roost for 2D arcade fighting games for over 30 years and few companies celebrate their rich history quite like them either. SEGA does to a large extent and SNK does as well, but Capcom showcases their archives in ways that are hard to touch because they put so much work and care into their collections and their fighting compilations alongside the recent Marvel vs. Capcom Arcade Classics Collection showcase that wonderfully. Whereas the first Capcom Fighting Collection was largely a Darkstalkers compilation with a bit of Street Fighter thrown in, it was very much a compilation that felt a too samey as a result of it being so full of 2D fighters outside of Super Puzzle Fighter II. There was at least visual variety with Gem Fighters mixed in there, but variety wasn’t the spice of life. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 showcases some of Capcom’s finest work over the last 25 years.
This second fighting-centric compilation spans more kinds of fighting games as it includes not only both Capcom vs. SNK games, but both Power Stone titles, Plama Sword, Capcom Fighting Evolution and a single Street Fighter game in Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper. Upper is a newcomer to compilations and was an exclusive to SEGA’s NAOCMI hardware and included some bug fixes alongside some balance chances from the prior arcade versions. It’s got all of the characters included from the home console versions that weren’t in prior arcade releases and stands as the definitive pure fighting experience for Alpha 3. It’s a bit of a shame that the World Tour mode isn’t in this game, but I can see why they wouldn’t want to put console versions of a game on an arcade-centric compilation like this.
The inclusion of both Capcom vs. SNK titles makes this feel like a near-perfect late ’90s/early ’00s compilation for what those two companies coming together felt like. While Mortal Kombat was Street Fighter II’s polar opposite style-wise, SNK and its Fatal Fury and especially King of Fighters franchises were their greatest rivals quality-wise and seeing Capcom and SNK work out a ton of games showcased a special era in gaming history. We got two Capcom vs. SNK games, a card fighting game on the Neo-Geo Pocket Color and an SNK-developed SNK vs. Capcom game while Capcom developed the Capcom vs. SNK games.
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While the early ’90s saw the rise of fighting games after beat-em-ups ruled the land thanks to Double Dragon and TMNT, the genre’s continued rise was partially due to the heavy competition between Capcom and SNK to see who could make a better fighting game, and unlike Sonic vs. Mario, both franchises had compatible gameplay styles to where you could easily imagine a crossover game in your head. Capcom vs. SNK 2000 had several versions and the Pro version sees its first accurate release outside of arcades here and offers a window into just how surreal it was to see this game 25 years ago. The Pro incarnation added Dan Hibiki and Joe Higashi to the roster and kept the two fighting grooves – with one feeling like Capcom and the other feeling more like KOF intact alongside an interesting ratio system where you could do the seemingly team-based concept with a single character if they were strong enough.
Get in the Groove System
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 showcases some of Capcom’s finest work over the last 25 years.
The sequel followed up a bit later offered up four more fighting grooves alongside more gameplay refinements and had variants released over the years that changed the dynamic to be slanted more towards consoles. On the consoles of its day, a new Easy Operation (or EO) mode was added in to enable special moves and supers to be done with the right analog stick. At the tim this was a highly controversial move because it made the game easy, but playing it in 2025 helps this come across as a forward-thinking accessibility mode that makes having exciting fights much easier on a casual level. Both the original and EO versions are included – although EO doesn’t show up in the game lineup in the core game menu. You have to select the game and then use the X button (or square on PS) to select the game selection menu and then you can choose the EO version and enjoy something completely unlike any fighting game experience then or even now. It’s remarkable how ahead of the curve this mode was and having that preserved for history is important.
The polygonal fighting game side of the ledger is loaded too because you have both entries in the Power Stone franchise included alongside Plasma Sword and Project Justice – sequels to Star Gladiator and Rival Schools, respectively, which are strangely not on either this or other Capcom compilations. It’s odd to have the originals in the respective franchises not included, but it does make sense in a way because it allows the collection to focus on more modern-looking entries that will age better in theory to a newcomer. Star Gladiator was an early weapons-based fighter and one that featured turbo-level gameplay for a polygonal fighter in an era where that was rare alongside a sci-fi setting and low-key had one of Capcom’s best soundtracks ever.
Swords in Space
All the polygonal fighters help make this feel like a killer Dreamcast love-letter as well, with Project Justice taking the core idea of “polygonal Street Fighter gameplay in a school setting” to a new level with more-refined gameplay and sharper graphics that were a leap ahead from what Rival Schools had in its day. Power Stone 2 offered up even more insanity than the original and the brisk pace of every part of the action led to it being something that has aged well because no matter how much chaos happens, the action never slows down.
It also feels like a concept that might have done better had it been first released today instead of 25 years ago because the art style is very much like One Piece with broad facial expressions and broad animations – which are helpful to see given the stages can be zoomed-out and this compilation may be something that allow the franchise to gain some traction in some form. Today, it would be more along the lines of it trending on social media and maybe we’ll see a physical compilation with the anime series included or something if that happens – or just more merch gets released.
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is set for release across all consoles and PC via Steam on May 16 and it follows the successful formula of Capcom’s collections so far. The games included are replicated to an arcade-perfect nature and now you get more variants of games than usual alongside the extensive museum features as well. Anyone who grew up with Capcom in their consoles or as a regular part of their arcade visits 25 years ago will love it as will the folks that have grown accustomed to newer Street Fighter games thanks to the rise of SF V and SF 6 because there’s a gameplay throughline from the experimentation of Capcom in this era to the risks we’ve seen them take over the last decade with that franchise.
Review: Capcom Fighting Collection
Capcom Fighting Collection isn’t the definitive collection of Capcom’s best fighting games, but it does bring a respectable assortment of them.
