I really like Capcom Fighting Collection 2 however it does have a Power Stone 2 drawback | Gaming | Entertainment | EUROtoday

While the delay of GTA 6 is an actual blow to gaming followers, 2025 has truly been a fairly banner yr for brand spanking new releases.

Atomfall, Expedition 33 and Blue Prince have all been nice surprises, whereas the Switch 2 with video games like Mario Kart World and Metroid Prime 4 ought to preserve the momentum going.

Another recreation that has blown me away is Capcom Fighting Collection 2, which incorporates eight principally unbelievable arcade preventing video games from an period once I was most in love with style.

The video games embrace wonderful crossover titles like Capcom vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 and its sequel, in addition to area brawlers Power Stone 1 and a couple of, and 3D fighters venture Justice and Plasma Sword.

The assortment is rounded out by 2D preventing video games Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper and Capcom Fighting Evolution.

Personal highlights for me are Power Stone and the Capcom vs SNK video games, which have commanded most of my consideration for the reason that recreation launched earlier this month.

While I choose Capcom vs SNK 2, the unique recreation is arguably the extra fascinating of the 2, that includes a ratio system that lets you choose as much as 4 characters primarily based on their rankings.

For instance, you possibly can choose 4 characters with a ratio of 1 for a mixed staff ratio of 4, or you possibly can decide two characters with ratios of two apiece, or a 3 and a one and so forth.

Experimenting with totally different characters and ratio mixtures is what makes this recreation a lot enjoyable.

It could possibly be that you simply sacrifice a few one ratio characters when enjoying towards a 4, however do exactly sufficient harm that your remaining two ratio character is available in and will get the job finished. It’s an incredible gimmick.

Capcom vs SNK 2 additionally options the ratio system, solely this time you set the ratios after deciding on your staff.

While I choose the sequel and have extra nostalgia for it, I do sort of like the unique’s preset ratios and really feel it ends in a barely tighter expertise.

Still, each video games are very good and virtually make this package deal well worth the value on their very own.

However, my absolute favorite recreation within the assortment is the unique Power Stone, which is a 1v1 area brawler with very slight shades of Smash Bros.

Players struggle by way of a sequence of 1 on one battles in arenas suffering from furnishings you possibly can throw at your opponents, in addition to random objects that drop in like rocket launchers and swords – a bit just like the aforementioned Smash Bros.

You may decide up gems that energy your character up, earlier than utterly remodeling them into tremendous variations with devastating particular strikes.

It’s an enormously enjoyable and addictive recreation that holds up extraordinarily effectively regardless of launching greater than 1 / 4 of a century in the past.

The sequel understandably expands on this format, however loses one thing within the course of.

Instead of 1v1 battles in smaller areas, Power Stone 2 function four-person brawls in a lot bigger and arenas that rework because the battles rage.

It’s pure chaos and is brilliantly suited to multiplayer, feeling extra like a celebration recreation than a severe fighter.

Sadly, Power Stone 2 would not work as effectively in single-player, and really exposes one of many issues with these sorts of collections.

While the Dreamcast unique had the four-person battles, it additionally had a extra conventional 1v1 mode just like its predecessor.

The second Capcom Fighting Collection solely incorporates the arcade modes with multiplayer and on-line, which is okay for many of the video games, however makes Power Stone 2 inferior to the Dreamcast unique.

Still, it is an incredible recreation to fireplace up if in case you have three different gamers and controllers to spare.

Project Justice is a wonderful 3D preventing recreation and one that may price you an absolute fortune in the event you wished so as to add it to your Dreamcast assortment.

Plasma Sword is a stable 3D brawler with some fascinating characters, though possibly resulting from a scarcity of private nostalgia, it is not one I can see myself returning to fairly often.

Then there’s Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, which is one other good 2D preventing recreation, albeit one that may seemingly be overshadowed by the Capcom vs SNK video games (on this explicit assortment).

Capcom Fighting Evolution simply the weakest recreation of the bunch, thanks in no small half to the terrible backdrops that appeared dated again within the early 2000s, but alone now.

Needless to say, the sport additionally comes with a number of customary extras, similar to soundtracks and galleries. There’s additionally a capability to vary the decision and play in widescreen, though I choose the unique 4:3 side ratio.

While there are a few points – primarily the shortage of recreation modes for Power Stone 2 – Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is an outstanding compilation that includes a largely wonderful number of video games.

VERDICT: 4/5

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch.