While the delay of GTA 6 is a real blow to gaming fans, 2025 has actually been a pretty banner year for new releases.
Atomfall, Expedition 33 and Blue Prince have all been pleasant surprises, while the Switch 2 with games like Mario Kart World and Metroid Prime 4 should keep the momentum going.
Another game that has blown me away is Capcom Fighting Collection 2, which contains eight mostly fantastic arcade fighting games from an era when I was most in love with genre.
The games include excellent crossover titles like Capcom vs SNK Millennium Fight 2000 and its sequel, as well as arena brawlers Power Stone 1 and 2, and 3D fighters project Justice and Plasma Sword.
The collection is rounded out by 2D fighting games Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper and Capcom Fighting Evolution.
Personal highlights for me are Power Stone and the Capcom vs SNK games, which have commanded most of my attention since the game launched earlier this month.
While I prefer Capcom vs SNK 2, the original game is arguably the more interesting of the two, featuring a ratio system that lets you select up to four characters based on their rankings.
For example, you could select four characters with a ratio of one for a combined team ratio of four, or you can pick two characters with ratios of two apiece, or a three and a one and so on.
Experimenting with different characters and ratio combinations is what makes this game so much fun.
It could be that you sacrifice a couple of one ratio characters when playing against a four, but do just enough damage that your remaining two ratio character comes in and gets the job done. It’s a great gimmick.
Capcom vs SNK 2 also features the ratio system, only this time you set the ratios after selecting your team.
While I prefer the sequel and have more nostalgia for it, I do kind of like the original’s preset ratios and feel it results in a slightly tighter experience.
Still, both games are superb and almost make this package worth the price on their own.
However, my absolute favourite game in the collection is the original Power Stone, which is a 1v1 arena brawler with very slight shades of Smash Bros.
Players fight through a series of one on one battles in arenas littered with furniture you can throw at your opponents, as well as random items that drop in like rocket launchers and swords – a bit like the aforementioned Smash Bros.
You can also pick up gems that power your character up, before completely transforming them into super versions with devastating special moves.
It’s an enormously fun and addictive game that holds up extremely well despite launching more than a quarter of a century ago.
The sequel understandably expands on this format, but loses something in the process.
Instead of 1v1 battles in smaller areas, Power Stone 2 feature four-person brawls in much larger and arenas that transform as the battles rage.
It’s pure chaos and is brilliantly suited to multiplayer, feeling more like a party game than a serious fighter.
Sadly, Power Stone 2 doesn’t work as well in single-player, and actually exposes one of the problems with these kinds of collections.
While the Dreamcast original had the four-person battles, it also had a more traditional 1v1 mode similar to its predecessor.
The second Capcom Fighting Collection only contains the arcade modes with multiplayer and online, which is fine for most of the games, but makes Power Stone 2 inferior to the Dreamcast original.
Still, it’s a great game to fire up if you have three other players and controllers to spare.
Project Justice is an excellent 3D fighting game and one that will cost you an absolute fortune if you wanted to add it to your Dreamcast collection.
Plasma Sword is a solid 3D brawler with some interesting characters, although maybe due to a lack of personal nostalgia, it’s not one I can see myself returning to very often.
Then there’s Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, which is another brilliant 2D fighting game, albeit one that will likely be overshadowed by the Capcom vs SNK games (in this particular collection).
Capcom Fighting Evolution easily the weakest game of the bunch, thanks in no small part to the awful backdrops that looked dated back in the early 2000s, yet alone now.
Needless to say, the game also comes with a few customary extras, such as soundtracks and galleries. There’s also an ability to change the resolution and play in widescreen, although I prefer the original 4:3 aspect ratio.
While there are a couple of issues – primarily the lack of game modes for Power Stone 2 – Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a superb compilation featuring a largely excellent selection of games.
VERDICT: 4/5
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is out now on PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch.
