Review: ‘Capcom Fighting Collection 2’ is yet another masterful retro collection from the king of fighters

The star that burns twice as bright burns half as long. And oh boy, the Sega Dreamcast burned brightly. Sega’s final entry into the console market may have been a sales disaster eclipsed by the all-consuming might of the PlayStation 2, but its small library contains an astonishingly high ratio of classic titles.

Many of those were fighting games. Sega’s NAOMI board was effectively Dreamcast tech in arcade cabinets, enabling perfect home ports. Capcom’s push to bring its classic fighters onto modern hardware has already seen collections featuring Dreamcast classics like Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. Now, with Capcom Fighting Collection 2, practically every notable Capcom Dreamcast/NAOMI game has returned from the dead.

For fighting game enthusiasts, the marquee title here is Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001, a bewilderingly comprehensive showdown between the two companies’ characters with a ludicrous amount of mechanical options.

But the rest of the package is no slouch. The unjustly forgotten Power Stone games are back for the first time in decades, the first Capcom vs SNK is here, as is ultra-rare Rival Schools sequel Project Justice. Rounding out the pack are the bizarre curio of Plasma Sword, an arguably unnecessary Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, and the faintly depressing Capcom Fighting Evolution.

Each is presented in the manner we’ve come to expect from the previous Capcom retro collections: you get a multitude of display and gameplay options for each title, a museum and soundtrack gallery showing off some surprisingly comprehensive development art, and impeccable rollback netcode. Sadly, despite trying, I was unable to find another online player during the review period, but after hours battling other people in last year’s Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection (which runs on the same tech), I’m assuming it’s flawless.

I played each of these games extensively on their original release, so I was expecting few surprises. Even so, there were a few things here I didn’t expect. For example, when I imported Capcom vs SNK 2 for Dreamcast my copy of Capcom vs SNK immediately began gathering dust. On revisiting the two games, it’s clear the sequel is an objectively better fighting game, but the original has better backgrounds, better music, and a more cohesive aesthetic.

Similarly, in conversations about the Power Stone franchise, it’s the sequel that unfairly gobbles up the attention. Sure, Power Stone 2 expands the player count to four and has more dynamic stages, but I had more fun with the original. There’s a purity of focus to Power Stone with its arena-based one-on-one fighting and even so many years later there’s not much else out there like it.

The Capcom vs SNK and Power Stone games in this collection alone make it a must-purchase for fighting fans, but the retro gamer in me is stunned that Plasma Sword and Project Justice have been dredged up from the Capcom back catalogue. Neither of these are landmark titles, though each is brimming with a specifically late 90s/early 00s bravado and creativity that feels like cracking open a time capsule.

You’ve probably sensed by now that I’ve had an amazing time with this collection. However, if the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection was an easy five-star release, this is a minor step down. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper is a great game, but the arcade original was already released in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary collection and the two aren’t hugely different. Capcom Fighting Evolution also still feels like what it is: a low-budget asset flip thrown together at the last minute. In addition, these are the arcade versions of these games so don’t include any extra content added for the home releases.

But those are small flies in a generous jar of very high-quality ointment. The Capcom Fighting Collection 2 made me smile from ear to ear, and I’ll be playing it online for months to come. Here’s hoping we get a Capcom Fighting Collection 3 featuring the Street Fighter EX titles and the likes of Rival Schools and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. After all, if Plasma Sword can make a comeback, anything can!

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