‘Capcom Fighting Collection 2’ – The One I’ve Been Waiting for (Review)

Ever since Capcom first announced the original Capcom Fighting Collection, I held out hope for two games in particular: Power Stone and Power Stone 2. While they didn’t come in that one, it was a worthwhile collection of games from the company’s fighting game history. When they announced Capcom Fighting Collection 2 and I saw both titles, I was ready to go. Those are two fighting games I’ve had the most fun with. What I didn’t expect, though, was to enjoy my time with a couple of the other games in the collection the way I did.

‘project Justice’ made me mad i didn’t play it when I WAS YOUNGER

I’m familiar with Rival Schools in the sense that I’ve heard people talk about it, but I never played it. So, seeing the sequel, Project Justice, in this collection was pretty cool. It’s a throwback to when 3D fighters were starting to take off. And in some ways, it feels like it. Despite that, I had way more fun than I had any business having because of an accidental button press. I double-clicked unintentionally and ended up selecting Nagare Namikawa.

I mean, look at that wholly unserious, magnificent dude. I had so much fun attacking people with synchronized swimming moves, I didn’t even take the time to learn anyone else. His moveset is equal parts hilarious and deadly. I can’t wait to really dig into him. But overall, I enjoyed my time with Project Justice.

Capcom wanted to keep these games exactly as they were at release

Capcom did a great job of presenting these games the way they were, for better or worse. There are some weird quirks about certain games like Capcom Fighting Evolution, which is really just placing the fighters from their respective games into one with no real adjustments or balance tweaks. I’ve even run into some instances where inputs don’t trigger the moves they should. It’s my least favorite of the collection so far.

But the collection of games is solid as a whole. Street Fighter Alpha 3 UPPER, Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, and Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 all still hit the spot for me. I’ll likely return to all three at different points. But the stars of the show for me are the two games I mentioned at the top of this review, Power Stone and Power Stone 2.

I couldn’t be happier to see the ‘power stone’ games again. take the hint, capcom

Both of these games are perfect. The unmitigated chaos of rushing to each of the three power stones on the map while dodging your enemy’s projectiles is one of the best adrenaline rushes in gaming. These two games are the crown jewels of this collection. And I hope that Capcom sees the reaction to getting them and makes a third game in the series happen.

For those who don’t know the Power Stone games, they’re arena fighting games where the goal is the same as any fighting game: deplete your opponent’s life bar. The way you do this, though, is mostly up to you. You can attack up close or even use the items in the environment. At certain points, the power stones will pop up on the map, and you need to get to them before your opponent does. If they get to one first, you can knock it out of them to collect it yourself, but obviously, they can do the same to you. Once you get all three, you turn into a powered-up version of yourself with a powerful long-range attack.

And that’s where the fun is; it’s a mad scramble for extra power. The powered-up attacks can be avoided, but it takes some serious maneuvering. However, you are able to attack an opponent with all three stones as they aren’t invincible. So, if you’re aggressive enough and you have a good handle on your character, you can prevent hell from coming.

The extras are pretty cool

As seems to be the standard with multi-game collections, you get an art gallery and a music player. I did enjoy the art gallery because a lot of the key art for Capcom’s fighting games from this era is so beautifully done. It’s wall-worthy. So, I’ve spent a decent amount of time just flipping through each game’s art and admiring it. The music? It’s cool. The menu’s music always makes me cringe because it’s just a bit corny. But that’s part of the charm.

All in all, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a solid collection of mostly good fighters. Capcom did a great job of modernizing certain aspects, like having rollback netcode in all of the games, and allowing you to save at any point. With the resurgence of Capcom over the last few years, this is a great way to continue that upward trajectory and set themselves up for the future, should they recognize that there is a certain series in there that we want back.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 will release on May 16, 2025, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.