Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | REVIEW | PC/STEAM

''WE FIGHT TO SURVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE'

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Developed: Capcom

Published: Capcom

Genre: Arcade Collection

Release Date: Sept 12th, 2024

Platforms: PS4/Xbox Series/Switch/STEAM

Review copy provided to me by CAPCOM

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is the latest compilation in this series and it is developed and published by Capcom. With Capcom seemingly putting out collection after collection, you'd think they'd slow down a little bit right? nope, because they've all been successes. However, does this title continue the trend of success Capcom is on? or is this their first fumble in awhile? Only one way to find out, so lets go!

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''WHERES MY RIVAL SCHOOLS!''

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GAMEPLAY:

Capcom has been on a roll lately, not only with their single player titles, but also with their collections they've released over the years such as the most recent collection of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection Arcade Classics. Now once again in 2025 another collection is upon us with Capcom Fighting Collection 2, which aims to further flex to the rest of the industry just how many games Capcom has in its catalogue when it comes to the fighting game genre. For some, this collection might not be as good as some of the other offerings we have gotten, but still, there's enough here gameplay wise from how smooth they all run, decent online play, training modes, that you tend to stop focusing on only ''hype'', much like people did for Marvel vs Capcom 2, and now with this one, focus even more in INDIVIDUAL titles over what's a trendy game or a more popular game. Believe me, I'm similar, you put a Bear Claw Donut or Glazed Donut in front of me and 9 times out of 10, I'm going with the Glazed Donut as that's the most popular and easy choice... but you don't have to be me, I mean unless you want to, then if thats the case, prepare to become even more weird than you already are, make terrible puns and think fart jokes in 2025 are still hilarious. Trying to be me aside, my point is now you can focus on the individual games over that people expect you to like due to cult status in todays market of the FGC and that journey starts with titles like Power Stone, Project Justice or even games like Capcom vs SNK, all of which can keep you entertained in this collection by themselves, no question. If I have to speak from experience with these titles, as someone who is not HEAVILY embedded into the fighting game community, like, I enjoy fighting games, but maybe not necessarily a huge fan of them to the extent of something like a platformer game, then I have to say appeal for me, in regards to titles involving SNK, such as Capcom vs SNK 2, I personally love taking on 3 versus 3 battles against iconic characters from both brands of Capcom and obviously SNK themselves. On the flipside of my excitement of that though, I'm really not that great at all, like I'm pretty dookie, having me play a fighting game seriously is like expecting Jar Jar to control the powers of the senate in Star Wars... and we all saw how that turned out, didnt we?. Yup, that's me, but with fighting games, but even so, in my own way, I'm still able to have an enjoyable experience and appreciate the idea of WHY people fall in love with these games and series so much, even if I'm not as hardcore as they are - which I feel a compliment overall to these titles that even a casual like myself, still finds reasons to stay entertained.

I know most people will be focused on stuff, besides the mentioned Capcom vs SNK, such as Project Justice due to its setting of the 2.5D arena and plethora of air combos that destroy me every time, I get it, both of this are great games and staples for their respective genres... but still, my focus leans directly towards titles like Power Stone 1 and 2. I know I know, these are still ''huge'' titles in peoples minds, mainly Power Stone 2 due to the chaotic nature of its style of fighting, but I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic about these two above the others due to the amount of time I spent playing both on my Dreamcast back in the day. What made both these entries so intriguing to me was the fact that they're so different from each other, with Power Stone 1 being less out of its shell frantic and nuts with emphasis on tighter and more focused combat with the 1v1 format that wanted you to play a more straight forward character specific combat to be entertained, whereas Power Stone 2 was like giving a damn kid an all you can eat pass to a candy shop with its mayhem based combat system that focused a lot on team, item usage and fusions. What's the lesson learned here? diversity in gameplay and options, that's the point of this collection. Sure not everything is as chaotic or ''iconic'' in a sense of what other titles may be for the mainstream eye, but there's enough variety that even titles such as Plasma Sword can stand out in a game that blends the weapon based system, that's popular in series such as SoulCalibur and making it into a hybrid with a popular franchise like Street Fighter. No need for Igor or Dr. Frankenstein here, we already have a super crazy hybrid without their help and we didn't have to toss a kid into a lake to drown like Frankenstein's monster did, so definitely a win there. Id even say a game like Alpha 3 Upper shines in its own unique way that enhances the previous classic with tweaks to the game that make it even more stable, playable and entertaining, all while adding in new characters that compliment the originals you are already familiar with, on top of using crouch canceling, which will be more of a popular thing for newcomers or newbies such as myself... much to the absolute RAGE of over the top ''competitive'' players who will most likely shriek to high heaven over its inclusion. But I think there's quite a few things that maybe hold this collection back as well, maybe not huge negatives that would deter people purchasing, but head scratchers that just make you think ''Why''.

For one thing, to get it out of the way, why is the ranked matchmaking restricted to play specific versions of games and taking away mechanics such as roll cancels and crouch canceling for both Alpha 3 Upper and Capcom vs SNK 2. Like seriously? you implement the game as a standalone outside ranked based systems with these features, but when wanting to compete with them in ranked, theyre turned off and blocked. Why even give you the option in the base game if it wont be available online for people to use?. A simple on and or off trigger or match setting in matchmaking could've easily fixed this by allowing the PLAYERS THEMSELVES pick and choose whether they want roll cancels or crouch canceling for their matches. Allow THEM to choose, not be forced. Another gripe is where is Rival Schools? I feel this is a title people have been wanting in these compilations and collections for a bit now and I believe in the future were going to get it, but this was kind of the perfect opportunity to do so, given the lack of ''heavy'' hitters this go around and a few questionable additions like Capcom Fighting Evolution. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to be a total hater, but are people REALLY foaming at the mouth for a title like that over something like Rival Schools? I think not, so definitely a weird inclusion for something Id a ''Capcom Experiment''. Actually hang on, scratch what I just said about Capcom Fighting Evolution, it has playable Hauzer, game of the year.

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''WELCOME TO HAUZER PARK''

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OVERALL

At the end of the day, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 ends up being a really good time. Sure it has some weird head scratchers like no Rival Schools or questionable changes like removing roll cancels and crouch canceling for ranked matches, even so, with a good variety of mainstream to niche titles to choose from, smooth gameplay both online and offline, fun training modes to help you learn the ropes and tweaks to games that make them even more enjoyable before, overall makes this title for fighting games a must play, cause come on, Hauzer, guys!. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW

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