Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Review (PC)

The newest entry in the Capcom Fighting Collection series has been released, and this time with an SNK twist. Capcom Fighting Collection 2, while similar to its predecessors, does a good job of standing out. But is it for good reason? As always, we’ll show you what the game does well, what it doesn’t do so well, and ultimately answer the age-old question: is this game worth the purchase?

The Good

The gameplay is solid. The controls feel smooth, there’s little to no input lag, and overall, the controls remain faithful to the original releases. Nothing groundbreaking, but good enough to let players experience these classics similar to how they were originally intended.

As with the other games in this series, having these old games finally be available on modern hardware is amazing. Having these games not only playable on modern consoles, but preserved for the foreseeable future is great. It helps keep the communities for these games alive and lets a whole new generation of players experience the game for the first time.

I love all the added features this game has to offer. Like the other Fighting Collection games, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 has a bunch of extras also included in the package. Each game in the collection has an Arcade Mode, Versus Mode, and a Training Mode. On top of that, you can also play the Japanese or English version of each game. Besides that, there’s a whole gallery full of artwork from each game that the player can check out.

The best added feature is, of course, the online play. Having the ability to play these vintage fighting games with other people online is awesome. Furthermore, as I mentioned previously, it helps keep the communities for these games alive. The online is made better by the inclusion of rollback netcode. This makes playing online extremely smooth with little to no lag. It’s great to have it right out of the box, and it makes playing online a much more pleasant experience.

This game’s biggest advantage over the other games in the Fighting Collection series is its selection of games. While the original Capcom Fighting Collection had a pretty good selection of games, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection had a lackluster lineup. Capcom Fighting Collection 2, on the other hand, has a nice variety in its lineup with a solid mix of 2D and 3D fighting games, each greatly differing in gameplay. I think the lineup alone helps this game stand out from the other collections and makes it a deserving entry in the Fighting Collection series.

The Bad

I want to preface this section by saying that there really isn’t much wrong with this collection overall. For the most part, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is solid. There are a few gripes I have with the game, however, both of which are shared with the rest of the games in the series.

Once again, the online could be better. There are only a few specific games that have a player base, meaning your options for what games you can play online are limited. Finding a match for games like Capcom vs. SNK 2 was a breeze, while trying to find a match for games like Power Stone 2 was impossible. This fact pretty much negates the added online for most games in the collection, which is really a shame.

This difficulty in finding a match online can be traced back to my main complaint with this game: its lack of crossplay. This severely hinders matchmaking, especially in tandem with the already limited player base for most of the games in the collection. In this day and age, crossplay is a no-brainer for any major game with online functionality, and it sucks to see so many games not include it. I hope that Capcom will add crossplay to the entire Fighting Collection series one day, but for now, it is sorely lacking without it.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a solid collection with a nice assortment of classic fighting games. Despite some of the flaws with its online, there are still plenty of reasons to love this game. The numerous extras, added online play with rollback netcode, and the overall style of the collection, combined with the obvious benefit of having these games preserved, make this quite a great collection. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re interested in any of these games and want to give them a try, this game is worth picking up.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is available now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Jeremy Lowe Contributor

Jeremy is a professional writer and author who writes for The Guide Hall and Smash Jump. His love of video games started when he received a Playstation 2 for Christmas. Ever since then gaming has been his ultimate passion. He loves to play party games, JRPGs, and loves to try new fighting games. He loves to play games on Nintendo and PC and likes finding new games to try out and going back to old favorites like Xenoblade Chronicles and Rhythm Doctor.