Capcom’s fighting game division has had a rough decade. Ever since Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 underperformed and Street Fighter X Tekken was a critical failure, the company has had a lot of trouble pleasing fans. Street Fighter 5 has reached a good state, but at launch it was a disaster. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was also a high-profile failure, and neither the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection nor Ultra Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers were able to bring fans back. Many have simply checked out, content to wait until Capcom learns from its mistakes.
That time has seemingly arrived, as after a week-long countdown Capcom revealed Street Fighter 6. The next title in the genre-defining Street Fighter franchise was shown off with a brief CG trailer featuring Ryu and Street Fighter 5 newcomer Luke sporting a new design. This is exciting for several reasons, but the announcement felt low-key. It only had a couple of characters standing in a dark room, and the Street Fighter 6 logo also has a lot less energy than past titles. It already feels overshadowed by the game revealed just before it, Capcom Fighting Collection, which is bringing a lot of rare titles to modern consoles with new features.
Capcom Fighting Collection Has a Surprising Lineup
Right off the bat, Capcom Fighting Collection differentiates itself from other fighting game collections by focusing on less popular titles. Except for the upgraded home console port of Darkstalkers 3, the entire Darkstalkers franchise is available as half of this collection. A lot of Capcom history buffs and Darkstalkers fans are quite jazzed about this, as Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire Savior 2 have never been released in North America. While these particular titles are not as well-regarded as the others, it’s good to have the entire franchise available in one package.
The other five titles contain a host of oft-forgotten Capcom classics. Starting things off is Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness, the fighting game sequel to the beat-’em-up Armored Warriors. This game is mechanically distinct, and also introduced the classic MvC character Jin Saotome, albeit as a pilot rather than an on-foot fighter. Next is Red Earth, a hybrid between a fighting game and a boss-fighting action-RPG. This title is one of Capcom’s most obscure fighting games, and those passionate about single-player modes should give it a try. Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition is next, offering a modified version of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix is one of Capcom’s most obscure inter-franchise crossover fighters, and the puzzle game Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo rounds out the set.
Fan-Requested Features Make Capcom Fighting Collection Worth Trying
While these titles are already available through fan emulation, they are not well-known, so reaching more eyes through a modern collection is important. This collection is also set up to be one of the best Capcom fighting game compilation yet, equipped with a range of bonus features and extras that makes it a potential must-have for Capcom collectors. Over 500 pieces of art are available in the game, and a sound test allows for quick access to each entry’s soundtrack. There are also extra toggles to unlock bosses and hidden characters.
The two main features that have fans abuzz are training modes for every title (except for Puzzle Fighter) and rollback netcode. There have been strong efforts by the fighting game community to add these into older games. While a lack of training modes is simply a consequence of many titles’ age, the community has become increasingly aware of the necessity of rollback netcode. Leaders in the fighting game genre have relied on delay-based netcode solutions for a long time, and rollback methods that can smooth over their issues are just now rising to prominence. To have rollback netcode added to all 10 of these obscure games guarantees they will be active for at least a little while.
The Capcom Fighting Collection Builds Hope For Street Fighter 6
Even though the Street Fighter 6 is a more popular conversation topic, the apparent value packed into the Capcom Fighting Collection makes it overshadow the new game’s announcement for some. It’s not clear what Street Fighter 6 will be like, as the gameplay and character roster are big parts of what make fighting games exciting. It’s also due to get more information in the summer, possibly after Capcom Fighting Collection comes out. After so much build-up, it feels like Street Fighter 6 could have been introduced in a more informative way.
Still, there is a lot of hope for Street Fighter 6, and Capcom Fighting Collection builds that up. The Collection displays Capcom’s willingness to be competitive with its fighting game peers, adding rollback to older games like Arc System Works and SNK. Hopefully this is a sign that Street Fighter 5’s rollback netcode will be fixed. Taken together, these two announcements show that Capcom is putting effort into improving its fighting game output, and the graphical change to what looks like the RE Engine is already doing wonders for Street Fighter 6. Both of these projects are exciting for different reasons, and the fighting game community is eager to see more in the future.
Capcom Fighting Collection is set to release June 24 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
