Review RossBonaime 4/5 · Jun 8, 2025
As someone who is a sucker for the games that Capcom tried to make take off, but ultimately failed, this is a treasure trove for me, but also a collection of games I'd love to see Capcom return to at some point.
For the most part, this is a Darkstalkers collection, with a bunch of strange additions for the hell …
As someone who is a sucker for the games that Capcom tried to make take off, but ultimately failed, this is a treasure trove for me, but also a collection of games I'd love to see Capcom return to at some point.
For the most part, this is a Darkstalkers collection, with a bunch of strange additions for the hell of it. Playing this collection, I gained a newfound appreciation for the Darkstalkers series, particularly Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire), and I'm desperate for Capcom to update this series with modern technology. There are a lot of great ideas here, and I think they could truly do this series justice now.
There are a few titles here that are just sort of shrugs for me. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo feels like a game that Capcom is court-mandated to put into every collection of games they make, and Super Gem Fighter is cute, but I feel like I never know what the hell is going on. Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition is a very odd way to get every Street Fighter II iteration in here, and I just think this is a very strange way to put all these games together into one package.
I'm particularly fascinated by the other two games, though. Cyberbots is a mech game that has cool ideas, but the mechs themselves are the focus rather than the players you select, and that held me back from caring. But again, I'd definitely love an update. But I'm especially surprised by Red Earth, which almost feels like a fantastical update on the first Street Fighter, where it's just a series of boss fights connected by a loose story. The sprites are huge and gorgeous, the bosses are insane, and the level-up system is intriguing, even if I didn't notice much of a difference. But man, I think this is a great concept that Capcom should absolutely return to.
As a sucker for these weird eccentricities that Capcom made, this was a delightful collection, and I'm glad these games saw the light of day again, and that Capcom is bringing them back out into the open.
