It’s not unusual to see old games get a new coat of paint for re-release on modern machines, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a company that does a better job at honouring its legacy than Capcom. Last year’s Arcade Stadium wasn’t just a blast from the past, it was a love letter to arcades and those dingy environments we used to spend afternoons in. Although, for me it was also a revelation at how clean Japanese arcades are, when they’re not in a Yakuza game.

Fast-forward to 2022, and it’s time to hit the entertainment district with a fistful of quarters in Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium. Like the first collection, this new edition bundles together a lot of games together, 32 to be exact. For retro gaming fans who weren’t too thrilled with the first Capcom Arcade Stadium’s predictable line-up, 2nd Stadium throws a number of more obscure titles your way, alongside a few familiar heavyweights. Which I decided to break down in a quick and digestible format, like a morning mug of tea filled to the brim with Tennis biscuit sludge.

I’ll get to why this entire package is special, but for now, here’s a quick look at every game available in it.

1943 Kai (1987)

The first follow-up to Capcom’s earlier 1942, 1943 Kai is a shoot ’em up set in the Pacific Theater of World War II and very loosely based on the Battle of Midway. It’s pretty standard stuff for the time, a vertical scrolling blast of pixels as you pilot a P-38 Lightning airplane and take out the Japanese air force that has been sent to sink your ship. You’ve got special attacks, various weapons, and veterans of the series have probably committed the cheat codes to memory.

Fun fact: 1943 Kai is recognized as one of Japan’s highest-grossing table arcade games of 1987, which is an impressive feat given that the year also saw the release of Out Run, R-Type, and Double Dragon.

Black Tiger (1987)

A hack-and-slash platform game where you had to take down a trio of evil demon dragons, Black Tiger has some fantastic fantasy elements within its side-scrolling action design. There’s no shortage of swords and sorcery here, but there are some really neat ideas such as upgradeable arms and armor, increased stats, and secrets within each level, that show off a game way ahead of its time. If you switch to the Japanese cart, just prepare yourself for a challenge as the game throws more obstacles, removes the crouch exploit when facing bosses, and, most dastardly of all, adds the dread menace of inflation to the price of upgrades.

Block Block (1991)

Puzzle game fans rejoice! For anyone who grew up on classics such as Arkanoid, Block Block is going to be a thrill to play. It’s pretty standard stuff, as you guide a ball through multi-colored obstacles, try to prevent it from dropping into the abyss, and clear your way through to the next stage. There are dozens of levels to work through, plenty of hazards to look out for, and some cathartic mental trigonometry to do as you watch your little projectile bounce all over the screen like a toddler on a sugar bender.

Capcom Sports Club (1997)

Three entire sports games in one package, and I barely know what I’m doing in any of them. In Capcom Sports Club, you can choose from basketball, football, or tennis, and if you’re as unskilled as me, you can lose horribly while playing all of them. While I was utterly useless in all of those sports games, I have to admit, the visual presentation and unbridled energy made each event a charming display of athleticism for me to lose at. Soccer, how the hell does it work?

Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (1994)

Even though it was just released in the Capcom Fighting Collection, I’m still happy to see Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors make an appearance here. The very first Darkstalkers game, Night Warriors is best described as Street Fighter, but with monsters. What sets it apart from Street Fighter–other than the gorgeous art and imaginative character designs–are features such as air-blocking, crouch walking, and chain combos.

There’s also a special meter similar to the Super Combo gauge from Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and once filled up, you can unleash some devastating combos with it. A classic in every sense of the word, and one of the most underrated video games of all time, Night Warriors helped define Capcom as the king of fighting games during its arcade golden age.

Eco Fighters (1994)

Back to shoot ’em up territory, and we’re taking a look at Eco Fighters. Imagine what would happen if Greenpeace swapped out annoying slacktivism for military-grade aircraft, and you’ve got a good idea of what to expect here. A horizontal shooter with some stunning environments for you to save from digital deforestation efforts, Eco Fighters also had a very unique idea in terms of how you’d fire your weapons. Your forward-facing cannons did a great job, but for pure 360-degree offense, a rotating gun that could be customized with unique armaments, added a fascinating wrinkle to the shmup formula.

Gun.Smoke (1985)

While Konami’s Sunset Riders is easily considered to be the best arcade western game–a heck of a niche, right?–Gun Smoke is still worth looking at. Essentially a vertical scrolling run-and-gun shooter, you’ve got three buttons dedicated to three directions for shooting, a ton of bandits to work your way through, and several bosses with bounties on their heads. It’s challenging stuff, but you can collect power-ups to help you survive the firefight. Gun Smoke was another hugely popular game in Japan when it first came out, and went on to become the sixth highest-grossing table arcade game during the first half of 1986 in that country.

Hissatsu Buraiken (1987)

I genuinely hope I’m pronouncing it correctly, but if I’m not, I apologize to Japan. Hissatsu Buraiken is something of an oddity, and its name literally translates to Deadly Ruffian Fist in English. Also known as Avengers in the west, this 1986 arcade game is an overhead-view vertical scrolling beat ’em up and I would not be surprised if it made arcade owners a small fortune because it’s harder than doing your taxes correctly.

Some dude has kidnapped six ladies, and it’s up to you to rescue them by karate-kicking your way through an army of goons. It’s challenging, some of the boss fights are ridiculously unfair, and the sound design makes me want to stick knives into my ears. If you’re feeling masochistic, give it a spin.

Hyper Dyne Side Arms (1986)

I love a well-designed horizontally-scrolling shooter, and Hyper Dyne Side Arms fills a desire for me to mindlessly blast away at anything that isn’t my heavily-armed mech. There’s nothing too revolutionary here as you use eight-way directional attacks, power-ups, and the occasional tag-team partner to take out alien invaders, and that’s just fine. Sometimes a competent game can be the best type of game to play when you’re looking to relax.

Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition (2003)

I’m not going to spend too much time on this, as the only reason for not playing any iteration of Street Fighter II in this day and age is because you haven’t been born yet. This is a modified port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, it has a stacked roster, and the game kicks ass. Mostly mine, because even on easy it feels like I’m fighting Daigo during an Evo championship grand final match.

The King of Dragons (1991)

It’s time to travel all the way back to 1991 for some swords and sorcery, delivered via pixels and beat ’em up gameplay. The King of Dragons checks every box for action from the 1990s, but what made this one different is that it really embraced its fantasy roots with some solid RPG gameplay mechanics. Points scored for killing monsters and picking up gold count towards experience, you’ll regularly level up, increase your stats, and kick more ass as you work your way through armies of goblins, giants, and dragons. The game is also very replayable, as there are five classes to choose from and each one has unique attributes to experiment with.

Knights of the Round (1991)

Sticking inside the fantasy realm, Knights of the Round is also a side-scrolling beat ’em up that is very loosely based on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It’s basically Final Fight with swords, as you can choose between three characters, take out tons of enemies, and occasionally ride a horsie. Good stuff.

Last Duel (1988)

Now this is an interesting game. Set in the far-off future year of 2012, Last Duel is a vertically scrolling shooter that has you regularly switching between a standard jet with which to blast through waves of enemies and a more challenging ground vehicle mode. That’s where the game becomes strategically fascinating, as you not only have to survive waves of enemies, but you have to dictate the pace of the game, avoid obstacles, and get used to driving in a more dangerous environment. This makes for a hard-hitting experience, but a surprisingly fun one.

Magic Sword (1990)

Magic Sword is basically Dungeons ‘n Dragons after doing a bump of powdered Pepsi: a fast-paced run through a gauntlet of fantasy peril with one of several sidekicks by your side. As long as you have enough keys, you can regularly find them imprisoned inside stages and recruit them to your cause. There’s also some light platforming and each level is a visual treat for the eyes.

Mega Man: The Power Battle (1995)

What if you had a Mega Man game that tossed out every single one of its challenging levels, and cut straight to the boss fight chase? You’d have Mega Man: The Power Battle, which is essentially a fighting game starring the blue bomber. The core story is the same, the gameplay has been fine-tuned and you can choose to play as either Mega Man, Proto Man, or Bass. What makes this game a treat though, is that it revisits classic Mega Man and gives it an entirely new coat of paint, which looks absolutely delightful.

Seeing familiar Robot Masters–yes, even you Cut Man–is just heartwarming, and the action-packed gameplay feels as brilliant as ever in 2022, as it did in 1995. That, and the game has a soundtrack that is obscenely fantastic.

Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (1996)

A year later, Capcom hit the mega-iron while the mega-fire was mega–hot with Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. The gameplay is roughly the same as in the first game, as it keeps the controls, stages, and weapon-copying intact. What is different is the addition of a fourth character, Duo, more detailed epilogues once Robot Masters are defeated, and an overdrive mode for each of the bosses that radically changes their attack patterns. And yes, the soundtrack was a certified banger.

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge (1995)

The second Darkstalkers game–which sort of but isn’t a sequel, it’s weird–was nothing less than an invitation to a good time at arcades. The main change in Night Warriors is that players didn’t have to play with a use-it-or-lose-it mentality in relation to their special gauge, allowing them to stock up on energy and unleash when the moment felt right. Two types of Super Moves are featured in the game: ES Specials, which require a portion of the Special gauge, and EX Specials, which require an entire stock of the Special gauge to perform. The game added two new characters, made two of its bosses playable, and further tweaked the core gameplay, turning it into one of the biggest coin-munching arcade titles of 1995.

Pnickies (1994)

There’s not too much to discuss here, as Pnickies is a puzzle game similar to Puyo Puyo, where you stack differently coloured jelly blocks and attempt to form chain reactions that’ll help you clear a stage. It gets quickly challenging, but if you were looking for a squishy Tetris, then here you go.

Rally 2011: LED STORM (1989)

The acronym “LED” stands for “Laser Enhanced Destruction”, and everything else about this arcade racing game is just pure high-speed insanity. Rally 2011 is fast-paced, relentlessly challenging, and has some severe rubber-banding AI issues, but it’s still an ambitious and mad little rallycross gem.

Saturday Night Slam Masters (1993)

Think of every wrestling game made since 1993. I can guarantee that they all pale in comparison to Saturday Night Slam Masters, which is pure steroid-injected testosterone turned up to 11 and then unleashed on a world that wasn’t ready for it. Paradoxically simple and complex, it’s the fantasy of wrasslin’ at its very best, capturing the golden age delight of seeing men in very tight spandex attempt to commit first-degree murder inside of a ring every weekend and somehow getting away with it.

Savage Bees (1985)

This is another one of those games that I’m going to briefly talk about because it’s hardly memorable. A vertically scrolling shooter that was released in arcades in 1985, Savage Bees has a great insect-influenced design to its levels and enemies, but that’s about it. Stock-standard shoot ’em up energy, a forgettable soundtrack, and the sole reason for its existence was so that any arcade cabinet next to it would look far better in comparison.

SonSon (1984)

The base game included with Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, SonSon isn’t exactly what I’d use to sell the package. It’s cute and the Capcom take on Journey to the West isn’t badly designed, but it’s just…there. One of the few duds in the collection, SonSon is there because it simply has to be. But for the tens of people who demanded it, I hope you’re happy with it.

The Speed Rumbler (American version of Rush & Crash, 1986)

This single game is the reason why I was glad to have the invincibility code. Dangerously close to being served a lawsuit for infringing on the Max Mad intellectual property, Rush & Crash is a fascinating but flawed approach to making a top-down sandbox racing game set in the post-apocalypse. It’s also clearly designed to chew through an entire year’s worth of tuckshop money because it just never ever lets up on its demolition derby design to give you a minute to breathe.

Street Fighter (1987)

Damn, OG Street Fighter got hands! It’s fascinating to play the original Street Fighter game in this day and age, and experience the first chapter in the series which is incredibly far removed from what it would become. Focused solely on Ryu, Street Fighter is a time capsule of good ideas that may not have been properly executed but showed a ton of potential for what could be. It’s a fine game on its own, but as the template for what is arguably the most important fighting game of all time, Street Fighter, it’s an undeniably important part of history. Even if it does constantly kick my ass.

Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors’ Dreams (1995)

The mid-90s was a time when Capcom seldom refused any idea for a Street Fighter game. While the EX series was an interesting–but let’s face it, rubbish–attempt to go all in on 3D fighting game mechanics, the Alpha series was the gold standard for the franchise. It’s not hard to see why. The anime-inspired visuals looked amazing, the revamped super combo system was a tactical masterpiece, and new basic techniques inherited from Darkstalkers made the game feel leagues better than Street Fighter II. Clearly, a star was born in 1995.

Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)

As good as Street Fighter Alpha was, Alpha 2 was simply better in every possible way. The graphics looked sharper, the gameplay had been tweaked, extra characters were introduced, and the game just had a certain feel to it that was unmatched at the time. Pure style and substance in a complete package, Street Fighter Alpha 2 felt like an unbeatable champion at the time.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998)

Street Fighter Alpha 3 essentially completed a hat trick of fighting game perfection for Capcom, creating a perfect trilogy of pixelated pugilism that is still unmatched to this day: more than two dozen characters to choose from, graphics that were way ahead of the curve, and gameplay hooks that amped up the lightning-quick tactics that you’d need to master if you wanted to pummel your way to the top of the multiplayer rankings. Street Fighter Alpha 3 is the cherry on top of a pound cake of pleasure, a stylish blast from the past that makes this entire collection worth owning all on its own.

Super Gem Fighter (1997)

For some reason, I thought this was just another version of Super Puzzle Fighter, but I was very wrong. Super Gem Fighter is basically what would happen if children cosplayed as Capcom characters and were forced to fight. Naturally, I approve of the idea, but the meat and potatoes gameplay on offer here is superb. Clobbering adorable versions of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters is a great idea, but throw in a persistent upgrade system where you power up attacks with treasure chests and gems? That’s just icing on the fighting game cake, and with some incredibly imaginative offensive design, this game is…well it’s an absolute gem, pun fully intended.

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (1996)

And now we’ve got some puzzle pugilism to enjoy! Featuring the same chibi characters as Super Gem Fighter, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is a one or two-player tile-matching puzzle video game. It’s unbelievably cute to look at as a spectator, and devilishly devious with its gameplay. It’s similar to Pnickie, and if you don’t own the Capcom Fighting Collection, then this is a great second chance to indulge in one of the best and most underrated Capcom games of the 1990s.

Three Wonders (1991)

Want some bang for your arcade buck? Then check out Three Wonders, a triple-threat of games that includes Midnight Wanderers: Quest for the Chariot, a platformer; Chariot: Adventure through the Sky, a scrolling shooter; and Don’t Pull, a puzzle video game. It’s cute, the character designs are great, and that’s all I have to say about this competent collection.

Tiger Road (1987)

The first few levels of Tiger Road made me think that this game is a classic beat ’em up with a kung-fu theme. And then it went full Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger with its design, throwing in wire-fu antics, Shao Lin training bonus stages, and ridiculous boss fights. It’s not often that an arcade game from yesteryear can be surprising, but when you’ve got an action-packed title that goes all in on its primary influences, then you’ve got a reason to funnel as many digital coins as possible into the virtual arcade stand.

Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire (1997)

And here we are, the final game on the list! I’ve saved Darkstalkers 3 for last because I think I get it. I get why Capcom fans are so in love with this franchise because this game represents the company at its peak in the fighting game space of the 1990s. You’ve got a terrific roster of characters, delectable graphics to feast on, the Damage Gauge System that would go on to influence other games, and the Dark Force System which uses a bar of super meter to allow players to perform special abilities unique to each character for a limited period.

Darkstalkers’ final game–get back in your HD coffin, Darkstalkers Resurrection–is the series at its best, an immortal and unbeatable reminder of a franchise that went out at the top of its game.

Conclusion

And there you have it! Every single game in the Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium reviewed! That’s a highlight reel of classics right there, but the real value here is in how these games are presented. There are few fandoms as passionate as arcade gamers, people from all walks of life who treasure these machines and go to absurd lengths to recover and preserve them. Capcom knows that, which is why half the fun of this collection lies in the tools that you have to customise your own personal home arcade.

It would have been easy for Capcom to let you simply choose between 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios, call it a day, and head down to the local pub. But that’s not what you get with this collection. Capcom has instead crafted a love letter to its past, where you can set up an arcade cabinet that looks like a legitimate trip back in time. You can apply key art as borders, play these games with a filter that turns your LED TV into a CRT set, and you can take part in activities that make you feel more connected to the world beyond your living room.

You can create save states, insert an infinite number of credits as you play, set the game speed, or simply rewind a game if you make a mistake. That makes for a more accessible title, in addition to co-op or head-to-head local multiplayer with friends opening up the treasure trove of arcade classics to a whole new generation that’s out there.

Is it a perfect collection? Not exactly, but it comes damn close. I would have loved for this collection to be available as DLC for last year’s Arcade Stadium, but it exists as its own separate program. Six of the games from last month’s Capcom Fighting Collection are present here, which is probably a bitter pill for anyone to swallow if they paid premium money for that compilation. And there’s a lack of archival content here that I think could have really pushed this sequel collection of arcade classics up a notch.

Those gripes aside, this is as good as it gets for reliving the past. Each title runs beautifully and smoothly thanks to modern emulation software, the quality-of-life upgrades make these infamously difficult titles more approachable, and the library has a number of all-time hits present, with only a handful of mediocre titles sprinkled between.


Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium review

Vintage gaming resurrected for a new generation, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium raises the bar for giving retro titles a new lease on life via modern systems.

 8.5
Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium was reviewed on PS5