Not every fighting game is the same thing, and there probably aren’t many groups that know this better than Capcom. It has spent decades experimenting with the formula, and you can see on full display in the upcoming Capcom Fighting Collection 2 bundle. Not only does this have some of the tightest and most competent fighting games ever in the form of Capcom Vs. SNK 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, but it also isn’t afraid to be silly with the likes of the Power Stone games. Capcom gave us a chance to try some of these games and we came away convinced that this is a spread that can satisfy hardcore fighters and casual players alike.
Everything but the smell of machines & tokens
For this preview, we were allowed to check out Capcom Fighting Collection 2’s versions of Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, Power Stone 2, Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein. On one end, you have CvS, which is nice and technical. It features a wide variety of characters from across the Capcom and SNK fighting universes and can be played at a high level with technical know-how involved in assembling teams and getting the most out of them. I put in Joe Higashi, Ken Masters, and Cammy and had fun utilizing their intact movesets against other various teams throughout the arcade mode. Then I got stomped by Rugal and his horrid Genocide Cutter spam. I’m rusty, but it felt good to take another stroll through what I know could be fun fighting game homework if I really feel like it.
Plasma Sword and Power Stone 2 are much less technical affairs in very different ways. Plasma Sword is a 3D fighter from the early days of their existence. The gimmick in Plasma Sword is that every character has some kind of energy weapon. Also, if they gain enough meter and hit you with a certain attack, they can change the arena and explode with temporarily boosted capabilities like Hayato’s sword blade becoming overly long or Rain being able to temporarily freeze opponents with every attack. It’s easy to compare this game to the Street Fighter EX series as it feels like it shares a lot of the same DNA, but the empowered abilities and comboing also kind of remind me of the Bloody Roar games, which is fine by me.
Power Stone 2 is a straight-up party game. Up to four players get dropped on stages filled to the brim with offensive items like rocket launchers and swords. They can also fight each other in hand-to-hand combat. That said, the big ticket is collecting Chaos Emeral- I mean Power Stones, which are colored gems that turn characters into super versions of themselves with powered up attacks.
Most stages start with each character having a Power Stone a piece and must collect three to transform. Getting hit by big attacks will knock any collected Power Stones out of your character, so being careful and holding out for all three is often crucial to victory, but ultimately a match ends when two of the four players are knocked out, so you can also gang up on any character that’s lagging behind if it means victory is within your grasp. Stages also often evolve as the battle goes on, with some featuring minigame segments that allow players to compete to get a leg up in the fight at the next part of the stage. It’s a ridiculously chaotic game, but in a delightful way that would be all sorts of fun with friends.
Punching us right in the nostalgia
The spread we previewed for Capcom Fighting Collection 2 instilled a strong vibe that this is a collection for everybody. The freaks who spend hours labbing and fine-tuning their strategies will enjoy Capcom Vs. SNK, but Power Stone is the kind of game you could bust out at an appropriate gathering and just have fun. Meanwhile, Plasma Sword sits somewhere in the middle. It’s not all that technical, but it does have some interesting mechanics that make it fun to explore whether you’re casual or skilled. All in all, Capcom seems to have assembled a diverse package here, and it should make for another great time when this bundle drops in May 2025.
This preview is based on an early PlayStation 5 digital version offered by the publisher. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 comes out on May 15, 2025 on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is packing a solid mix of technical & party brawling
