Capcom Arcade Second Stadium: More Arcade Goodness
This feels familiar don’t it. Last year I looked at Capcom Arcade Stadium, a collection of some of Capcom arcade titles ranging from well know ones like Final Fight and Strider, to more obscure ones like Cyberbots and Battle Circuit.
It was a decent collection. The emulation was decent, not perfect but decent, and it had plenty of great games to pick from. It was lacking in extra’s, and it had a confusing distribution method, but I enjoyed it overall.
And it must have done well because now we have a sequel, Capcom Arcade Second Stadium. I do wonder why though. The whole point of Arcade Stadium was you could download games separately and create your own virtual arcade, so why not just release the games here as DLC?
Then again doing a sequel does mean you can improve on some of the faults of the original. And spoiler alert but that’s exactly what they did. Capcom Arcade Second Stadium has much better emulation than the first game with no noticeable input lag. So, I guess doing a sequel was the better option.
What you get here is a compilation of 32 titles spanning Capcoms history. Like the first Arcade Stadium you can buy them all together as a bundle or purchase them separately. I’m still not a fan of this distribution method, but at least here you can buy the games separately and not part of a pack. Honestly though, you're better off just getting them all. It comes out cheaper that way and at £32.99 it’s a fair price for what you’re getting.
The presentation of the collection is once again excellent. You get the typical array of filters to pick from, though the scanlines here do not look right at all, as well as a shit ton of borders to pick from. You can choose from 2 different styles to play the games, either a 2D style or a 3D style which is designed to emulate you playing the game at an arcade on the real machine.
The latter isn’t something I personally use, but it’s still a cool feature to have. You can even choose different models of arcade machines, so you have a lot of customization options in how the games are presented. And if you have a rotating monitor, or you just feel like getting weird, you can rotate the screen layout in a few different ways too.
The presentation here is great. I especially love the new colour palette and music for the arcade menu itself. Much more pleasing on the eyes, but if you prefer the original look there’s an option to change it to that.
It also features a lot of the same gameplay features as the first game. Rewind, speed changes, remappable controls all that good stuff. On the technical side it’s a solid collection, but what of the games themselves.
Well before we get into the games individually, I want to go over what I think of the game selection overall. I think the collection of games here is both better and worse than the first one. In terms of variety, it’s way better.
The first Arcade Stadium was great, but it did feel overstuffed with shoot-em-ups. The second is a bit more balanced. There’s still a lot of shooters, but it isn’t nearly as bad. There’s a bit more of an attempt to diversify the genres represented by including some the first one didn’t like puzzle games.
Where it’s worse is in the games themselves. Do not misunderstand me, it still has plenty of classic titles, but most of the major arcade hits Capcom are known for were in the first collection. This one by comparison is made up of more obscure and lesser-known titles. Which is still great, I’m glad the more obscure games are given a chance to shine, but it does make Second Stadium feel like the B side of Capcoms library.
And then there’s the issue of overlap. There are games on this collection that were also in other collections. This is a problem the first one had, but Second Stadium does little to rectify the issue. Because several of the games on here were also released in the Capcom Fighting Collection that released mere weeks ago at the time of this writing.
I could kind of forgive the last collection for doing this since there was a gap between releases, but this is just ridiculous. In their defence, this collection was made more for the Arcade game fans and Fighting Collection was made specifically for fighting game fans. This game also doesn’t have the extra’s or online modes Fighting Collection has, so it doesn’t negate that collection. Plus, I'm just glad to have another way of playing Darkstalkers.
Even still, why did they release Arcade Second Stadium so close to Capcom Fighting Collection if they were going to share games between them? It’s baffling. You could argue that being able to choose what games to download negates this issue somewhat, like if I own Fighting Collection I don’t have to buy the games in that, but that’s no excuse.
Capcom really need to do better with their release schedules. If this had come out a year, or even a few months after Fighting Collection I can maybe see it going over better with people. As if people are mad and it’s not hard to see why.
But aside from all that, this is a decent line-up of games. As for how each game holds up individually, well that’s where I come in. I’m going to do what I always do and go through each game one at a time to see whether they’re still worth playing.
However, because I just recently reviewed the Capcom Fighting Collection, I won’t be going over the games from that collection that are also in this one. If you want to know my opinions on those then I recommend reading that review. But enough dilly-dallying, let’s get into the games.
Son-Son
Like the first Arcade Stadium you get one game for free when you get the collection. That game is Son-Son. This is one of Capcoms oldest arcade games and would introduce a lot of items that would feature in later games. You know the POW item you could pick up in some shoot-em-ups? Made its debut here.
Son-Son himself would also make cameo appearances in later Capcom games. The most famous of which is probably Marvel vs Capcom 2 where the grand-daughter of Son-Son would appear as a playable character. Son-Son was also the first Capcom game to be released in North America.
Son-Son is an important game in Capcoms history, but the game itself is only just ok. It's a simple shoot-em-up where you blast enemies and pick up food to get points. This is a golden age arcade game so it’s all about getting a high score. The gameplay is decent enough with some unique ideas, but it lacks the addicting nature of a lot of the best golden age games.
It also gets ridiculously hard in the later stages to an unfair degree. They just bombard you with enemies which makes things way too frustrating. There are also some cheap hits that can get you when spawning in which is just completely unfair.
It isn’t an awful game. Shooting enemies is fun, it’s got co-op which is always a nice feature to have, and I even like the Journey to the West theme it has. I think this is the first game based on that story. Not a great game to start us off, but not a bad one either.
Savage Bees
Savage Bees is a typical shoot-em-up, only with more bees. It doesn’t do much to stand out from a lot of other space shooters that were out at the time. It’s a fairly unremarkable game.
That said it doesn’t do much majorly wrong. The gameplay is still solid enough for what it is despite the steep difficulty. I know arcade games are made to be difficult, they wanted your money after-all, but earlier arcade games were kind of absurd in how difficult they could get.
Savage Bees isn’t a very remarkable game, but it does offer a solid enough experience for shoot-em-up fans. You can do a lot better, but you can also do a lot worse.
Gun.Smoke
If you’re wondering about the title, yes, the dot is intentional. There was already a show called Gun Smoke, so they added the dot to avoid copyright infringement.
Gun.Smoke is a top-down run and gun with a western theme. The game is typical run and gun style gameplay. The game lets you shoot straight forward or diagonally, you can even shoot in two directions at the same time. And what would a western game be without a horse to ride. You can find a power-up that lets you ride one which acts as an extra hit.
You’ll need that extra hit too because this game is hard. This is one of the hardest games in the entire collection. Even by arcade game standards this is ridiculous. There are so many enemies and bullets to dodge it can be overwhelming.
It’s not an entirely fair challenge either. The bullets don’t stand out from the background which can make them hard to make out. It's a little hard to dodge the bullets when you can’t fucking see them. The third level is also a pretty big difficulty spike. It goes on forever and the boss just bombards you with a ton of enemies.
Gun.Smoke isn’t a bad game, but it is extremely hard. If you’re a fan of top-down run and guns it might be worth checking out, but casual audiences might be put off by the difficulty. Regardless this is the kind of game where you’ll be abusing the rewind function if you ever want to see the end.
The Speed Rumbler
This game is a fusion of a driving game and a shoot-em-up. The goal is to try and drive through each level as fast as possible while avoiding, or shooting down, enemies and rescuing hostages for power-ups. If your car takes too much damage, you can jump out before it explodes and try to make it to another car.
Speed Rumbler can be fun, but it does not play fair. There are certain moments where I swear it is impossible to avoid damage which results in some cheap deaths. You also feel way too underpowered without power-ups and getting them isn’t the easiest thing to do.
Every level also has a time limit which sends you back to the beginning of a level if you don’t make it in time. I really hate it when arcade games do this. These games are hard enough without being sent back.
The controls also take some getting used to. It doesn’t control badly or anything, you just have to come to grips with the way the car turns around. This game feels most fun when you’re speeding through each level as fast as possible. When you’re zipping through and dodging enemy fire like a boss the game is great, but there are too many roadblocks and outright bullshit moments that keep getting in the way of that.
Side Arms
Side Arms is a space shooter that feels a little bit like Capcoms answer to Gradius. In this game you play as a mech that can transform into a star fighter trying to get through waves of enemies.
Unlike a lot of other shooters, this one lets you fire both left and right allowing you to get enemies behind you. I really like this feature. There’s nothing worse than playing a shoot-em-up and getting killed by an enemy you can’t kill because it appeared behind you.
The power-up system is also a little different for a shoot-em-up. You have 5 different power-ups you can pick up, but unlike other shooters you can swap between them on the fly, though you lose the power-up you currently have equipped on death.
It’s a unique system though it does have its drawbacks. For one, the shotgun weapon sucks. It’s way too slow and the coverage doesn’t make up for that. Second, getting each power-ups is a bit of a pain. This game works like Twin-Bee where you shoot the power-ups to change them to the one you want. Unlike that game though the power-ups don’t move back when you hit them, which makes trying to get the specific power-up you want a pain especially since you’ll be dodging enemies on top of that.
I enjoyed Side Arms quite a bit. It’s a challenging game but it feels fair and doesn’t have too much cheapness. My only major complaint is that it is a little repetitive and the bosses do repeat too often. Other than that, this is a great little space shooter.
Hissatsu Buraiken
This is one of the few games in this collection that is only on a Japanese Rom. Most games let you swap between English and Japanese roms, but some can only be played on one of them. It’s odd for this game because it was released in English under the name Avengers, but I guess they were too afraid of getting sued by Marvel, so they only have the Japanese version.
Anyway, this game is terrible. It’s a beat-em-up which Capcom usually excel at, but this one is just awful. It has a top-down perspective which is unique for the genre, but it does not work for it at all. Your attacks are limited and don’t feel satisfying at all, and the enemies will gang up and headbutt you to death within five minutes of playing it.
I did not enjoy this one. It’s the worst beat-em-up Capcom ever made and considering how good Capcom beat-em-ups usually are that’s a major disappointment.
Black Tiger
Black Tiger is an ambitious arcade game. It’s a side scrolling action game a bit like Ghosts n’ Goblins only with much bigger levels to explore. It’s almost an RPG at times. You can find dungeons to explore, and you can buy upgrades from vendors you rescue along the way. This is an impressive arcade game in terms of scope.
In terms of gameplay, not so much. The control isn’t the best with jumping that’s stiffer than Castlevanias, and the levels impressive size is undercut by the time limit. I know the time limit is there to prevent people from hogging the machine, but it goes against the design of the game. Honestly this game feels like it’s hindered be being an arcade game. This would have worked a lot better as a console game.
That said I didn’t hate the game. It has serious problems, but the action is still solid, and I do admire the game for being ambitious, even if it wasn’t fully successful. It’s an ok game.
Street Fighter
Everyone talks about Street Fighter 2, but not a lot of people talk about the first Street Fighter. Street Fighter 2 was so revolutionary it kind of overshadowed the original game. It didn’t help that the first game is not very good.
Everything about the game just feels off. The animation is weird, the physics are weird, and the control is just awful. It is next to impossible to pull of any kind of special move in this game. The timing is stricter than a Victorian school teacher.
But, to play devil’s advocate here, it wasn’t a bad game for its time. The graphics are decent with large sprites and the gameplay is typical for a lot of earlier fighting games. And credit where it’s due, while the special moves are hard to pull off, having them was a big innovation.
Look, this game hasn’t aged well, at all, but I can see why it may have been a hit with arcade goers at the time. It was certainly a big enough success to spawn a sequel, which as we all know was the smash hit to end all smash hits. I wouldn’t recommend playing this today, but it does deserve at least a little credit for what it did.
Tiger Road
This is a side scrolling action game where you play as a monk trying to rescue the members of his temple. This game is broken up into a series of different rooms that offer their own challenges. The gameplay is simple as it just involves killing enemies, but there is a decent amount of variety in both the enemies and the various rooms that keep things from getting stale.
You can pick up a few different weapons, though there isn’t a whole lot of difference between them. I think the spear is supposed to have the most range, but it doesn’t come across that way in gameplay. Thankfully there are other power ups that do have a noticeable effect like increasing range of attack.
In between stages you’ll do brief training stages. Completing these successfully will give you a permanent upgrade to your abilities. You didn’t see arcade games with this kind of progression system back then so it was pretty innovative for its time.
This game is simple clean fun. It’s a challenging game, but it feels well balanced for an arcade game. My only complaint is that the jumping feels weird. It’s very stiff like Black Tiger and I couldn’t quite get the momentum down. Other than that, this is a solid little action game.
1943 Kai
This is a remake of the original 1943 I reviewed in the original Arcade Stadium. It’s the same great game with some graphical adjustments and a new laser weapon replacing the auto gun.
The biggest difference is the stages were reduced from 16 to 10. Normally it bothers me when a remake removes content from the original, but here it works to the games benefit. I thought the original 1943 was too long so lowering the stage count helps the game a lot because it doesn’t drag on as much.
To compensate for the fewer stages the game is a lot harder than the original. I think the originals difficulty was better and felt a little more balanced, but this should satisfy shooter fans looking for a challenge.
I wouldn’t say this remake is better than the original, but it is a decent alternative. Both versions have their strengths and weaknesses, you really can’t go wrong with either of them. It’s great game no matter how you play it.
Last Duel
Last Duel is another space shooter but this one has an interesting twist. The ship you play as has 2 different forms it can turn into, a spaceship and a car. This means you get 2 different styles of gameplay with the ship gameplay being a typical space shooter and the car feeling like a futuristic version of Spy Hunter.
The spaceship sections aren’t bad, but they are standard for the genre. The only twist being you can do a barrel roll to dodge enemy fire but isn’t something you can spam since it runs out fast.
The car gameplay is more engaging to me. It’s fun going at top speed whizzing past enemy fire, and you can jump over obstacles which makes you feel like a badass. These parts are way more fun.
While this is an interesting twist on the shooter formula, I wish it did more with it. You can’t switch between modes, instead you’ll switch between levels. So, you get a level in the car, then a level in the ship, then it repeats. This isn’t a bad structure, but I would have liked being able to swap between modes mid game to adapt to any situation. I think the game would have been more interesting.
As is, it’s still a perfectly fine game. It’s not too difficult for a shoot-em-up too, so it’s a little more accessible. I wish it did more with its concept, but this is still a solid effort.
Rally 2011 LED Storm
LED Storm is a top-down racing game with a futuristic setting. It’s basically the car sections from Last Duel but with the shoot-em-up mechanics removed. It’s nice to finally see a straight up driving game that doesn’t involve dodging enemy fire, though there are still plenty of things to avoid.
What’s cool is that the vehicle can transform into a bike at the press of a button. Both the car and the bike control a little differently, but you can stick to one or the other if you choose. I personally prefer the car since it’s a little more resilient.
This game is a perfectly decent top-down racer. I have to admit I’m not a big of top-down racers, I personally prefer one’s where the camera is behind the vehicle, but this one is a good time. It is a little short and lacking in replay value, but I still like.
The best part of the game though is the presentation. Not the graphics or music, though those are well done, it’s the cheesy voice over. No joke, this was the most entertaining part. It’s peak 90’s Capcom cheese and I love it.
Magic Sword
Magic Sword is a fantasy action game that feels like a pseudo sequel to Black Tiger. I say pseudo sequel because, while some parts are similar, it is an original game that doesn’t directly follow on from that game.
Whatever it is, it’s awesome. This is one of the best games in the entire collection. The whole game is about traveling up the floors of a massive tower gathering treasure and upgrades as you progress.
You’ll find keys on each floor that be used to rescue hostages that will help you out. Each character has their own type of attack and have levels that increase as you reach higher floors. It’s fun to experiment with these to see which one is your favourite. My favourites were the Ninja for having an attack that arced upward, the Amazon for her fast rate of fire and the Wizard for his sheer power.
This game is a total blast to play. It is a little bit too long if you play it from the beginning, but the game does offer a level select when you start if you want to start on higher levels, though you will lose upgrades if you do.
It can also be a bit too repetitive. You fight the same enemies and bosses repeatedly and even the floors start to feel a bit samey after a while. Some more variety would have helped this game a lot.
I still loved the game though. There’s just something satisfying about hacking and slashing your way through waves of enemies, especially with a friend. If you like games like Gauntlet then give this one a shot, it’s basically a side scrolling version of that.
Three Wonders
Three Wonders is an odd game to have in a collection like this. Mainly because it itself is a collection. It’s described as an omnibus game with three separate titles to pick from.
The first game is Midnight Wanderers, a run and gun style game in the same vein as Contra or Metal Slug. It’s an ok run and gun but it’s let down by not being able to run and shoot at the same time. The presentation is the best part of the game. It has incredibly detailed pixel art for its time and the art style has a Dark Crystal vibe to it.
Chariot is a shoot-em-up that also acts a sequel to Midnight Wanderers. It has a cool tail mechanic which you can use to hurt enemies or projectiles, and the bosses are very cool. This is the best game of the bunch.
The last game, Don’t Pull, is a push block puzzle game with a vastly different art style. It’s cutesier and colourful but still works for what it is. This is a decent puzzle game, though it does stand out as an oddity given it has zero connection to the other games.
None of the games here are bad, but none are particularly great either. The big draw to this game in arcades was the fact it was 3 games in one. In arcades this would have been enticing, but in a compilation like Arcade Stadium it doesn’t have the same appeal.
On its own, it’s average at best. Not bad, but you can do so much better.
The King of Dragons
The King of Dragons is a beat-em-up game with a fantasy setting based on Dungeons and Dragons. The funny thing is that Capcom would go on to make a D&D beat-em-up, so you could argue this game is a predecessor to those.
It’s a simpler beat-em-up. There aren’t any combo moves, grabs or anything like that. All you have is your basic attack and a magic special move. It’s not as deep as other Capcom beat-em-ups, but it has its own charm and is still fun to play.
You get a decent number of characters to pick from, 5 in total, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. You can also find magic orbs which can be used to take out multiple enemies at once. One of the strategies with the game is taking the orbs with you and using them at the right time.
And in keeping with its RPG inspirations, getting enough points levels you up and you can find weapon and armour upgrades. The game does have some depth, it isn’t a shallow game or anything, it just isn’t as deep as something like Final Fight or the D&D games that came after it.
The presentation here is also excellent. The sprite work is great with lots of vibrant colours, and there are some great visual set-pieces. The soundtrack is also really good, one of the more underrated soundtracks from Capcom.
My only major complaint with this game is it does go on for a bit too long. Near the end it gets a bit repetitive and wears you out. This isn’t Capcom’s best beat-em-up, but it’s still an excellent game all the same.
Block-Block
This is literally just Capcom’s version of Breakout. I’m not a kidding, you’ve got a paddle, you bounce a ball around to break blocks, it’s Breakout in everything but name.
I will say that as a Breakout clone Block-Block is pretty good. The layouts are interesting and do somethings the original Breakout didn’t like having blocks below the paddle. If you like Breakout, you’ll probably like this game too.
However, I don’t think games like this translate well to a normal controller. These types of games were designed with a paddle controller in mind, and you miss the greater degree of control those offered when played on a normal game pad. Arcade Second Stadium does have a speed up and slow down option to give you a better control, but it isn’t exactly ideal. It still controls well enough, but you can still feel it doesn’t play as it was intended.
Knights of the Round
Another classic Capcom beat-em-up, but this one is a little different. If you couldn’t tell by the name, this is based on the stories of King Arthur. This game is a bit more of a hack and slash like Golden Axe.
You can play as Arthur, Lancelot or Percival each with their own stats, Lancelot being fast and weak, Percival being slow and strong and Arthur being in the middle. You can play up to three players and one cool aspect is that treasure and food items can be broken up allowing everyone to get a piece. Or you could just take it all like a greedy bastard.
You’ll want to share the treasure in co-op though because getting points will level you up. Yeah, this game also has RPG elements, I don’t know why all the hack and slash games from Capcom have them, but they do. It doesn’t feel like much changes when you level up, you do get a full heal and your appearance changes but that’s about it.
I do like the appearance changes though; the characters look way more badass by the end. Especially Percival, dude goes from a buff goof to an absolute Uber Mensch.
The control is very different from other Capcom beat-em-ups. You have a basic combo, but you also have a strong attack and a block which can be done by pressing the attack button and a direction. It takes some getting used to, but once you do this is one of the deeper beat-em-ups Capcom made.
The combat is a lot more nuanced. Blocking is the one thing you’ll want to master because it’ll give you a moment of invincibility when you block an attack. This game has a much higher difficulty curve than most beat-em-ups but that just makes it more satisfying to master.
The higher learning curve might turn some people off, it did for me at first, but every time I play it, I grow a better appreciation for it. This isn’t one of my favourite Capcom beat-em-ups, but it’s very high on the list.
Saturday Night Slam Masters
You’ve seen Capcom fighters and beat-em-ups, but what about a wrestling game. These were everywhere in the 80’s and 90’s so it only made sense for Capcom to do one too.
Saturday Night Slam Masters feels like a beat-em-up mixed with a wrestling game. If you’ve played an arcade wrestling game before then the grappling system will feel familiar. It’s all about getting close the opponent and pressing attack at the right time.
It works well enough, but if you’re playing against the AI they will more than likely grab you first. The AI is a cheating bastard in this game which makes it difficult to learn the ins and outs of the game's mechanics. As a result, it’s a little hard to recommend this game unless you are already a fan of arcade wrestling games.
It’s a shame too because there is a lot to like about the game. The presentation is great, it’s got both 1-on-1 and tag team modes and the roster is pretty damn cool. It’s an entirely original roster of characters, with Mike Haggar from Final Fight making a guest appearance, and they all have really cool designs. This is because the art was done by Tetsuo O’Hara of Fist of the North Star fame. You can tell it’s him too, he has a distinct style that’s hard to miss.
Saturday Night Slam Masters is a decent arcade wrestling game for fans of those style of games. For newcomers it might be a harder sell, but it can be fun when played with friends. Strangely this is the only Slam Masters game on here. None of the sequels made it despite Arcade Stadium favouring having complete series. Maybe it’s a right’s issue thing? I hope if there’s a third entry, we see Slam Masters 2 on it.
Eco-Fighters
An environmentally friendly shoot-em-up? Only in the 90’s could this exist. The same decade that gave us Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Ferngully ladies and gentlemen.
Thankfully, this isn’t nearly as preachy as you might think. Eco-Fighters is just a fun shoot-em-up with a protect the environment message. It’s not in your face with its message and doesn’t let it impact the gameplay.
The main gimmick with this game is that your ship has a gun that can rotate around it and shoot in multiple directions. In a way it feels like a sequel to Forgotten Worlds. It isn’t as good as Forgotten Worlds but is still an enjoyable game.
You can get a few different shot types each with their own charge shots. The rotating gun can also be used to block oncoming shots, which makes this game a little bit easier than most shooters.
The presentation goes more for a Saturday morning cartoon vibe. The characters look like something you’d see in an old anime, but the levels look like something you’d see in an environmental PSA. It does a good job of selling the environmental devastation the enemy group is doing.
Eco-Fighters is surprisingly good. For an environmental themed game, it does a good job of not being preachy with its message. Trust me, this was rare to see in the nineties. It does feel like it’s aimed at younger players with its cartoon art-style and easier difficulty, but it offers just enough challenge for older gamers as well.
Pnickies
This is the only game in this collection I had absolutely no idea existed. Probably because it’s an obscure puzzle game that was only released in Japan, and because it’s not that good.
Pnickies is a Puyo-Puyo clone. You drop coloured blobs down and try to match them up to get rid of them, stacking them in such a way that create combos. The big difference between this and Puyo is that to get rid of the blobs, you also need to have two blobs with a black centre. it’s a small difference, but it changes how you approach combos.
To be honest, the gameplay here is pretty good. it’s derivative, but the small changes it does make gives it its own identity. The big problem with this game is, and I can’t believe I’d say this for an arcade game, it lacks content.
The game has 3 modes, a single player mode, a 2-player mode and a vs CPU mode. The vs mode is the best way to play these kinds of games, but the vs CPU mode only has one opponent and then it’s over. There’s no story to go through and it’s over int five minutes because the AI is an idiot.
This means that the only mode with any meat is the single player score attack mode, and I don’t think games like this work well as score attacks. If I wanted to play a score attack puzzle game I’ll play Tetris, Puyo style games are made more for vs play.
Pnickies isn’t a bad game, but you really need other people to get the most out of it. Even then I’d recommend you play something like Puzzle Fighter instead as it has a more original identity and has more depth. this average at best.
Darkstalkters: The Night Warriors
I already reviewed this in the Capcom Fighting Collection.
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge
Again, I already covered this game in Capcom Fighting Collection. No need to go over it again.
Street Fighter Alpha Warriors Dream
Street Fighter Alpha was the first Street Fighter following the final version of Street Fighter 2. It was also the first Street Fighter to be made specifically for the CPS2 arcade board, rather than it being an updated version of a CPS1 game that Super Street Fighter 2 was.
The game was put into development after the completion of Darkstalkers and feels like an attempt to copy some of what that game did like having chain combos and air blocking. The game was given a more Anime art style based on the Street Fighter 2 animated movie, with character designs pulled directly from that movie like the buff version of M. Bison.
It was also a prequel set between Street Fighter 1 and 2. So a lot of the returning characters got younger, flashier redesigns. It also meant they could bring back characters from the first Street Fighter that didn’t appear in the sequel, along with new characters and even some characters from Final Fight for good measure.
The fighting system was also improved with a new super bar system that let you store multiple bars. The supers also had different levels of strength that cost more bars of meter, with the strength determined by the number of buttons pressed.
Street Fighter Alpha is a decent start to the Alpha sub-series. The problem is that the game feels rushed, mainly because the game was rushed. It was developed in only 6 months, which was double the time they were given by the way. As a result, the development team couldn’t implement all their ideas in time.
You can see the rushed development in the stages. Not only are they not very interesting, but a lot of them are repeated with slightly different palettes. Guy’s stage is just Ryu’s stage at night, and Charlie’s stage and Ken’s stage are the same only one has more people in the background.
Street Fighter Alpha is not a bad game, but it feels incomplete. It feels more like a proof of concept than a finished product. For its time it was a decent but flawed follow up to Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, but when compared to its sequels it falls way short of the mark.
Mega Man: The Power Battles
Mega Man: The Power Battles does a good job of translating the Mega Man style of gameplay to an arcade game. The game is set up like a boss rush rather than a run and gun platformer like the home console games.
But everything here is what you would expect. You’ve got the charge shot, the slide, you get weapons from defeated bosses and each boss is weak to a particular weapon. It really is Mega Man but as an arcade game.
And as an arcade boss rush game it’s pretty good. Most of the bosses have their classic attack patterns, but some were redesigned and frankly made better. No joke, I greatly enjoyed some of the fights than I did in the main games.
I really liked Power Battles, but it does have some drawbacks. While the game has 3 playable characters, Mega Man, Proto Man and Bass, they all play the same with no differences between them. The only reason the game has multiple characters is to facilitate co-op.
The game is also very short even by arcade standards. Most games will only last 10 minutes at most, and while the multiple paths and character endings do provide some replay value, they can only do so much. It’s also shockingly easy for an arcade game. You’d think a Mega Man arcade game would be harder than the console games, but no. The console games are way harder than this.
On a more positive note, the presentation is great. The stages are really nice to look with lots of little references to the series thrown in, the character sprites and animations are excellent, and the music has some great remixes of classic Mega Man tunes. Though it does bug me that the themes are mixed up, but that’s just me being a massive purist.
It’s not perfect but Mega Man: The Power Battles is a decent attempt to translate the series to arcades. At the very least it’s an interesting curio for Maga Man fans. But if you want the true arcade Mega Man experience, I recommend the sequel. But before we get to that…
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2 is what the first Alpha should have been. And that’s not my opinion, the games director has admitted that this was the game they wanted to make but couldn’t because of the time constraints. Right down to the story being a retelling of the one from the first game. Like Night Warriors this is both a remake and a sequel.
This is such an improvement over the first game. The art is more dynamic, the stages are more interesting, the roster was greatly expanded with old favourites and newcomers that would go on to be favourites, the mechanics were both streamlined and improved upon at the same time. This is such a better game it renders the original obsolete.
The gameplay here is much smoother than before. It ditches the chain combo’s, which frankly didn’t fit with Street Fighter to begin with, but in its place is the new Alpha Counter and Custom Combo system. The latter of which is one of the most fun mechanics in any Street Fighter game. You can do so much cool shit with this and it’s really fun to experiment and see what you can do with it.
This game also has some of the best stages in any Street Fighter game. Kens stage alone is like catnip for any fan of 90’s Capcom. They even threw in the lightning stage from the opening of Street Fighter 2 the animated movie and it looks so damn cool.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 isn’t just a great sequel, it isn’t just a great Street Fighter game, it’s also my personal favourite Street Fighter game. Of all the ones I’ve played this is the one I have the most fun with. It’s fast paced without being ridiculous like Super Turbo and the game mechanically is denser with more to discover.
This is one of the best games in the collection. I seriously cannot recommend it highly enough.
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo
Already talked about this in Capcom Fighting Collection so I won’t cover it here. It is the best puzzle game in the collection though, so puzzle fans should definitely pick it up.
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters
The second and best of the Mega Man the arcade games. Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters is essentially a bigger better of its predecessor. Keeping the same tight gameplay and improving the game in several key areas.
Now when you pick a route you aren’t just picking from the bosses from a certain group of games, now you have routes that each tell their own little mini story. The boss line-ups are a little more interesting since you can now see Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 6 Robot Masters in the same line-up.
The bosses themselves were also improved. They are much more challenging now and will even get new attacks depending on when you fight them. The game in general is much harder than the first, but also more balanced with both health and weapon restorations now dropping mid fight.
The biggest improvement was in the playable characters. Not only do we get a fourth playable character in Duo, making this his only playable appearance thus far, but each character was given a new special move and helper robot to make them more unique. Now there’s an actual reason why you would pick one over the others.
That’s not all, the replay value was improved as well. Every character has their own ending like the last game, but if played in co-op the endings will differ depending on the character combination used. While it is super short like the first game, this extra replay ability helps make that easier to swallow.
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters is really damn good. It still has the short length of its predecessor, and honestly it doesn’t compare to the best of the console games, but as a Mega Man arcade spin-off it’s probably the best it could ever be.
Vampire Saviour
I already talked about this in Capcom Fighting Collection.
Capcom Sports Club
This is a sports game comprised of 3 separate sports. There’s a football game, a basketball game and a tennis game. I’m not into sports, but I do like a good arcade sports game. This is not one of them.
The best of them is easily tennis. It’s fast paced simple fun. It’s no Virtua Tennis or anything but it’s a perfectly fine game of tennis. Football and basketball on the other hand, what the hell happened here.
In football the passing is just broken. Every time you pass the ball you’ll miss because you’ll be moving the player you’re supposed to be passing to. I haven’t played many football games, but of the ones I have played I know that they do not switch who you control until after they get the ball. Here it doesn’t and I never feel like I’m in full control.
Basketball is somehow even worse. Playing offense is fine, but defense is next to impossible. It seams to swap your character at random so I have no idea what’s going on, and the weird perspective makes blocking shots way harder than it should be.
I will say the games at least look good. Not a fan of the character designs though, they look like discount muppets, but the overall look is colourful with some nice-looking arenas.
But yeah this game sucks. Tennis isn’t bad but the other two are dreadful. Even fans of the sports will find little to love here.
Super Gem Fighters Mni-Mix
Already talked about this in Capcom Fighters Collection.
Street Fighter Alpha 3
I already said Street Fighter Alpha 2 was mas my favourite Street Fighter, but Alpha 3 isn’t that far off from that. Alpha 3 continues the same great gameplay from Alpha 2 while also changing things up quite a bit.
The biggest change is the Ism system. Before every game you can pick from 3 different styles, or Isms, that change how you play the game. A-Ism is the traditional Alpha system with 3 bars of super, only now higher-level supers are determined by the type of button pressed rather than the number which is much better in my opinion.
V-ism is the custom combo system and it works like they did in Alpha 2 though you don’t automatically walk forward. And finally there’s X-ism which removes a lot of the gameplay mechanics of the Alpha games and only gives you one meter, but you hit way harder than in the other styles.
Street Fighter fans seem split on which Alpha game is better because of the ism system. Some players liked the choice it gave them while others lamented it for limiting the options they had. I do prefer Alpha 2 more, but I still appreciate what Alpha 3 brought to the table. Being able to choose how you play leads to more player expression and there’s some nuances to the ism system that are fun to explore.
One big new mechanic it introduced was the guard crush system. You can’t just block forever in this game otherwise your guard will break and leave you vulnerable. I’m shocked other Street Fighter’s never brought this back because I think it’s a great way to discourage cheap turtling tactics.
Honestly you can’t go wrong with the Alpha series. They’re all great games, even Alpha 1 isn’t bad it’s just rushed, and it really is a matter of picking your poison. I still wish we could get a port of Alpha 3 Max though. That version was incredible, and I hate the fact that it’s stuck on the PSP. Seriously Capcom, get on that.
Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition
The last game in the collection and I already talked about it in Capcom Fighting Collection. Then again, it’s Street Fighter 2, there’s little I can say about it that hasn’t already been said.
And that’s it. That’s every game in Capcom Arcade Second Stadium. While I do think it’s worth getting them all due to the better value, if you only want to get a few titles then hopefully you have a better idea of which ones are worth getting.
Overall, I’d say Arcade Second Stadium is a worthy follow up to the first. It doesn’t have as many heavy hitters but the good games here are really good. If you’re a fan of classic arcade games, especially from Capcom, then this is well worth checking out, along with the first Arcade Stadium.
I don’t know if we’ll ever get a third Arcade Stadium. There are still plenty of Capcom arcade games left but many of them are licensed games that would be very difficult to get. I would love to see those licensed games in another collection at some point though.
I’m shocked we haven’t seen a proper Marvel vs Capcom collection yet. Can you imagine the money that would print? If Nickelodeon can let Konami do a collection of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, why can’t Disney let Capcom do the same for Marvel. Come on guys get on that already.
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