A dense compilation that helps fill the void left by the death of a retro arcade.
At the beginning of 2021, Capcom released the Capcom Arcade Stadium, which includes a total of 32 titles. You can purchase the entire package as three separate bundles of about 10 titles each, or you can choose individual games to choose from. At the second stadium, 32 more retro arcade titles have moved to Switch, but this time you can buy either the entire set or just your favorite singular title. Maybe those little bundles weren’t selling, but it’s hard to see the value proposition of what’s offered at the second stadium. From 1984’s SonSon (which you can actually download and play off for free) to 2003’s Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition, a variety of genres have been represented during the 20 years. In addition to the online leaderboard, the various display and playback options are all winning combinations.
It is worth noting that many of the games at Capcom Arcade Second Stadium are included in other collections. For example, the Capcom Beat’M-up Bundle (reviewed here) includes The King of Dragons and Knights of the Round. The same applies to the recently released Capcom Fighting Collection. This includes Dark Stalker: Night Warrior, Night Warrior: Dark Stalkers Revenge, Vampire Saver: Vampire Lord, Hyper Street Fighter II: Anniversary Edition, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and Super Gem Fighter Mini. mix. This is eight games that you may already own on Switch alone, not to mention the previous ports and releases of other consoles. Many other games on the 2nd Stadium were part of the Capcom Classics Collection Volume 1 or 2 that appeared on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
However, 2nd Stadium itself provides a robust experience. Especially for those who haven’t preyed on Capcom’s retro re-release. As far as I know, Pnickies, a 1994 Puyo Puyo and Puzzle Fighter style puzzle game, has never released a console port of any kind. Rally 2011: LED STORM hasn’t been on another platform since Commodore 64 in 1989. A cross between wrestling and fighting games, Saturday Night Slam Masters hasn’t been on the console since it was ported to the Super Nintendo and Genesis.
Even if it’s not of historical value, the many features and modes of 2nd Stadium more than make up for the fact that it’s another opportunity to relaunch old video game packages. Every title has a score challenge, a time challenge, and a series of special challenges, all with their own online leaderboards. Special challenges generally maximize difficulty or speed for additional challenges. Anyone interested in highscore tracking and speed running will find it useful in a variety of ways to show off your arcade prowess. You can also adjust individual game settings such as difficulty, game speed, and even invincibility.
In addition to the different competition methods, there are also multiple ways to customize the visual experience. You can set the screen size and viewpoint, such as displaying the left, right, and bottom borders like an arcade cabinet. You can switch to full screen mode or zoom in slightly. This leaves a border on the side and can be left black or decorated with more decoration options. As you play, you’ll earn points to open new ranks and award cosmetics to liven up your display. Of course, you can keep everything as purely clean as I do, but it’s great to be able to adjust the view to your liking.
Some of the more interesting products from 2nd Stadium are actually a single title that contains three distinct and different games. These include Three Wonders, a package of side-scrolling action games (think metal slugs), horizontal shooters, and action puzzle games, and Capcom Sports Club, which offers basketball, soccer, and tennis. Only one of the 32 games is dedicated to single player (Rally 2011: LED STORM), making the multiplayer aspect of 2nd Stadium even more appealing. I had never played them before myself, so I noticed that two Rockman games, Power Battle and Power Fighters, are adding a fun new twist to Blue Bomber’s signature ceremony.
Even if you are categorically opposed to the corporate practice of continuously repacking and reselling old games, you cannot deny that they are treated as bundles. The 32 titles of CapcomArcade 2nd Stadium represent a solid bargain for each game. Saved state, rewind feature, and adjustments to the game settings mentioned above allow players of all skill levels to easily experience new genres and play games without throwing a quarter bucket into the old cabinet. It will be like. 30 in-game achievements provide replay value to chasers other than scores. Even if you choose to get some of these titles individually, the various leaderboards and options make the 2nd Stadium one of the best modern vehicles for a retro road trip down a memorable path.
Below is a complete list of Capcom Arcade Second Stadium games.
SonSon
- Savage bee
- Gun smoke
- Speed rambler
- Hyperdyne inside arm
- Bryken Hisashi
- black Tiger
- Street Fighter
- Road to tiger
- 1943 Kai
- Last duel
- Rally 2011: LED STORM
- Magic sword
- Wonder 3
- The King of Dragons
- Block block
- Knights of the Round
- Muscle bomber
- Eco Fighters
- Pnickies
- Vampire The Night Warriors
- Night Warrior: Vampire Revenge
- Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors’ Dream
- Rockman: Power Battle
- Street Fighter Alpha 2
- Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
- Rockman 2: Power Fighters
- Vampire Saber: Lord of Vampires
- Capcom Sports Club
- Pocket Fighter: Mini Mix
- Street Fighter Alpha 3
- Hyper Street Fighter II: Anniversary Edition
