Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium

Last year's arcade collection was incredible yet incomplete so thankfully, here's Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium with a ton more games.

Capcom’s latest pack of coin-op classics won’t disappoint old arcade hounds looking to re-experience their youth.

Thanks to titles being available individually, however, possible duplication shouldn’t put you off Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium. The bundle still offers excellent value for money if you’re a fan of classic arcade games. And when you factor in the additional features and solid emulation, you really can’t go wrong. Ultimately, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium might not be as essential as its predecessor, and you might wonder why these games couldn’t have just been delivered as DLC, but it’s still a fantastic retro collection.

Though structurally identical to the previous Capcom Arcade Stadium collection of retro goodies, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium nonetheless remains an easy recommendation thanks to its assemblage of still enjoyable and well emulated classics that are given the sort of love and sheen that each has long deserved.

The bottom line is that if you’re a retro video game enthusiast you’re going to want Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium. That doesn’t make the timing of this retro compilation’s release any less curious, however – or without caveats. Indeed, launching less than a month after the Capcom Fighting Collection but sharing several titles from its library makes this a slightly unusual proposition – especially when you consider that it’s an entirely separate client from the previous Capcom Arcade Stadium, despite mimicking many of its core features. We can’t make sense of it, but here we are.

The collection of games included in the Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is relatively diverse. You’ll get a variety of fighting games, including the Street Fighter Alpha trilogy and three Darkstalkers games. There are a whole bunch of shoot-em-up games, such as Savage Bees and 1943. A decent collection of puzzle games, including the Breakout knockoff Block Block. And some decent brawlers, including one that I was looking forward to replaying, Knights of the Round. In total, you’ll find 32 classic arcade games in this collection. Unfortunately, if you already own last months Capcom Fighting Collectio...

That’s it! What a long list of games in this well-put-together package. It’s a bit light on content outside of the games, but every option you could want is here, things run great, and the full package is a decent value. If you’ve got the itch to play through a bunch of classics, some real stinkers, and a few really cool games you probably haven’t heard of before then Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is what you’re looking for.

Filled with great games, and there's a lot to love. But a third of them are in the other collections. You also still can't pick a game from a simple menu, which I simply can't understand.

Fans of arcade games, and especially of Capcom's arcade lineage, will find a lot to find in Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, which stands as a great testament to just how far video games have come as a medium.

While many of the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers games included here are already available in previous collections, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium still includes a plethora of arcade classics, and you're bound to discover, or indeed, rediscover, something well worth playing.