🕹️ Capcom Arcade Stadium | Xbox Series X | Review | 8.5/10 | "A Rollicking Retro Ride That Rocks" 🕹️ @CapcomEurope #Capcom

Capcom has released a LOT of gold over the last forty years and this Capcom Arcade Stadium collection of 32 of them brings a wealth of gaming history to modern consoles with an eye to keeping things accessible to players of all skill levels as well as embracing that high-score chasing drive that filled arcades of the era.

A colourful, energetic title screen kicks things off, placing you in a virtual arcade where you can choose from the below titles:

1. Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985)
2. 1943: The Battle of Midway (1987)
3. Vulgus (1984)
4. Pirate Ship Higemaru (1984)
5. 1942 (1984)
6. Commando (1985)
7. Section Z (1985)
8. Trojan (1986)
9. Legendary Wings (1986)
10. Bionic Commando (1987)
11. Forgotten Worlds (1988)
12. Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1988)
13. Strider (1989)
14. Dynasty Wars (1989)
15. Final Fight (1989)
16. 1941: Counter Attack (1990)
17. Mercs (1990)
18. Mega Twins (1990)
19. Carrier Air Wing (1990)
20. Street Fighter II (1991)
21. Captain Commando (1991)
22. Varth: Operation Thunderstorm (1992)
23. Warriors of Fate (1992)
24. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1992)
25. Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994)
26. Armoured Warriors (1994)
27. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness (1995)
28. 19XX: The War Against Destiny (1995)
29. Battle Circuit (1997)
30. Giga Wing (1999)
31. 1944: The Loop Master (2000)
32. Progear (2001)

Right off the bat, the ‘openness’ of this release is thrust at you through one of many tutorials explaining how you can adjust everything from the style of arcade cabinets to the view, CRT filters and even ROM region (most have both EU and JAP) not to mention the ability to save at any point and rewind your game to erase a whoopsie. You also level up and earn unlockable cosmetic features for your virtual arcade, a neat touch.

With some titles featuring up to four players, this collection means that it’s ripe for a session of co-op gold as well as having various challenges and online leader-board tables to keep the more competitive players a-twitchin’.

Whilst the amount of games is generous, assumed licensing issues hold back a couple of keepers and the fact that some of these games have featured on multiple releases over the last couple of gaming generations mean that owners of previous collections/fans of specific games may prefer to buy individual game packs as opposed to the whole shebang but I am a big fan of how many options there are to tweak the game to your liking in terms of extra lives and the like, I’m a fan of games that cater for all skill levels.

"Right. Who’s up for some Final Fight?"