Now that Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is here, it’s time for us to finally review the first game. Capcom Arcade Stadium is a collection of 32 classic arcade games that were originally released from 1984-2001. The various titles can be purchased as a full collection or piecemeal, with the base software and 1943, a co-op shoot ‘em up, available as a free download. Playing and writing about all 18 of Capcom Arcade Stadium’s cooperative multiplayer games was no small feat, but we’ve done just that for this comprehensive co-op review.
As mentioned before, Capcom Arcade Stadium consists of 32 games that can be bought alone, in packs, or as a single purchase. See our full games list article for a discussion of the individual DLC packs as well as alphabetical and release date sorting of the library. For this review, we’ll describe the co-op games in detail and list the non-cooperative games afterward.
1943: The Battle of Midway
Co-op games 1941: Counter Attack (1990, 2 players): The third game in the 19XX vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em up series, players pilot planes through a World War II setting. The graphics have greatly improved, level design is quite dynamic, and players have a life meter. Bumping against walls causes the plane to spin rather than take damage – a unique mechanic. 1943: The Battle of Midway (1987, 2 players): The sequel to vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em up 1942, this one adds co-op. Subsequent games overshadow 1943, but it’s still a solid, low-frills shmup set in World War II. 1944: The Loop Master (2000, 2 players): The fourth game in the 19XX series, this installment retains the vertically-scrolling gameplay but loses the “tate” monitor orientation in favor of a horizontal monitor. The change in monitor orientation creates a wide playing field. 19XX: The War Against Destiny (1995, 2 players): The final arcade game in the 19XX series (though a console sequel followed later), 19XX returns to a ”tate” monitor orientation. Players have three planes with varying stats to choose from. The camera is zoomed in more than previous entries and shifts with the player’s position, potentially causing motion sickness.Battle Circuit
Battle Circuit (1997, 4 players): Capcom’s final arcade beat ‘em up, this one features an anime-style sci-fi/superhero theme and 5 playable heroes. A unique upgrade system allows players to buy new moves between levels. Despite the poor English translation, the colorful visuals and general wackiness make for a decently memorable brawler. Captain Commando (1991, 4 players): The titular hero debuted in the 1985 shoot ‘em up, Section Z, also included in this collection. This time, he’s one of four wacky playable characters, and the game is set in the future of Final Fight’s Metro City. Rideable mechs, equippable guns and other weapons, and occasional auto-scrolling stages are some standout features. Captain Commando shares a lot of the same zaniness as Battle Circuit. Carrier Air Wing (1990, 2 players): Known as U.S. Navy in Japan, Carrier Air Wing is side-scrolling, military-themed shoot ‘em up that resembles Capcom’s U.N. Squadron (which is not included in either volume of Capcom Arcade Stadium). Players choose from three planes and can buy weapons at a shop between levels. Dynasty Wars (1989, 2 players): The first of two Capcom beat ‘em ups based on the manga Tenchi wo Kurau, which dramatizes China’s Three Kingdoms period – the same era depicted in Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors series. Uniquely, this game takes place entirely on horseback. Combat relies on left and right attack buttons (à la Double Dragon II), and attacks can be charged up to do more damage. Final Fight (1989, 2 players): Capcom’s seminal beat ‘em up significantly advanced the genre with its large sprites, 3 selectable characters, satisfying weapons, and a killer soundtrack. Some folks prefer Final Fight CD, but you can’t beat the original arcade game.Forgotten Worlds
Forgotten Worlds (1988, 2 players): A side-scrolling shoot ‘em up in which players control flying soldiers who can fire in multiple directions rather than a ship with limited aiming. Items can be bought from a shop during levels, too. Few shmups utilize this gameplay style, making Forgotten Worlds one of the more unique games of its genre. Giga Wing (1999, 2 players): A vertically scrolling shooter with a 1944-like horizontal monitor orientation, Giga Wing lets players select from four unique pilots/planes, all of whom have their own stories. Players can charge up a shield that reflects bullets, enemies drop tons of medals when defeated (which is both fun and distracting), and the graphics feature loads of detail and effects. Legendary Wings (1986, 2 players): A very unique shoot ‘em up that combined vertically scrolling stages with on-foot, run-and-gun stages, Legendary Wings is like nothing else. The setting mixes Greek mythology with science fiction – also different. Unfortunately, the winged heroes move too slowly compared to the lightning-quick enemies, making the game harder than it should be. Mega Twins (1990, 2 players): A cartoony action platformer known as Chiki Chiki Boys in Japan, Mega Twins resembles some of the Wonder Boy games. Two sword-wielding boys must battle monsters in a vaguely mythological world. Although not very well known outside of Japan, Mega Twins is quite a charming game. Powered Gear (Japanese version of Armored Warriors, 1994, 3 players): Armored Warriors takes place in the same universe as Cyberbots (a fighting game, also included in this collection), but this one is a beat ‘em up. Players choose from four distinctive pilots/mechs and head to various planets to battle other beautifully-drawn mechs. Mechs can pick up different parts, similar to equipping items in an action RPG. During boss battles, co-op players can even perform several different Ultra-Team-Up Attacks.Progear
Progear (2001, 2 players): The poorly-named Progear is a side-scrolling shoot ‘em up in which children are forced to pilot aircrafts in an attempt to overthrow an evil empire. Players select from two pilots and three gunners, the choice affecting their firepower and the game’s ending. Progear looks and plays well despite an overly complex scoring system, thanks to the shmup specialists at CAVE. Senjo no Okami II (1990, 3 players): The Japanese version of Mercs, this is the sequel to the top-down run-and-gun shooter, Commando. The graphics have greatly improved over the original, and the addition of co-op makes for a much better game. Varth: Operation Thunderstorm (1992, 2 players): A military-themed vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em up. Varth is similar to many other shmups, but it’s one of the better-looking ones thanks to numerous graphical effects and parallax scrolling. Warriors of Fate (1992, 3 players): The sequel to Dynasty Wars, this beat ‘em up is also based on the Tenchi wo Kurau manga. The sprites are much larger than in the original. Most fighting now takes place on foot, but players can still ride horses at times. The English translation removes the Three Kingdoms names and references, annoyingly.Legendary Wings (two screenshots)
Non-co-op games: 1942 (1984) Bionic Commando (1987) Commando (1985) Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness (1995) Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985) Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (1988) Pirate Ship Higemaru (1984) Section Z (1985) Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (1992) Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991) Strider (1989) Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994) Tatakai no Banka (Japanese version of Trojan, 1986) Vulgus (1984) FeaturesCapcom Arcade Stadium is more than just a collection of arcade classics. The main software is presented as a virtual arcade, complete with 3D replicas of cabinets. Each individual game in the arcade can be assigned one of four cabinet styles. Impress, Status, and Mini Cute are Japanese styles, and Upright is the international style. Individual cabinet art is not available for the Upright style, which is disappointing. Capcom’s distinctive “Big Blue” cabinet styles are also missing, oddly.
Games can be played with several customizable display options. The 3D frame actually displays the game image on the 3D cabinet, which looks great but makes the screen a bit small. 2D allows games to be played in three selectable sizes, with either black borders or one of several unlockable wallpapers. American bezel artwork is sadly missing as an option, but the available wallpapers are sufficient. Seven scanline filters can be applied, and players can even choose to rotate the display to a vertical “tate” orientation for any and all games. These settings can be chosen for individual titles or applied to all of them at once.
The non-display options are impressive too. Every game has a digital manual that explains its mechanics, and the fighting games have moves lists too. All games have difficulty settings, and the game speed can even be turned up or down. During gameplay, players can create save states, cycle between speed settings at the touch of a button, or hold a button to temporarily increase or decrease speed. Pretty much any emulation option you could want is here, though the actual menus aren’t always intuitive.
Each game can be played in free play or single-player “Score Challenge” modes. Score Challenge restricts the gamer to one credit and provides a score target to beat. Each week, “Special Challenges” are offered for four different games, presenting unique settings and tasks for the player. Unfortunately, games can’t be sorted by special challenges; you have to read the Notices section to see what’s being offered and when.
On that note, sorting and selecting games is much clunkier than it should be. Games can be categorized by all or by genre: action, shooter, and fighting. There’s no beat ‘em up genre sorting even though six games in this collection fall into that category. Within each category, games are sorted only by release date, not alphabetically. However, release dates aren’t even shown when highlighting games, creating the appearance of random rather than logical organization. The lack of alphabetical organization is a huge, unbelievable oversight. Additionally, a few games in this collection only have Japanese or English versions. Gamers must press a button to toggle between the Japanese and English versions list to choose those specific titles – a bit of a hassle.
Despite the inexplicable sorting issues and cumbersome menus, Capcom Arcade Stadium is a very impressive collection. With 32 arcade classics, 18 of which support local co-op, retro gamers will get ample bang for their buck here. It’s true that some of these games appear in other collections. Battle Circuit and Final Fight, for instance, show up in the Capcom Beat ‘em Up Bundle. That collection has online play, something lacking in this one. Still, this compilation is much more comprehensive and offers plenty of unique options not found in Capcom’s other collections. This Arcade Stadium offers an instant arcade collection, and now, Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is available for gamers who crave even more arcade goodness.
Powered Gear/Armored Warriors
Capcom Arcade Stadium is free (with the 2-player co-op shoot 'em up 1943: The Battle of Midway included) to download on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. Additional games and packs cost extra, with the Capcom Arcade Stadium Packs 1, 2, and 3 Bundle selling for $39.99.
An Xbox review code was provided by the publisher.