Genre: Compilation / Arcade

Players: 1-2 Alternating (Local), 2 Co-Op (Local), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

Capcom Arcade Stadium is a Compilation of games that Capcom will use as a marketplace of sorts to sell their classic Arcade games ranging all the way back to 1984. This game was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2021, initially, it only had two games – one that comes free with the app (1943 – The Battle of Midway -), and one that can be downloaded separately for free for a limited time before rising in price to $5 (Ghosts ‘N Goblins). However, after a brief period where only those games were available, Capcom released the additional DLC for this package, each selling for $15 and containing ten games: DLC Pack 1: Dawn of the Arcade (’84 – ’88), DLC Pack 2: Arcade Revolution (’89 – ’92), and DLC Pack 3: Arcade Evolution (’92 – ’01). Players can also opt to buy all three DLC packs as one purchase for $40. All of the games in this package are also available to buy individually, for those who prefer an a la carte option. In any case, those buying all of the DLC content will find themselves with 32 games total.

I should note that for whatever reason, it looks like most of this content cannot be purchased through the game itself or through Nintendo’s website. Rather, players must select Capcom Arcade Stadium on the eShop on the Nintendo Switch and look at the add-on content the eShop lists for the game, or search for that content on the Nintendo Switch. This may have been why I was unable to purchase the additional DLC packs initially.

Because of the flexible nature of the price and content of this bundle, I’ll say that this isn’t going to be a normal review with a score at the end. Rather, this will be an overview much like my reviews of the Nintendo Switch Online NES and SNES Apps.

As new games are released for the service, I may revisit this review. But for what’s available now, here’s how these games hold up by today’s standards:

Free

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
1943 – The Battle of Midway –	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	C+
tl;dr This is a decent Shmup with a classic WWII Pacific Theater theme and a “Aerial Loop” mechanic that’s too limited. It’s not especially noteworthy in any way, but it’s all-around decent.

Individual Purchase

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Ghosts ‘N Goblins	Action-Platformer	1-2 (Local Alternating)	C
tl;dr This classic Action-Platformer is notorious for being ridiculously hard, so be sure to make liberal use of save states and the rewind feature. With this being the original arcade version, the graphics are much nicer than the version included in the Nintendo Entertainment System app, but I would argue this comes with a trade-off – the controls are stiffer and less responsive. This game is still a fascinating relic of history, but by today’s standards it’s more frustrating than fun.

DLC Pack 1: Dawn of the Arcade (’84 – ’88)

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
1942	Shmup	1-2 (Local Alternating)	C-
tl;dr This Shmup has the same aerial loop mechanic as 1943, but it’s a more bland, repetitive, and all-around worse game. This game is likely only of interest to historians and collectors.
Bionic Commando	Action-Platformer	1-2 (Local Alternating)	C-
tl;dr Don’t confuse this game with the excellent Nintendo Entertainment System game or its subsequent remakes. The original arcade version of Bionic Commando is clunky, features repetitive environments, and subsequent games are all far superior.
Commando	Top-Down Action	1-2 (Local Alternating)	D
tl;dr This military-themed Top-Down Action game is really repetitive and simple. If it were made today, I suspect it would have been made as a two-stick shooter, but unfortunately the simple design of this game means both movement and aiming are done with the same stick. As a result, it’s cumbersome to aim, as doing so requires movement.
Forgotten Worlds	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	C
tl;dr This Shmup is fairly unique in that players rotate their aim around their character. However, the action is fairly chaotic, and beyond its one signature mechanic it doesn’t do anything especially noteworthy.
Ghouls ‘N Ghosts	Action-Platformer	1-2 (Local Alternating)	B-
tl;dr This sequel to Ghosts ‘N Goblins is a huge improvement over the first game in terms of control, graphics, and variety of available weapons… but is still painfully difficult. You will likely be using the rewind and save state features a lot for this one, but with that caveat, this game is a lot of fun.
Legendary Wings	Shmup / Action-Platformer	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	D+
tl;dr This Shmup has players mixing up air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks, but the gameplay here is repetitive, slow-paced, and suffers slowdown. It’s also interspersed with Action-Platformer stages that are even more repetitive and bland. Skip this one.
Pirate Ship Higemaru	Top-Down Arcade	1-2 (Local Alternating)	B-
tl;dr This Top-Down Arcade-style game has elements of games like Bomberman and Pac-Man, but is fairly unique, with players grabbing and chucking barrels at pirates. I’d be inclined to give this game a higher score if the controls weren’t so stiff.
Section Z	Shmup	1-2 (Local Alternating)	C
tl;dr This Shmup has a mechanic where players can reverse their direction. This adds a bit of variety into the action and the result is a fairly decent entry in the genre.
Tatakai no Banka	Action-Platformer	1-2 (Local Alternating)	D+
tl;dr This Action-Platformer is simple, repetitive, and has poor hit detection. Don’t bother.
Vulgus	Shmup	1-2 (Local Alternating)	D+
tl;dr This Shmup is really dated visually, but worse than that, it’s extremely repetitive. Don’t bother with it.

DLC Pack 2: Arcade Revolution (’89 – ’92)

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
1941 – Counter Attack –	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	C+
tl;dr This is a decent Shmup, but one where there’s far too much going on on-screen to keep track of.
Captain Commando	Arcade Brawler	1-3 Co-Op (Local)	C
tl;dr Neither as iconic as Final Fight nor as fun and varied as some of Capcom’s better Brawler games like The King of Dragons. Captain Commando does at the very least have some fun and bizarre character designs and a strange and silly world to fight in, but that only provides some mild amusement for what is otherwise a repetitive and pretty forgettable fighter.
Carrier Air Wing	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B-
tl;dr This Shmup about modern aircraft fighting increasingly unlikely mechanical enemies doesn’t do anything extraordinary, but manages to be consistently good and provide enough variety to keep things interesting. Definitely worth a look
Dynasty Wars	Arcade Brawler	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	C
tl;dr This Brawler has you taking on an army of enemies on horseback. It does some interesting stuff with this concept, like having you separately attacking forward and backward, and deciding whether to use a flurry of attacks or charge up for a bigger one. However, overall this is a pretty repetitive and somewhat shallow entry in the genre.
Final Fight	Arcade Brawler	1-2 Co-Op (Local, Local Wireless, Online)	C+
tl;dr Final Fight is arguably the biggest-name Arcade Brawler in Capcom’s history. It has also aged very poorly. While the presentation and character designs here are still as iconic as ever, the gameplay is extremely simple, and the co-op play is seriously hampered by characters that take up so much space on the screen it’s difficult not to keep accidentally hitting your partner. This is still an important, iconic title, but its presence here feels more significant as a historical relic than an actual game.
Mega Twins	Action-Platformer	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	C-
tl;dr This cartoony Action-Platformer is visually appealing, but the gameplay is mindless and repetitive. Once the charm of the visuals wears off, you’ll be quickly moving on from this one.
Senjo No Okami II	Top-Down Action	1-3 Co-Op (Local)	C-
tl;dr This game is the sequel to Commando, and as such it suffers many of the same problems. It’s a military-themed Top-Down Action game that is somewhat repetitive and simple. If it were made today, I suspect it would have been made as a two-stick shooter, but unfortunately the simple design of this game means both movement and aiming are done with the same stick. As a result, it’s cumbersome to aim, as doing so requires movement.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior	Fighting Game	1-2 Competitive (Local)	B
tl;dr By today’s standards, the original version of Street Fighter II is a bit slow-paced, and the inability to choose the same character in two-player face-offs is frustrating, but despite these limitations, the classic and balanced design of this game shines through – there’s a reason this is a game that every game in the genre would be based on for many years to come.
Strider	Action-Platformer	1-2 (Local Alternating)	C+
tl;dr While this game is revered as an arcade classic, I can’ help that much of that is due to its impressive (for the time) visuals. By today’s standards, the hit detection is really spotty and it’s often difficult to tell if you’ve landed a hit on characters that take more than one hit to kill. This game still has its charms, but time hasn’t been kind to it.
Varth – Operation Thunder Storm –	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B-
tl;dr This is yet another solid Shmup that doesn’t do anything extraordinary, but is nevertheless enjoyable and worth playing.

DLC Pack 3: Arcade Evolution (’92 – ’01)

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
1944 – The Loop Master –	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B
tl;dr This Shmup gives players a charged shot that sends them into an aerial bombardment, spreading your firepower on enemies from a higher altitude while briefly safe from attacks. This is a nice mechanic that adds an extra level of strategy to battle, and makes this a Shmup that’s well worth playing.
19XX – The War Against Destiny –	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	C
tl;dr This is a decent Shmup, but one that doesn’t do anything particularly exceptional for the genre.
Battle Circuit	Arcade Brawler	1-4 Co-Op (Local)	B+
tl;dr This Arcade Brawler out-crazies Captain Commando with its silly style and bizarre cast of characters, but it also has a nicely-nuanced battle system, and the ability to selectively upgrade abilities as you progress.
Cyberbots – Fullmetal Madness –	Fighting Game	1-2 Competitive (Local)	B-
tl;dr This fighting game with mechs is a bit confusing due to its unique approach to the genre, but that also makes it an interesting game that fans of the genre might want to give a try. The multitude of options makes this a bit intimidating for genre newcomers, though.
Giga Wing	Bullet Hell Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B+
tl;dr This Shmup has a fantastic mechanic that allows players to use a recharging shield to reflect enemy bullets, but players must be careful when to use it so as not to be caught in a bad situation while it recharges. This makes for a phenomenal entry in the genre, one that’s a must-play for Shmup fans.
Powered Gear	Arcade Brawler	1-3 Co-Op (Local)	A-
tl;dr Referred to elsewhere under the title of Armored Warriors, this Arcade Brawler does some really inventive stuff, with players piloting one of four mechs, each of them unique enough in their own right and with a pretty varied move set, but things get even more interesting when enemies can bust up your parts, and you can swap parts with some of the enemies you take down, essentially custom-building your fighter as you go. There are tons of clever little details here as well, like puny humans you can simply walk through. This is a fantastic game well worth playing.
Progear	Bullet Hell Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local)	B
tl;dr This Shmup has a nifty mechanic where players can hold down the attack button for a more powerful attack at the expense of speed. Juggling this and Capcom Arcade Stadium’s Rapid-Fire button gives a good variety of attacks, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable entry in the genre.
Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting	Fighting Game	1-2 Competitive (Local)	B
tl;dr Once again, Capcom adds marginal improvements to the previous versions of the game – a faster speed, new moves, updated visuals for characters and stages, and some rebalancing mark this release (as well as the ability to play as the same character as the other player, and the ability to play the game’s four boss characters, added in an earlier edition). Unfortunately, this version of Hyper Fighting doesn’t allow you to adjust the speed, which by default seems too fast. You can of course use Capcom Arcade Stadium’s features to vary the speed, but this interferes with the game’s sound.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo	Fighting Game	1-2 Competitive (Local)	A
tl;dr This game marks the final marginal improvement to Street Fighter II before this classic fighter was put to bed, including Super Street Fighter’s 4 new characters, and adding back Hyper Fighting’s faster speed (thankfully adjustable in-game this time!) after it was removed in the previous version, as well as super moves, and secret unlockable character Akuma. This would stand as the definitive version of Street Fighter II until the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix 14 years later. As such, this is one of the best versions (but not the best version) of one of the defining games of the genre.
Warriors of Fate	Arcade Brawler	1-3 Co-Op (Local)	B-
tl;dr A medieval-themed Arcade Brawler set in China and based on a manga inspired by the classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms tale. This game draws ideas from The King of Dragons and Knights of the Round, and the result is a game with a good variety of characters, mounts with their own move sets, and a combat system that actually has a bit more nuance to it, although it does feel a bit stiff. Still, the result is a game that’s pretty good by today’s standards.

I suspect Capcom split the DLC packs up by year rather than series or genre to keep players from just buying only the DLC packs for the genres they’re interested in, but doing so seems to have backfired in my opinion, as the overwhelming majority of quality DLC is in the third DLC pack, which is an all-around excellent collection of Shmups, Arcade Brawlers, and Fighting Games. The only games in the other DLC Packs I’d say re worth getting are Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, Pirate Ship Higemaru, Carrier Air Wing, Varth, and technically Street Fighter II… though if you have Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the original Street Fighter is pretty superfluous. Anyway, players interested in those games can always just purchase them individually, and stick with buying the third DLC pack and getting the free game(s). Doing so will net them the best this collection has to offer at a fraction of the full price. Getting the three-DLC pack bundle? That’s for collectors and completionists only.

It also bears mention that some of the games here appear in other bundles on the Nintendo Switch. Captain Commando, Final Fight, Battle Circuit, Warriors of Fate, and Powered Gear (AKA Armored Warriors) all appear in the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle. Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo all appear in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and Capcom Fighting Bundle. Cyberbots – Fullmetal Madness – is also in Capcom Fighting Collection and Capcom Fighting Bundle, and the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Ghosts ‘N Goblins appears on the Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo Entertainment System App. If you want a full rundown on which games appear in which packages, you can check here. Consult that before making a buying decision.

Anyway, back to this release… In addition to the games themselves, the number of options this package gives to players is absolutely beyond reproach. Players have instruction manuals for each game, the ability to play different regional versions, multiple display options (including the ability to change screen orientation), save states, multiple speed settings, a rewind feature, the ability to change difficulty settings of the virtual arcade cabinets, controller settings, online leaderboards, achievements… there are even rotating online challenges for the games to compete with players online, and a point system to earn unlockable borders. Really, the only thing this package seems to be lacking is supplemental content like production art, but overall this is a really spectacular way to present these classic games.

Even with the slim offerings currently available, there’s little reason not to get Capcom Arcade Stadium – not only is it free to get the first game or two, but the wealth of options for all of these games is fantastic. As for buying games beyond that, there’s a really uneven mix of good and bad here, and it’s a mix that highly favors the third DLC pack. If you’re a fan of Shmups, Arcade Brawlers, or Fighting Games, I highly recommend you get that DLC – $15 for 9 excellent games (and 19XX, which is merely okay) is a damn good deal. Beyond that, I’d suggest simply picking the individual games that are worthwhile, as the rest of what’s on offer is middling at best.

tl;dr – Capcom Arcade Stadium is a marketplace for Capcom to make available classic Arcade games for purchase, with 32 games currently available. However, the majority of the truly great stuff is in DLC Pack 3. Players looking to enjoy some excellent Shmup, Arcade Brawler, and Fighting Game titles are highly recommended to get that pack, and individually choose the few good games among the other packs rather than getting those full packs, as the majority of what’s in those isn’t very good.

Grade: N/A

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