Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics PS4 Review

 

Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a video game compilation of 2D fighting game series was originally released in 2024 for PS4, Switch, and PC, and was came later to XBONE in 2025 release.

It was both developed and published by Capcom, and includes 7 arcade titles in the Marvel vs Capcom series of crossover fighting games that were originally released between 1993 and 2000.

Back in very good old days of 90s where I used to watch really cool animated TV shows based on Marvel's comic book such as Spider-Man: The Animated series and X-Men: The Animated series became a huge thing for me to watch it on CRT TV every weekends because I really loved those cartoon shows where the heroes goes on mission to save and protect the world from the evil villains, and I do sometime watch with my sibling with the 80s live-action TV series such as Incredible Hulk are incredibly entertaining to watch an angry pissed off green giant smashing the whole thing into pieces.

Going forward to 2000s then 2010s, Marvel had shared with amazing numbers of live-action films such as Spider-Man, X-Men, Thor, Deadpool, and of course Marvel's Avengers that took the comic-book movies into a new level which is why these films became worldwide successful and being loved by the comic-book fan communities. 

As I loved the Marvel's films and TV related stuffs, I'm mostly spend more time to play video games as my everyday favourite hobby especially I grew up playing the Capcom's classics starting from 90s to 2000s era like the Street Fighter which is a commercially successful franchise that helps defining the fighting game as an genre, then you had Mega Man which surprisingly another well known side-scrolling action series featuring your favourite blue bomber hero goes out fighting against the groups of enemy robot masters, and of course Resident Evil which is a landmark franchise that helps popularising the horror genre for video games is the reason why it became my favourite 3 Capcom's flagship series.

There's one of the franchise that caught up my attention which is a crossover fighting game series where you could have your favourite two flagship brands coming together and turned into a fighting game phenomenon that are quite awesome to play, so it is Marvel vs Capcom.

To be honest, at the time in around mid-90s I never actually played the previous entries like X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, and Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter that was on SEGA Saturn, well despite the early twos did got released at worldwide and other later twos are only released in Japan which is why I've missed out these great games that invented the crossover fighting game genres...well up until I've finally got a chance to play these first threes except last one on Saturn as in mid-2010s thankfully I say. 

Going back to the early-2000s when I had SEGA Dreamcast as my very first 6th-gen console to own, so my sibling had took me to the rental shop to browse the latest Dreamcast titles that would interest us to play it at my home, so I chose Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.

It's a 2 on 2 crossover fighting games featuring a playable roster of Marvel's comic book franchise and Capcom's video game franchise must compete each other in tag-team based battle using their unique moves and special attacks.

The game was received positive reviews for its colourful visuals, tag-team based gameplay, and faithfulness of original arcade experience.

It was followed by 2000's title such as Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes which I have also rented the game as well, so it made a significant improvements over the predecessor by adding a new features such as 3 on 3 tag-team based gameplay, expanding more fighting rosters and assist system, 2.5D graphics for stage backgrounds and visual effects, and more simplified control scheme.

The game was critically acclaimed by gaming critics and also considered as one of the greatest fighting games of all-time, which makes Marvel vs Capcom as a crossover fighting game series quite popular among with the fighting games fan communities.

In around year 2011, Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds made its way to PS3 and X360 is a first game to use 3D character models as opposed to 2D sprites from the previous twos, along with new methods of play style designed to make the game more accessible to newcomers.

The game was later updated titled as Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 for PS3 and X360 was released 9 month after the original game, as well as the later platform releases such as PS Vita in 2012, PS4, XBONE, and PC in 2016/17, which the ultimate version made an adjustments to the original game featuring additional rosters, stages, gameplay tweaks, and improved online experience.

The game received positive reviews upon the release for its gameplay and character rosters, but not nearly quite good as the predecessor due to lack of new features and game modes were criticised, but overall it's still a solid fighting game overall.

Then up until in 2017 with the Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite for PS4, XBONE, and PC is where it completely destroys the franchise with the poor presentation choices especially with the art-direction and story doesn't seem to impress the fans of the series, having a short numbers of playable roster are also criticised for missing various of favourite characters from the previous games, and of course having to going back to the 2 on 2 route as opposed to 3 on 3 approach is what really kills the game which is why it sold very poorly at release putting the beloved franchise nail to the coffin.

I was pretty upset to see one of the Capcom's best fighting game crossover series being declined since the atrocity of 2017's title that is where I never get to see a new entry at the light of day.

Then up to year of 2024 when they had finally announced the return of the series with the video game compilation of classic crossover fighting games titled as Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics for 8th-gen consoles and PCs.           

This is where it puts the smile on my face after hearing the amazing announcement that Capcom had given the series a second chance for us to re-visit the classic arcade games again that we all know and love back then which is why I've bought the PS4 copy to see if these video game compilation is worth a purchase depending on how really good the game's line-up on the collection and how much the content and extras had to offer on this package.

So without go further do, let's start the review.

Presentation

After booting up game, you'll be greeted with the title screen which display the title logo with the background art-work of all Marvel and Capcom rosters...yeah I really liked how it shows the throwback of Ryu and Cyclops handshake that was originally referenced from X-Men vs Street Fighter title screen.

Then after hitting the start button, you're accessing to menu screen which gives you an option to select any of these modes such as offline play, online play, museum, fighter awards, and options.

What I've liked about this collection is the UI design on the game selection menu which I really liked the boxed icon of the all 7 games making an easier for users to navigate which arcade games you really wanted to play.

After selecting the game which boots right up to game's start-up screen, so what you see on the display screen is the side-background wallpaper and scanline screen filter act as an default setting.    

You can access to the display and sound settings at the pause menu to change the display of the screen such as the screen filters where you have a choice of choosing a right type of these screen filter that really suits your style of playing arcade gaming on the screen such as CRT TV filter is more of the retro-feel of the 80s TV screen set, the scanlines filter are quite common for most arcade machines that uses the darker tone look on the screen with shady lines, the smooth filter made the display image appeals more softer and less sharper details, and of course the no filter made the display image appeals more sharper and less softer details, so it's really good to have these options being included on the collection that appeals to those who wanted to have their full-on arcade experience or maybe to gain their childhood nostalgia.

You can also change the side-background wallpaper to change the background theme on the side of the screen, so I'm mostly preferred to change it to no background theme instead.

I wanna to talk about the stuff that's included on the museum such as gallery and musics, but for the presentation side lets focus on the gallery from all 7 games which has the wide range of illustrations including character's image of your favourite heroes and villains, promotional posters that advertise the arcade game, arcade marquee cards displays how to play guide, hand-drawn concept art is sort of behind-the-scene images displaying how the game was created, and of course fighting stages from all 7 games, so these are the gallery stuffs that are quite colourful and cool to see things that represents the fighting game series was being very known back in the day of old gaming.

Overall, it has good UI design, cool display filters and background themes, and has wide range of illustrations on gallery.  

Gameplay

Before I begin to review all of 7 games in the collection, I wanted to discuss the stuff that we need to focus on the emulation performances, game modes, additional options, and achievements.

When booting up the game, you get a logo screen, opening intro, the title screen displaying the game's title logo with the"hit the start button to play" highlight, and of course the demo play displaying with the best of hi-scores list on screen.

I began to play these games to see if the game's performance ran really well throughout the playthroughs, so far most of the games runs really smoothly with no signs of slow downs not even with the frame-stuttering which I got to say that the emulation performances on the collection turns out pretty decently which I am glad that it implemented the game well when running on 8th-gen console platforms and PCs.

I also tested the controls on each games to see if it had an input lags issue during the gameplay, so far I didn't ran the issue with these games which I find these controls quite responsive because I can able to pull many moves and combos without any of input delay whatsoever meaning that you will not able to struggle with the game at all. 

I forgot to mention that you can also reconfigure the controls scheme by going to the option menus and head over to the control config options which gives you a choice to remap these buttons to suit your playability, so I'm fine with the default settings which I had no problem.  

Aside with the emulation performances, I wanted to discuss the option menus on each games which are also important because you can able to reconfigure the game's preferences to suit your playstyle such as the game's difficulty ranging from easy to hard, the best of rounds, the speed of timer, the hit damage level, and of course the character's selection option which gives you a choice of choosing to access all the hidden or unlockable characters or leave it hidden as it is, so I picked a easy character's selection because it made it easier for me to navigate the hidden or unlockable characters that I wanted to play as.     

For example: on Marvel Super Heroes I get to play as Anita, Doctor Doom, and Thanos as a hidden character, same goes with Akuma, Juggernaut, and Magneto are also hidden on X-Men: Children of the Atom.

The best part goes to Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes is because you wouldn't had to go through earning all currency points and spend it to unlock all characters like the 6th-gen console versions do, so instead you can able to access all unlockable characters by going on the option menus and select easy character selection as an default is the easiest way of accessing to the characters that you wanted to play as.

I wanted to praise the latest update they released on last April which adds versus mode where you can battle with your friends or computer player on offline competitive match with best of 10 rounds, and then you have the training mode where you will spend time on practicing the moves, combos, and specials which is great for those who wanted to learn and practice the game before they are fully prepared for the upcoming competitive match.  

I also liked the additional arcade revisions for X-Men vs Street Fighter been added to the game's update because it comes with 3 different version to play such as revision 1 (960910) which is the initial Japanese release version is most commonly played in Japanese arcades, where as the revision 2 (961004) are the worldwide version that are quite popular among with the competitive players, and finally the revision 3 (961023) is the exclusive to this collection made a balance changes from revision 2.

I also wanted to mention the online versus mode being featured on the collection is where you can battle against the competitive or casual players through the online matches.

It comes with online ranked and casual multiplayer modes with rollback netcode, online leaderboards, and of course the training and spectating modes which is perfect for tournament play on all titles.

The collection comes with achievements called fighter awards is where you need to complete all the list of tasks on each games which helps you keep the busy with the game, so I've managed to achieve it all.

The video game compilation has 6 games based on the fighting game series plus 1 extra bonus game which makes 7 games on the collection.

It has X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of the Heroes, Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, and then of course the bonus arcade title on the collection such as The Punisher which is a side-scrolling beat-em-up game which I will explain it for later on the review because let's focus first on the 6 of the fighting games with the X-Men: Children of the Atom.

It's basically 1 on 1 fighting game making a Capcom's first debut to feature a characters under license from Marvel Comics.

You take control one of the X-Men members or 4 of their enemies and proceed to compete in a series of best 2 out of 3 rounds on 1 vs 1 fighting matches.

It has Colossus, Cyclops, Iceman, Omega Red, Psylocke, Sentinel, Silver Samurai, Spiral, Storm, and of course Wolverine as a playable roster, where as the others such as Juggernaut and Magneto act as a playable hidden boss characters.

After selecting a character, the player can choose any of two blocking system options between manual and auto meaning if you select the auto mode then you will automatically block attacks during the battle.   

The gameplay plays it similar with Capcom's previous fighting games such as Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Darkstalkers, so you will have a 8-ways move control and 6-button fighting control starting from 3-buttons of weak to strong punch on top and 3-buttons of weak to strong kick on bottom which is simple and straight-forward to learn how to pull off a special moves and combos.

You and your opponent will have a life bar on top of the screen indicating a health points where if the opponent takes the damage from your hit attack then it will shorten their remaining health points, but if fully ran out of their health points on the life bar then they got knocked out meaning who ever the person knocks out their opponent will win the round.  

The game also had the combo system called X-Power gauge that builds up the meter on top of the screen as the player performs regular or special moves.

It starts at lv. 1 and reaches lv. 2 when it becomes half-full and then becomes full and reaches MAX level allowing them to perform powerful moves delivering a severe damage hit on the opponent.

Other features introduced in this game include super jumps, ability to roll away or towards an opponent after falling, the ability to determine the aim of a projectile move, and the ability to pursue an opponent after performing a throwing attack for follow-up attacks.

Then going forward to the next game such as Marvel Super Heroes which is another 1 on 1 fighting game featuring new rosters such as Blackheart, Captain America, Doctor Doom, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Thanos, while retaining some returning characters from the previous title such as Juggernaut, Magneto, Psylocke, and Wolverine.

While the game is quite similar to the predecessor, it heavily focuses on infinity gem systems containing 6 gems power which can be earned by obtaining them from opponents during the arcade mode or by fulfilling certain criteria during the versus mode such as getting the first hit.

Having to obtain the gems, this will allow them to use these gems in battle in short amount of time such  as increased power or defense, health recovery, and additional attacks.

Next up X-Men vs Street Fighter became the first installiment in the Marvel vs Capcom series featuring the characters from the Marvel's X-Men franchise such as Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine, then the cast from Capcom's Street Fighter series such as Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Cammy, Dhalsim, Zangief, Charlie, M.Bison, and Akuma.

Similar to the Capcom's previous fighting game, it is the first entry of the series to feature 2 on 2 tag team battles which incorporates dual-character selection and tag team based combat, so instead of the best of 3 round format it consist a single round matches meaning each player selects 2 characters to compete in a 1 on 1 battle in attempting to defeat the opposing team.

They are also given the ability to switch between their characters at any point during the match meaning one of them at the off-screen will slowly recover a portion of their health points while the current character on the screen is still fighting, so if one character loses all of their health then the tag partner will automatically come into play. 

The major highlight of the gameplay is got to be a tag-team hyper combo attacks which you and your tag partner will able to both perform a hyper combos simultaneously on-screen deals a massive damage attack on the opponent quickly.

On to the next game with the Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter which is a follow-up to the predecessor featuring a roster of 17 characters with 9 fighters from Street Fighter and 8 heroes from Marvel universe.

It plays exactly the same as the predecessor, but also introducing the new mechanic known as the variable assist which allowing player to summon their off-screen character to perform a special move without changing their currently-controlled character would later become a signature gameplay element used in several future instalments of Marvel vs Capcom series.

Then you have Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes which is a 3rd installiment in the series featuring the characters from Capcom video game franchises made the debut on this game such as Captain Commando, Jin Saotome, Mega Man, Morrigan Aensland, Roll, and Strider Hiryu while retaining the 3 returning Capcom's characters such as Ryu, Chun-Li, and Zangief, as well as the 5 returning characters from Marvel comics such as Captain America, Gambit, Hulk, Spider-Man, and Wolverine while introducing 2 new characters such as Venom and War Machine.

While it plays similar to the predecessor, it features two significant changes on gameplay such as variable cross which replaces variable assist from Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, so basically the variable cross is a new technique featured on this game allowing player to execute duo team attack which they can attack their opponent with both characters simultaneously on-screen for a limited time.

Player is also given unlimited use of the hyper combo gauge which allows them to perform several special techniques with multiple hyper combos moves which delivers heavy damage to the opponent in quick succession.

On to the next ones such as Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes which is a 4th installiment in the series which made several significant changes on gameplay such as a more refined variable system used in past Marvel vs Capcom games which allows players to tag in other team members at any point during the match and it also re-implements the variable assist gameplay mechanic introduced in Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter allowing players to call upon one of their off-screen team members to perform a single special move to aid them.

Each playable character possesses 3 different types of assists which can range from projectile attacks to healing moves.

It also became a first game to feature 3 on 3 tag team battle with a team of 3 characters to compete in a 1 on 1 battle as opposed to teams of 2 characters in the series previous entry.

The game features a modified 6-button control scheme which replaces three pairs of low, medium, and high strength punches and kicks into a setup of 4-attack buttons and 2 assist buttons making it a more simplified and easier to control.      

The game has expanded a roster of 56 playable characters from various of Marvel Comics properties and Capcom video game franchises making it one of the largest playable rosters in Capcom's fighting games.

Out of all 6 fighting games that I've played on the collection, I really enjoy playing it from start to the end because I just loved having to play these kinds of arcade fighting games that Capcom was very known in the 90s era that help defining the fighting game genres.

I say X-Men: Children of the Atom as an arcade version is a decent 2D fighting game that plays it quite close to Capcom's Street Fighter in terms of fighting gameplay design and had a great cast of rosters pulls off many good amount of combos and moves, where as I got to praise Marvel Super Heroes for its infinity combo system when using the gems power just adds-up an interesting gameplay mechanics, and I got to say X-Men vs Street Fighter is what created the flagship of Capcom's crossover fighting game franchise thanks to 2 on 2 tag-team battles and the range of characters from Marvel's X-Men and Capcom's Street Fighter featured in the game makes the improvement over the previous two fighting games.

Then I got to appreciate Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter which is just as good as the previous entry making the first crossover fighting game to have your favourite Marvel heroes like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Hulk had their chance to battle with the groups of Street Fighters for very first time since the X-Men members had previously did in the X-Men vs Street Fighter.  

I also had a charm with the Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes which I am happy to see Capcom adds their new roster from different franchise in the game such as you have Mega Man, Jin Saotome, Morrigan Aensland, and Strider Hiryu made their debut in the crossover fighting game series, and I wanted to praise the use of new fighting system just works really well throughout the matches thanks to variable cross attack and multiple hyper combo moves just makes the game fun to play.

The best game in the series has to be Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes just took the crossover fighting game into a new level thanks to large cast of playable rosters, new character assist system, introduction to 3 on 3 tag team battle, and of course the combo fighting system and more simplified control scheme is what made the game become a huge landmark of the franchise being loved by many gaming critics and fans.

After covering all 6 fighting games, I had to end it with the last ones with The Punisher which is a side-scrolling beat-em-ups game where you take control of The Punisher and Nick Fury as their on the mission to kill the crime lord the Kingpin and bring down his organisation.

It plays similar to Capcom's previous beat-em-ups game such as the 1989's Final Fight and 1991's Captain Commando in terms of gameplay design and had local 2-player co-op play that you and your friends can join-in for the beat-em-up action.

It has 2-action buttons such as the attack button which is used for melee attack on enemies while continuously tapping it to attack them further on which can be chained into combos, and you have the jump button in which you can use the jump attack on enemies by pressing the jump then attack button in mid-air.

You can also perform the grapple moves on enemies in close-range when you're close to the enemies resulting the player grabs them, then press the attack button to mash them while grabbing and you can also throw them to the ground by pushing the left or right directional button then press the attack button.

You can also perform the special attacks by pressing the both action button together delivering a heavy hit damage on enemies, but using it frequently can result draining the player's health points so do it wisely before you end up running out of your health, so your health can be replenished by picking up food to increase it. 

The game also has a range of usable weapons such as the knife, steel-pipe, sword, pistols, machine guns, grenades, and flame-thrower can be limited with the remaining ammunition meaning those weapons can get easily run out in short-time. 

These choices of weapons had the best use of the long range attack and close-combat attack delivering a good amount of hit damage on enemies.

I say The Punisher is actually a blast side-scrolling beat-em-up action which plays just like the previous Capcom's beat-em-ups games, but with additional choice of firearm weapons is quite a unique game for its time because I really liked the ideas of blasting the enemies off with machine-guns, flamethrowers, and throwing grenades is what makes The Punisher an over-the-top button-mashing brawler.

To be honest, I've used to not like the game quite long time ago when I first remembered playing it on Genesis/MD version which turns out to be rather dull and rough console conversion in comparison, but thankfully I had a chance to play the original arcade version on this collection which is way better to play really adds up an fun overall arcade experience. 

Out of all 7 games in collection, it's plays fantastic and you should be able to enjoy all 7 arcade classics without any doubt whatsoever because Capcom is truly a king of the old-school arcade gaming which we had to all agree.       

Overall, it has all 7 fantastic games to play, smooth emulation performances, excellent game modes, and cool additional options.

Graphics

I say the graphics in all 7 games is looking spectacular especially when it's out for the arcade machines and 5th-gen console like Saturn for example which I adore the comic-book style environments, bright and colourful details, clean looking textures, and of course the fluid sprite animation just undeniably looked incredible for its time in the mid-90s and early-2000s, but as on 8th-gen systems and PCs for this video game compilation it is still looking fantastic which really holds up well as today standards thanks to being upscaled to 1080p display output for 8th-gen consoles provides a clean and crisp picture on modern televisions, where as the PCs supports up to 4k display output with games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 having an internal resolution setting that can be increased up to x4 which results a sharper visuals on higher resolution monitors, where as the 8th-gen system like PS4, XBONE, and Switch can limit up to x2 which may not be quite close to the PC version but at least having a x2 on the 8th-gen consoles are acceptable which I did not had an issue.

I also wanted to praise the in-game display options which allows you to reconfigure the display filters that you can change it from old-school CRT TV to Arcade's dark-shady scanlines then soft and smooth to more sharper and less softer.

You can also change the screen size ranging from 4:3 standard ratio to 16:9 widescreen ratio then fully stretched to smaller-boxed screen, so I've preferred to choose the 4:3 standard as an aspect ratio because most of the retro gaming on the modern television looked way better with the 4:3 ratio, where as the other ratios looked kinda bit goofy in my opinion.

Like I've mentioned about the game's emulation performances last time which runs mostly well for most 8th-gen consoles and PCs with full on 60fps throughout the game and then again there are no signs of frame-stuttering and slow downs whatsoever which you guys are going to be all right playing on your system.

Overall, it has comic-book style environments, bright and colourful details, clean looking textures, and of course the fluid sprite animation.

Music and Sounds

The soundtrack for all 7 games is sounds magnificent which we all know Capcom's fighting games in general had the shares of the best music for fighting games that keeps you in the action.

I adored the tracks ranging from X-Men: Children of the Atom to Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes which I really loved the CPS-2's instrumental quality just feels more like an 90s Arcade hits, where as the Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes are totally goes in different direction with CD quality Jazz-style music which I did hear some of you may not be the fan of this music style choices, but honestly I really liked these kind of songs that are catchy to listen which some of you may disagree with me, but I don't really care much as you say because having these style of music is what makes Marvel vs Capcom 2 quite recognisable.              

I also liked the arranged soundtrack by CAP-JAMS that are included in the collection which can be found on music menus, so check it out if you're interested in listening these tracks.

The original music for the games included in the collection are composed by Yuki Iwai, Yuko Kadota, and Masato Kouda as part of the Capcom Sound Team Alph Lyla, where as the others such as Shigeyuki Kameda, Kodai Ikeda, and Hana Kimura acts as an additional music composers for the collection.

The sound effects in many games are perfectly sounds fine which I didn't encounter any of sound glitch and never hear any of scratching noises or muffled sounds, just sounds mostly pure clean during the in-game battle. 

I also really liked the sounds of hit collision, environmental sounds, and of course the announcer's voice-lines (THE BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL BEGINS...ENGAGE!!! ROUND 1 FIGHT!!! KO!!!) in every games is just sounds totally amazing...man I f***ing loved the Capcom's energetic-arcade sound design.  

Overall, it has magnificent soundtrack and perfect sound design.

Special Features

The game has gallery mode, music player, and fighter awards...well that is all it have on the collection but anyway it's still a good features, nothing goes wrong whatsoever.

Overall, a good bonus content.

Advantages

Good presentation

7 fantastic games

Smooth emulation performances

Excellent game modes

Cool additional options

Spectacular visuals

Magnificent soundtrack

 

Disadvantages

UK/EU copy for Switch release has no game cartridge (see "Overall" on the below, if you know what I've mean)

Final Verdict

Presentation 8/10 - good UI design, cool display filters and background themes, and has wide range of illustrations on gallery.

Gameplay 9/10 - all 7 fantastic games to play, smooth emulation performances, excellent game modes, and cool additional options.

Graphics 9/10 - comic-book style environments, bright and colourful details, clean looking textures, and of course the fluid sprite animation.

Music and Sounds 9/10 - magnificent soundtrack and perfect sound design.

Special Features 8/10 - has gallery mode, music player, and fighter awards.

Overall 9/10 - Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is clearly being one of the Capcom's very best video game compilation thanks to game's performance is well optimised for modern consoles and PCs, customisable displays and additional options for game's settings, has game modes ranging from offline training practice and 2-player versus to online competitive matches, and of course having all 7 amazing library of games in one package is the reason to own this collection.   

I really liked having the fighting games cross between the two franchises where you have your favourite video game characters having their battle with your favourite comic-book heroes is the kind of game that I've enjoyed playing it on the arcade and consoles.

The physical copy for the PS4 may cost around between £20 and £25, where as the digital releases for the PS Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop, and Steam are slightly higher between £40 and £45.

To be vary for those who planning to buy the Switch releases is not what you've expected is because I heard the US and Japan release did get a physical cartridge, where as the UK/EU release has a code in a box that requires a digital download which I think it's a kinda ridiculous that you will end up having a game case without game cartridge but you will get it cheaper for like £25, so if you don't want the code in the box then you might want to get a US or Japanese imports that has the game cartridge inside the game case for roughly about £40 is not quite a cheap option unless if you're into collecting the games for the Switch's libraries.

Is this the video game compilation a worth time to take you for the ride? absolutely right because for those who regularly plays the game digitally I think you might want to get it straight away just in case it may gonna delist it off from the digital store in the future, where as for those who prefers to own the game physically may not have to worry too much on the physical copy for the PS4 is still cheaper to buy online as today where as the Switch owner may need to think about getting the full copy with the actual game cartridge which is quite pricey in comparison, but just in case the price will likely go up in the future its better off to get one now if you really want to add this to your gaming collection.   

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Skip it

Rent it

Buy it

If you like my recent blog, please hit like and comment below for further questions.  

This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging everyone.                               

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind PS5 Review

 

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is a Side-Scrolling Beat-em-ups game was released in 2024 for PS5, PS4, XSX/S, XBONE, Switch, and PC. It was developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Atari.

Before I begin reviewing this game, I want to take back to the good old 90s days where I first discovered the TV series that was first aired on TV channels such as Fox Kids, so I've just found Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on my CRT TV screen.

It's an American live-action superhero TV series, which is based on the Japanese media franchise titled Super Sentai, was debuted on 1993.

It adapts characters and footage from Super Sentai for western audiences, while also incorporating its own stories and characters.

To be honest, I don't particularly watched the whole season of the series as much, but I did managed to watch few of the episode when I'm at my cousin's house sometime, so what made the show quite special?

It's just a bunch of colourful rangers start kicking ass, has gigantic-mecha robot welding the sword, has really cool transformation sequence, and of course the rockin theme tune is catchy as f**k is what made the TV show quite popular among with the young audience especially with my childhood classmates from my junior school had talked many good things about the TV show.      

The whole franchise has been commercially successful and it quickly established into popular culture expanding many TV series, theatrical films, comic books, novels, line of action figures and other toys, and of course the video games.

I did heard most of the Power Rangers video games are not been great besides the 16-bit line-up of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers games for SNES and Genesis/MD did it decently, where as the rest of the titles for later-gen systems is doing quite bad which the Power Rangers series wasn't very known for the quality licensed video games libraries, until it finally gets it right with the recent title released in 2024 such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is the kind of game that I actually wanted to play.

It's a Side-Scrolling beat-em-ups game which plays really similar to the early-90s arcade games that we all know back then in the style of gameplay, visuals, and sounds that brings the nostalgia throwback of early-90's arcade classics.

Could it be a one of the Power Rangers better game for big time or is it a game that we should never touch it again? 

So without go further do, let's start the review.

Presentation

The game set in 2023 A.D at the Robo-Rita's Palace, as it start outs with the Robotic version of Rita Repulsa from the future who travels back in time to 1993 to join forces with her past self as they attempt to change history using their ability to rewind, rewrite, and remix the past in order to prevent Power Rangers from ever forming.

This led the group of Rangers on their mission is to stop this combined force of Ritas and their future armies from altering the history. 

The story in the game is just like in the TV series where you're just the bunch of Power Rangers going on their action to defeat their arch-nemesis and her minions to save the planet once and for all...yeah you get the idea guys because this is what really adds the main charm of the series that was very known for, so no pun intended.

Going back to this, having a story that involved time-shifting system catastrophic that causing a destruction that alts the time history of 1993 seems to be quite an interesting plot for the Power Rangers game like this, so I'm sure you guys will agree my point.

I also liked the cutscene sequences in each stages whether is on during the in-game action or whether if its at the beginning or ending of the stage, so I really liked having these dialogue box between the heroes and villains before and after the fights just adds-up the detail of the game's plot which is completely fine for the arcade game does really need a short and good simple story to appreciate.

I say those kick-ass groups of  Power Rangers are sure f***ing awesome in the game, so you have Red Ranger, Blue Ranger, Pink Ranger, Yellow Ranger, and of course Black Ranger.

Don't forget the best part when they made the transformation of 5 zords into megazord, a gigantic mecha-robot who weld with large powerful sword which is strong and moderately fast, and also most common formation that Rangers use when fighting supersized monsters.

The series also has the memorable villain such as Rita Repulsa who dressed in dark sorceress outfit and has a long-staff with large round-shaped on top are sure cheesy especially on TV series which I really liked her screeching voice are quite terrifying, but I think the Robo-Rita are quite much terrifying with the sliver-robotic face which I had to agree that this could be a better version of Rita in the game.

The game's presentation is fantastic is because I loved the animated sequence of the game's opening intro just feels like a throwback to live-action TV series with the original theme song that made the TV series quite recognisable at the start.        

I also liked the in-game's pixel-art style that are quite close to early-90s arcade classics with 2D sprites and backgrounds layouts are just looked amazing in the game.

Each of the stages has different layouts of settings such as you have old-rusty canyon, downtown rooftop, mining operation area, industrial waste area, abandoned factory elevator, highway road, carnival and rides, creepy cemetery, downtown street and sub-station, sport field and park site, and of course space station which I considered these locations are seems to be the best fit for the retro-style beat-em-up game.

Overall, it has good story cutscenes, memorable cast of characters, and pixel-art design.

Gameplay

You will have an option to play on single-player solo or local co-op up to 4 or 6 depending on which system you're playing on, and of course the 6-players online co-op.

You get to select any of 5 or 6 playable Power Rangers in which one of the playable character will be unlocked for 6-players mode after beating the game.

You'll be playing on the side-scrolling perspective, as your main goal is to beat the stage by defeating the bosses in order to get to the last stage to face Robo-Rita.         

Press the d-pad buttons or push the left stick controls to move the character and also you can double tap forward to run.

Press the square button to use melee attack, while mashing the same button to continuously attack on enemies in which these enemies can take light damage from your hit, but the square button are also used for breaking objects.

You can perform various of moves such as the dash attack which you had to double tap the d-pad or left stick forward then press the square button, and you can also do rising attack by holding the d-pad or left stick up then press the square button used for launching enemies at mid-air which mostly works better for air-combo system.

You can evade the enemies attack or stage projectiles by pressing the circle button to dodge which prevents you taking damage from them.

Press the cross button is to jump and double tap the same button is to double jump which is used for platforming, but you can also perform jump attack by pressing the cross button then the square button in mid-air which works mostly for air or ground enemies, and you can do a smash attacks by double tap the cross button to double jump then the square button in mid-air works effectively to knockdown enemies on the ground.

Attacking the enemies will fill-up your special meter bar meaning you can perform a special attack by pressing the triangle button which deals a massive damage hit on enemies.        

You can learn these basic tutorial by going to the combat training if you wish to learn the moves before you're fully preparing to start the campaign.          

So far, the controls is quite an straight-forward to play with the 4-button controls, so all you had to do is to attack, jump, dodge, run, and of course use special seems to be easier to learn.

I find the controls quite responsive which I had no issue with the hit detection just perfectly plays it well, and I wanted to praise the simplistic use of combos which is important for the arcade beat-em-ups because it's all to do with the combo scoring system where you had to perform a multiple of juggling, landing, and bouncing at the enemies will result a numerous of combo hits up to more than 75 hits, so the more you make combos the high you will gain the score which is the reason why I love playing the arcade beat-em-ups games with the combo scoring system.

I also liked the list of 3 challenge tasks where you had to complete all 3 tasks in each stages such as gain S ranking, beat the stage in less than 4 or 5 mins, and of course find all secret items hidden somewhere in the areas which really adds-up the replayability.

As I'm pleased with the controls, combos, and tasks in the game, I got to say this game has the insane amount of stage segments that blew-me away because it's not just the traditional beat-em-up stages that are incredibly good, but you will have other style of arcade gameplay from rail-shooter to mecha-boxing to combat racing action in which I always thought the game is supposed to be a beat-em-ups action but throwing a different arcade genre for some stage seems to be really an awesome thing about the game.

I just loved the rail-shooter style of roller-coaster segment where you had to point with the crosshair and shootdown these enemy's balloon and incoming bomb, and I really liked the cabal shooter style of dino-zords part where you take control of zords and shootdown these enemy's bases, and you had the vehicular combat racing style of highway drive sequence where you ride on the motorcycle and shoot down the enemy's vehicles, and of course the best part in the is the punch-out style of megazord battle where you had to fight the gigantic monster in first-person perspective.

This really adds-up the overall fun factor of the game that I'm incredibly pleased to see game like this is doing something different that other beat-em-ups games are sticking to the one genre except this is more than just a beat-em-up game filled with other style of gameplay is something that I approved this game.

If that's not enough, then I got to say the boss battles in each stage are amazing which packs with numerous of epic bosses that you must encounter and face them such as Goldar, Chunky Chicken teaming up with Turkey Jerk, Eye Guy, Bones, Madame Woe, Crabby Cabbie, and of course Robo Rita is something that you will likely to appreciate this kind of game which gives you a full-on arcade experience. 

The local multiplayer in this game is pretty good on co-op campaign in which you and your friends can able to enjoy for 6-players mode...well for XSX/S, XBONE, Switch, and PC version only I'm afraid because the PS5 and PS4 can only support up to 4-players which is kinda shame for Playstation players, but please don't despair yourselves just enjoy the local multiplayer as it is.

To keep you in mind for XSX/S, XBONE, Switch, and PC owners that the 6-players local-co-op can be unlocked by beating the whole game which unlocks one playable character such as Green Ranger is the only way of playing the 6-player local-co-op, but without it then you'll be stucked to 5-players as an default if the Green Ranger has not been unlocked. 

I believe the game does have online co-op option which you can able to play this mode up to 6 separate consoles or PCs to connect for 6-players online co-op multiplayer as peer to peer connection, since the game initially supported 3 players on 2 separate systems for 6-players online co-op at launch, so thankfully after the game's update you can able to play online co-op individually without requiring 2 systems which makes it easier to access online team play with full 6-players.

The game does have really cool features such as the speedrun mode which can be unlocked by beating the game, so in this mode your goal is to complete each stages as quickly as possible to beat the timer as the in-game timer is unaffected by time-pausing mechanics making it a more challenging experience.

The game does include 3 mini-games from the Juice Bar room where you had to find a specific part items which is found by completing various levels and objectives, so that once 3 of the arcade cabinets are fully repaired then it became fully playable offering 3 really cool mini-games to play with such as Drive Bomber which plays just like the style of Midway's Spy Hunter, Nanopilot which is a top-down shooter similar to Bandai Namco's Bosconian, and of course Karate Chopshop which is the mini-game where you have to smash things by using the power meter, so these are pretty cool mini-games that helps you keep busy playing for short hours.

After beating the game once, it unlocks the cheat menu which you can modify the game with really awesome stuffs that suits your gameplay style such as one-hit enemies, one-hit Rangers, moon gravity, equal Rangers, go-go party, no time disruptors, tougher enemies, infinite lives, and of course maximum enemies which really adds-up the game's replay value.

 

Overall, it has straight-forward controls, great combo system, fun for single-solo and local-coop action, and epic stage segments and boss battles.

Graphics

The visuals is very good for the arcade beat-em-ups game with the early 90's pixel art-style just adds-up the game's appeal to those who grew up playing the classic nostalgia of old-school beat-em-ups games.

The stage environments are colourful and detailed in many areas, the texture surfaces and background layouts are sure bold and being well structured, the use of special effects are filled with flashy lighting, gloomy shadows, and the amount of explosions are quite destructible on the objects and environmental areas in many stages, and then of course the 2D sprite animation on characters and enemies are decently sharp just to keep the stages well intact that are close to the arcade game of early 90's that we all know and love back then.

Outside of the 2D beat-em-ups environments, there are some of the impressive part of the game that make use of graphical techniques that was used in mid-80's and early-90s games, so you have a 3D scaling effects that are very similar to the super-scaler arcade games like SEGA's Super Hang-On and Taito's Night Striker which creates the illusion of pseudo-3D environments with objects appearing to move closer or further away in real-time play.

It looked really significant on some stages like dino-zord shootout, roller-coaster ride, and motorbike driving action which is looked amazing with the use of 2D sprites, 3D environmental stages, and graphical rotation techniques that feels like a good old-school era of early-90s arcade games.    

The game plays it very smooth and had no signs of frame-drops for most of PCs and console platforms which seems to be very good news that you won't able to notice any of screen tearing and lags whatsoever.

Overall, it has colourful stage environments, cool and flashy special effects, sharp 2D sprite animation, and of course the impressive 3D scaling effects.

Music and Sounds

The original soundtrack is amazingly sounds great especially with the actual theme tune from the original TV series titled as "Go Go Power Rangers!" being included in the game is what makes the opening credits of Power Rangers became recognisable for its cool heavy metal music that are catchy and badass.

The rest of the in-game stage had a great style of 16-bit music between the likes of Capcom's Mega Man X and Konami's TMNT games being thrown in are kinda gives a nostalgia throwback to the early-90s games which was best known for it's energetic music that fits the action of beat-em-ups game.

It was composed by Sean Bialo did a incredible job for the game's original score that are sounds very similar to the style of Tee Lopes's video games soundtrack.              

The sound effects are very good for its wacky environmental sounds, hit collision, explosion sounds, and background noises has sort of the arcade-sounds aesthetics that matches the game's sound design, and I believe the voice samples for characters just took from the original TV series that was known for its goofy-lines that made Power Rangers sounds cool and likable. 

Overall, it has amazing energetic soundtrack, arcade-style sound effects, and of course the goofy voice sample took from TV series.

Special Features

I did mentioned the game has one unlockable playable character such as Green Ranger which also unlocks 6-players local co-op mode after beating the game, as well as the speedrun mode and 3 mini-games are included in the game, and of course it does have a list of cheat modes which I already mentioned before.

The deluxe edition boxset packs with really nice goodies inside such as the poster, steelbook case, 6 collectable cards, and of course lenticular postcard which is looking fantastic as the collector's box. 

Overall, an amazing content and fantastic collector's box. 

Advantages

Pixel-art presentation

Great gameplay system

Fun solo and local co-op action

Epic stage segments and boss battles

Impressive visuals and amazing sounds

Has tons of replay values including unlockable content 

Disadvantages

PS5 and PS4's local co-op players limited to 4 instead of 6.

Final Verdict

Presentation 8/10 - good story cutscenes, memorable cast of characters, and pixel-art design.

Gameplay 8/10 - straight-forward controls, great combo system, fun for single-solo and local-co-op action, and epic stage segments and boss battles.

Graphics 8.5/10 - colourful stage environments, cool and flashy special effects, sharp 2D sprite animation, and of course the impressive 3D scaling effects.

Music and Sounds 8.5/10 - amazing energetic soundtrack, arcade-style sound effects, and of course the goofy voice sample took from TV series.

Special Features 8/10 - unlockable playable character, mini-games, and game modes to play, has list of cheat menus, and of course the nice collector's boxset. 

Overall 8/10 - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is a remarkable arcade beat-em-ups throwback that we are been waiting 3 decades for the M.M.P.R as a media franchise to finally have this licensed video game title that are incredibly fun, energetic, exciting, and entertaining to play it deserves.

The style of pixel-art, having a great gameplay system, it had fun solo and local co-op action filled with epic stage segments and boss battles, and of course having a unlockable content and completing the challenge tasks add-ups the game's replay values is the reason why the game is so good that delivers the full arcade experience.  

To be fair, I think XSX/S, XBONE, Switch, and PC gets the points for having 6-player local co-op as opposed to PS5 and PS4 supports up to 4-player locally which I would have rate the game for 8.5 at best, but as for the PS5 and PS4 version it's still plays great which I've managed to enjoy the game no matter what system you're playing on is because it's about the joy of arcade-style beat-em-ups action that you're likely to appreciate how good the recent Power Rangers game had turned out to be a success.

For the PS5 and Switch physical release, the standard edition cost around between £20 to £25 where as the deluxe edition are between £40 to £50 seems to be a right amount of price on both physical editions.

The digital release for PS Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop, and Steam retails for £30 seems to be a bit tad too high, so it would have been better off for £15 digitally.

Is it definitely an recommendation for a beat-em-ups fanatic? yes absolutely correct because having a 6-players co-op team with your friends or anyone is the best way to experience a full arcade-action is something that you're likely to enjoy this game without any regrets whatsoever.

GO GO POWER RANGERS!!! MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS!!!   

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Skip it

Rent it

Buy it

If you like my recent blog, please hit like and comment below for further questions.  

This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging everyone.

  

Top 5 Underrated Horror Games

 

Horror in video games are the special kind of thing that spooked many gamers over the decades starting in the mid-80's to early-90s with the main pioneer titles like Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark was the fully experimented horror title that invented the genre for video games, then the later ones that became the mainstream success in mid-90s like Resident Evil and Silent Hill just took the full level of terror that made everyone scream out loud, and finally the modern era in 2010s are just as terrifying to play such as Outlast, SOMA, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent is what I've love about the horror games in general.

Horror is the bestest things in video games, so we had various of sub-genres to experience the level of terror such as slashers, zombies, ghosts, paranormal, psychological, survival, and list goes on.

As I previously enjoyed the popular titles back then, I wanted to discuss something different on my gaming blogpost is because there are some of the obscure horror games that are completely ignored by the public eye or maybe these games didn't get enough credit it deserved which leaves these games remained forgotten.

I decided to make my own list of 5 horror titles that you don't want to miss out and should had the reason to play, so these are the tales of the forgotten horror games that are incredibly good and should not be behind closed doors. 

So without go further do, here is my top 5 underrated horror games.

5 - Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (PS1)

First of all, I remember playing the 1992's original game just once that was on MS-DOS, and my initial impression was kinda mixed due to game's age didn't hold up well as today, but back then it was quite impressive for the early-90s release which I had to praised it for its atmospheres and settings environments are sure creepy, but it was let down by the control schemes are not quite easy to get used too which is why I couldn't able to finish the game off.

To be fair, the 1992's original game is considered to be an important game that created the genre known as survival horror which was later influence the successful franchise such as Capcom's Resident Evil and Konami's Silent Hill are the series that I grew up playing.

There's one of the game that got my attention was Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, a survival horror game was released in 2001 for PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, GBC, and PC, and it is a first reboot of the whole franchise which got me curious to try the game out and see if it's anything interesting to play, so the answer is yes it's really good horror game for change.

The first reboot sets in different timeline of 2000s as opposed to series original's main timeline of 1920s, as you take control of Edward Carnby or Aline Cedrac went on their mission in the mysterious island to search the three missing ancient tablets that had ability to unlock an incredible and dangerous power.

The game's presentation is quite different in terms of dark and gritty style approach as opposed to original series timeline's gothic and suspense feel, which I really liked the changes because it gives the game sort of eerie environment that are completely pitch black in some areas just adds-up the dark elements of the horror settings.

Having to play as two characters with separate story scenarios are also benefits the game's plot keeps the whole game quite interesting to play, and the whole single-player campaign are filled with great mix of survival and puzzles throughout the playthrough thanks to dark environmental areas, various of creatures encounters, and puzzle solving aspects which I appreciate their effort to deliver something that makes this game worth to pick-up and play. 

Despite the game's positive reception at release, the game doesn't get mentioned more often and it's nowhere near good as the other horror series like Capcom's Resident Evil and Konami's Silent Hill are actually doing better for its story presentation, gameplay design, and being able to stay on top with the level of terror that the Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare are kinda bit of a step back in comparison, but that doesn't mean the game itself are terribly bad is because it's still a decent horror experience that you don't wanna to miss out.  

 

 

4 - Cold Fear (PS2)

          

      

Yes another horror hidden gem by the same team bought you Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare...Yeah I know I had to include it on my top 5 list.

It's one of the horror game that I did really miss out back then where at the time in the mid-2000s when I never had the PS2 console yet but own the Gamecube instead and my bro used to have the Xbox original (was later completely thrown away in early-2010s), but sadly never actually heard or discovered the game at the local gaming shop nor the gaming magazines, until around later year of 2022 when I finally had the PS2 console so that I can begin collecting various of PS2 libraries including most common and some obscures stuffs added to my gaming collection.

I had finally discovered the horror game at online thanks to various of YouTube gaming channels made their own interesting video of gaming hidden gems that the gamers had missed out the good ones which is why it encourages me to collect some of the forgotten titles that I should check out, so this is where I found Cold Fear for the PS2.

It's a survival horror game set in a Bering Strait where you take control of U.S Coast Guard member went on investigating in Russian Whaling ship and finds a mysterious parasite has turned the crew into zombie-like creatures, as he sets out to ensure the parasites don't reach the land.

Even the story in the game are not the strongest part of the game, but what really matters the most that made the game quite interesting to play is the settings that took place in the ship seems to be a good concept idea for the horror game with stormy weather environments that made the whole ship wobbles everywhere and has the several of the rooms that are completely wrecked does seem to fit well to the game's presentation.   

Most of the creature enemies are similar to John Carpenter's The Thing in terms of design features are surely freighting-look such as you have bulky ones with heavy claws, crab-like monster, large-winged creature, two-legged tentacles, and ugly-bendy monster.

The whole single-player playthrough are filled with insane amount of segments such as the environmental hazards where the stormy-weather had caused the ship to wobble violently featuring crashing waves, moving containers, and swinging wires that can harm player to fall overboard is quite an terrifying moments, and I got to say that I do actually enjoyed the choice of weapon progression in the game with unlockable upgrade of more powerful weapons just adds-up a nice blend of tactical and horror-themed equipment.         

Unfortunately the game had suffered with poor commercial sales and had mixed reception at the release in 2005, as contrast to Capcom's Resident Evil 4 are critically acclaimed and commercial success which is why it left Cold Fear as being remained forgotten, so it's a quite such a shame for Darkworks Games because it's a decent game that the horror game fans could have given this title a chance what its deserves.  

3 - Remothered: Tormented Fathers (PS4)

  

I'm really into with one of the sub-genre of horror game where it heavily focused on hide and seek system mechanics starting from Clock Tower to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, then Outlast to SOMA that delivers the surprisingly amount of jumpscares, terrifying enemies aggressively chasing you around the rooms, and being able to find the hiding spot to save yourself is the kind of horror style that I've enjoyed it with so many intensive and distressing moment I've experienced.

One of the game that caught my attention was Remothered: Tormented Fathers for the PS4, an horror game was created by the Italian game director Chris Darril described it as an Clock Tower-styled modern horror game in terms of design and settings.

The game focuses on Rosemary Reed went on investigation at the Felton's family mansion to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of Dr. Felton adopted daughter's named Celeste had been missing for years, while she defending herself from the crazy sadist armed with deadly weapon came chasing around in rooms.

The story is quite mostly positive for its strong narrative and plot-wise that involves uncovering the mysteries of the missing person.

The presentation in this game is fantastic because it's the style of game kinda gives me a similar vibes of many horror films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and Johnathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs because it's a mixture of slasher and psychological themes being fitted together which I've liked the idea of game's concept. 

The game's major design is all about completing the unsolved mysteries and the puzzle solving segments while avoid getting in contact from the stalkers went full on ape-shit and start chasing you around the rooms, as I like the way they designed the villains to be quite scary which delivers numerous of great kill-sequence animation, surprised you with the jumpscares, and of course the verbal insults just makes the game quite frightening to play.

As the 2018's horror title are being praised upon the release for its atmospheres, story, and gameplay which I'm completely agreed for it, which sadly it was completely being tarnished by the 2020's follow-up title such as Remothered: Broken Porcelain had gained a terrible reception upon the release leaving the series being dug into a grave which is a shame because the first original game is actually decent horror game and wished that the series could have been given a good chance if they didn't sabotage the 2020's sequel for first place.

 

2 - Clock Tower 3 (PS2)

I really remember back in my old days of internet when the video game emulators, online forums, and YouTube became the thing in my mid-2000s and early-2010s, so right after I came back from my high school I've spent time downloading and playing the games on my old desktop computer, as I really loved discovering the ROMs files on emulation sites are packed with hacked translations and mods is where I've found the 1995's SNES's point-and-click horror title that I've never actually heard of it due to not being released worldwide which is why it made me interest to play it on my computer, so that is Clock Tower.

It's a 16-bit night-terror where you're completely surrounded by the scissor killer came chasing you around the hallway, stairs, and rooms with the deadly weapon that can cut you wide open, so that is pure scary as f**k for Nintendo's 16-bit console with so many encounters and scares is what makes the game quite terrifying back then.

After I had enjoyed the first game in the series, I was interested to play the second title that was released on PS1 but unfortunately I never got a chance to bought it is due to game's rarity makes it difficult to find the copy cheaper online, so instead I decided to get a copy of Clock Tower 3 for PS2.        

           

The third game takes place in London which follows 14-year old Alyssa Hamilton, who is part of the family lineage of female warriors who travel through time to defeat evil sprits, as she travels from her time in 2003 to the 1940s-60s in order to defeat these entities and bring peace to troubled souls.

Clock Tower 3 is one of the first game in the series taking into the new direction over the previous entries, so instead of the traditional slasher horror approach like from the first title, the third game is more of the fantasy-style horror for its settings which makes it quite different from the series previous titles.

I don't really mind the silly new idea of time-traveling presentation and some wacky storyplot does seems to add-up the part of the game's charm, while retaining the survival horror elements of the gameplay design with similar enemy encounters and chase sequences still going on, but instead of using the point-and-click controls like from the previous games it uses the 3rd-person fixed-camera perspective makes it the first game in the series to incorporate direct control over the protagonist seems to be a nice change for the 3rd title.

What made the Clock Tower 3 so decent to play is the amount of chase sequences in every areas that are quite frantic to play making most of the violent enemies quite frightening to encounter is what I love about playing the kinds of horror game that don't rely on focusing combat just makes the game scary to play.

I loved the gameplay mechanics for its panic meter system showcasing the protagonist's level of fear which causes her to stumble and become harder to keep up under stress really generates the scare factor entirely.   

I say this game is not nearly as good in comparison with the 1995's original game which I rather much preferred it better for its story presentation, darker tone visuals, and slasher-style atmosphere is what makes it's quite terrifying on SNES, but that didn't mean the Clock Tower 3 on PS2 are bit of let down because it's still an decent game in the way as long as the cinematic design, visual style, and storyline are being well-directed as well as the gameplay and atmospheres keeps it entertained.

Despite the game's mixed reception and poor sales figures at the release had left the franchise on hold, the game is however quite rare for collectors which cost about over £60, but it's not quite expensive as the 1996's sequel title for PS1, so luckily I've bought it for £50 from online store.    

I wish I would love to see Clock Tower series deserves the second chance only if the publishers like Sunsoft and Capcom are interested to bringing the franchise back in future perfect. 

1 - Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (Gamecube)     

It's really interesting to see the company like Nintendo are very known with advertising their software for younger audience with the likes of Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pokemon, and Kirby, where as the others are totally opposite with the titles like Killer Instinct, Goldeneye 007, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and Perfect Dark are more aimed for niche audience.

There's one of the M-rated title that was being released on family-friendly console like Gamecube which is no surprise that Nintendo had previously did published the M-rated N64 games for first place and why not do the same for Gamecube? so let me introduce you a Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.

It's a psychological-horror adventure game was released in 2002 and was created by Silicon Knights, a game development team behind Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.  The game set in year 2000 AD and the story centers on Alex Roivas went on investigating in home mansion after her grandfather's death and discovers the ancient book detailing the centuries-long battle against cosmic entities known as the ancients, a god-like cosmic beings who wish to enslave humanity. 

The game was being known for its dark-environmental storytelling which detailing the old-historical anthology where various of past heroes in each time-periods who each have their own stories related to the tome, as your main goal is to stop the ancient evil from summoning another ancients and plunging the world into darkness.

What I loved about this game is the style of psychological horror elements which heavily focuses on sanity effects, an unique gameplay elements where the game tricks the player through 4th-wall breaking hallucinations and altered game mechanics to affect the player directly, so it range from room's layout change to fake error messages just really adds up a severe level of scare factor that made the game quite disturbing to play.

As the sanity effects are becoming a major part of the game's design, I wanted to praise the whole single-player campaign for its combat system ranges from close-combat melee to ranged weapons, and it also has various of magic spells is used not only in combat, but also to solve many puzzles throughout the game.

The visuals and sounds are quite a top-notch for the Gamecube's standards which I adored the creepyness tone of game's presentation starting from ancient dark tomb to gritty medieval castle really fits the style of horror settings, and of course the unsettling noises coming from the sanity effects always kept your head stuck entirely that never goes away.

The game's reception are critically acclaimed at the release and won numerous awards, but sadly it's suffered a poor commercial sales which sold less than a half-million copies worldwide is the reason why the planned sequel are never got it made, and Silicon Knights went bankrupt and disbanded in 2013.

It's a huge shame that we never get to see the second installiment a light of day which leaves this game a behind closed doors, but an outstanding underrated horror title that could have given a second chance, so I was hoping this game should need a re-release for Switch 2 as part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service in the future perfect, so that the game will likely get the attention it deserves are the only way to consider a future sequel.                

If you like my recent blog, please hit like and comment below for further questions.

This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging and have a nice spooky Halloween everyone, MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!