We all know Capcom has been on fire as of late, mostly due to games like Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil VII, but I don’t think we can say the same about their fighting department. I have previously stated how I think Street Fighter V was a disaster at launch, as well as Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite being underwhelming when comparing it to its previous iterations. While we wait for their possible redemption with whichever next fighting game they put out, we now have the opportunity to play all of the classic versions of Street Fighter in one collection and we even have the option of playing them on-the-go on the Switch. This is the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.

The Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection comes with the first Street Fighter game (the original one nobody played), all iterations of Street Fighter II (there are too many of them), all Alpha games, and all of the massively underrated Street Fighter III games. You know, the ones that ditched the entire old crew in favor of Alex & friends. None of the games received notable visual enhancements, but they have been upgraded with online multiplayer, save states, and command lists. The collection also boasts behind-the-scenes goodies, as well as a sound test mode. In terms of bang for your buck, this is one heck of a deal: there are just too many good games included in this package. There are some caveats, however.

The big issue here lies on the controls. The Nintendo Switch is definitely not suited for fighting games, since both the Joycons and the Pro Controller don’t feature the best d-pads available out there. Street Fighter is all about the precise controls and that can’t be achieved at all when playing it with Joycons. Those are most notably seen when playing the original Street Fighter, a game that aged about as well as haircuts from the 80’s.

Another nitpick lies on the actual content this collection offers. There are five versions of Street Fighter II included. FIVE. I get that each iteration has some new additions, such as new UIs and a few new characters, but I think we could have been offered more variety by having two or three versions of the arcade game, with those discarded versions being replaced by something like Puzzle Fighter instead. At the end of the day, we’ll most likely feel inclined to play the latest iteration of SFII in the collection, as it’s the one with the most content.

This Street Fighter collection offers an insane amount of bang for any fan’s buck, with tons of different games, save states, great online multiplayer, and some behind-the-scenes extras. Despite all this, I don’t really think the Switch is the best platform to play all of these games, mostly due to its controllers. It’s still one of the best fighting titles you can buy on the console, though.

By the way, let me reiterate: did we REALLY need five iterations of Street Fighter II on the same collection, Capcom? Couldn’t you include one Puzzle Fighter instead?

 

Graphics: 7.0 The game looks best when playing it in a smaller screen without stretching the resolution.	Gameplay: 6.5 The Joycons and the Pro Controller do their best, but they definitely aren’t suited for fighting games.
Sound: 7.0 It’s pretty much the same soundtrack from the original arcade games. The game does feature a sound test mode, though.	Fun Factor: 7.5 This compilation offers a lot of value with online support, save states, and little to no lag. Being able to play the Alpha games on-the-go is great. Did we really need FIVE versions of Street Fighter II, though?
Final Verdict: 7.0

Reviewed on Switch.
Also available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC