Capcom Arcade Stadium review – recapture the magic

PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
A bundle of 32 retro games offers classic Street Fighter action, ghostly quests, air battles - with the added bonus of not having to stop when your pocket money runs out

Retro game collections can be a dispiriting experience for fans. Poorly translated versions, badly curated and thrown on to a DVD with a terrible user interface are sadly commonplace. Thankfully, that's not what we have here. For Capcom Arcade Stadium, the celebrated game developer has collated 32 interesting and often brilliant titles, spanning the glory years of its coin-op output. It is a treasure trove for nostalgic arcade dwellers and interested newcomers alike.

In a move similar to its 2013 Arcade Cabinet, the company has chosen not to release its collection on one disc. Instead, fans can download the base emulator free with one game, 1943: The Battle of Midway, included. You can then download a selection of three packs, each with 10 games a piece, or grab them all for 30. It's an odd delivery method but the implication is that further titles and additional features will be available at a later date, which is certainly welcome.