Capcom Arcade Stadium: An Arcade Lover's Dream

When Capcom Arcade Stadium was revealed in late 2020, I thought to myself "That looks neat. I'll probably pick it up." I love retro games and from the reveal trailer, I could see that some of my favorites like Final Fight were among the featured titles. When the game dropped a week ago, I did some digging to find out what other games were available for this collection. Capcom Arcade Stadium went from being a collection I wanted, to a collection I REALLY wanted.

THE GAMES

As of right now, there are a total of 32 games in Capcom Arcade Stadium, divided across three packs. Each pack will set you back $15 and there are 10 games in each pack. I hear you asking "Hey, Reg, where do the other two games come from?" Well, 1943 -The Battle of Midway- is a freebie. The spirit crushing Ghosts 'n Goblins was free until Feb 25th. If you don't want to spring for a whole pack, you can buy stand alone games for $2. You can also buy all three packs together for $40, which also gets you the additional two aforementioned games. 

In my opinion, Capcom Arcade Stadium is worth parting with $40 over. All three packs are bound to have at least a few games you're sure to love. Packs are nicely arranged via a set year of games and each one contains a variety of genres. The majority of the games also give you the option to play either the Japanese or English ROM.

Pack 1: Dawn of the Arcade ('84-'88)

The mid to late 1980s collect the first batch of games in Pack 1 of Capcom Arcade Stadium. These are definitely the early years but there are some titles that show what Capcom was shaping up to be. 

*VULGUS, PIRATE SHIP HIGEMARU, 1942, COMMANDO, SECTION Z, Tatakai no Banka (TROJAN), LEGENDARY WINGS, BIONIC COMMANDO, FORGOTTEN WORLDS, Ghouls 'n Ghosts.

Fun fact, VULGUS is Capcom's very first shooter, a genre which is plentiful in Capcom Arcade Stadium.

Pack 2: Arcade Revolution ('89-'92)

Pack 2 has a few games from 1989, before biding the the decade farewell and ushering in the early 1990s. This pack is a smorgasbord of beat 'em ups, SHMUPs and action platformers. Capcom really began to hit their stride here. 

*STRIDER, DYNASTY WARS, Final Fight, 1941 -Counter Attack-, Senjo no Okami II (MERCS), MEGA TWINS, CARRIER AIR WING, STREET FIGHTER II -The World Warrior- , CAPTAIN COMMANDO, VARTH - Operation Tunderstorm-

No, I didn't get my 1940 shooting games mixed up. 1941 really did release after 1942. I have no idea why Capcom chose to name these games the way they did. 

Pack 3: Arcade Evolution ('92-'01)

Hot dog, this pack is so dang awesome! We're talking what is arguably the pinnacle of arcade Capcom games with this one. I honestly didn't expect there to be any games from the early 2000s in Capcom Arcade Stadium, but I'm not complaining. All across this pack are some of the best fighting games ever, robots, SHMUPs, robots, brawlers, and more robots. 

*WARRIORS OF FATE, STREET FIGHTER II' -Hyper Fighting-, SUPER STREET FIGHTER II TURBO, Powered Gear -Strategic Variant Armor Equipment (Armored Warriors), CYBERBOTS -FULLMETAL MADNESS-, 19XX -The War Against Destiny-, Battle Circuit, Giga Wing, 1944 -The Loop Master-, Progear.

Progear never got any sort of home release until this collection. It was also developed by Cave in case you needed some kind of incentive to play it.

EXTRAS

Let's get the most glaring omission out of the way. If you're looking for interviews, arcade cabinet artwork, any type of behind the scenes material that Capcom's previous compilation releases are known for, get ready to become a new resident of Disappointment Valley. Unfortunately there is nothing to speak of in the way of bonus stuff, not even a music player. Perhaps Capcom could remedy this in a future update but as of now, Capcom Arcade Stadium is extraless. Some high res arcade flyers sure would have been swell. Profound sadness, but not the end of the world.

PRESENTATION

What Capcom Arcade Stadium lacks in extras it more than makes up for in presentation. Games are presented in a slick Japanese arcade hall with cabinets lined up next to each other. Each cabinet can be customized to your liking, including the size and color. These are some nice touches that go much further than I initially thought they would. I'm surprised at how much time I've spent fiddling around to give each game I play a unique look. Even more cabinet options can be unlocked as you play.

You'll be hard pressed to find an arcade compilation with a sicker user interface. Picking from the EN and JP ROMs, manuals and controls are just a simple button press away. A myriad of screen sizes and screen filters are yours to use. Want 4:3 or an arcade sized screen, curved edges, scan lines, or some weird mix; whatever you desire, you can make it happen. 

Games can be arranged by genre such is action, fighting, shooter or you can make a list of your personal favorites.

Being a big SHMUP fan, I'm happy to report that the screen can be rotated properly to support TATE mode, which I'm sure all you Switch owners are gonna love. I never knew how much I wanted to emulate the feel of being in an arcade and looking over at other arcade games while I play until I could make it happen. 

Even the joy (or agony) of plunking a quarter into the slot to add a credit for play is replicated along with each arcade game's coin jingle. As much as I love the free play setting of Capcom Beat 'em Up Bundle, I didn't realize what I was missing by having the ability to add credits be turned off.

REWIND

Rewinding has been a standard feature of these retro releases but I don't think anything has done it better than Capcom Arcade Stadium. Perhaps it is the difficulty nature of arcade games but being able to undo do a mistake or completely ignore some cheap garbage is simply the best. Dodging bullet patterns in games like Progear or 19XX is a tad less stressful when I known where the fire is coming from and just where it is gonna go. And for games like Ghosts 'n Goblins? Man, I feel like I am getting sweet, sweet revenge for all the crap that game put me through years ago. No longer do I have to be stuck with that sucky Torch until I can get the dagger. I think Rewinds may be the only way for me to play the G'nG games.

The rewind feature will be great for helping players that truly do wish to improve or perform perfect runs on some of these old games. 

COMPETITION

We have be encouraged to keep our distance from others during this ongoing pandemic but that certainly isn't gonna deter the competitive spirit. There's no online co-op play but you can compete players around the world for high scores and game completion times. The game is only a little over week old and already people have some pretty insane scores and times. I don't plan on cracking the top 30 anytime soon but this is a very welcome feature, nonetheless. 

There are also limited time challenges such as competing for a high score in a set amount of time or seeing how fast you can finish a game. Bear in mind that when taking on these particular challenges some features like Rewind are disabled. Level playing field and all that.

ARTWORK

The game doesn't have a physical release but I gotta gush a bit about the absolutely adorable artwork on Capcom Arcade Stadium. Tons of Capcom characters, both heroes and villains having a good time. Well, mostly everyone. There's lots of little details sprinkled throughout the above image. I didn't know until I was working post that Arthur was about to face off against a dragon that stole his burger. Poor guy can't even relax for a second. Perhaps that Red Armer on the left stole someone's pizza? Next to Arthur is the protagonist of COMMANDO, who either doesn't know how to play the game he's in front of, or he's had enough and decided to deal with the game how he deals with enemy soldiers. Cammy is a tad concerned. 

THEME SONGS

I gotta say, I'm impressed with the amount of effort Capcom has thrown into Capcom Arcade Stadium. The collection itself is super swanky and Cacpom had two theme songs ready to promote the game's launch. No doubt you've heard Brand New Day, the auto tune song that plays at the title screen. The jam everyone is talking about, however, has gotta be Teenage Blues, the track that plays during the Capcom Arcade Stadium's credits roll. This song sounds like it came right out of the '80s and for a brief time, I thought it did. I thought it was an old song Capcom used to go along with the game's YouTube video for launch day but it turns out the song is present day music, intentionally made to evoke rock from the decades gone by. The track is even up on Spotify, which is great since YouTube is taking forever to Auto-Generate the thing. Capcom could have just released the game with little to no fanfair but you can tell some serious TLC went into this. Teenage Blues is a bop. 

The Capcom Situation

It's no secret that Capcom is no longer the company they used to be. I wouldn't say Capcom is the worst developer/publisher in the industry. That's going way too far, but they've certainly been at higher points. There are three things about Capcom that has been bugging for me a while now and with this editorial, I aim to get it all out in the open.

Frequently Updated Fighters

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was one of the greatest things to happen to the fighting genre and gaming. That game was so influential that other fighting games are still borrowing heavily from it, including Capcom's own fighters. And yet, as great as it was, there was still more to be done with the winning formula. Enter Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers and so on. Apparently Capcom saw a lot of room for improvement because in the early 1990s alone, there were no less than five versions of Street Fighter II.

Now I love Street Fighter II and have really gotten a lot out of the tweaked sequels that followed. But even in my early teens I started to think it was overkill to have so many updates to a single game. I'm guessing a lot of fans thought the same thing because for all of Super Street Fighter II: The New Challenger's new features like four new characters, character tweaks and such, it wasn't as financially successful  as much as the first three Street Fighter II entries were. This didn't stop Capcom from releasing one more update, which was Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, a game many call the best Street Fighter II title.

There have been a total of
seven different versions of Street Fighter II.

I do enjoy fighting games but even if fighting enthusiasts label me as a pretender, I'm just not into it as much as those in the competitive scene are. For competitive players, those that attend Evo and such, these updates are essential to staying on top of things, though it really does seem like milking, a practice that Capcom, arguably more than any other company is the most guilty of. In the late 1990s we saw a few versions of Street Fighter III, with 3rd Strike being the final entry in that series (until 2011's 3rd Strike Online Edition). It seemed as if Capcom had gotten all the updated sequels out of it's system but then Street Fighter IV came around. All of a sudden, gamers everywhere had caught Street Fighter fever all over again as if it were 1991. But history and my instincts told me that there would be an updated version of Street Fighter IV and sure enough, there was. Super Street Fighter IV hit the scene and added more characters, character tweaks and addressed balancing issues from the original game. Later still, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition followed, which added even more characters, more tweaks and a bevvy of alternate costumes and costume colors.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was announced
just months after the release of the
vanilla version. To say fans were "not happy"
would be an understatement.

The updated sequel practice was unfortunately carried over to Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The game was released in all regions in early February of 2011. It was great to see Capcom have the Marvel license once again and have more cross over matches. Then in late July, Capcom announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which released in November of 2011. Players that picked up Marvel vs. Capcom 3 only to find out it would be obsolete by the Ultimate version were furious. Even fans from the fighting community were peeved.

Now if it weren't for such an irritating practice, we would never have gotten Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, the most balanced Street Fighter title and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, the best in the Street Fighter III series, so the good points that can come from it aren't entirely lost to the gamers. However, this isn't the 90's anymore. Capcom's habit of releasing updated sequels so close to each other was annoying back then and it's annoying now. If Capcom releases a new fighting game, you may as well wait for the good version to come along to save yourself some money. The only version of Street Fighter IV I own is Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition and this was largely due to the fact that I bought it at Best Buy brand new for $9.99. It contains all of the gameplay modes from Super Street Fighter IV, all 35 figthers through the Street Fighter IV series and each and every alternate costume and costume color.

DLC

That's short for downloadable content for all three of you that weren't aware. DLC has become a big thing in the HD gaming era as it's a good way for publishers to bring in some extra cash on games that the consumer has already purchased. Of course the definition of "good" varies depending on what the contents of specific DLC involves and how the publisher goes about distributing it.

To my knowledge Mega Man 9 was the first game in the Mega Man series to use DLC. Among the DLC available was Proto Man, Endless Attack, Special Stage, Hero Mode and Super Hero Mode. Proto Man felt like a tacked on extra since he had no involvement in the game's story and he couldn't use the shop. He also took double damage and suffered from even more knock back when hit than Mega Man, making the game even harder. Endless Attack was a great new addition to the series, testing the player to see how many screens they can advance on a single life. Special Stage was was a new level for Time Attack with Fake Man waiting for the player at the end. The DLC that I purchased from Mega Man 9 was Endless Attack and at 300 Wii points ($3) it was sort of a tough pillow to swallow but Endless Attack was a fine addition to the Classic Mega Man series. Hero Mode and Super Hero Mode were essentially harder difficulty settings and paying to make the game even tougher was something I had no intention of going through with. Overall, I found MM9's DLC to be something of a mixed bag.

Mega Man 10 offers good, cheap DLC.

When the DLC for Mega Man 10 was announced, my eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree. For $2, players could play through the whole game as Bass (Proto Man was in the game from the start) and he was included in the game's story and had shop access. Bass makes the game easy, but he's so much fun to play as that I didn't mind forking over $2 to use him. The three Special Stages included all three Mega Man Killers from the Game Boy Mega Man titles with levels resembling levels from the games they came from. Not only that, after defeating them, you got to keep their weapons forever, even after starting a new game! All of Mega Man 10's DLC was only $5 compared to 9's $8 asking price and all of it was totally worth it.

Want the entire cast of Street Fighter X Tekken
on the console? That'll be $20.

Capcom's biggest example of greed on DLC came from 2012's Street Fighter X Tekken. 12 characters were already on the game disc but were locked out via DLC code. Capcom's excuse for this? To further extend replayability of the game and to avoid releasing an Ultimate version of the game like they did with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. I can commend Capcom for trying to avoid the frequently updated fighter practice, but the way they went about doing it was terrible. All 12 DLC characters cost $20 total, making them some of the most costly DLC to come from Capcom. This DLC tactic infuriated fans so much that many refused to purchase the game out of spite, which greatly impacted the game's sales. Sure it may not have done too shabby, but Capcom wasn't pleased with the sales they did see. They blamed it on the fighting game market being flooded, when in reality, they shot themselves in the foot with their money grubbing DLC. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was another fighting game to be released in 2012. Six additional fighters were DLC. Not as much as Street Fighter X Tekken's 12, but the price for these characters was a lot cheaper. And how much did Namco Bandai ask gamers to pay? Zip. Zero. Zilch. Nada. That's right, for the price of nothing, you could add six more fighters to the already large character roster of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Free DLC? Yes, it does exist in some games.

Handling Mega Man

Oh, boy, here we go. I'm not on the "Capcom hates Mega Man" train that a lot of Mega Man fans are on, but I still thought it was worth mentioning the Blue Bomber in this editorial for a number of reasons.

With the retro releases of Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10, Mega Man fever was back in full swing, but it didn't end there. The online Mega Man Universe was set to bring together Mega Man fans all over the globe, and It seemed like Mega Man Volnutt was finally going to get off that Moon that he had been stuck on since Mega Man Legends 2 concluded so many years ago when Mega Man Legends 3 was announced on the 3DS. Then, tragedy happened. Both Mega Man Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe were canned within the same year. The axing of these two Mega Man titles is why the Mega Man fanbase has been in such an uproar and what has led many of them to (foolishly) believe that Capcom hates Mega Man. I was just as annoyed as the rest of my fellow Blue Bomber fans when these games were cancelled but I got over it. Cancelled games are sadly, an unfortunate nature of this business. But as time passed and no new Mega Man titles were announced, the disdain fans had toward's Capcom's handling of Mega Man only grew worse. Just hit any Mega Man related forum and it won't take long to find threads with fans express their loathing of Capcom and their treatment of Mega Man.

But all is not lost. On the start of Mega Man's 25th anniversary celebration, Capcom released the fan made Street Fighter X Mega Man as a free PC download. And wouldn't you know, you could still hear some whining fans. For some, since the game didn't come from Capcom's own hands, it didn't count. Since when are fan games bad? Sure, Street Fighter X Mega Man isn't perfect, but it's a fun, free game that still feels like a Classic Mega Man title. And if you want to get technical about it, I guess Mega Man 9 and 10 shouldn't count either since Capcom only published those games, not developed them. 9 and 10 were made by Inti Creates (the developers of the Mega Man Zero series) with Keiji Inafune working closely with the developer. Those games weren't any less worthy of being deemed Mega Man adventures just because Capcom didn't create them.

It may have come from a fan, but Street
Fighter X Mega Man was still a fun
cross over.

One thing that really puzzles me is that Capcom seems to think that there isn't a strong enough desire for Mega Man games. Why on Earth would the company think this? Mega Man has earned Capcom a huge sum of change, so I honestly can't fathom why they would think the demand for Mega Man games isn't large. When Street Fighter X Mega Man became available as a download on Capcom Unity, so many downloads were taking place at once that it crashed the server, slowing downloads of a 33 MB file to a crawl. That right there is very telling of fan's desire for Mega Man games.

There's another misconception that exists regarding Mega Man, but this one exists in the ranks of the fans. Without Keiji Inafune, a good deal of fans believe that there can't be any Mega Man games. I honestly think Mega Man can do just fine without Infaune. Why? Mega Man X8 restored the X series to glory after the abysmal X6 and X7 and Inafune had nothing to do with that game, only receiving special thanks in the end credits. Inafune didn't even create Mega Man like a lot of people think he did. Mega Man was actually created by his mentor Akira Kitamura, with Classic Mega Man's design already being finished by the time Infaune joined the Mega Man team. While Inafune has had a great deal of involvement in many Mega Man games, he gets a lot of credit that isn't really all of his to take. It reminds of the Shigeru Myamoto's status at Nintendo. For year's the man has been in a supervisor role but many fans still credit him behind so many Mario titles. He oversees a lot of projects with Mario in them, but he certainly isn't the man behind every Mario platformer or every Zelda game for that matter. Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai hasn't been involved with a Kirby game since 2003's Kirby Air Ride. We've had tons of worth while Kirby games since he left HAL and formed Sora and he even gave HAL his blessing, stating his desire for the company to continue on with Kirby games. Even before Sakurai left there were a number of Kirby games he had nothing to do with that turned out fine. So I don't buy the whole "Mega Man can't survive without Inafune" argument.

One thing is clear about Capcom concerning Mega Man and it's that the current brass in charge doesn't have a clue on how to go about making a Mega Man game. If they did, we'd probably see more than just Street Fighter X Mega Man by now. I'd say their best bet is to get Inti Creates to make another Mega Man game. It can be a Classic or X game, I don't care which. Or they could get a sequel to Street Fighter X Mega Man going. I'd love to go at it with a different set of World Warriors.

------------------------------

You know, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the offices of Capcom. It'd be great to know how they plan to go about DLC in the future, their plans for Mega Man games and if they intend to keep updating their fighting games with a newer version. But I'm only human so like the rest of you, I have to be on the outside looking in to see how things play out. I don't hate Capcom but I'd really love to see them go back to being the outstanding company that I know they can be.

Favorite Tunes #41: Give Capcom Some Love Edition

"Crapcom!"
"Capcom sucks!"
"Capcom killed Mega Man!"

Yeah, Capcom is far from being anyone's favorite video game company these days, but you'll have to forgive me if I don't feel like wanting to constantly spew bile on them. I'm certainly not oblivious to Capcom's fowl-ups but at the same time, I don't want to be overly negative either. There's far too much of that in this industry as it is. Instead, I want to present Capcom in a better light so Favorite Tunes #41 is nothing but music from Capcom games.

Another Joe - Viewtiful Joe (GCN, PS2)

Developed by the now defunct Clover Studios, Viewtiful Joe was a wonderfully fresh take on the beat 'em up genre. The title character was clearly designed with super sentai characteristics in mind with that helmet and costume. Viewtiful Joe could speed up or slow down time to chain together devastating combos on his enemies. The game was also very old-school in it's design. You could only save once every few levels, and Viewtiful Joe was no cakewalk. This made an already difficult game even more frustrating. Even so, Viewtiful Joe is well worth tracking down if you've never played it. Another Joe is probably one of the most headache inducing evil clone fights I've ever come across in a video game. It took me so many attempts to beat him, which is probably why his theme got stuck in my head, which I must admit is pretty awesome.

In Front of Pacific High School's Gate - Rival Schools (ARC, PS)

For some reason, kids have a beef with other schools so they do what any high school students would do: duke it out. Thing is, not even the teachers or principals are stopping these fights. Heck, a couple of them are
slapping the rival students and teachers around as well. I really can't recall the plot behind Rival Schools so it's been so long since I've played it. One thing I can remember is that it was a great deal of fun. Apparently Sakura was getting into fights even when she wasn't chasing around Ryu because she's a playable character in this game.

Donovan Stage - Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (ARC ver.)

If you're looking for the original Super Puzzle Fighter, don't bother. It does not exist. Capcom figured slapping a II somewhere wouldn't cause any confusion. Yeah. Anyway, this gem dropping game pits characters from the Street Fighter and DarkStalkers games and has them duke it out via puzzle battles. The GBA version is the only one I've played and unlocking bonus content like alternate color costumes and music was brutally hard thanks to the AI that makes zero errors and moves at lightning speed. This particular version of Donovan's theme that you'e hearing comes from the arcade version's soundtrack.

Metro City Subway - Final Fight (ARC ver.)

When Mayor Mike Haggar's daughter, Jessica gets kidnapped, he doesn't go to the police. No, this former pro wrestler takes to the streets and pounds the crap out of each member of the Mad Gear gang to get her back. He even brought along his friends Guy and Cody, the later of which happens to be the boyfriend of Jessica. Final Fight was ported to just about every system imaginable and while I greatly enjoy Final Fight One on the GBA, the arcade version is still tops in my book. The arcade version's music of Final Fight may sound a bit loud and very drum heavy, but I quite like it.

Precious Heart (Sakura) - Street Fighter EX plus Alpha (PS)

Ah, Sakura. Young, spunky and most likely to rush off into trouble without thinking (see her ending in Street Fighter Alpha 3 for a good example). Sakura entered the Street Fighter world in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and has since been one of the franchise's most popular characters. While she was given an iconic theme in Alpha 2, one that has since been arranged a dozen times, she has another theme, one that some might say is even better. One of the things I really love about the EX series was it's willingness to do original music and give classic characters brand new themes. Sakura was certainly no exception, filled with sweet electrical guitar whales and some of the best sax solos I've ever heard. I know the EX series gets a bad rap but the music is AWESOME. Hit YouTube and listen to Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha's soundtrack. All of it. You'll thank me later.

Battle at the Castle Fort - Knights of the Round (ARC ver.)

Capcom didn't just make great fighters. They pumped out equally amazing beat 'em ups. One among the many greats was 1991's Knights of the Round. In this mid evil beat down, up to three players could hack and slash their way through seven stages as Arthur, Lancelot, and Perceval. Knights of the Round also had some RPG elements as players could level up their characters. Their character weapons and armor even changed as they grew stronger. It wasn't super deep or customizable since you had no control over what was upgrade, but it was still a cool feature.

Fire Grotto (Stage 3) - The Magical Quest Staring Mickey Mouse (SNES) 

Between the NES, Genesis and SNES, Disney games were some of the better licensed properties back in the day. Castle of Illusion and World of Illusion usually get all the glory when it comes to games about the Mouse, but The Magical Quest is also a worth Mickey adventure. Pluto has been kidnapped and Mickey must rely on the abilities of his various costumes to make it through the game's six stages. Mickey's wardrobe consists of a wizard outfit for magic, a firefighter's suit for putting out flames (extremely useful for the third level) and mountain climbing gear. The music of Magical Quest sounds a lot like the audio found in Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts and I guess that's to be expected since the games shared the same composer, Mari Yamaguchi.

Area 1 - Bionic Commando (NES)

Imagine this: you're thrust into a world swarming with enemies at every turn. Sometimes you have to ascend to new heights. Other times you'll have to descend into the depths below. And you cannot jump, no matter how badly you may want to, your legs lack this simple function. When I was told I could not jump in Bionic Commando I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Most action games have your character jump. I mean, it's essential to evading attacks and reaching higher platforms. Yet somehow, Bionic Commando wound up being one of the most memorable action titles in spite of the fact that the protagonist cannot perform a single leap. Super Joe's grappling gun allows him to get around just as well without relying on one of the most common moves that we often take for granted. In addition to it's militaristic soundtrack, Bionic Commando was one of the few NES games to have cursing and from Hilter, no less.

Rising Sun - Okami (PS2, Wii)

First released on the PS2 in 2006 Okami won over critics and gamers alike with it's breath-taking visuals, engaging story and memorable characters. In spite of it's accolades, Okami was an overlooked game for quite some time. 2008 saw the release of the Wii version which added motion controls to enhance the gameplay. In late 2012, an HD version of Okami was released on the PS3's PSN, giving Okami even further exposure. I've yet to get around to playing my copy of the Wii version but I absolutely adore Okami's art style and Japanese-inspired soundtrack.

Blazing Internet (Fire Man Stage) - Mega Man Network Transmission (GCN)

Unlike most games in the Battle Network series, Mega Man Network Transmission did away with the overhead view and random battles in favor of classic 2D Mega Man action. The game sported a cel-shaded look and a difficulty that would humble even the most experienced of Mega Man vets. The soundtrack was composed by Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso, and Yousuke Yasui. You can hear some of the original Fire Man's theme mixed into Blazing Internet.

Favorite Tunes #33: Boss Themes

Sometimes in the world of gaming, you get a boss that looks tough, but turns out to be a huge letdown. But it's not always so bad, especially when you have an excellent theme to go with the battle. It's even better when the boss keeps you on your toes. Enjoy some of my favorite boss themes.

Vs. Marx - Kirby Super Star (SNES, DS)

By Blopa1987

The first time we lay eyes on Marx, a cute little jester-like being resembling a Goomba, he fills us in on the story of the final unlockable game in Kirby Super Star, Milky Way Wishes. The sun and the moon of Pop Star are fighting. In order to make them stop, Kirby must collect power from the Dream Springs of nearby planets in order to summon Nova, who can grant any wish. The wish was to make the sun and moon stop fighting but just as Kirby is about to make the wish, Marx pushes him out of the way and instead wishes for complete control of Pop Star. Marx was playing Kirby from the very start. He got the sun and moon to fight and he got Kirby to do his dirty work for him. Once Marx gets his wish, he transforms into a hideous bat-like creature with a creepy laugh. Marx is famous among Kirby fans for being the manipulator that he is and for his battle them. Years later, Magolor would pull Kirby's strings in the same manner that Marx did in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

The Evil Lord Exdeath - Final Fantasy V (SNES, PS, GBA)

Exdeath isn't as developed a villain as other in the series, but I still like him anyway. I mean, how many mages in the Final Fantasy series are wearing armor and fight as if they were knights? Whenever he shows up, he slaps the party members around just fort he fun of it. This isn't Exdeath's battle theme, but his standard theme that plays whenever he appears on the scene. When you hear the first few notes of this theme, you know something bad is going down.

Ultimate Koopa - Super Mario 64 (N64, DS)

Bowser was quite the pushover the first two times you fought him. But for round three, the kid gloves come off. It isn't as easy to to grab Bowser by the tail as it was before, and when you do manage to throw him into the bombs twice, the battle arena reshapes itself into the form of a star, which makes landing that third and final hit much more difficult. I personally feel this is one of the best final battles in the Super Mario series, if not the best. I wasn't expecting a organ to be blaring during the fight, but it made for a great grand finale fight piece.

Theme of Seven Force - Gunstar Heroes (GEN)

Under any list of awesome video game bosses, Seven Force is generally always somewhere on that list. Piloted by Green, former member of the Gunstars, the mech known as Seven Force can transform into seven different forms such as a phoenix or a pistol. If you're playing on the Expert difficulty, you'll face all seven of Seven Forces deadly transformations. So great is Seven Force's popularity, that he's been used and referenced in other Treasure games like Alien Soldier and Astro Boy: Omega Factor. His boss theme ain't too shabby, either.

Doomsday Zone - Sonic 3 & Knuckles (GEN)

Get all the Chaos Emeralds (just the Chaos Emeralds. Super Emeralds aren't required) and you'll get to play the final zone of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the Doomsday Zone. In what is one of the most memorable boss battles of the entire Sonic series, Super Sonic flies through space in pursuit of Dr. Robotnik who has the Master Emerald, the source that keeps Knuckle's home, Angle Island afloat. You have to maneuver Super Sonic so the missiles Robotnik shoots at him hits the cockpit of Robotnik's flying mecha. You also need to collect enough rings to keep Sonic's Super form active so he doesn't die. As cool as this final battle was, it was responsible for setting a standard that would continue in later Sonic games where Super Sonic could only be playable during true final boss battles, much to fan's annoyance. Though with Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors, this trend seems to have come to an end.

Yell Dead Cell - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2, XB)

Casting aside Solid Snake in favor of newbie Raiden was a bold move, one that fans still whine about to this day. I personally had no qualms with Hideo Kojima's decision to place Snake in the mentor role and Metal Gear Solid 2 is actually my favorite Metal Gear game. It's the only one I've beaten on every difficulty setting and gotten every dog tag. The members of Dead Cell were even more screwed up the the Fox Hound crew from the first Metal Gear Solid, but they had a much better battle theme, which was reused as one of the tracks to be played on the Shadow Moses battle arena in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Boss B - Star Fox 64 (N64)

Fox McCloud and his crew spoke in incomprehensible gibberish in the original Star Fox on the SNES. When Star Fox 64 rolled around, you could clearly hear every word that was said without having to look at the text to understand them. The gameplay was also a lot smoother and the auto targeting system worked liked a charm. Of all the boss themes in Star Fox 64, Boss B sounds the most intense. The way the drums are pounding like crazy, it makes you feel like you're in for the fight of your life. Star Fox 64 received a visually updated port on the 3DS with arranged music, and it's not too shabby but I still prefer the original score.


The lord God - Capcom vs. SNK 2 (ARC, PS2, XB)

Capcom may not be the company that it used to be, but I can look back on their past efforts and smile. Capcom vs. SNK 2 is one of my favorite games in Capcom's crossover series, bringing together even more characters from both company's sizable roster. This intimidating piece of music plays on the final boss, Ultimate Rugal. Rugal has always been a force to be reckoned with, but in this game, it was taken up to eleven.

My Name is Songi - Legend of Legaia (PS)

While waiting for the release of Final Fantasy VIII, I picked up Legend of Legaia in early 1999. I greatly enjoyed the combat system of fighting with martial arts as opposed to the usual swords and such that a great deal of RPGs use. One of the three playable characters, Gal, had a rival in Songi, who has one of the most incredible boss themes I've ever heard. There's quite a build up before it gets to the main chorus, but that build is almost as awesome as the main chorus. The soundtrack version of this theme is sadly, not looped so this is one of those rare instances, where I'll link an extended version.

Wily Battle - Mega Man IV (GB)

What would you say if I told you that the best Mega Man Classic battle theme lies not in the console versions but one of Game Boy games? Don't believe me? You probably haven't heard this theme then. Despite using bosses from the console games and some shrunk down versions of those robot master stage themes, there was some original music and it gave the console versions a run for their money, Wily Battle being one of those themes. Fans certainly have taking a liking to this song as it's been used in a number of Mega Man ROM hacks. I'm hoping the rest of the Mega Man Game Boy titles make it to the 3DS eShop.

Marvel vs. Capcom Origins Tribute Art

Releasing on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in September, Marvel vs. Capcom Origins collects two of Capcom's hottest fighters from the 1990s era, Marvel Super Heroes and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. The games will feature online play and achievements among other things. To further hype you for the release of this digital compilation, Marvel has released two tribute pieces. The first one done by Ron Lim is a homage to cover of Marvel's classic Infinite Gauntlet #1. The Second, done by Shinkiro is a tribute to the American box art of Mega Man 2. Pretty awesome stuff, huh?

Capcom Blames "cannibalism" for Street Fighter X Tekken Sales

The console version of Street Fighter X Tekken released in early March of 2012 in America, Europe and Japan and thus far has generated worldwide sales of 1.4 million. That number be worse, considering a little over two months have passed since the game's release, but it could be a lot better.

"Sales of Street Fighter X Tekken have fallen short of our plan," the company's statement confirmed. "We believe one of [the] causes is cannibalism because of the large number of other games in this genre that were launched within a short time."

SoulCalibur V, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend, King of Fighters XIII, a lot of fighting games released over the past year. But I believe the reason for Street Fighter X Tekken performing under Capcom's expectations may have something to do with the company's business practices. After the numerous versions of Street Fighter IV and the updated version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which was released the same year as the original game, how can one blame fans for being weary on the Capcom front? And I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but the shady on-disc DLC is probably the biggest reason for Street Fighter X Tekken not selling as fast as Capcom would like. Screwing over your consumer base like that is justifiable cause not to buy your product. Really, Capcom, blaming cannibalism for poor performance? I guess that's easier to do than just admitting that you made a mistake.

Capcom to Revise On-Disc DLC Distribution

You'll still have to pay for the 12 extra
fighters in Street Fighter X Tekken.

Gamers have made it no small secret that they were not happy with the way Capcom went about avoiding a Super/Ultimate edition of Street Fighter X Tekken. Rather than release a new version of the game, the company opted to lock 12 characters on the disc for purchase at a later date and sell them as downloadable content.

Capcom senior VP Christian Svensson had this to say on the matter.

"We would like to assure you that we have been listening to your comments and as such have begun the process of re-evaluating how such additional game content is delivered in the future. As this process has only just commenced in the past month or so, there will be some titles, where development began some time ago and that are scheduled for release in the coming months, for which we are unable to make changes to the way some of their post-release content is delivered."

So the actually re-evaluation won't take affect until sometime later. Some games such as Dragon's Dogma will be released with on-disc DLC.

Even so, I still wouldn't get my hopes up. Bear in mind that Capcom isn't saying that they are doing away with on-disc DLC, just changing the way they go about releasing it. And even the statement provided doesn't give us a straight answer on how that will be done. We'll just have to wait and see.

Source: GameSpot

Game Art #35: Capcom Gallery

Going by another name among disgruntled fans these days, Capcom has become a company that gamers love to hate and not without good reasons. Capcom gave the axe to two Mega Man titles and everyone is pretty much aware of the Street Fighter X Tekken fiasco at this point. I have no clue what's going on inside the offices of Capcom but I know that some of my favorite characters and franchises stem from this company. Sakura, Guy, Mega Man, Phoenix Wright, and countless others all contribute to what has for years been my favorite hobby. Enjoy.

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