Fighting Force Collection

As a remaster, Fighting Force Collection does exactly what it needs to do. Both games run well, look as good as possible, and are presented in a way that respects their original form. There are no game-breaking issues, no lazy emulation shortcuts, and no technical excuses. This is a competent, respectful revival. Where the first Fighting Force remains the clear highlight: still fun, still chaotic, and still best enjoyed with a second player on the couch. It’s proof that good core design can outlast technical limitations. The second game? It’s… fine. Functional. Interesting in a historical sense. But also a strong example of why some games are better remembered than replayed. And that’s okay. Not every classic needs to be reinvented, and not every sequel deserves the same reverence as its predecessor. The Fighting Force Collection succeeds because it lets you experience both and decide for yourself. So, what you get is a solid, enjoyable remaster anchored by a genuinely fun original game, slightly dragged down by a sequel that time hasn’t been kind to. Yes, it’s worth playing, worth remembering, just maybe not worth revisiting everything.

It's easy to see why it made such an impression back in '97—the choice of path, the differences between the characters, and the environmental destruction. It's a shame there had to be a sequel, which is dynamic but has aged very poorly. And let's be honest — nothing/little was done here. These are just two old games preying on nostalgia.

Fighting Force Collection resurrects two failed 3D experiments that have not aged gracefully, pairing clunky combat and awkward design with a bare minimum remaster effort from Limited Run Games. While the historical curiosity of a lost Streets of Rage 4 prototype may intrigue genre historians, weak emulation, poor presentation, and fundamentally sluggish gameplay make this a tough sell for anyone beyond preservation purists.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Fighting Force Collection didn't reinvent the wheel here, and I really wish it had. It's the same game. Take that for what it's worth.

What we have here is a bare bones remaster of Fighting Force and its crummy sequel, featuring only the most obligatory of modern conveniences. The paltry options menu, meager archive material, and total lack of border imagery demonstrates little of the love shown to other Limited Run releases. Fighting Force itself still has something to offer a very niche audience, but as a member of that audience I already have a version of Fighting Force, one with more options for fine tuning and without a $19.99 MSRP

Fighting Force Collection has the merit of bringing two games of the late 1990s in a way that’s as close to the original experience as possible. Unfortunately, there is little else going for it. If the first game can still provide some shallow but fun beat’em up action, the second game falls flat due to terrible camera and controls, featureless characters, and a failure at attempting to deliver a stealth action experience. Nostalgia has its value, but the Fighting Force games should rather have been remade instead of ported to this generation.

Is this collection worth it? The first game is still fun, but the sequel remains a bad game with little reason to revisit. €20 for two basic ports with minimal improvements is too much.