Fighting Force Collection Review: 2 Beat ‘Em Ups Return

Fresh off of launching the legendary Tomb Raider franchise a year before, developer Core Design followed up its action-adventure game with an attempt to revitalize the beat ’em up genre, which was a staple of arcades and 2D consoles. The result was 1997’s Fighting Force, which took full advantage of 3D to provide some thrilling action sequences. Just two years later, the studio took more of a Tomb Raider-esque approach to its sequel, and now, over 25 years later, both games can be enjoyed on modern consoles with Implicit Conversions and Limited Run Games’ Fighting Force Collection.

The original Fighting Force was criticized at the time for not adding additional complexity to the beat ’em up genre, but I feel like that works to its advantage. It’s essentially a 3D Final Fight, taking just around 4 hours to complete. From picking up knives and guns, players work their way through various locations in an attempt to take down a criminal mastermind looking to end the world (set at the dawn of Y2K, no less). There are four characters to choose from (including the hulking Ben “Smasher” Jackson, who can throw car engines at foes), and you can play the game in full co-op if you’ve got a pal to play with you locally (no online play, sadly). As noted, it’s not very long, and it makes for a fun throwback playthrough as it can be done in one sitting.

Meanwhile, Fighting Force 2 is a solo adventure with Hawk Manson being the only returning character. It also feels much more like a traditional action-adventure game, as you have to find key cards to get around much-longer levels and take down an evil corporation. There’s a wider selection of weapons to use in the sequel, but it also gets bogged down in trying to be a more complex and thus slightly bloated game that lasts for around 7 hours. It’s a mixed bag, as there are as many improvements from the original as there are wrong takeaways.

Getting to see the changes between the two games is one of the most interesting aspects of the Fighting Force Collection. Gameplay and combat, in particular, are undoubtedly smoother in the sequel, but Core Design’s penchant for having the same button perform multiple tasks remains annoying. The controls also slightly differ between the two games, despite having similar functionality, so it would’ve been nice to have the ability to reassign buttons so you wouldn’t have to reacquaint yourself when jumping between the two. Ultimately, I dug the original game more, as the different characters and multiplayer made it a far more replayable and fun experience.

There are some quality-of-life changes and bonuses here. The best is that you can rewind your gameplay (which is particularly useful in Fighting Force 2, as fall damage can be quite annoying when the game’s tank controls aren’t fully cooperative), plus create up to four quick saves. There’s also some solid CRT filters and upscaling options (you can even emulate CRT curvature), which are nice to see. There are also over 30 pieces of art you can check out in a gallery, which range from concept art, a cool look at the first game’s map, and promotional 3D renders.

Fighting Force Collection Review: Final Verdict

While neither game is necessarily a classic of the beat ’em up genre, there’s plenty of nostalgia and charm to be had revisiting them in the Fighting Force Collection. The first game has aged particularly well and is worth playing through, especially if you have a friend to go through co-op play with. Featuring some nice quality-of-life tweaks and artwork, both fans of Core Design’s franchise and those curious about the two retro games will be happy they checked it out.

SCORE: 7.5/10

As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7.5 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.

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Disclosure: The publisher provided a digital PS5 copy for our Fighting Foce Collection review. Reviewed on version 1.000.009.

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