Fighting Force Collection [REVIEW] – A Clunky but Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane

There is a really fun piece of video game history attached to Fighting Force that I always love: before it became the game we know today, the folks at Core Design actually pitched this title to SEGA as a 3D Streets of Rage. SEGA passed on the idea,so Core took their ball, renamed it, and released it on the PlayStation instead. That backstory sets the stage perfectly for the Fighting Force Collection, brought to us by Limited Run Games. It’s a fascinating time capsule of that transition from 2D sprites to 3D polygons that had a lot of mixed success, but for me? It’s pure childhood fuel.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Back in the day, my brother and I put a TON of hours into Fighting Force (most of which was spent arguing over who got to play as Hawk and who was stuck Smasher). Of course, beating up baddies, smashing up the environment, and throwing enemies through windows was just as fun, and booting up this collection, that wave of nostalgia hit me hard. Does it hold up, though? Well… sort of.

I have to be honest, the rose-tinted glasses came off pretty quickly regarding the game’s speed and feel. It is definitely much clunkier than I remember, the movement feels a bit tank-like, and the punches land with a heavy thud rather than the snap seen in other releases in the genre. But once you adjust to this slower rhythm, it’s still genuinely a lot of fun.

However, I need to pause here and address my own bias, because I think it’s important for a fair review. My old-school love for this game is DEFINITELY doing some heavy lifting, and if I were coming into Fighting Force fresh today without the memories of 1997, I don’t think my opinion would be quite the same. The reality is that it plays fine, but there are objectively much better beat ’em ups out there today (and honestly, better PlayStation games to revisit if you just want retro flair). It can be repetitive, and as mentioned, a little slow and clunky. But for me? I’ll always have a bit of love for it, warts and all.

“Fighting Force Collection is a love letter to a specific slice of gaming history, and while the gameplay is undeniably dated and might struggle to win over a modern audience without those rose-tinted glasses, the nostalgia factor here is certainly strong.“

One area where the collection does stumble is with the multiplayer connectivity. For a game that is defined by its co-op experience, the lack of online play is a little disappointing. To make matters stickier, it doesn’t seem to support Steam Remote Play right out of the gate either – I was scratching my head at that one, especially since it seemed like a no-brainer. After digging through the Steam discussion pages, it looks like the developers are aware of this and it might be coming in a future update, but there’s no guarantee of that just yet.

However, because I couldn’t just invite my brother to a digital lobby, I had to do it the old-school way: I invited him over to my house instead. We sat on the couch and played through it just like we were kids again, and in a way, the lack of online play forced us into the authentic 90s experience. It brought back good memories that a Discord call just wouldn’t have replicated, but sadly… he still got to play as Hawk.

Of course, there is an elephant in the room in this collection: Fighting Force 2. I remember being absolutely baffled by this sequel when I was younger, and whilst I wanted more street brawling, I instead got a game that was trying to be more like Syphon Filter (another classic series due a revival, by the way). I didn’t like it, but returning to it now as an adult, I have a newfound appreciation for it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a particularly great game or anything, but I can see what they were trying to achieve. Now that I’m not an angry kid just wanting more Streets of Rage-like action in 3D, I think it’s actually alright… I reckon I’ll finally play it through to completion this time around.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Visually, the collection is a treat if you love that era. I absolutely adore chunky PlayStation-style visuals, with the vibrant textures and blocky character models have a specific charm that feels like it has aged into an aesthetic choice rather than a limitation. The increased resolution here makes everything look crisp without losing that retro grit too. Sure, it’s not a total graphical reinvention, but it looks nice in its own little way.

As for the package itself, the extras are limited to a gallery, which is underwhelming. However, it does come with the standard Limited Run Games features like save states and a rewind function, and given that Fighting Force has its tough moments, it makes the experience much more forgiving.

Developer: Implicit Conversions, Core Design
Publisher: Limited Run Games
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3504580/Fighting_Force_Collection/