Gaming

Capcom Home Arcade review: Premium retro gaming comes at a price


The Japanese video game giant forever changed – and essentially defined – the arcade gaming experience with the release of Street Fighter 2 back in 1991. The impact Street Fighter 2 had cannot be understated, with the fighting game becoming the biggest draw at any arcade as it turned into a pop culture icon. It helped spark a renaissance in arcade gaming, and saw a slew of imitators follow in its suit that tried to capture even a small part of its success.

The impact Street Fighter 2 had meant in the years that followed whenever a new Capcom cabinet arrived at an arcade it always had a certain shine to it.

Arcades in the 90s were a special place to be, but as the years have gone on arcades in the UK have become fewer and farther between.

If you’re looking to recapture a bit about what made arcade gaming so great then Capcom has just the ticket for you.

The newly released Capcom Home Arcade brings the glory days of 90s arcade gaming back into your living room.

Following on from the success of the SNES Classic Mini and Mega Drive Mini, the Capcom offering is a premium retro gaming machine for arcade aficionados.

When you first take the Capcom Home Arcade out of the box there are a few things that will strike you immediately.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – Premium retro gaming comes at a price (Image: CAPCOM • KOCH MEDIA)

Firstly, its size – this thing is huge, measuring over two foot in length and over a half foot wide.

The reason for these big dimensions is that the Capcom Home Arcade is built for two player gaming straight out of the box.

It features two sets of sticks and buttons lined up next to one another.

This means when you go toe-to-toe in a fighting game on the Capcom Home Arcade you’ll be sitting right next to your opponent.

Which is just like you’d have done in a real arcade.

The other striking thing about the Capcom Home Arcade is its design, as it’s shaped just like the Capcom logo.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – Premium retro gaming comes at a price (Image: CAPCOM • KOCH MEDIA)

While this may not be to some gamers’ taste, everyone can surely agree that there’s nothing out there that looks quite like it.

The Capcom Home Arcade, which has been manufactured by Koch Media, has been built using the highest quality parts.

Sanwa sticks and buttons have been used for the Capcom system, with this Japanese firm widely seen as the gold standard for creating arcade parts.

The stick used in the Capcom Home Arcade is very precise while the buttons have a nice clicky feel to them and look extremely durable.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – The Capcom Home Arcade has 16 games installed on it (Image: CAPCOM)

No expense has been spared utilising parts to add that extra bit of arcade authenticity to the Capcom system.

But the marker of success for these retro systems is often defined by the number and quality of games included.

So how does the Capcom Home Arcade measure up on that front?

Straight out of the box 16 CPS1 and CPS2 arcade classics are pre-installed on the Capcom Home Arcade.

You’ll get staple games that have featured on other compilations such as Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting, Final Fight and Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts.

But you’ll also get brilliant titles which don’t tend to appear on other retro collections like Darkstalkers, Gigawing and 1944.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – Alien vs Predator has never before been released on home formats (Image: CAPCOM)

The Capcom Home Arcade also includes two games that have never before been released on home formats – Progear and Alien vs Predator.

The latter is a brilliant Final Fight-style beat-em-up which – due to its until now arcade-only release – is a real hidden gem of the 90s gaming scene.

All of these CPS emulated titles run smoothly with no noticeable lag and boast crisp visuals that are output in HD.

If you want, you can share high scores you register in these games with other Capcom Home Arcade owners by hooking your system up to the internet.

It adds a modern take on a big part of the arcade experience – trying to beat your high score and post the highest score around.

There is plenty to love about the Capcom Home Arcade, but there are a number of drawbacks.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – Progear hasn’t been released on home formats until now (Image: CAPCOM)

Firstly, if you’re in the middle of a game and you want to play something else you can’t immediately go back to the game selection screen.

Instead, the option presented to you quits the game you’re playing and brings you back to the boot-up screen with the Koch Media logo.

This is a minor inconvenience, as it adds a bit of a wait before you can choose another game to play.

The second is the games list – for some, the 16 games included will be more than enough and make it worth the price of admission.

Especially when you consider some of these games have never been released on home formats before.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – Darkstalkers is a great game that Street Fighter fans will love (Image: CAPCOM)

For others, they might be expecting considerably more games after paying the around £200 price point for the Capcom Home Arcade.

Considering the device can be connected to the internet, hopefully more games can be added in future with patches or a downloadable store.

But this remains to be seen with it yet unconfirmed if more games will get added.

The Capcom Home Arcade is a niche package, but if you grew up spending all your pocket money in your local arcade then you’ll find plenty to love.

Capcom Home Arcade

Capcom Home Arcade review – Final Fight is a classic Capcom beat em up (Image: CAPCOM)

The price tag of around £200 may seem steep, but an arcade stick of this calibre without any games would cost a similar amount.

And when you consider the prices of other retro consoles (such as the Neo Geo Mini launching at £130) it may help to put the Capcom price in perspective.

The Capcom Home Arcade is a premium retro gaming machine that comes at a price.

But with that price comes a quality you won’t find in many other retro consoles.

VERDICT: 4/5



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