In the late ’80s and early ’90s, 2D beat-em-up games were all the rage. Three of the more notable ones I can remember include Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, and Final Fight. Sadly, the 2D beat-em-up genre started to die off once consoles were powerful enough to render 3D graphics.
While 3D beat-em-up games existed, none of them really stood out as much as the games I highlighted above. However, there was a franchise I do remember seeing in retail stores and that was the Fighting Force series.
The original release of Fighting Force came out for the PC and PSOne way back in 1997. I remember playing this game on a demo kiosk when I was eight years old, but I never got a chance to play the full game. That is, until 29 years later, thanks to the release of the Fighting Force Collection in 2026.
Fighting Force Collection is a modern port that comes with both Fighting Force and its sequel, Fighting Force 2. The game is out now for PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. We got a chance to play the game on the Switch 2.
Since this is a re-release of a game that is nearly 30 years old now, this port does come with some new features to make your experience less frustrating. First of all, the game has a rewind feature so you can redo any deaths you might have encountered during a fight with an enemy or enemies.
Probably one of the better new features is the ability for you to save the game at anytime. If you want to take a break or play the game until tomorrow, you can save and come back at the exact point you left off. You don’t have to wait until you reach a new level to save using a memory card like in 1997!
Visually, the game is still a 32-bit experience, so it has the janky and pixelated graphics from the PSOne era. However, the game has an upscaling feature that somewhat makes the visuals look a little smoother than ever before. Not to mention, you can even add CRT scanlines to mimic the look of an old-school TV.
Lastly, the game also includes a cool gallery on the main menu where you can view concept art, character artwork, and advertisements. The gallery gives me lots of memories as a kid because I remember seeing the game’s advertisements in magazines and posters back in 1997.
Speaking of the game itself, most people should start playing Fighting Force 1 first. The first game is really enjoyable because it can be enjoyed alone or with a friend. Despite the game having four characters, only two-player couch co-op is available. There’s no online co-op available, sadly.
As for the characters themselves, there’s a choice between two males and two females. The two males are called Hawk and Ben, while the two females are named Mace and Alana. The females are faster, but the males are a bit stronger. Ben, on the other hand, is huge, but he does more damage and can lift heavier objects.
What I like most about the gameplay is the nice variety of moves each character has. Every character has a basic punch combo, and many of them can also kick. Mace is my favourite because she even has a running dropkick that looks like something from WWE!
The only dumb thing I don’t like about the characters’ moves is their special moves. Special moves can deal a lot of damage to enemies, but it depletes your character’s life bar when you use them.
I remember my brother not knowing this, and he didn’t know why his health was so low all of the time. When I told him that special moves use up your health bar, my brother thought that this was a stupid gaming mechanic.
Aside from the characters’ own hands and feet, they can also attack using weapons that they can find. Weapons can be acquired on the ground after you beat up a specific enemy. Weapons like knives and baseball bats are helpful because they can damage annoying enemies who like to block all of the time.
The only type of weapons I did not like using in the game were guns. Pistols and shotguns are available to use, but they’re hard to aim using the game’s archaic gameplay mechanics. There’s no auto-aim or lock-on system, so shooting guns is clunky and annoying.
Fighting Force 2 is more of the same style of gameplay, but it is way worse than Fighting Force 1. This is because Hawk is the only playable character in the sequel, and it’s strictly a single-player game. I remember my brother being disappointed because he wasn’t able to join in due to this limitation.
While Fighting Force Collection can be fun in short bursts, the gameplay is really outdated and clunky when playing it in 2026. The tank controls suck, and the camera is absolutely horrible as well. The lack of a lock-on system also makes the combat annoying because aiming to fight enemies becomes a nightmare.
If you played these games in the ’90s, you might be able to forgive the game’s outdated visuals and horrible gameplay. However, newer gamers might want to stay away because the 2D beat-em-ups I listed earlier in this review are much more polished.
Verdict: 6.0/10
