In 1997, Fighting Force, a 3D beat-’em-up game, was released for PlayStation and PC, published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Core Design. It was originally intended to be a new Streets of Rage game, but SEGA turned down the idea, so it became an original IP with its own characters, and even though it was rough around the edges, it was still well received thanks to its simple control scheme, beat-’em-up gameplay and up to two players for double the fun.

In 1999, the game was ported to Nintendo 64 and published by Crave Entertainment, and in the same month, the sequel, Fighting Force 2, was released on PlayStation and SEGA Dreamcast, but was critically panned for changing the genre to a single-player third-person shooter and for playing terribly. A third game was in development, but was cancelled after Core Design was shut down. Despite its drawbacks, the series still had potential, and the original game is considered a classic and a hidden gem.

In 2024, Fighting Force Collection was announced, a collaboration between Limited Run Games and new owners Square Enix, featuring both games and now hitting the streets on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4|5, and PC.

In Fighting Force, Hawk Manson, Mace Daniels, Alana McKendricks, and Ben “Smasher” Jackson have their own reasons for taking down Dr Dex Zeng, a criminal mastermind with an army at his command who predicted that the world would end in the year 2000. After New Year’s Eve 1999, Dr Zeng believed that there was an error preventing the apocalypse, so he decided to correct it by destroying the world himself.

In Fighting Force 2, set in the not-too-distant future, human cloning has become a reality but has been banned by an international treaty. The Knackmiche Corporation is suspected of researching cloning, and mercenary Hawk Manson is sent on a covert mission to investigate.

This collection includes both games and a gallery. Both games play just as well (or as badly) as they did on their original hardware. Improvements and updated control schemes for both games would’ve been nice, but the idea is to play them as they were back in the day. This evokes nostalgia for fans of the original games and is a great way for those unfamiliar with them to see how they played in the late 90s.

The first Fighting Force game can be played by one of two players, but playing with a friend is, of course, more fun for some couch co-op action. However, sadly, there is no online play, making it a missed opportunity.

Four characters are available: Hawk, Mace, Alana, and Smasher. Hawk and Mace are the all-rounders, Alana does lighter damage but makes up for it with her speed, and Smasher is the muscle of the team, dealing the most damage and can even lift and throw heavier objects.

The beat-’em-up gameplay works quite well, even with two players on screen. Each character can punch, kick, grapple, and pick up various weapons, such as pipes, clubs, pistols, shotguns, rocket launchers, dynamite, and more. The game can feel repetitive at times, but vastly different locations help make it feel refreshing. Players will be brawling their way through the streets, a shopping mall, a park, a subway, a moving train, an aircraft, a military base, and more. At certain points, players can choose the next destination, which all lead to the same final stage, but the branching paths provide replay value by showing all the different locations. There are cutscenes between stages, but no spoken dialogue. The premise is straightforward, and they still get the point across.

The sequel, Fighting Force 2, initially had fans excited, but the change from a multiplayer beat-’em-up to a single-player third-person shooter was an odd decision that didn’t pay off. The change was influenced by other third-person shooters at the time, like Metal Gear Solid and Syphon Filter, plus Eidos Interactive and Core Design were also known for the earlier Tomb Raider games, but couldn’t recreate that same success with Fighting Force 2.

Hawk Manson is the only returning and playable character, while Mace, Alana, and Smasher are nowhere to be seen. The controls are incredibly jank and inconsistent, and they will let you down many times throughout the game. Hawk has some of his fighting animations from the original game, and there are some melee weapons, but players will rely on firearms and explosives much more.

Common enemies aren’t the most difficult to take down, but actually hitting them is a whole other issue. The tank controls make it frustrating to turn around and face the enemies, and they’ll appear behind you quite a lot. There is also some basic puzzle-solving to reach the next room, which quickly becomes tedious. There are fully voiced cutscenes that aren’t groundbreaking but have some appeal for nostalgia’s sake.

The first game took place in various locations, providing plenty of variety, but the sequel is primarily set in industrial buildings and feels like you’re seeing the same thing over and over. The sequel is a huge departure from its predecessor, and from what was shown of the cancelled third game, it looked like it would go back to its roots and build on it, but, of course, it was sadly abandoned.

The first game can be completed in about 2 hours, and the second game will take about 5 to 7 hours if players can endure it that long.

The collection has some unique features for both games. A CRT filter is available with a few settings to recreate the feel of playing on a CRT television, but it can be turned off for a clearer picture. There is also an upscaler to smooth out textures on-screen, and with the CRT filter off, the game looks better than ever, even with the old graphics.

The game also includes a rewind feature to go back and try to correct your mistakes, which will come in handy more in the second game, as well as save states that let players save and continue from any moment in either game. Both games still have loading screens, but the load times are much faster and finish almost instantly on modern consoles.

The gallery features 36 images of various concept art with notes detailing the ideas behind character and stage designs. It’s interesting to see the development of the first game and what did or didn’t make it into the final product. Unfortunately, the second game isn’t featured in the gallery at all, and neither is the cancelled third game, which does have some gameplay footage available online.

It would’ve been interesting to learn more about them. Other compilations of classic games feature extensive behind-the-scenes images and videos, as well as interviews, commercials, promotional material, and rare footage. What the Fighting Force Collection gallery does have is still plenty to look through, but it feels very bare bones compared to other collections.

Limited Run Games has been doing a decent job (despite their many controversies) of bringing back classic games to modern consoles. Hopefully, their future classic game compilations won’t take more than a year from initial announcement to eventual release. The original Fighting Force is the far superior game of the two games, but having both included is a great way for fans to relive a hidden gem and a bad game if they wish, and for newcomers to experience two lesser-known titles from back in the day.

Fighting Force Collection may not be the most feature-rich compilation, but it brings back a long-forgotten franchise to modern consoles and some fond memories for longtime fans.

Written by: Sammy Hanson