Yes, I am long, long overdue with my review of this collection, one of many that showcases just what a powerhouse Capcom have always been when it comes to video games, and arcade gaming in particular.

If you’re a fan of side scrolling beat ’em ups, you’ll be very well served by this collection of 80s and 90s arcade classics. The iconic, incredibly influential Final Fight is here, in all its The Warriors/Streets of Fire-inspired glory, but so is the bonkers Captain Commando (in which one of the, let’s say unusual, playable characters is a baby piloting a mech), the excellent fantasy romp The King of Dragons, the medieval Knights of the Round, Chinese folklore-based Warriors of Fate (which inexplicably lost its Romance of the Three Kingdoms setting in its translation to English), giant mech title Armored Warriors and the brilliantly stylised, manga-esque Battle Circuit.

That description alone should tell you that there’s something for all beat ’em up fans here, and it’s an impressive list of titles, from a huge list of Capcom’s classics. There are notable omissions, such as The Punisher, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and Aliens Vs Predator, but just from those examples, it’s clear that licensing costs have prevented them from being included.

It’s fantastic to play each of the titles in this compilation free of having to pump coins into the machine; though this exposes just how cheap and next-to-impossible the latter stages of some games can get (I’m looking at you, Final Fight!), with the option for infinite continues in each game means you’ll see the ending of just about every game if you want to.

Having that option also exposes just how short each of these games are, but they’re all great, simple fun regardless. Not only that, but they’re blessed with some of the finest pixel art ever to grace video games, and they’ve all aged beautifully, in general.

With the option to play each game online if you don’t have other players to play alongside you in person, as well as art galleries and production details for every title in the collection, this really is a must for fans of the genre. I’ve had some of the most fun I’ve ever had, just playing through some of these titles on the Switch from beginning to end.

Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle is available on just about all consoles and PC too; I have to mention that I’ve played through most of the games in the collection using a CRKD Neo S controller on Switch, and it was a superb experience.

Despite the obvious technical limitations of the Switch, these are all games that are older or around 30 years old (with Final Fight the oldest, having been released in 1989, and 1997’s Battle Circuit the baby of the bunch), so the console has absolutely no problem coping with any of these beat ’em ups.

Incidentally, it also shows just how prolific and consistent Capcom were during the heyday of the arcade; three of these games released in the very same year (Captain Commando, The King of Dragons and Knights of the Round all released in 1991), and all seven titles came out over an eight year period, which is genuinely impressive. Each has its own ambience, and touches such as being able to fight on horseback in Warriors of Fate, or take over a mech in Captain Commando (even if you’re the mech wearing baby, you can still take control of a mech; it’s mechs all the way down!), for example, provide some genuinely unique touches.

Though some may say that the games, by their very nature, can often feel repetitive or samey, even between titles, that’s to be expected when it comes to titles in the beat ’em up genre. In my opinion, the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle is a wonderful, massively nostalgic look back at a bygone era.

Side scrolling beat ’em ups have most definitely been undergoing quite a renaissance recently, after drastically falling out of fashion, with numerous high profile, new titles being released that fit the mould. If you want a look back at many of the titles that shaped those modern experiences, which have replicated, rather than evolved, the formula perfected by companies such as Capcom and Konami, the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle is perfect. It’s a superb, interactive history lesson; a brilliant look back at seven of the very best examples of the beat ’em up genre.