They're baaaaack! As part of last week's rubbish Game Awards ceremony, Capcom "dropped" a trailer for the upcoming compilation series Capcom Arcade Stadium, which isn't super dissimilar to the Xbox 360's Capcom Arcade Cabinet series. Here, the games are broadly divided into three packs, each containing ten games. You get 1943: The Battle of Midway for free, and for some reason Ghosts 'n Goblins is a standalone; possibly related to the adjacent announcement of Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection? Anyroad, here are the game packs:

 Pack 1 (1984 - 1988):

1942
Bionic Commando
Commando
Forgotten Worlds
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Legendary Wings
Pirate Ship Higemaru
Section Z
Trojan
Vulgus

Pack 2 (1989 - 1992):

1941 - Counter Attack
Captain Commando
Carrier Air Wing
Dynasty Wars
Final Fight
M.E.R.C.S
Mega Twins
Street Fighter II
Strider
Varth 

Pack 3 (1993 - 2001):

1944: The Loop Master
19XX: The War Against Destiny
Armored Warriors
Battle Circuit
Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
Giga Wing
Progear
Street Fighter II Turbo
Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Warriors of Fate

Pretty solid sets if you ask me, and a lot of people are going to flip over that third one. The crossover with the Capcom Beat –‘Em-Up Bundle is a little odd, as enthusiasts will already own several of these games (Battle Circuit, Armored Warriors, Final Fight et al). Still, it’s all going to come down to pricing, which is yet to be revealed. Personally I’d expect to pay $19.99 minimum per pack, with a full-price (or maybe mildly discounted) all-in edition.

You can’t go wrong with Higemaru, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, M.E.R.C.S, mind. The rest is just gravy. I'm not crazy about some of the early titles on that first set, but at least they're not trying to get me to give a toss about The Speed Rumbler again. I'd just like to know who's responsible for the emulation.

There are the usual save states and rewind mode for stupid babies, but there's a new feature that lets you change the game speed as if Commando isn't hard enough at its normal clip. You're also getting online leaderboards and weekly challenges, though the advertised one is just a shmup, but upside-down. Shmupside-down. Not hugely creative.

There are a few omissions I’d call notable - particularly those which were part of earlier Capcom comps like Capcom Generations, Capcom Classics Collection and sequel, as well as the aforementioned Capcom Arcade Cabinet, still widely playable on Xbox systems. Abiding by the apparent rules, here - that's no licensed games, and CPS2 at the highest - here's the ten-game pack I'd like to see.

Stuart Gipp Fantasy Pack That Doesn't Exist:

Black Tiger
Eco Fighters
Gun.Smoke
King of Dragons
Mars Matrix
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Son Son
Three Wonders
Vampire Saviour 2: The Lord of Vampire

I mean, come on. Son Son! It's a masterpiece! And it's been on every previous Capcom compilation I can think of! Three Wonders is conspicuous by its absence, and absolutely no Darkstalkers representation should see all of Capcom co. ltd. inc. thrown in a jail to rot, as far as I'm concerned. Still, they could surprise me and put out a fourth pack. Keep them coming. Hopefully we'll get Taito Arcade Stadium next, eh?

Capcom Arcade Stadium hits Switch in February. I say just bring it out now.

• capcom
• Stuart Gipp
• capcom arcade stadium