Battle Circuit immediately charms you with its eclectic cast of playable characters, off-beat sense of humour and imaginative scenarios. I had to double check this wasn't based off a pre-existing manga or anime, so well realised was the world. This was Capcom's last beat-em-up for arcades, following up D&D: Chronicles of Mystara (1996), which had taken the genre to its maximalist limit. Battle Circuit does feature a light upgrade system but is otherwise a more back to basics, all-action approach similar to Armored Warriors (1994), demonstrating their skill for aesthetics, spectacle and exciting set pieces. There's a celebratory feel about the game and you definitely get the impression they wanted to go out on top. In terms of gameplay, there's not much else to say, combat is crunchy and satisfying, as had become trademark, with enemies exploding into coins that can later be spent to unlock moves, adding replayability. The game is also surprisingly fair and not too hard. Capcom would eventually dip their toes back into the genre with Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance (2005) for PS2, an admirable 3D effort, and of course their lineage continues to show in the likes of Devil May Cry 5.