Not every old game is a classic.
Here's the thing... this cart has 14 games, 25 if you include the ones added through free DLC, that you can very easily get for free, and play very comfortably, so if you are gonna pay full price for this game, which is a lot considering how ridiculously expensive it's right now... this collection better have the best damn version of these games.
So... we get Save States, accessed through the Minus menu, a Rewind feature, a ton of art and music as well as being able to change the region of a few games. Some games even include their NES ports. Oh, and you can rotate the screen to get a more accurate Arcade display.
And those are nice, but... how come I don't get unlimited lives? These games are hard as hell and unfair as unfair gets, because these games were made to suck quarters out of people. Sure, I can correct my mistakes with the Rewind feature, but sometimes it's not good enough. Also, why do some games let me push start for infinite lives, while other games don't? Ikari Warriors is notoriously unfair and challenging, and I could somewhat enjoy it through Emulation, but here every time I lose my ten lives I have to go through the Highscore screen and then press Start+Fire if I want to continue. It's ridiculous, why can't I just pump infinite lives? I can in MAME. So thanks for nothing.
I also find it ridiculous that they only packed 14 games in it, and the rest through DLC? And 25 games isn't all that much considering how old and archaic some of these games are.
On to the games....
Street Smart: One of the two reasons I wanted to buy this collections, it's a pseudo fighting game, which can be played co-op, in which you fight different opponents, collecting women along the way. In two player, the one who got the most 'wins' at the end of the run. The game has aged like hot garbage, punches and kicks propel you forward, which makes movement feel sticky. I only sorta like it 'cause I feel nostalgic towards the much superior, as far as I remember, Genesis port which isn't included in this collection. In that version, the main character wore an Orange Gi and you distributed stat points per match.
Alpha Mission: It's a shoot'em up that includes a console version. It's based on checkpoints, which sucks for someone like me, as the game feels like a very early bullet hell-type game. I didn't like it very much, but then again, I don't like shoot'em ups. The Console version looks worse, d'oh, and has no Rewind feature, but it's much easier.
Athena: Has the console version available. This one is super curious, 'cause the concept is brilliant. You play as the bikini-clad Athena, and you can only kick your endlessly respawning enemies... but as you defeat them, you obtain new weapons, armor, shields and even items, such as winged boots. The concept is a 10/10. Sadly, the game is incredibly unfair, enemies spawn ENDLESSLY and wreck you in seconds, and the boss is even worse. You can't even continue right away, but rather, from checkpoints. And it's so hard to get the high jump to work right. The NES version is much more manageable, but still broken in certain ways. I'd LOVE for this game to get remastered, make it fair and make it fun to actually play.
Crystalis: A NES exclusive action RPG, a la Zelda, but you actually level-up. This one is super fun, I adored it... but it's easy to get lost, particularly after the fire orb and must visit the Ice Caverns. Best played with a guide at hand, but it might be one of the best games in the collection.
Guerilla War: An 8-directional shooter in which you play as El Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, it's pretty decent, as you gun and grenade your way through tons of enemies. You can even ride tanks! It includes the NES version, which has more levels and more weapons, albeit no Rewind feature.
Ikari Warriors: This one is supposed to be considered a classic. I found it very mediocre. It's very similar to Guerilla War, as in it's an 8-directional shooter, you can ride guns and through grenades. However, it doesn't look as good or feel as nice to play. You can actually continue on the spot, but it's not properly explained, you must press Fire and Start at the same time. I didn't like it. The NES port is very slow-paced and boring.
Ikari Warriors II Victory Road: While the previous game had a military-esque theme, in this one you start off fighting aliens and demons or something? It's incredibly hard, but there are more weapons, such as sword, and you have unlimited ammo. You can even get an armor. I liked it even less, there are these green floors that force you to fight the already annoying bosses again. The included NES version looks ugly and runs awfully.
Ikari III The Rescue: In this one you trade guns for punches and kicks, and assault rifles are very scarce. It looks rather nice, but the game quickly becomes the most boring thing ever, as endlessly pummeling on enemies is very tedious. The NES version is more enjoyable, albeit more unfair. That said, even though it's much weaker hardware, there are many more different types of enemies, such as Ninja and flying jetpack gunners. It even has an underwater section!
Iron Tank The Invasion of Normandy: Another NES exclusive, you are a tank and you are thrown into a rather large map with various zones and alternate paths you can through. It's a top-down shooter. It's pretty original, all things considered, but pretty tough and runs on Checkpoints. At least you can use the rewind feature.
P.O.W.: One of the other reasons I wanted to own this cart. Includes the NES version. Well, what can I say? It's a very dated beat'em up. Your punches and kicks aren't very satisfying, as far as weaponry goes you only get knives and assault rifles. Some of your hits sends enemies flying away, so you have to wait for them to approach you again, etc. I have a certain nostalgic fondness towards it, that aside.... it's mediocre. The NES version is alright, but you don't get continues.
Prehistoric Isle: A vertical shoot'em up in which you take down dinosaurs and cavemen on your ship. It's all about finding the Power up Option, and then not dying in order to power it up. Pressing the B button you can shift around the Option in 8 different directions, each direction granting you a different secondary fire AND a potential shield(Although eventually the option breaks). I didn't expect to, since I'm not very fond of this ship shoote'em ups, like it as much as I did.
Psycho Soldier: So this is where the Idol schoolgirl interpretation of Athena comes from! At first I thought that this game was a huge stepdown from Athena, since now it's an auto-scrolling vertical shoot'em up, but slowly I grew to appreciate it. You play as Athena, and Kensou in 2P, and you must go from left to right, shooting energy waves to defeat the oncoming waves of enemies. Your objective is to amass as much Energy Balls as you can, in order to have them spin around you in a defensive formation, and, if you can manage to power up your energy, turn this defensive objects into screen-covering attacks! On the other hand, by the second half of the game I was getting a bit bored of it.
TNKIII: The Arcade version of Iron Tank. I disliked it, the sound design is HIDEOUS, sounds like a garbled mess. I do appreciate other bits around the game, namely, how it isn't divided into stages, exactly like Iron Tank. It feels like one long adventure. It's simpler, you just pick up upgrades that never run out, and there aren't alternate routes, and I do feel the simplicity makes it slightly more enjoyable than the NES game, even though that game is, design-wise, better. Rewind doesn't work in this one... or so I thought. I quit and restarted the game and it did. What gives?
Vanguard: Another ship shooter, but in this one it autoscrolls in different directions, and you can shoot up, down, left or right. Using the right analog stick to auto-shoot in any of those directions feels nice. I ended up likin this one a LOT.
DLC GAMES:
Bermuda Triangle: A vertical shoot'em up, at first you fly upwards, then backwards, which I guess is an interesting concept? Energy doubles as your life bar as well as your fire power, so the more you get hit the weaker you are before dying, which I thought was interesting. As a whole, I didn't much care about it.
Chopper I: Offers Invulnerability.... Why not the other games?? Just an average vertical shoot'em up. Didn't much care for it.
Fantasy: I didn't expect anything out of this one, but it was fun! It's an adventure game in which the only thing you do is move, and every stage is a different adventure. First stage is landing on a pirate ship that is shooting at your flying globe, then you must defeat the pirates, then fly, vertically, 3000km and so on. I liked this one!
Munch Mobile: It's... it's an original game, no doubt. You drive a car perpetually forward, moving an arm left or right to pick up fuel or food. Drive off-road and you lose. Meh.
Ozma Wars: A very retro shoot'em up. Didn't care for it.
Paddle Mania: Pong but with two human characters. You can actually hit the other player to knock'em down for a few seconds. This one was neat.
Sasuke VS Commander: A very Retro Space Invaders, but with Ninja instead of ships.
Time Soldiers: Another top-down 8-directional shooter like Guerilla Wars or Ikari Warriors. Fast paced, and you travel through time rescuing your companions. It's alright.
World Wars: Yet another shooter. I'm tired of those by now.
I can't help but feel as if these games simply aren't good enough. I know that some of these are considered classics, but they haven't aged very well. The best chance you've got at enjoying this collection is if you happen to have some nostalgic attachment to them, like I do with POW and Street Smart.
But then again... this is supposed to be an Anniversary Collection, but where are SNK's REALLY good games? The Sengoku Trilogy that hasn't received proper ports, and trust me, Sengoku 3 NEEDS one. No Super Sidekicks? No Shock troopers? It's SNK, they make fighting games, so no Samurai Warriors? No The Last Blade? Nothing worth anything? Give me the King of Monsters, give me SpinMaster. SNK has a TON of fantastic Arcade games. The games included in this collection are not those.
Honestly.... I'm terribly let down by this collection. I could be having more fun just emulating these games, and the game selection is made up of games that haven't aged well at all. I can only hope that SNK will release a Neo-Geo collection at some point, including their best titles.
4.0
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