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SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1 | |
| Developer: SNK Playmore Publisher: Ignition Entertainment Release Date: Out Now Players: 1, 2 player wi-fi |
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For those of us of a certain vintage this kind of compilation serves several purposes; it can remind of the golden age of arcade gaming, of how good arcade games could be, how much the gaming industry and games have changed, and how darned old and creaky we’re getting. The problem being that many of these games are old and creaky too, and frankly some were a bit creaky even when they were new. The fact that you can get 16 (yes, sixteen) games on one compilation UMD these days is wonderful, but maybe this is one of those occasions when - despite there being a few goodies in here - less would have been more. Whatever the quality of the compilation as a whole, for retroholics SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 gives us a thorough look at SNK’s early days. Included within are sixteen ‘classics’ encompassing a number of genres, although unsurprisingly the lineup is dominated by beat ‘em ups and shoot ‘em ups.
Art of Fighting
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I thought the best way to go about this compilation was to do a mini review of each game but then wondered who would read it, so apologies if I forget one and miss your favourite out, or waffle on so long I send you to sleep. Art of Fighting was the first fighting game by SNK to feature the character designs of former SNK illustrator (and current Capcom illustrator) Shinkiro, who would go on to do the character designs for the later Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters games. I’m not a fan of this game and its sluggish controls and movement, or its two sequels which did little to improve things. You have two basic attacks mapped to the fascia buttons (triangle, square, circle and X); punch and kick, as well as punches, kicks or throws, and also the option to taunt an opponent. AoF is good, but not as great as Street Fighter, rose-tinted specs or no. Baseball Stars was released on the NES in 1989. A major hit worldwide (except Europe) it gained critical success, and its simple playability and tidy visuals mean it still plays a good game of hardball, learning the timing is key and it's fun to play, but the games go on far too long for a handheld game. Burning Fight is a scrolling beat ‘em up and is extremely similar to a few games I actually remember playing; Renegade, Crime Fighters and the iconic Double Dragon and Final Fight. The ability to pick up objects and weapons found in the semi-interactive levels probably made this feel like an advanced game in its day, but it’s slow pace and slower response to button presses make it a pain to play. )
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King of the Monsters masquerades as something other than a beat ‘em up, but only thinly disguised, just like the old ‘man in a suit’ Godzilla movies. Basically a wrestling game set in miniature Japanese cities, it’s a tad tame by anyone’s standards and the speed and sluggish control is again, a real let down. It ceases to be fun very quickly, and it’s unlikely you’ll be playing this twice unless you’re as complete monster head. Most famous for being used on various tacky videogame programmes in the 90s, most of which were trying to make the Neo Geo look like an attractive gaming proposition when it wasn’t. Last Resort is a surprisingly shoddy side-scrolling shoot-em-up, its sluggish gunplay and a ridiculously steep difficulty curve being the only thing to make it worth a look. Honestly, it’s like the designers hate you and want you to go play something else instead. When playing this collection make this your "Last Resort." )
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Metal Slug is the best known and the best game on this UMD by a mile, and the Metal Slug compilations for PS2 have been reviewed on Gamecell before and seem to be enjoyed and adored by everyone who plays them. Metal Slug is a beautifully drawn 2D side-scrolling shooter oozing with humour in the animations and lavished with detail. You play as a soldier who has to shoot wave upon wave of heavily armed soldiers with a variety of weapons; guns, grenades, flamethrowers, tanks, camels, planes etc. Throw into the mix the occasional Metal Slug armoured bosses, (think Metal Gear in ‘toon form) and you get the picture. It’s undeniably a highly repetitive game but it has that addictive edge, and the bosses are a delight to behold. Probably justifies the purchase of the collection on its own. Neo Turf Masters is an easy-to-play, arcade-style golf game that allows you to play as one of six different players of different nationalities that all have different attributes. You can choose to play matchplay or strokeplay for one or two players. Tiger Woods has nothing to worry about but handheld golf fans will find themselves playing more than a few holes on this good-looking game. Samurai Showdown is much more enjoyable and accessible fighting experience than Art of Fighting with simple but satisfying strikes and less emphasis on combos, and everything plays with good speed and response. When you land a successful strike on an opponent the referee lifts a flag to indicate the fact, and some nutter runs backward and forward lobbing items such as chickens (that heal you) or bombs (guess what they do). This can obviously alter the outcome of bout significantly and means bouts are seldom repetitive. The game’s colourful – gaudy even - visuals – make it appealing to the eye. Not the most varied of fighters, but a true classic of the period. Sengoku was SNK's follow-up to Burning Fight and is much better; a beat'em up with a lot more originality. Sengoku sees you fighting against an army of undead warlords (from the titular Sengoku period of Japan). A bit like Magician Lord, your heroes can transform into other characters. Sadly some dodgy character modelling, more repetitive gameplay (thump someone, wait for them to get back up, and repeat ad nauseam) and awful sound make this an improvement on Burning Fight, but still pretty awful. )
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Super Sidekicks 3 is a footie (or soccer) game and is perfect PSP-fodder with its side-on view and simplistic gameplay. Bright colours and fast-paced arcade football (vaguely like the original International Superstar Soccer without the quality visuals or gameplay) make this fun, but inexplicably jerky scrolling and goalkeepers who are better than Ed van der Sar make this less fun than it could have been. The King of Fighters ‘94 is so darned generic that if you have played any fighting game previously, you won’t have any trouble picking this up, choosing a character and being able to pull off moves and win a few matches. To get good at it, of course, takes time and skill like any proper fighting game, but it's a friendly and welcoming game to get into, which is especially important as the series isn’t as well known over here as Street Fighter. Many moves use similar activation techniques as the Street Fighter series and there are command lists for all characters within the pause menu so you can learn new moves. Good stuff. )
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Despite some duffers and some harsh criticism from me, for retro fans this is probably a ‘must buy’ collection, and should you feel the need to "retro yourself up a bit", then Arcade Classics Vol. 1 will give you an interesting cross-section of SNK’s output over the years. For the rest of us it’s just a curiosity that seems overpriced even at £25 or so. I may have been tempted if I’d seen it going cheap somewhere, but let’s face it, 16 games is only a bargain if several of them are worth playing, and only a few of these make the grade for me. You should also consider that there's bound to be a Vol. 2 on the way before too long, and maybe it'll be better than this one...
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- Shock Trooper and Metal Slug - 16 games on one disk |
- Another retro collection with too many duffers - Slow loading times - Button lag |
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