Capcom Classics Collection

"Should be over $10,000!"

I'm sorry, I haven't written a review in nearly a year!

I remember during the ye ol days of arcades just 13+ years ago, and been to a few arcade auctions... some places (even arcades would sell game machines for like $200 - $600 each). A local arcade had 3-4 Street Fighter II Champion machines for like $350 each.... if I had the money back then, my wife would have never married me... (me or the machine -get it?) So tallying some of the costs per game this collection alone should be around $10,000 - $25,000.

The best collection the US has ever seen. While some games soooo way back, not many nowadays have ever heard of them or they barely saw the light of day on these shores. Vulgus, Exed Eyes, and Higemaru come to mind. If anyone attempted to collect all the 5 CapCom collection CDs imported for your PSX or Saturn.... that's this collection in a nut shell with Trojan, Final Fight, Section Z, Forgotten Worlds and Bionic Commando added.

NOSTALGIA: I love these games to death, of course I ALREADY owned the Saturn version of these games except the added 3 or 4 games. For many this is the trip down memory lane, to make you feel, just as old as you REALLY are. We're not ... the age when we used to ride our bikes to Zippy Mart, play Ghost N Goblins have a soft drink and bike back home for a mile. Or play 1942 in the local gas station and get trounced like yesterday's trash, or barely survive the FIRST board or Bionic Commando in the ONLY arcade in the city that had it in the mall, or see Ghouls n Ghosts in the local college arcade (that's also gone...), and once upon a time nearly EVERY gas station had a Street Fighter II machine around here... and they're all... gone. Sniff. Boy I'm getting to old for these things.... NAH.

GRAPHICS, CONTROL, PLAYABILITY, MUSIC: All these games are as you remember them, or if you've never played these beauties... you'll think the games are ancient or "not worth your time". I digress... you're be wrong. I'll test, or PAY to see somebody beat Gun.Smoke in one sitting without cheating. Play Bionic Commando on a hard setting and go through it without DYING .... once (I can't). Or see if you have the patience to get through 1942 or 1943. Or the skill for any of the 3 G&G games. This is where we came from... and it's good. From the original music, to the game play and 3 player abilities! (except Final Fight... but that's ok). Some of these games are HARD, but that's the whole charm for these oldies... that was the whole idea. To quote Donkey Kong "How far can you get...?" on only 25¢? Thus the quarter crunchers wars began back in the 1980's with games like these. Of course Street Fighter came around by the early 1990's. The sleeper hit in this collection, in my opinion, (ever since CapCom Collection 3) is Higemaru. It's basically a Pengo wanna-be, (not sure which came first without researching....) with music that will remind anyone of the Benny Hill show, complete with a pirate themed game. I hear there's and ending, but with no continues... it's going to be a while for me.

THE FAULT: Why did I not give this, the BEST arcade collection EVER a NINE!??? Well, they messed up the original game interfaces. Everything is done by an outside menu that's not apart of the original game programming, or not directly attached to it somehow, so instead of changing the setting in-game, you have to do it BEFORE you even load the game. this is just baffling to me. There were "tricks" in some of these game on the imports... they are probably STILL here, but due to the wacky interface... we're UNABLE to even SEE the original in-game options and screens!? And to me, having to see that dreaded pop-up in game asking me to hit 1 ot 2 player EACH time is just nerve racking and just so out of place. The next collection (is it even COMING to the XBox in the States or are us Xbox users getting shafted... again!?) coming this fall better have a better interface or I'll have to send multiple letters of hatred to CapCom for this kind of mistake for letting the contracted programmers do this to us! Maybe I should have given this collection a FOUR just to show the attention of this infraction... oh well, the control is as good as this collection, but there's always my Saturn import versions... ah, the memories. Only $20 or less! Buy them NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/27/06