Capcom Classics Collection Remixed

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Capcom Classics Collection Remixed

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for a bunch of things that were great when you were 5 or 6, but might completely suck now? I've experienced that a lot lately, visiting the dying arcades in the area, and replaying what I used to consider classics. The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aren't as fun as they were 15+ years ago, so how will those on this collection manage? Is Magic Sword really worth your time? Is Final Fight really worth the credit it gets, aside from the novelty of a huge shirtless mayor running around pile driving gangsters? Is Captain Commando actually fun at this point in time? How's the very first Street Fighter play? And what about the many others included here? Those are the questions you should be asking.

Because there are so many games in this collection, I'll just summarize each one. 1941 is a classic shooter, where you take the role of a U.S. plane in World War II, fighting the good fight. By gunning down enemy crafts, you'll net power-ups for your weapons, helpers to take damage and dish some out, and bombs for your infamous, invincible loop-de-loop maneuver. Avengers is a top-view brawling game with horrible controls, and boring gameplay. I don't know if it's supposed to be based off the old tv series, or the comics, or what, but I don't care. Bionic Commando here is the arcade version, and not the NES version that many people hail as a smash hit for that system. You play as just that- a bionic commando, going through stages with just your gun and grappling hook arm. It plays similar to Contra. Black Tiger reminds me of Ghosts 'n Goblins and Magic Sword combined, only nowhere near as fun. You're a warrior running around and taking out demons left and right, dying quicker than someone of this guy's stature should (to blobs no less). This game gets novelty points for the hero looking like he's getting it on with a vine while climbing. Block Block is a fun, yet very long game similar to Break Out. You scroll a paddle on the bottom of the screen and keep a ball from going to the bottom. Breaking blocks through all 50 stages here is going to take a lot of patience, so expect to be using the psp's sleep mod a lot. Captain Commando and Final Fight are practically brothers, only they have different characters. They're both side scrolling brawlers, and instant classics. These are probably the two most fun games of the bunch, and are insane to play with 2 or more players. Forgotten Worlds has you flying around as a gun-toting guy with a jet pack who looks a lot like Duke Nukem. This game could be fun if it weren't for the strange controls: you can rotate your character with the analog nub and square and circle buttons, making aiming properly more trouble than it should be.

Last Duel is your standard top-view shooter, only terrible, as is Legendary Wings, though in that one, you take control of an angel-type character. Magic Sword is a classic that many will remember- you play as a brawny warrior with a magic sword, out to destroy an evil orb. Along the way, you can free companions to aid you in your quest, including a barbarian, priest, ninja, lancer, lizard man, and many others. This is one of the longer games of the set (50 levels), and one you'll be playing the most. Mega Twins is a fun, cartoony side scroller where you jump around slashing up baddies. 'nothing too special, but it's kinda fun and cute. Quiz and Dragons is...messed up. You answer modern pop culture related questions (for the early 90s at least) in order to defeat fantasy monsters with either a barbarian, valkyrie, wizard or ninja. Here's a hint- the valkyrie will make the game a breeze since her "special ability" = taking off 2 of the 4 wrong answers in questions. Use her. Section Z, Side Arms and The Speed Rumbler are more shooters, none of which have any real distinguishing features, aside from Speed Rumbler being one of the worst I've ever played. The very first Street Fighter is on here as well, and it's damn near impossible to beat, as the CPU attacks based on what buttons are released in your attacks. It's also much faster than you, and will win in about 6 seconds. Stay away from this unless you want to feel like a terrible gamer. Strider is a "classic" game featuring a ninja who attacks with a side-sword and a ray of light. This game is fun for a little bit, but some of the deaths are just so cheap, that I couldn't get into it. Three Wonders is 3 games in one: a platformer, a shooter, and a fun puzzle game. I play these ones quite often, as they're fun enough to try to top my previous scores. Finally, Varth is another basic top-view shooter, but one that many consider underrated. I couldn't get into it.

When there are as many games in a collection as there are here, not all of them can be great, and it's expected to find a few to ignore. Well, there's more than just a few to ignore here. But the key point is- if you were pondering buying the Xbox or ps2 versions, the psp version is definitely the one to get, mostly due to portability, and the real classics that weren't found on either console version (though the list of games is still pretty different). I'm talking about Captain Commando, Magic Sword, Final Fight, 1941, Three Wonders and Side Arms. Take note of that- I've only mentioned 6 games out of the 20 in this collection. That isn't a very good sign. But it all depends on your own tastes for the most part. Many people love games like Strider and Bionic Commando. I for one, hated both these games, and had to force myself to play through them. Strider's controls,cheap deaths and level design bugged me to no end, and Bionic Commando was just so...weird for me to enjoy all the way. But, Capcom included some nice features to help you want to play each game longer than you'd normally want to. By completing certain challenges, you'll unlock "hints", art and music for every game. The "hints" are very stupid most of the time, like for Final Fight, one tells you that Guy can jump off walls and attack. I don't think anyone ever beat the game and used that trick. At least, I didn't, and had no problem playing as Guy without that trick. The art is something very cool though, especially for games that shouldn't seem like they'd have much going in that department, like Block Block. But, some of the art includes the arcade cabinet designs and all that. Finally, this collection's multiplayer is great, even if it doesn't include game sharing, which is a standard for games much more advanced than simple arcade ports. The player detector is one of the fastest I've ever seen, and people can join and drop without ruining the flow of the gameplay. Very impressive.

Visually, there's not much here, as all these games were released 10 to almost 20 years ago. Some do look very good still though, especially those found in Three Wonders. Also, the select button acts as a view change, stretching the screen or even flipping it sideways so you can play the topdown shooters the way they were intended. Granted, you'll be holding the psp at a weird angle, but hey, you might like it. The audio here's all good as well, but don't expect to be impressed. Fuzzy voice samples and above average MIDI tracks are all you'll find.

More or less, this set was aimed at people who may have never played some of the "classics" back in the day, or for people like me, who could never beat any of the games at arcades. I remember spending over seven bucks on Magic Sword, never being able to get past the second boss. Now that I've finally cleared the game, I can check that off my list of things to accomplish. Personally, I wish I had waited for a price drop on this game, but I don't quite regret buying it. It's a solid collection, if a bit unbalanced as far as good to bad games go.

Capcom Classics Collection Remixed

...

for a bunch of things that were great when you were 5 or 6, but might completely suck now? I've experienced that a lot lately, visiting the dying arcades in the area, and replaying what I used to consider classics. The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aren't as fun as they were 15+ years ago, so how will those on this collection manage? Is Magic Sword really worth your time? Is Final Fight really worth the credit it gets, aside from the novelty of a huge shirtless mayor running around pile driving gangsters? Is Captain Commando actually fun at this point in time? How's the very first Street Fighter play? And what about the many others included here? Those are the questions you should be asking.

Because there are so many games in this collection, I'll just summarize each one. 1941 is a classic shooter, where you take the role of a U.S. plane in World War II, fighting the good fight. By gunning down enemy crafts, you'll net power-ups for your weapons, helpers to take damage and dish some out, and bombs for your infamous, invincible loop-de-loop maneuver. Avengers is a top-view brawling game with horrible controls, and boring gameplay. I don't know if it's supposed to be based off the old tv series, or the comics, or what, but I don't care. Bionic Commando here is the arcade version, and not the NES version that many people hail as a smash hit for that system. You play as just that- a bionic commando, going through stages with just your gun and grappling hook arm. It plays similar to Contra. Black Tiger reminds me of Ghosts 'n Goblins and Magic Sword combined, only nowhere near as fun. You're a warrior running around and taking out demons left and right, dying quicker than someone of this guy's stature should (to blobs no less). This game gets novelty points for the hero looking like he's getting it on with a vine while climbing. Block Block is a fun, yet very long game similar to Break Out. You scroll a paddle on the bottom of the screen and keep a ball from going to the bottom. Breaking blocks through all 50 stages here is going to take a lot of patience, so expect to be using the psp's sleep mod a lot. Captain Commando and Final Fight are practically brothers, only they have different characters. They're both side scrolling brawlers, and instant classics. These are probably the two most fun games of the bunch, and are insane to play with 2 or more players. Forgotten Worlds has you flying around as a gun-toting guy with a jet pack who looks a lot like Duke Nukem. This game could be fun if it weren't for the strange controls: you can rotate your character with the analog nub and square and circle buttons, making aiming properly more trouble than it should be.

Last Duel is your standard top-view shooter, only terrible, as is Legendary Wings, though in that one, you take control of an angel-type character. Magic Sword is a classic that many will remember- you play as a brawny warrior with a magic sword, out to destroy an evil orb. Along the way, you can free companions to aid you in your quest, including a barbarian, priest, ninja, lancer, lizard man, and many others. This is one of the longer games of the set (50 levels), and one you'll be playing the most. Mega Twins is a fun, cartoony side scroller where you jump around slashing up baddies. 'nothing too special, but it's kinda fun and cute. Quiz and Dragons is...messed up. You answer modern pop culture related questions (for the early 90s at least) in order to defeat fantasy monsters with either a barbarian, valkyrie, wizard or ninja. Here's a hint- the valkyrie will make the game a breeze since her "special ability" = taking off 2 of the 4 wrong answers in questions. Use her. Section Z, Side Arms and The Speed Rumbler are more shooters, none of which have any real distinguishing features, aside from Speed Rumbler being one of the worst I've ever played. The very first Street Fighter is on here as well, and it's damn near impossible to beat, as the CPU attacks based on what buttons are released in your attacks. It's also much faster than you, and will win in about 6 seconds. Stay away from this unless you want to feel like a terrible gamer. Strider is a "classic" game featuring a ninja who attacks with a side-sword and a ray of light. This game is fun for a little bit, but some of the deaths are just so cheap, that I couldn't get into it. Three Wonders is 3 games in one: a platformer, a shooter, and a fun puzzle game. I play these ones quite often, as they're fun enough to try to top my previous scores. Finally, Varth is another basic top-view shooter, but one that many consider underrated. I couldn't get into it.

When there are as many games in a collection as there are here, not all of them can be great, and it's expected to find a few to ignore. Well, there's more than just a few to ignore here. But the key point is- if you were pondering buying the Xbox or ps2 versions, the psp version is definitely the one to get, mostly due to portability, and the real classics that weren't found on either console version (though the list of games is still pretty different). I'm talking about Captain Commando, Magic Sword, Final Fight, 1941, Three Wonders and Side Arms. Take note of that- I've only mentioned 6 games out of the 20 in this collection. That isn't a very good sign. But it all depends on your own tastes for the most part. Many people love games like Strider and Bionic Commando. I for one, hated both these games, and had to force myself to play through them. Strider's controls,cheap deaths and level design bugged me to no end, and Bionic Commando was just so...weird for me to enjoy all the way. But, Capcom included some nice features to help you want to play each game longer than you'd normally want to. By completing certain challenges, you'll unlock "hints", art and music for every game. The "hints" are very stupid most of the time, like for Final Fight, one tells you that Guy can jump off walls and attack. I don't think anyone ever beat the game and used that trick. At least, I didn't, and had no problem playing as Guy without that trick. The art is something very cool though, especially for games that shouldn't seem like they'd have much going in that department, like Block Block. But, some of the art includes the arcade cabinet designs and all that. Finally, this collection's multiplayer is great, even if it doesn't include game sharing, which is a standard for games much more advanced than simple arcade ports. The player detector is one of the fastest I've ever seen, and people can join and drop without ruining the flow of the gameplay. Very impressive.

Visually, there's not much here, as all these games were released 10 to almost 20 years ago. Some do look very good still though, especially those found in Three Wonders. Also, the select button acts as a view change, stretching the screen or even flipping it sideways so you can play the topdown shooters the way they were intended. Granted, you'll be holding the psp at a weird angle, but hey, you might like it. The audio here's all good as well, but don't expect to be impressed. Fuzzy voice samples and above average MIDI tracks are all you'll find.

More or less, this set was aimed at people who may have never played some of the "classics" back in the day, or for people like me, who could never beat any of the games at arcades. I remember spending over seven bucks on Magic Sword, never being able to get past the second boss. Now that I've finally cleared the game, I can check that off my list of things to accomplish. Personally, I wish I had waited for a price drop on this game, but I don't quite regret buying it. It's a solid collection, if a bit unbalanced as far as good to bad games go.

Capcom Classics Collection Remixed

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Twins
Quiz And Dragons
Section Z
Side Arms: Hyper Dyne
The Speed Rumbler
Street Fighter
Strider
Three Wonders
Varth

REVIEW:
I'm a sucker for the classics - anyone who knows me knows that. That's one of the big reasons I got a kick out of this collection. Capcom scores major points in my book for taking so many classics (many of which and underrated and hard to come by) and putting them in a single place. The fact that they are portable due to the game being on the Playstation Portable only sweetens the deal. Each game has been restored faithful to the original design, with several different screen modes you can use. Wireless multiplay makes the games all the more interesting, as well. Here's a list of the games the collection has to offer, and a few comments on each of them.

-1941: Counter Attack: A top-scrolling shooter set in the World War II era. Anyone who has played 1942 or 1943 for the NES or the Arcade will feel right at home with this lesser-known (but no less excellent) installment in the series.

-Avengers: A top-scrolling, beat-em-up action game with a classic arcade feel to it. Feels a bit awkward and cumbersome at times, but for the most part an entertaining adventure.

-Bionic Commando: One of the classics from the Capcom days of old. It's a side-scrolling platformer action experience. Rather than the conventional jumping strategies often used in platformers, your character uses a grappling hook. It's confusing at first, but definitely a Capcom classic that grows on you after a while.

-Black Tiger: Side-scrolling action adventure set in a medieval-style setting. The action is fast and furious in this one, and the excitement never lets up. Good, underrated game.

-Block Block: Your typical Super Breakout/Arkanoid/Alleyway "bust bricks with a ball and paddle" game. If you're into those kinds of games, you'll definitely get a kick out of this title.

-Captain Commando: Another one of the Capcom classics from the days of old. It's a side-scrolling beat-em-up not unlike the more popular Final Fight. This is one of the best games in the collection, and one of the best games in a horribly-overdone genre.

-Final Fight: The most popular game in the collection and with good reason. This game gave birth to the onslaught of side-scrolling beat-em-up titles - and it is quite possibly the best game in this collection. This is the uncensored original version, too (No missing levels, edited-out female baddies, boss name changes, one player only, missing playable characters, etc.) The best consular port of Final Fight EVER!

-Forgotten Worlds: Side-scrolling aerial shooter in which you are a gun-toting jetpacker. The controls for "rotating" your character are very strange, but in a way are what make the game unique. Give it some time to grow on you and you should grow to like it.

-Last Duel: Top-scrolling vehicular game in which you cover a variety of settings, blasting bad guys along the way. This gameplay style will immediately seem familiar to anyone who has ever played one of the old Spy Hunter titles. Solid game.

-Legendary Wings: This game, set in a fantasy world, puts you in control of a winged female. The game has top-scrolling and side-scrolling sections alike, making it a very diverse adventure. One of the collection's best, most memorable games.

-Magic Sword: A side-scrolling, medieval set adventure. The game lets you free "helpers" that fight alongside your character. The atmosphere of the game is reminiscent of Sega's Golden Axe series, but as a whole, this game has its own unique feel to it.

-Mega Twins: An side-scrolling action-adventure title with cutesy, anime-style graphics.

-Quiz And Dragons: Weird but cool is the best way to describe this title. At first glance it looks like your typical Dungeons And Dragons rip-off, until you start playing - you fight the battles by answering pop culture questions! You can choose from several different characters, each one having a special ability they can use on the board. Once again, a weird but awesome game, definitely one of the most unique titles featured here.

-Section Z: Side-scroller in which you play a jetpacker with a gun. Definitely similar to Forgotten Worlds, but the game has a feel all its own.

-Side Arms: Hyper Dyne: A side-scrolling space shooter. There were a ton of these games back in this era, but this one definitely stands as one of the more underrated titles. Why didn't it get more credit?

-The Speed Rumbler. A top-scrolling, driving action game. Another thing that was quite popular in this era, and yet another underrated attempt by Capcom to control the genre. Too bad this one didn't get off the ground like some of the other games of the era.

-Street Fighter: The original Street Fighter had blocky controls, high difficulty, and often questionable artificial intelligence. There's a reason people remember the sequel and not the original. Before the series became the unique thing everyone copied, it was basically a Karate Champ clone - and not even a very good one.

-Strider: This side-scrolling action adventure is a cult classic. Although not as widely known as some Capcom properties, once you give it a play you're going to fall in love with it almost instantly. It's got that undeniable old school charm to it.

-Three Wonders: As the title implies, this game combines three genres - side-scrolling action adventure, side-scrolling aerial shooter, and a Bomberman-esque top view action sequence. The game combines these elements quite well.

-Varth: One of the most underrated titles in this collection. This is a top-scrolling shooter, and definitely one of the finest ones of its era.

It's a good collection overall, although I do find some of the game choices to be questionable, and there are some gaping omissions - and questionable insertions. Why put the original, crummy Street Fighter on here instead of the classic Street Fighter II people know and love? Where are 1942 and 1943? I'm sure a lot of gamers would kill to have the arcade versions of those on a console, myself included. And while were at it, where's the arcade version of UN Squadron? These games would have been better on here than some of the stuff. The save system is a bit awkward, but I won't ramble on about that. The MSRP is a bit steep, too. Nonetheless, I'm glad to get a lot of these underrated titles on a console at last. This is a great collection.

OVERALL:
Great classics, great collection. I'm glad I gave this title a whirl. Are you a sucker for the classics like me? If so, this collection is going to be right up your alley! Get this collection today and start reliving Capcom's old school era!

EDITION NOTES:
It's a recent release, still in print, readily available. You shouldn't have any problems finding this one at your local video game retailer.

Capcom Classics Collection Remixed

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think. So, please, put down the Tony Hawk 1 and the Mario Kart, and buy this, and to some of you new-comers who haven't played these, start today! Or, at least buy it today and play it in a couple of other days! Ha Ha, yeah.