Classic gaming compilations rarely suck like Intellivision Lives, and with that being said, even with horrid presentations (every Midway collection) and with boring games that many of us have played a billion times (looks at Namco), there's usually some enjoyment that can be extracted from each one. The PS2 title Activision Anthology was the reigning king of the classic gaming pile but now it has some company. Capcom has entered the fray with its Capcom Classics Collection and it's absolutely phenomenal, so much so that you'd be insane to not pick it up.

What Capcom's essentially given us is 22 of its games, the majority of which are critically-acclaimed titles that rocked in the arcades as well as the earlier consoles. 1942, 1943, 1943 Kai, Bionic Commando, Commando, Exed Exes, Final Fight, Forgotten Worlds, Ghosts N' Goblins, Ghouls N' Ghosts, Gun.Smoke, Legendary Wings, Mercs, Pirate Ship Higemaru, Section Z, Son Son, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Ghouls N' Ghosts, Trojan, and Vulgus have been assembled to form quite an impressive package, and even though some games aren't exactly enjoyable per se (Son Son comes to mind) and some of Capcom's decisions make little sense (there didn't need to be three Street Fighter IIs), this is still a great disc and a solid volume one, providing that the powers that be intend on making Capcom Classics a series.

The most satisfying thing about this game, aside from having Final Fight and Forgotten Worlds on a single disc, is the majority of these games still look good. Unlike Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which contains a bunch of 3D racing titles that look pathetic, these 2D games are still easy on the eyes. Credit that to 2D gaming, which hasn't really evolved as far as 3D technology has. I'm not saying that Street Fighter II looks as good as the latest Guilty Gear, but that's an easier comparison to make versus San Francisco Rush 2049 (which looks like absolute garbage today) versus Burnout Revenge.

In addition to all of the included games you also have access to a wealth of bonus content for each title and this includes art work, the soundtracks, trivia, history, cast information, and other cool stuff. Most of it needs to be unlocked, but that just serves as added incentive to continue playing.

Unfortunately, and just like in other games of this type, the games didn't survive the translation unscathed. Most of the shooters flicker like a candle and for some odd reason Street Fighter II loads in between rounds. None of this stuff seriously marred my overall enjoyable but it is very noticeable. Why Capcom cannot perfectly emulate its own games on PlayStation and Xbox hardware is beyond me, but I'm going to let it slide this time.

A few journalists who reviewed Capcom Classics for other sites always need to bring up the missing titles but I'm not going to travel down that road. It's obvious that Capcom could've included several high profile games from its past, but if the company is smart this is just the beginning of what will be a successful franchise. But enough day dreaming! Capcom Classics Collection is here, it's currently sitting on store shelves, and you absolutely need to own it, either to reminisce, or to see just how pointless all of this next generation technology is when the games suck.