SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 is an ideal purchase for getting your money's worth. If you were to buy a Neo-Geo home console and all sixteen games that come on this disc in their original VHS cartridge-like format, you'd spend well over $3000. Instead, you get a mostly acceptable home compilation for the value price of $20. It's not the most fulfilling retro collection we've ever seen, but it's still a pretty good one.

What's cool about Arcade Classics is how it includes various genres. There are fighting games, sports games, shooters, side-scrollers and beat-em-up games, something for everybody. The games included are Art of Fighting, Baseball Stars 2, Burning Fight, Fatal Fury, King of Fighters '94, King of the Monsters, Last Resort, Magician Lord, Metal Slug, Neo Turf Masters, Samurai Shodown, Sengoku, Shock Troopers, Super Sidekicks 3, Top Hunter and World Heroes. It's a shame more of the fan favorites didn't make the cut, such as Crossed Swords, Viewpoint, Cyber-Lip and Eightman, but Volume 2 should certainly pick up the slack.

"Argh! Beaten by chopsticks again!"

Along with the sixteen games, SNK also included a spiffy new menu screen to navigate through and specific goals to be met in each game. Once you complete these tasks (such as going through a game to a specific point without a continue), you'll unlock bonus items, such as SNK artwork or fighter move lists. It's somewhat odd to force us to play one game to unlock goals for another, but it's not that daunting a task. The fact you can join a friend in most of these games is a plus, too. King of the Monsters just isn't the same unless you can throw a friend of yours into a building.

Still, the emulation isn't perfect. Some of the games suffer from horrendous slowdown, especially Fatal Fury. You'll be lucky to get through a match without running into it. There are also lengthy loading times, which is questionable considering that these games really don't take up that much space. Those problems aside, the games still look and sound like their old counterparts, right down to the horrible enemy animation in Burning Fight and hilarious voice samples from Top Hunter.

Technical errors and missing game selections aside, SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 is still a great compilation for Neo-Geo fanatics and retro gamers. You'll find hours of gaming fun here, whether you're in a heated Baseball Stars 2 match or showing off your magic skills in Magician Lord. Let's hope that Volume 2 has a little more polish.

Related Links

SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 Game Guide

SNK Playmore

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