Capcom Classics Collection PS2 Review

Capcom Classics Collection introduces around 20 gaming classics on one disc (some fillers though!) These retrospective works span over 10 years of video game history to take you back to the days of crowded arcades, pockets full of change and the excitement of holding bragging rights to the high score rankings! Favourites include: 1942, Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting, Commando, Final Fight, Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts (The best fun you can have in your underpants) plus 17 other classics you grew up with. Sounds good doesn’t it? Well it should as that’s the line Capcom PR gave to hype the game for everyone. In the real world everyone knows that not many retro games have what it takes to stand tall amongst most of today’s gaming efforts but shove all 22 of them into a disc and maybe Capcom will have a winner on their hands?

In all, Capcom Classics Collection contains twenty-two of the company’s greatest titles of yesteryear. Right now in any review you should be expecting us to get all teary eyed talking about how gaming was so good back then but that what we are going to do. Yes we will have to admit that games were good back then but face it people they are much better now. So now the only question that needs to be answered is why should you stop playing whatever lovely 3D multi million dollar game you are playing and resort back to messing about with a few thousand colours and a multitude of blips and beeps. So with those rose tinted spectacles firmly off, crushed and possibly broken into a million pieces lets look at some of my favourite games on the disc in a nice in-depth sorta fashion!

1942 | 1943 | 1943 Kai
Let’s start with this trilogy of games first (yes they are games, not just dates). These were some of the first vertical shooters Capcom ever released and for their first attempt at the genre they were remarkable good. Back in the 80’s these were a great set of titles and even today they seem to hold up well. They are still highly playable and offer a good challenge to gamers of any age. They played like one of Namco’s Galaga but instead of going all sci-fi they took on a World War II theme. As you can guess by the name 1942 was the first title to be release and is the worst of the bunch 1943 was a big step up and offered lots of upgrades to the basic idea they implemented. It also has a nice bleepy soundtrack and two-player co-op, Kai was more of the same but in my opinion 1943 is the best of the trilogy.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins | Ghouls ‘n Ghosts | Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Now onto another trilogy of games and there is no doubt that these are some of the best games available on the disc. Ghosts ‘n Goblins is where it all started and it offers a game-load of sword throwing fun. In the game you control an armoured knight traversing graveyards, forests, mountains, and caves. The game was fabled for being extremely hard (Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden hard!!) but it also had a high “let me have one more go feel to it.” Next it’s onto its sequel, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, which is a nice step up from the original. With nicer graphics and smoother controls it features richer graphics and better control (you can shoot up instead of just sideways). Finally there is the SNES Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts which upped the ante even more by including more gameplay options such as a nice double jump move. As I said these are some of the best games on the disc (in the top five at least).

Street Fighter II | Street Fighter II: Champion Edition | Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting
Now onto another trilogy of games on the disc, you would think we were trying to get them outta the way or something! This one though should bare a familiar name that most gamers should know at least something about. Street Fighter 2 is out on its own as the best game on the disc but there is also the championship, and hyper fighting version available to mess about with. There are also some nice unlockables in the game such as the artwork and music. Capcom did not need to put this game in the Collection as they could have sold it on its own and some people would still have bought it so when you take the price of the disc along with the other games and the inclusion of this the whole package really does seem worth the money

Final Fight
This is another great addition to the disc. Final Fight lets you play as any of the three main characters – Cody, Guy and Hagar. As some of you may know this is classed as one of the greatest beat ’em ups of all time (I loved the Streets of Rage games a little bit more though). Many people will fondly remember playing this title in the arcades in a dingy corner of some fast food joint. It is emulated expertly for its PS2 debut.

Forgotten Worlds
I had not heard about this game before I picked up the Classics Collection but it quickly became one of my favourites. Forgotten Worlds is a side-scrolling shooter where you sport a jet pack and can rotate and fire in any direction. The futuristic scenery looks amazing for its time and even to this day looks awesome. The game also includes a rapid-fire two-player mode which will give you and friends hours of fun!

Mercs
Mercs is the final title on the disc I had loads of fun with this and will be going back to play again when I have the time. It is another highly scored game with stages that scroll in all directions, huge mechanical bosses, and insane firepower.

Bionic Commando, Commando, Gun.Smoke, Legendary Wings and Section Z are another five games I enjoyed quite a bit. They were not as good as the favourites I listed above but they were also not as bad as the ones I am going to list below but they were ok and ranged from average to above average. They are still good fun to play. Finally there is the list of games which I really did not like playing at all and would not have missed if they were not even included on the disc. These are Exed Exes, Pirate Ship Higemaru, Section Z, Trojan, Vulgus and SonSon. All these games are either not very fun or have a much better version of the same type of game on the disc. They may be worth one or two plays but you will be hard pressed to give them a second look. All in all Capcom have made a nice compilation of their best games of yesteryear. Sure they have left some big name titles completely off the disc but the majority of what they have included is highly playable with just a few misses included. At the cheap price the game is selling at these days it is definitely worth picking up and it won’t be breaking any bank as you could pick it up for less than a tenner!

7.0 out of 10