Shock Troopers
If Metal Slug was SNK's answer to Contra, then Shock Troopers is their answer to Capcom's Commando/MERCS franchise. This is an overhead shooter where you and your friends go around exotic locales blowing up everything that moves. It's not the most original game, but it is one of the most exciting titles in this compilation. With cool looking power-ups, two-player action and a number of exciting bosses, it's hard to deny the fun of Shock Troopers. Of course, it's even harder to deny that Shock Troopers 2 was a better game, but maybe we'll get that in SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 2. Either way, Shock Troopers is a lot of fun. It's just disappointing that the game is over so quickly.
Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory
Here we have our third and final Neo Geo sports game, and this time around it's taking on soccer ... which I hear is really popular in other parts of the world. This non-licensed soccer/football game does a lot of things right, but if you're not a fan of the sport then it's not going to convert you. The action is fast and the graphics are surprisingly good. In fact, Super Sidekicks 3 is one of the newest titles found on this disc, which is probably why the graphics are so strong. It's not my cup of tea, but I certainly had a lot of fun with it and I can see how some soccer fans may feel that this is the single best game on the disc.
The King of Fighters '94
The King of Fighters is SNK's annual fighting game franchise, a series that seemed to get worse and worse with age. Unfortunately this 1994 edition came out before SNK had perfected the formula, so in turn it feels like a huge step backwards. A more suitable addition should have been The King of Fighter '98, which was right around the time SNK really understood what characters and options gamers wanted. Either way, this weird mash-up is far superior to most of the other fighting games on this compilation, including both Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury. It's a shame that SNK was never able to get the Last Blade and Samurai Shodown characters in on the action, but if you're looking for a great fighting game then you can't go wrong with The King of Fighters '94.
Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy
Like Metal Slug, Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy feels like an adorable version of Contra. But don't be fooled, the game is actually a lot better than it looks. The two-player gameplay is fun and it actually plays into a lot of the "puzzles" found throughout the game. The graphics are also sharp, with funny backgrounds and a great sense of style. Of course, the game is terribly short and repetitive, but it's fun to play through once or twice with friends. This is another SNK game that was ripe for a sequel, but for whatever reason SNK chose to focus all of their attention on The King of Fighters series. The Top Hunter name may not mean much to you, but this is easily one of the best games on this disc.
World Heroes
Who would have thought that World Heroes would be one of the better fighting games on a Neo Geo compilation? World Heroes is nowhere near as good as The King of Fighters '94, but it's light years ahead of Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. For all of its problems, the character line-up in World Heroes isn't half bad. Oh sure, it's full of cheesy characters that look like they have no place in a fighting game, but at least they're interesting. That's certainly more than you can say about Art of Fighting. Still, there's a better World Heroes collection already on sale, so fans of the series should just choose that disc over this. As a sampler, this taste of World Heroes won't be enough to make you want more ... but it will also save you a lot of money from having to run out and buy the World Heroes compilation.
As you can tell, the game selection is all over the place. The good news is that more than a third of the games are real winners, including such titles as Top Hunter and Shock Troopers. On the other hand, six of the games are in that so-so area, which means that there are better games available and maybe you shouldn't waste your time. Only four games are real stinkers, and most of those are the well known titles (Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, etc.). All in all this disc's line-up is solid enough to warrant a look.
Aside from the games, each of these titles can be played using the Wii's classic controller and the remote/nunchuck. While the remote and nunchuck combination works on most games, the best way to experience these games is with the classic controller. Sadly there isn't an arcade stick to give the games a level of authenticity, but most of the games control perfectly fine with the regular D-pad on the classic control.
The problem I keep having with this compilation is that I don't understand how it fits. All of these games are currently available on the Virtual Console for $9, which makes this disc-based collection look like a really good deal. Even if you hate half of these games, you're still going to save money buying the four or five games you want this way. If you were to buy all of the individual titles on the Virtual Console it would run you $144, compare that to the $30 you'll spend on this disc and it's not even a close call. It baffles the mind why SNK would even release a disc like this given the success of the Virtual Console, but as somebody who would rather spend $30 than $144, I thank them for doing it.
Hopefully this set will be popular enough to warrant a second volume, one that would fill in some of the gaps left by this game. Where is Wind Jammers? Why no Last Blade? How about Blazing Star? There are dozens of really good games that could be ported, so here's hoping that SNK manages to start offering the really good stuff. Either way, this collection has enough good to warrant the purchase. You will still have to put up with some genuinely bad games, but they don't get in the way as much as you would think. No matter if you are playing all by yourself or have friends over, SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 is definitely worth picking up.
B
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 may have a lot of games, but it's missing some of the Neo Geo's best titles. Perhaps these games will be represented in Vol. 2 or 3, but for now it's a shame that we have to put up with yet more ports of Art of Fighting instead of the infinitely better Wind Jammers. All in all, this single disc is a much better value than buying these 16 games individually through the Virtual Console!
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