The last two decades have seen the almost total collapse of the
traditional American arcade. Sure, you’ll still find places like Ground
Kontrol that exist thanks to the two-pronged assault of nostalgia and
the intoxicating power of alcohol, but the smoke-filled, neon-lit rooms
of the ’80s are as rare as unicorns, and not nearly as appealing to
preteen girls.
With the death of the industry, so went traditional arcade games.
While Capcom’s Street Fighter series persists through fond
memories, companies like SNK have been relegated to releasing
collections of their older titles on today’s hardware. Their newest
collection, SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1, recently hit store
shelves for the PlayStation 2 and more interestingly, the PlayStation
Portable, bringing with it a number of classic titles. From Samurai
Shodown and The King of Fighters to Metal Slug and
Baseball Stars, all of SNK’s popular series are
here—albeit in whatever form they were last seen in, circa
1994.
The good news is that each game in the collection (16 in all) looks,
sounds, and feels exactly as it did in the arcades more than a decade
ago. The bad news, though, is that each game looks, sounds, and feels
exactly as it did in the arcades more than a decade ago, flaws
and all. Granted, SNK is kind enough to throw in some promotional
artwork for those diehard fans who worship classic games like teen
girls who fawn after Jonathan Taylor Thomas—but since all this
art was already created for the games more than a decade ago, it feels
more like SNK’s just cleaning out their closets than actually putting
effort into adding value to a group of games that can be had for free
if you’re familiar with the proper internet channels.
Fans of the original games, though, will be overjoyed to finally
receive portable versions of these games, and the PSP is easily capable
of running each game as well as any of the original arcade cabinets.
But those who got their fill of these games years ago can easily find
something better on the handheld system for this collection’s $30 price
tag.