The actual graphics on the majority of the games still remain fairly pleasing with clear detailed characters and backgrounds but it is the lack of variety when it comes to gameplay which is the major concern. The platform games all show a massive amount of similarities with the majority involving the player simply needing to progress from point A to point B destroying enemies on route. Admittedly there are exceptions such as Top Hunter which allows you to have background interaction but sadly this adds very little to the depth of gameplay where as Commando clone Shock Troopers offers decent playability not helped by awkward shooting controls.

 

The stand out platform/shooter is Metal Slug and it is clearly obvious that this is one of SNK’s favourite titles due to the amount of re-releases, sequels and re-makes that the game has had throughout it’s more than 20 year history. Due to this you get the sense that the game does not stand out as well as it probably should as anyone who has bought SNK Arcade Classics will no doubt have played or owned the games countless times before on numerous systems.

 

 

The sports titles offer a fairly clunky frame rate with Super Sidekicks 3 standing out as being particularly bad and one of the titles which probably won’t be played too many times. Baseball Stars 2 still remains enjoyable as does Neo Turf Masters (golf) both of which offer pretty simple gameplay mechanics with only one or two buttons needed to play.

 

The one on one beat em ups still offer the technical challenge that fans of the genre crave despite none of them appearing to have fluid and smooth character movements that one would have expected from games such as these. Undoubtedly the one on one beat em ups still stand out as some of the best games in the package despite the obvious flaws along with the side scrolling R-type shoot em up clone Last Resort.

 

The side scrolling beat em ups I can honestly say are fairly dull affairs with Sengoku in particular looking like a poor game by anyone’s standards whilst Burning Fight is more playable it still remains an obvious copy of the far superior Capcom game Final Fight. King Of The Monsters is another title which is showing it’s age badly and has somewhat disappointed me personally as I always found this game pretty fun where as now it mindless button bashing affair which has been superseded by so many other games.

 

 

A pretty good inclusion to all of the games is the addition of a medal system which acts sees you gain rewards for progressing to various points and successfully completing in game challenges. Once a set amount of challenges are completed this then unlocks the bonus one on one beat em up World Heroes. Although I used to enjoy World Heroes I can honestly say that I cannot see myself playing enough of each game to gain enough medals to unlock the game which is a pity as it would have been nice to see how that title has aged.

 

 

Upon commencing any of the games in the package the controls are set to use the Wiimote and although this control system works well enough on some games it is still not as good as using the Wii classic controller which certainly adds something to the playability and gives the games a more authentic feel.

 

 

Although being a big retro game fan and being brought up on gaming during the era in which these titles were first released it is hard for me to recommend "SNK Arcade Classics Vol.1".

 

Undoubtedly the game is exceptional value for money especially as most of the titles are available for 900 points each through the Virtual Console however for each good game there are one or two that can be described as average at best.

 

It is a real shame to see how badly some of the SNK games have aged and it must be said that due to this not everyone will find much enjoyment from the game. Retro and SNK game fans should check the game out as they will undoubtedly find enjoyment from at least half of the games although for the majority of gamers this should be left on the shelf as there are far better games available elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

+ Around half of the games are still pretty enjoyable
+ Good value for money and cheaper than virtual console
+ Retro and SNK fans will enjoy a blast from the past
+ Good use of classic controller