I spent three days trying to beat my roommate's score on Time Pilot, which is probably as much of a testament to this collection's addictive nature as any—our normal living room distractions are the likes of Fight Night and garbage television. But Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits has a lot going for it, if you've got other people to compete with, anyway.
Konami must have taken arcade compilation criticism to heart because this thing is polished and archival in a way we just haven't seen from comps like this before. Every single one of the cartridge's fifteen games has an "archive" section with the original arcade promotional flyers, short "tips and tricks" for the particular game, basic instructions for play, and even sound tests. One of the coolest little features has to to be the actual game settings, which can be adjusted either by a basic menu, or for full-on enthusiasts, via the touchscreen on an image of the exact dipswitches from the game board. Even the game selection screen is neat: a little gear is rotated to slide the games in and out of focus. The total package just oozes with slick presentation, and I desperately hope this is a format they use in the future to release new games in the series.
In-game you've also got an array of slick choices to make. Most games allow you to play them in a variety of aspect ratios, from tightly interlaced scaled displays for traditional play, to the game's original vertical aspect ratio on titles like Contra and Road Fighter, via turning the DS on its side like a book. Though the control becomes a little odd this way, playing in an orientation you're likely not familiar with, the fact that the option is there is further testament to Konami's devotion to providing as complete a package as possible. The bottom screen is also utilized to display original cabinet-like references on which buttons do what, what point thresholds you need to hit to obtain extra lives, and how many bonus points certain objects provide you with. It's a great use of the second screen to provide relevant information without seeming too tacked on or gimmicky.
The games themselves are the meat of any compilation and this one's no different: for scoring enthusiasts there are some of the best here: Shaolin's Road, Gradius, Track and Field, Rush'n Attack, and Pooyan join the ranks of the previously mentioned as the real cream of the crop here. Other titles like Circus Charlie, Basketball, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Roc' N Rope, and Twinbee (renamed Rainbow Bell for this release) are occasionally enjoyable but not nearly as addictive or competitive as the others.
The wireless features add even more cherries to the already cherry-laden sundae: you can send demos of the games to other players with Nintendo DS systems, play games co-operatively (like you were both looking at the same arcade machine) and also record and watch "replays" of your own performances. Trying to show a buddy how to get past that really annoying part after the fireballs in Scramble? No problem—just record it, send it over to his DS, and let him check it out. The replays themselves are also really cool—you can start one up before a run at the high score and then save it afterwards with comments for later viewing on just how to squeeze some more points out.
The compilation is so well done as to have almost no negative aspects except for a few tiny quirks: touching the bottom screen pauses the game and brings up the system menu, which is convenient in most games but absolutely annoying in Track and Field, where you'll likely have set down the system on a table to hammer the buttons as fast as possible and end up tapping the screen inadvertently. On some titles, especially depending on how you choose to display them, you'll get flickering or shimmering because of the DS screen resolution compared to the arcade original. It's also a relatively tedious process to just exit and restart a game, requiring no less than five or six button presses to get out, back in, insert credits, and start the game rolling. These are issues so minor they're almost not even worth mentioning, though, and it is likely that the play experience will be exceedingly smooth for almost everyone.
If you're planning on flying solo to the arcade with this Konami Classics game you might end up a little bored with nobody to challenge your scores—but toss a persistent roommate, friend, or sibling into the mix and you've got a package of at least eight or nine exceedingly competitive portable titles covered in shiny lacquer: a value proposition to be sure and one that will be warmly received upon further iterations of the series.
Konami must have taken arcade compilation criticism to heart because this thing is polished and archival in a way we just haven't seen from comps like this before. Every single one of the cartridge's fifteen games has an "archive" section with the original arcade promotional flyers, short "tips and tricks" for the particular game, basic instructions for play, and even sound tests. One of the coolest little features has to to be the actual game settings, which can be adjusted either by a basic menu, or for full-on enthusiasts, via the touchscreen on an image of the exact dipswitches from the game board. Even the game selection screen is neat: a little gear is rotated to slide the games in and out of focus. The total package just oozes with slick presentation, and I desperately hope this is a format they use in the future to release new games in the series.
In-game you've also got an array of slick choices to make. Most games allow you to play them in a variety of aspect ratios, from tightly interlaced scaled displays for traditional play, to the game's original vertical aspect ratio on titles like Contra and Road Fighter, via turning the DS on its side like a book. Though the control becomes a little odd this way, playing in an orientation you're likely not familiar with, the fact that the option is there is further testament to Konami's devotion to providing as complete a package as possible. The bottom screen is also utilized to display original cabinet-like references on which buttons do what, what point thresholds you need to hit to obtain extra lives, and how many bonus points certain objects provide you with. It's a great use of the second screen to provide relevant information without seeming too tacked on or gimmicky.
The games themselves are the meat of any compilation and this one's no different: for scoring enthusiasts there are some of the best here: Shaolin's Road, Gradius, Track and Field, Rush'n Attack, and Pooyan join the ranks of the previously mentioned as the real cream of the crop here. Other titles like Circus Charlie, Basketball, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Roc' N Rope, and Twinbee (renamed Rainbow Bell for this release) are occasionally enjoyable but not nearly as addictive or competitive as the others.
The wireless features add even more cherries to the already cherry-laden sundae: you can send demos of the games to other players with Nintendo DS systems, play games co-operatively (like you were both looking at the same arcade machine) and also record and watch "replays" of your own performances. Trying to show a buddy how to get past that really annoying part after the fireballs in Scramble? No problem—just record it, send it over to his DS, and let him check it out. The replays themselves are also really cool—you can start one up before a run at the high score and then save it afterwards with comments for later viewing on just how to squeeze some more points out.
The compilation is so well done as to have almost no negative aspects except for a few tiny quirks: touching the bottom screen pauses the game and brings up the system menu, which is convenient in most games but absolutely annoying in Track and Field, where you'll likely have set down the system on a table to hammer the buttons as fast as possible and end up tapping the screen inadvertently. On some titles, especially depending on how you choose to display them, you'll get flickering or shimmering because of the DS screen resolution compared to the arcade original. It's also a relatively tedious process to just exit and restart a game, requiring no less than five or six button presses to get out, back in, insert credits, and start the game rolling. These are issues so minor they're almost not even worth mentioning, though, and it is likely that the play experience will be exceedingly smooth for almost everyone.
If you're planning on flying solo to the arcade with this Konami Classics game you might end up a little bored with nobody to challenge your scores—but toss a persistent roommate, friend, or sibling into the mix and you've got a package of at least eight or nine exceedingly competitive portable titles covered in shiny lacquer: a value proposition to be sure and one that will be warmly received upon further iterations of the series.