i need to read the reviews and see if you do a comparison to the offerings on CAC and what was released on PS2/Xbox/PSP. I liked what I saw with the demo but still unsure since I own the CCC Vol.1 & 2.
Capcom Arcade Cabinet
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 On 05/30/2013 at 08:53 PM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
All this past week at GamerDad.com, we’ve been celebrating Capcom’s 30th Anniversary (way to make me feel old, Capcom) by featuring the games found in the downloadable Capcom Arcade Cabinet. So here’s links to the reviews of games showcased each day, please click and read as many as you can and let me know what your favorite Capcom classic arcade games are in the comments section!
The first day we looked at the hub itself, where you select which games to play. There was enough stuff to talk about the hub that I could write a whole section on it. The hub is set up a lot like other downloadable arcade collections like the NEO GEO Station and Sega’s Vintage Collections. In fact I’m pretty sure it was developed by the same people. You have your standard galleries and sound tests and such. Personally, I’d rather see this collection on a disc, and if you have the Capcom Classic Collections on PS2 and PSP, you’ve got all these games already plus more. But otherwise, this is a decent collection anyway.
The games in the 1984 pack include Vulgus, SonSon, Pirate Ship Higemaru, and 1942. Vulgus was Capcom’s first arcade game, and introduced such Capcom familiars like the POW icon and Yashichi pinwheels. SonSon is a shooter cleverly disguised as a 2-D platformer. It’s one of my favorites on this collection, and is VERY loosely based on the Monkey King legend (but so is Dragon Ball). SNK made a game a few years later called Psycho Solder that plays almost exactly like SonSon. Psycho Soldier is known for its horrible theme song with vocals, and it also stars Athena Asamiya. Yup, the same Athena from the KOF games.
Pirate Ship Higemaru is my overall favorite game on this collection. It plays a lot like Pengo, and I just love classic arcade games where you run around a maze chasing things. Guess that’s why I like Pac-Man so much. Pirate Ship Higemaru had a NES sequel in Japan that featured Ghosts N Goblins characters in one of the stages. And the lady who did the music for Higemaru went on to do music for Taito in their in-house Zuntata band. As a fan of Zuntata, I thought that was cool. Finally is 1942, the most familiar game in the group. I remember it being in lots of arcades when I was a kid, but the background noises in the game are kind of annoying. Decent, simplistic shooting, though.
The group from 1985 includes some of the most recognized Capcom staples, and includes Savage Bees, Commando, Ghosts N Goblins, Gun.Smoke, and Section Z. Savage Bees, also called Exed Exes, is a 2-D shooter with insects. Commando is the popular military themed shooter arcade classic. I have better memories playing Ikari Warriors, but neither is better than the other. I prefer Commando’s sequel, Mercs. Commando was really popular back then, though, and there was even a port of it on the Atari 2600! It was on the PS2 Activision Anthology, and I’m surprised Capcom didn’t say anything to them about it being there.
Most gamers know of Ghosts N Goblins, the super hard 2-D platformer that you must beat twice to see the ending! I swear the makers of that title hated gamers. I do think it’s cool that the character artist for this game also does the cover arts for Famitsu, a popular Japanese gaming publication. They also brought him back to do the illustrations for the G&G update Maximo games. Even though they were hard, too, I liked the Maximo titles. I knew a lot of people who worked on that game because some were former team members who did Pac-Man World and its sequel. Gun.Smoke is another shooter, but I think it’s cool that it has a cowboy western theme. I like the NES version much better, though. Finally is the horizontally scrolling shooter Section Z. I heard that in the NES version, you play as Captain Commando!
The 1986 group features oddities like Trojan, The Speed Rumbler, Legendary Wings, and Side Arms. Trojan is an awful 2-D side scrolling hack and slash with post-apocalyptic themes. The Pizza Inn near my house had the arcade version for a short while when I was a kid, but it was so bad that it didn’t last for long. Even the NES version was horrendous. The Speed Rumbler is an interesting top down car battle game where you can hop in and out of your armored shooting car at will.
Legendary Wings is both a vertically scrolling shooter and a horizontally scrolling platformer shooter. I had the NES version as a kid for some reason, but I think it’s interesting that the player one character in the arcade game is a female! Both versions of the game are super hard, though. Finally is Side Arms, which is like Section Z but looks and plays better.
And finally, the last group of games has Avengers, Black Tiger, 1943, and 1943 Kai. Avengers isn’t a famous group of super heroes, but a mix of games like Ikari Warriors and Final Fight. It’s viewed from top down, but you don’t shoot, only punch and kick. It’s not very good. Guess Capcom had a few missteps before Final Fight. Even though it’s really hard, I do like Black Tiger, though. Reminds me of Ghosts N Goblins with GOOD controls. When I was in high school I went to a band camp one summer and we slept in empty college dorms. The dorm lobby had some arcade games, and one was Black Tiger. I played it a lot there. The other arcade game there was Track & Field, where I learned about all the crazy secrets you could do in that title. I’m sad that Capcom never released the NES version of Black Tiger, though. 1943 is actually one of my most favorite shooters, even to this day. Even the NES version was good. Finally is 1943 Kai, which is a lot like the original game except harder with a new plane and reworked stages.
Capcom Conclusions
And that’s all for now. Please read my reviews and don’t forget to let me know your Capcom classic favorites! Later! --Cary
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