Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection Reviews
A seemingly random collection of Konami arcade games that's so incoherent and bare bones it won't please retro fans or newcomers.
Out of all the retro compilations Konami has coming our way, Anniversary Collection is probably going to be the weakest. Its collection of games is questionable, especially with “classics” that are anything but. That said, though, it’s a sure-fire hit for fans of hard shooters, especially with the Life Force and Scramble games thrown in.
Arcade Classics reunites some of the most iconic Konami coin ops, although we've missed a little more variety (7 o the 8 games are shumps), more options (like being able to play some of them vertically) and more extras aside from the included digital book. But if you love retro games, it's not a bad choice for 20 euros...
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Konami Anniversary Collection: Arcade Classics is quite a lazy collection of a bunch of good 80s games. The emulation is quite smooth, most of the games are still fun, but some bizarre games choic, a quite essential look and the lacks of peculiar features such as online support make the collection just average.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Konami's first anniversary collection for their 50th anniversary contains some notable arcade classics, but the fact they've been previously released digitally with more options should appeal to only the most ardent of nostalgic fans.
Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection is a nice nostalgia trip, but not an essential purchase. Though all of the games bar Haunted Castle are good fun, none but the Gradius games and Thunder Cross truly stand the test of time. Considering the arcade games missing here, it's hard to accept this as a 'classics' collection, but for what you're given, you could certainly do worse.
Konami's Anniversary Collection: Arcade Classics is a poor collection. There is no delicate way to say that. The work done on this project is approximate and devoid of passion and it only takes a few minutes to realize it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
You’ll still have a decent time playing through them all, even though the lack of online leaderboards, lack of high score saving and general lack of options certainly make its budget price feel justified.
Konami Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection brings some classics home, while also reminding us how absolutely insane and brutal the arcade age was in its heyday.
It's hard to say how thorough and genuinely in-depth Konami went when it came to representing the best of the best here, but it's clear that the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection is not the flying start fans would've hoped for.
With a scattershot selection of games and a slapdash presentation, Konami Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection misses the mark. The games are playable, but this doesn't feel like the definitive way to preserve these classics. It instead feels like a school project thrown together during an all-nighter.
We really hope that Konami will treat the upcoming Castlevania and Contra collections with much more love and attention to details, because this first outing in the retrogaming market is far from remarkable.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite the interesting nature of its proposal, Konami does not manage to show off with Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection. Although the games it incorporates are authentic classics, many more titles that offer better gameplay, a greater variety of the genre and a greater number of games are missing. Despite this, if you are fans of the genre or want to discover the origin of current video games, you can give it a try.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you’re not accustomed to this type of shoot ’em up action, Typhoon can easily become absolutely infuriating. Hell, even if you know exactly what it’s doing, it can be rage-inducing. But it’s a game that is worth investing some time and effort into, because the feeling of satisfaction you get from successfully overcoming a particularly challenging encounter is absolutely wonderful — and you’ll quickly get hooked on that feeling.
With the addition of region-select, Konami's Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection has become the easy recommendation it deserves to be. An eclectic array of games is included in this set, and most of them are still quite entertaining. The newly-added region-select option allows players the chance to study how different approaches to difficulty can affect a title. It's rather fascinating how a few simple changes can create new challenges. All in all, it's a worthwhile pick-up for arcade fans.
The result of all of this is a highly limited package that doesn't do Konami any favours. For a company to have such an incredible heritage - including two of the most influential games of all time in Frogger and Track & Field - and then to ignore all of that for a range of early era SHMUPs (and one platformer) that few will remember is bemusing, to say the least. There is some limited appeal in there for people who are fans of the one particular genre, but even then, the package does a very barebones job of celebrating that.
Recommending the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection is a bit of a mixed bag. If you're a fan of the Gradius games or a shmup fan, the collection is a solid, if basic, way to get these classic games on console. The lack of features and the wireless controller bug make it difficult to recommend for anyone who is merely curious about Konami's history. The emulation may be solid, but the package around it has some pretty rough edges.
Don’t go into it with lofty expectations, and Konami Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection will serve you just fine.
It also has a feature that allows you to watch playthroughs of each game and hop in when you feel like it. Even the SNES Classic has a rewind feature that lets you jump back in time to retry a particular segment. A lack of online leaderboards or any type of achievement system also lowers the replay value of the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection. Unless you are terribly nostalgic for the games in this package or a die-hard shoot-em'-up fan, I can't fully recommend it when there are such better value propositions out there.
If you're as much of a Konami shoot 'em up fan as I am then you'll have an enjoyable time with Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection.