- [JAMES] This has been quite an incredible year
for re-releases of classic games.
Whether you're a fan of compilations,
such as the Mega Man X Anniversary Collections,
or retro mini-consoles,
such as the upcoming PS1 mini classic edition
and the recently released
excellent The C64 Mini.
One collection that I've eagerly been awaiting
has been the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection
for the Nintendo Switch.
Despite being developed by SNK,
this was actually published by our good friends over at NIS America,
who were kind enough to send me a review copy of this game.
SNK's most famous line of hardware,
the Neo Geo line,
mainly the Neo Geo MVS arcade system
and Neo Geo AES home console,
weren't released until 1991, if I remember correctly.
This means that these are all games
from the pre-Neo Geo years of SNK.
This means that this is all stuff I was not that familiar with.
Initially when I heard this was announced,
I thought I was going to get to play the likes of, say,
Metal Slug or the early King of Fighters titles,
but these are all a bit older than that.
If you're a SNK fan
or a fan of retro games in general
is this the compilation you should get this holiday season?
Really, should you get it in general?
Well, that's what we're going to find out
in today's review.
Welcome to Stuff We Play,
home of everything weird and retro,
and if that sounds cool to you then
stay tuned because we're talking about a compilation of retro games for the Nintendo Switch.
So, today we are talking about the
SNK 40th Anniversary Collection.
It's a compilation of fourteen games.
This initially doesn't sound too bad.
In fact, just let me note it already,
that's actually a pretty good number
since it's technically more than just fourteen games.
The fourteen titles here all range from
Vanguard, which came out in the very early 1980s,
to stuff like Prehistoric Isle here which
as we'll find out later,
I became absolutely addicted to.
However, what's interesting is that
while the arcade versions of all these games are included,
all the games in this compilation that had NES ports
also have those present here.
However, one thing off the bat that does strike me as a bit odd about the
game selection is that if we go into the museum mode here,
which is really great and has arcade flyers
and even the manuals that were sent out to arcade owners for some of these games,
this section notes every single title released by SNK during this period.
As is pretty obvious, there were more than just these fourteen.
Apparently, some of those games are going to be released as FREE DLC later on,
from what I've heard.
So, all the games here have a variety of screen options.
You can chose what CRT filters and what not to play around with
which, I mean, is just the nature of a collection like this,
and these look really good, especially for the NES games.
However, what I appreciate the most for the arcade games
is that if you want you can actually flip the screen ninety degrees.
You can play it like this!
I know there's a 3rd party grip for playing arcade games on the Switch like this
because quite frankly,
playing your Nintendo Switch in this mode right here
is the perfect way to play some of these classic arcade titles.
So, let's go through the list of all fourteen games.
I'll kind of give a quick blurb about each of them
as we go through them.
I'll also make note if they have a NES port included or not.
First things first, we have Alpha Mission,
which is a vertical shooter, and actually a really fun one!
It also has a NES port, though,
and weirdly enough I think I like that version better than the original arcade release.
Though, both are rather solid.
Second off, we have Athena
which is another arcade game that also has a NES version.
This is the only 2D platformer here.
It's kind of a weird title.
You play as the titular Athena
as you go through levels, kill enemies,
and gain new weapons.
Admittedly, it's quite a bit janky.
I don't feel that this one has aged the best control-wise,
as it feels oddly stiff.
This is especially so in the NES version.
Next up, though,
is a game that was actually NES exclusive.
Crystalis is kind of an overhead Zelda clone
though, I guess it's a bit more action-packed than a traditional Zelda, if that makes sense.
Crystalis is more concerned with traditional RPG elements,
such as magic and levelling,
and it's a lot of fun!
It's definitely a game that I would call a NES "hidden gem",
and, to be honest,
I feel that this is the best way to play it.
It just looks and plays especially well on the Switch
and, plus, I don't see it making it's way to Nintendo's NES app any time soon!
The next game we come to here is Guerilla War,
a game that was released both on consoles and in the arcade
that for some reason features Fidel Castro.
This is an overhead run 'n gun shooter.
Now, of fourteen games featured here
this genre is by far the most prevalent.
Between Guerilla War,
Ikari Warriors 1, 2, and 3,
Iron Tank,
and Tank III,
I feel like roughly half of all of the games in this collection
fit into this one genre.
While I know that
perhaps this is what SNK was best known for
during this period - as I said, I don't really know much about pre-Neo Geo SNK -
it does feel like a bit of an overabundance of one genre.
But, on its own, Guerilla War does play pretty decently.
It feels a bit better in the arcade than on the consoles,
but it's still really fun.
I actually really enjoy this, especially since
while you move around using the left joystick,
you actually use the right joystick to
rotate how your character is facing. Kind of like in Smash TV!
Next up is a really famous title from this period in SNK's history:
Ikari Warriors.
I'll be honest, I was never huge on Ikari Warriors.
It plays well enough in the arcade version
but the NES version is, quite frankly, atrocious.
In fact, that can be said about the NES versions of all three of the Ikari Warriors games.
Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road sets itself apart
quite a bit more than it's predecessor, though.
It starts off in space.
You're fighting aliens
and, really, some weird Lovecraftian-looking beasts.
This one is actually pretty fun,
even though it's running on a modified version of the same engine as the first game.
But, the best of the three Ikari Warriors games
is definitely Ikari III.
Not "Ikari Warriors III",
just "Ikari III".
The sprites are bigger.
It controls better.
Also, if you don't have any weapons on you, you can just kick the crap out of enemies!
It's satisfying.
There's Iron Tank, a World War II based game
where, you guessed it, you're in a tank.
This one is arcade only.
We have P.O.W.,
which is actually a sidescrolling beat 'em up.
This one was both on the NES and in the arcade.
While it's cool to see a beat 'em up on the NES, as those are rather uncommon,
it doesn't exactly play well.
Mighty Final Fight this is not.
However, the arcade version of P.O.W.
is actually pretty fun.
I don't think it'll grip you for much too long
unless you really have a thing for early beat 'em ups,
and I'll be honest it does have a little bit of jank to it,
but it's still fun and I quite enjoyed it myself.
Prehistoric Isle is a game that, I'll admit,
I was unfamiliar with the existence of
before I played the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection.
That's a shame because it's extraordinary.
This is a horizontal shoot 'em up,
the only one on this collection sans Vanguard,
and you take control of a little biplane
as you go to an island
and have to shoot down dinosaurs.
There's stages in the sky, going through forests, and even the ocean!
The battles are big and the sprites are huge and beautifully animated.
Prehistoric Isle is addicting, and I
have actually beat it three separate times already.
Granted, that's likely not saying much as this is an arcade collection.
You have infinite continues.
It's very much so a war of attrition, y'know.
But, it's still fun!
It's honestly now one of my new favourite horizontal shooters!
Next we have a weird one.
It's like a mix of a horizontal shooter and a platformer
and it's called Psycho Soldier.
Honestly, this one -
it actually has a really cool art style and what not
but I couldn't get into it.
Apparently it has a little bit of a following, and
if this is "your" game then congrats,
it's here and I'm sure it plays well enough
but I just could not get into it.
Maybe it's because the combination of the two genres here
also had a bit of jank to it.
You might notice that I've been saying that a bit.
A lot of the games here feel a bit janky or
stilted and that's because these are all from SNK's early years. They weren't refined yet.
They really honed things down during the Neo Geo era.
But, as I've also shown so far I hope,
there's still a lot of fun to be had.
That can definitely be seen in titles such as the aforementioned Prehistoric Isle.
One game that's not very good, however,
is Street Smart.
Street Smart is a fighting game
type...thing.
I would put it on par with the original Street Fighter.
Not Street Fighter II.
The original one.
Y'know, "Fighting Street" if you've heard of that one.
That is to say, I'm sure this was revolutionary for its time
but, nowadays, it's really not that fun to play.
Tank III, however, is another...
game where you play as a tank. Oh, okay.
Granted, this one is actually a lot of fun.
I'm not truly giving it justice since there have already been so many games like this on this collection,
but it is fun!
Now one thin that's interesting here is
Tank III is actually just called "Tank" in Japan.
How do I know that?
Well, something I haven't mentioned yet
is that every single game on here
actually has their Japanese version present.
But then we get to the final game on this collection.
This is the earliest one here and the most basic one here: Vanguard.
It's a horizontal shoot 'em up
that's honestly rather basic, which I think is to be expected from that time.
However, this is one I've actually had the privilege of playing in the arcade before.
This is one I can confirm feels just as great here as it did there.
It's such a simple game
and, no, it's nothing special by today's standards
but, historically speaking, I think it does deserve a place in gaming history.
If you get this collection, I think you will sink at least a few minutes into it.
Who knows?
You might even get addicted to it.
I personally think that it's a ton of fun.
But - that's all the games present on this new collection here!
Do I think it warrants the $40 USD price tag?
Well, it depends.
If you're an SNK fan and if you like
the company and are really interested in their history,
then I think this is an absolutely wonderful time capsule
that shows off their early years. It's a no-brainer.
While there's an overabundance of overhead shooters and I wish they weren't
resorting to DLC for eleven of the titles they're bringing out later on,
I think there are some really great gems in here.
What, with the arcade versions of the Ikari games and especially with Prehistoric Isle.
Who knows?
Are there some games I've mentioned here that you haven't heard of that seem interesting to you?
Let me know in the comments below!
If you are unfamiliar with SNK
or, really, any of their work
pre or post Neo Geo,
then this one is a bit harder to recommend.
Though they are adding games later on via DLC,
I'm glad that none of the initial games on here
are forcing you to, y'know,
download them via a download code.
Plus, you get fourteen classic games
on a Switch cartridge!
I think that's going to make many of us retro gamers very happy.
So, if you're a retro gamer wanting a great retro-style experience on the Switch
or a diehard SNK fan,
while I don't think this title is for everyone,
it may be worth checking out.
But you know what, I may be beginning to ramble on just a bit.
Will you be picking up the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection?
Should we get a new Metal Slug Anthology on the Switch?
Let me know all that down in the comment section below,
and while you're at it why not subscribe to Stuff We Play for more great content like this!
Or, even back us on Patreon
as every dollar earned from Patreon does go back into the channel itself,
so, with that,
thank you very much for watching,
stay classy,
and I'll see you...
next time! Ooooh that was dangerous ooooh
please subscribe.
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