Konami Anniversary Collection Arcade Classics

Pew Pew Pew!

The Konami Anniversary Collection includes the following games:
Scramble, TwinBee, Nemesis (aka Gradius), Salamander (aka Life Force), Typhoon (aka A-Jax), Haunted Castle, Vulcan Venture (aka Gradius II), and Thunder Cross.

Breaking it down:

Scramble - I loved this game as a kid.  It was so colorful, and it remains one of my favorite shooters.  Yeah, it's pretty dated by today's standards, but playing it reminds me some of the best moments of my childhood.

TwinBee - An overhead shooter.  I never really liked this one, not then or now.

Nemesis (aka Gradius) - The first Gradius is fun, but the power up system annoys me.  You pick up power ups, but you have to manually push a button to activate them.  This gives you some degree of customization, since you can decide whether to use a power up right away or collect them for a better power up.  Except I have to take my eyes off the action to look at the power up bar, and this is not a game that's kind to people who take their eyes off the action.

Salamander (aka Life Force) - This is much improved over Gradius.  I love the "Inner Space" theme, and the power up system works a lot better for me.  I'll probably go back to this one.

Typhoon (aka A-Jax) - Kind of reminds me of a cross between Afterburner and Space Harrier.  A sort of faux 3D jet fighter shooter.  I don't see myself getting into it.

Haunted Castle - This is basically the arcade version of the original Castlevania.  Oddly, it's the only game in this collection that isn't a shooter.  As Castlevania games go, it's not very good, and it's very difficult.

Vulcan Venture (aka Gradus II) - Just more Gradius.  Great if you're a fan, but I still prefer Life Force.

Thunder Cross - I like this one.  It's my second favorite in the package, after Life Force.  It's another one with crazy power ups, but the theme and graphics are totally different than the Gradius/Life Force games.

So, is it worth the $20?  It depends on how much you like spaceship shooters.  It's kind of an odd collection, with 7 shooters and 1 Castlevania wanna-be.  Seriously, it's weird - if they had moved Haunted Castle to the Castlevania Collection, it would actually have improved both collections, IMO.  And if they needed another shooter to fill the slot, I would have loved the chance to play one of the Parodius games.

Still, if you're a Gradius fanboy, this is a pretty good value.  I only see myself returning to a couple of these games, so I might have been better off buying them separately.  Oh well.

Contra Anniversary Collection

I love the smell of retro in the morning.

When I think about classic side scrolling action games, Contra is the first game that comes to mind.  It had everything going for it:  Non-stop action, two player simultaneous play, Rambo-like characters (hey, he was big at the time), a variety of weapons, the ability to fire diagonally, and killer bosses.  It was a very influential series, the go-to example of its genre. The 8- and 16-bit eras were full of games that players described as “like Contra, but with x”.   This long-overdue collection is chock full of nostalgia for my generation of gamers.

The Contra Anniversary Collection includes either 5 or 10 classic Contra games, depending on how you want to count them:
Contra (arcade, NES, and Famicom versions), Super Contra (arcade), Super C (NES), Operation C (Gameboy), Contra 3: The Alien Wars (SNES), Contra: Hard Corps (Genesis), Probotector (Mega Drive), and Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (SNES).

Breaking it down:

Contra (3 versions) –The first game in the series still holds up.  This collection contains the arcade, NES and Famicom versions.  The arcade version has the best graphics of the three, but the vertical shape of the screen feels weird on a modern TV.  It’s like watching a video from someone who holds their cell phone sideways.  Don’t… just don’t do that.  You would think the NES and Famicom versions would be identical, but the Famicom has a few technical enhancements over the NES version.  It’s nice of them to include all three versions here, but marketing it as if they’re three separate games is a bit misleading IMO.  Still, it’s great to own a piece of gaming history.

Super Contra (2 versions; the NES version being called “Super C”) – A worthy entry in the series, though it doesn’t really do much of anything new.  It’s like they just added more levels to the first one.  Fun Fact:  Apparently they renamed the NES version because the word “Contra” was very contra-versial (ha ha) that year, due to the Iran-Contra Affair.

Contra III: The Alien Wars (2 versions; the European version being called “Probotector: Alien Rebels”) – This is one of my all-time favorite games.  The controls are perfect, the graphics are beautiful, and it puts you in all manner of crazy impossible action scenes.  It’s been 27 years, but it still holds up.  It’s nice to finally get to play the Probotector version as well.  Fun Fact: Several of the Contra games were altered and renamed “Probotector” (Robot Protector) in Europe/Australia, to make them less violent.  The Probotector games replace a lot of human sprites with robots.

Contra: Hard Corps (2 versions; the European version is called “Probotector”) – I never had a Genesis, so this one was brand new to me.  It’s difficult, but I guess that’s implied by the title.  I like that the player characters actually look different, rather than just being palette swaps.  My wife and I are going to fight over the female character.  Anyway, it's a great game, and I'll be coming back to this one more later.

Operation C – This Gameboy version could almost be called another version of Super C, but it’s just different enough to be considered its own game.  It’s important for being the first Contra game to have homing missiles, and to make autofire the default weapon.  Unfortunately, like most Gameboy games, it doesn’t really hold up today.  I really wish they’d skipped this one and added one of the other Contra games instead.  There’s plenty to choose from.

So, bottom line:  While this is marketed as having 10 games, it’s closer to five.  I mean, sure, the arcade version of Super Contra is a lot different from the NES’s Super C, but you’re probably going to pick a favorite and only play that version.  And you’re not going to play the Gameboy version more than once, I’m pretty sure.  So that leave four games.  Are these four games worth your $20?  I say yes.  Honestly, I think Contra III is worth the $20 alone, and everything else is just gravy.

This is the third of Konami’s Anniversary Collections they’ve released this year.  They haven’t announced any more yet, but I hope there’s more to come.  These are great versions of some of the best games in video game history.

Castlevania Anniversary Collection

Drac is back… in a retro pack!

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection includes the following games:
Castlevania (NES), Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest (NES), Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse (NES), Super Castlevania IV (SNES), Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy), Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Revenge (Gameboy), Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis), and Kid Dracula (NES).

Breaking it down:

Castlevania (NES) – The game that started it all is still fun to play today.  Yeah, the graphics are dated, and the sound is a bit bloopy, but if you like 8-bit games, it’s excellent.

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES) – Unlike the more linear first game, Simon’s Quest is more like Metroid - you have to explore the world and find upgraded equipment to unlock new areas.  I actually really enjoyed this game when it first came out.  A friend and I spent a weekend playing our way through it, and it’s one of my better childhood memories.  But… honestly?  It’s not a very good game.  Some of the puzzles are almost impossible without a guide, the translation is terrible, and there’s some coding issues that have always bothered me – the way you can walk past certain bosses, for instance.  It’s an important piece of video game history, but I can’t say it’s all that fun to play.

Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES) – I never got to play this when it was new.  I've only played a little bit of it so far, and it seems just like more levels for Castlevania 1.  I'm glad it goes back to the more linear levels, though, instead of RPG elements.  I'll probably play more of this one when I'm done with Bloodlines.

Super Castlevania IV (SNES) – This is still one of my all-time favorite games.  I already owned it on two other consoles, but it’s still nice to see here.  The soundtrack is excellent, the controls are perfect, and I love the (now cheesey) Mode 7 effects.  That chandelier level is still awesome.  The only problem I have is that it lacks personality somehow, compared to the other Castlevania games.  But overall, this is a game worth owning, and possibly the shiniest jewel in this collection.

Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy) – This doesn’t age well, though to be honest, it wasn’t that great when it was new.  It’s short, the controls aren’t as forgiving as the NES versions, it’s difficult, and there’s no sub-weapons.  The graphics and sound were pretty good at the time, considering the system it was designed for, but there’s no reason to be playing this game on a modern console.

Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Revenge (Gameboy) – This is slightly better than the first Gameboy title, but honestly, Gameboy games just don’t age well.  I do like the fact that you can play the stages in any order, like Mega Man.  But it’s short and you walk slow.  Pass.

Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis) – Being a SNES fanboy, I never got to play Bloodlines until now.  I just tried it, and wow, it's awesome.  It's every bit as good as Super Castlevania IV.  I'll keep returning to this one, at least until I've beaten it.  It's worth playing even today.

Kid Dracula (NES) – Another new experience, since this one wasn’t even released in America until now.  From what I've played, it's definitely a kid's game, with charming graphics and goofy monsters.  I'm glad I finally got to play it, even if I probably wont play it much.

So, is this collection worth your $20?  I’d say yes.  The SNES and Genesis games are the real standouts here, but the NES games are still fun too.  I’ve found the Gameboy games to be a waste of space, and really wish they’d put something else in those slots.  But the rest of the games are still strong enough entries to make the collection worth it.  If you like retrogaming, buy it.  It’s the second most fun you can have with a whip.