Capcom Classics Collection Remixed review

Every time we turn around, there's a new classic arcade game appearing on Xbox Live Arcade, or another arcade compilation hitting store shelves. And now you can carry not one, not two, but 20 of Capcom's best and most beloved quarter-munchers around with you wherever you go, all without the hassle of learning to parallel-park a semi trailer full of arcade machines. Technology, she is grand, no?

Well, mostly grand, at least. This collection actually left us with a few tokens left over. The only Street Fighter here is the original - as in, the one before they started numbering them - despite the fact that the console version of this collection had three variations of Street Fighter II. None of the three Ghouls 'n Ghosts games from the full-sized collection appear here either, and the only WWII-era shooter (there are three in the console version) is 1941: Counter Attack. It's a rip-off that so many of Capcom's heavy hitters are missing (though many have resurfaced in the newly-announced Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded ).

Don't get us wrong: there are still plenty of gems in this treasure chest. The acrobatic actioners Strider and Bionic Commando rock, and beat 'em-ups like Captain Commando - the only game we can name that gives the player the choice of playing as a mummy, a ninja, a Captain America wannabe or a baby driving a robot - and Final Fight are definitely worth a go.

Add in hack-and-slashers Magic Sword and Mega Twins, or shoot 'em-ups such as Forgotten Worlds and the aforementioned 1941: Counter Attack, and you're golden. Even the trivia game Quiz & Dragons is oddly fun, though the answers are all circa 1992. Many of these games don't even appear in the console version of this collection, so it's great to have them.