Random Game O' the Day: Konami Arcade Classics

[digitalpress]

Day 15.

Huzzah for compilations! The random generator chooses one of my personal favorite compilations of all time, mixing shooters, fighting, racing, and games of skill and reflexes.

So what did you think of it? You can discuss either the PlayStation or the GBA version (the generator pulled the PlayStation version). What is your favorite game of the compilation? Your least favorite? Any surprises, like games you'd never played in the past and "discovered" here? What other Konami games would you have liked to see included - or what games would you choose for a second compilation? Write your own mini-review here.

DP Guide sez:

Konami Arcade Classics (PlayStation, by Konami) $16/R5
Compilation containing Konami coin-op classics Pooyan, Circus Charlie, Shao-Lin's Road, Roc 'N Rope, Yie-Ar Kung Fu, Scramble, Road Fighter, Super Cobra, Time Pilot, and Gyruss. Released 12/09/99.

[Ascending Wordsmith]

Yie-Ar Kung Fu is my favorite of the classics. It introduced some significant firsts in the 'vs fighting' genre. The very first female fighter was Star, plus she also had the very first projectile attack (which was of course hurling ninja stars at Oolong). I also think this game was the first to feature opponents with weapons. Yie-Ar Kung Fu was the first of many great 2D fighters.

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/Y/xYie_Ar_Kung-Fu.png

Time Pilot was also a goodie. The freedom to move anywhere and blast everything was always fun. Am I the only one who thought those homing missiles were a little too 'smart'? I mean the damn things could do a 180 degree arc after coming in from a 2 o'clock angle! Still, Time Pilot is a great game.

http://images.webmagic.com/klov.com/screens/T/xTime_Pilot.png

[gamergary]

Never played it but i want a copy.

[bargora]

I bought it for Time Pilot, but I've since also come to love Gyruss (only played that one once or twice in the arcade). Circus Charlie drives me nuts. And Scramble is just endless pain as far as I'm concerned. In fact, after playing Scramble (and Defender) in the arcade as a wee lad, I studiously avoided side-scrolling shooters for years afterward. I was tired of crying.

The GBA version has Rush 'n' Attack, which has also grown on me. Is this a port of the arcade version or of the NES version?

What strikes me as odd is that the GBA version gives you a move list for Yie Ar Kung Fu, but the PSX version doesn't.

[Captain Wrong]

Yeah, this is one of the best retro comps, IMHO. The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that you can't watch the attract screens. Minor stuff really. It's quality through and through (plus thanks to Konami for breaking through the retro comp = 6 (or fewer) games rule.)

[NE146]

One of my favorite compilations.. I bought em both! :P

I've always liked the psx version, but the GBA version stands out for the portability but moreso for the "extras" and enhanced versions of games (like the new Pterydactyl stage in Time Pilot).

Time Pilot on the GBA seems a little more aggressive and harder than the arcade version but this is a good thing. Time Pilot was easy enough as it is. Scramble is a personal childhood favorite of mine. I could never make it to the end and would often daydream about what you would see when you made it to "the base". I got so crazy about it I asked my mom for the Tomy Scramble tabletop I saw in a sears catalog.. that provided some sort of satisfaction. But nothing compared to finally playing the full arcade version again and being able to conquer it :P.

[yiearkungfu]

yie ar kung fu is the worst game ever :P

[Cafeman]

Konami Classics has got to be one of my most-played PSX games.

Not all that long ago, I posted on this board about this compilation; I was in particular interested in Road Fighter. I had never heard of RF until I got this compilation, but after investing some time in it ... I LOVE it!

It's nice to have Time Pilot, always one of my fave games. Scramble and Super Cobra are really disappointing though -- I learned that I didn't really suck as much as I suspected, these games are just HARD! Too hard. Pooyan is fun for a while; I never played much of the Circus one (Caf Jr plays that one the most).

Gyruss is another great game, probably my favorite on the disk. I ... still .. have not ... reached .... EARTH! Doh!

[Arcade Antics]

Awesome disc, Time Pilot, Gyruss... nuff said! I was always a fan of Roc N Rope, and I played Circus Charlie for the first time on the PSX comp disc. Have the GBA version too, but 99% of the time I'm busy playing Time Pilot or Gyruss on the PSX version. A bit of Bach is ALWAYS good. :)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Speaking as a battle-hardened PSX retro-compilation hoarder, I love this one. God, it even made me like Pooyan again! Gyruss is a highlight, but we just don't have the right controller for it with the PS1. But Time Pilot? That's some serious arcade accuracy there. Love it.

[Daniel Thomas]

This is a damned good compilation, especially on the GBA. Why are so many of the classics packages on GBA so lousy (like Williams Arcade)? The Konami cart is just about perfect -- all it needs is the cool trivia game from the Atari classics cart.

Personally, I still love Gyruss and Time Pilot. Always hated Scramble (ans Super Cobra, too) because it was so hard, but, hey, I like a challenge.

The perfect compilation I want to see is a Konami collection of NES games. I want Contra, but not the arcade version -- gimmie the NES version! Throw in Gradius, Metal Gear, and Blades of Steel, and I'll never ask for anything again.

Except, of course, for a Castlevania collection of the three NES Castlevanias. This can't be hard. How do the emulators play on the Advance?

[Lady Jaye]

NES emulation seems fine on the GBA (see e-reader NES games, such as DK, DK Jr. and Excitebike).

I haven't tried the PSX version, but I really like the GBA one. What I like on it are the rearranged versions of Frogger, Gyruss and Scramble, which I also all like in their classic style. Rush N Attack is almost a great game (the gameplay is sometimes bordering on ackward, but it's not bad at all); BTW it's the arcade, not NES version.

On the other hand, I'm not crazy about Time Pilot (the controls feel really ackward) or Yie-Ar Kungfu (fighters are not my fave type of game).

Only real gripe, which was addressed in pretty much all reviews of the game: where the hell is the classic Frogger theme? The new theme isn't bad, but it should have been kept for the rearranged version only, not be used in the classic version.

[ManekiNeko]

Fantastically fabulous collection. Twelve games should be enough to satisfy anyone. On the GBA, there are only six games, but they've all been enhanced in various ways (usually extra rounds or improved graphics).

JR

[k8track]

Hey all,

I've seen a two-disc Japan-only Konami set, but can't remember the exact title, I think it was something like "Konami Antiques" or something esoteric like that. Anyone got a clue? There's a volume 1 and volume 2. Any help is appreciated--when my friend goes back to Japan, I'd like her to pick up these games for me (along with Vib Ribbon, Guitar Heroes, et. al.).

And yeah, I've got the domestic version of Konami Classics and it does indeed rock. I can play Pooyan and Gyruss all day.

[Alex Kidd]

Anyone who think Scramble and Super Corbra are hard games, you just haven't practiced enough...
It's all about timing.


Alex Kidd