➤ Konami Arcade Classics Anniversary, the review 🎮

The recovery and adaptation of old classics is a peculiarity of the videogame market, deriving from their being systemic products and therefore subject to irrevocable obsolescence. For this reason, initiatives such as Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection by Konami, protagonist of this one review, cannot be immediately labeled as easy commercial operations that focus on nostalgic re-enactment, but they also have a real historical value. Unless you find an unlikely agreement with publishers and console producers for a standard regularization of emulation, in fact, you have to rely on collections of this type to be able to play historical titles on modern platforms. Given the XNUMXth anniversary, Konami has decided to celebrate by focusing on its boundless historical archive and this Arcade Classics is only the first of the various collections planned for this period, with Castlevania Anniversary Collection and Contra Anniversary Collection coming soon. Unfortunately, this is a largely missed opportunity, as we shall see.

The titles present are not very debatable, being the pillars of the history of the video game. The critical elements start from the selection of the titles included in the collection, rather small in quantitative terms and above all too focused on the same genre (the shooter) and arrive at the adaptation and the surrounding contents. It is clear that games have an indisputable value, not only for their being invaluable milestones in the history of this medium, but also because some of these - contrary to what happens in many similar cases - are still fully enjoyable today, from a distance. of three or four decades. Evaluating titles of this caliber would make little sense nowadays, therefore the judgment is based above all on the quality of the re-presentation and the framework in which they are framed, aspects that certainly lend themselves to some criticism.

The golden years

Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection contiene Giochi 8, very few compared to what has been seen in other similar transactions and, moreover, almost all of the same kind, that is shooter: Scramble (1981), TwinBee (1985), Nemesis (aka Gradius, 1985) Life Force (aka Salamander, 1986), Vulcan Venture (Gradius 2, 1986), Typhoon (1987), Thunder Cross (1988) and Hunted Castle ( 1988). It is true that the shooter has an iconic value for the videogame 80s, and it is certainly the genre on which Konami was most engaged in the arcade at the time, but a selection of titles that should be symbolic of an entire historical era is not it can be based on a single genre for seven of the eight titles present, also considering the publisher's extensive catalog. It should be noted, however, that the only non-shooter game is Hunted Castle, or a spin-off of Castlevania, a type quite well covered by the other upcoming collection dedicated to the series, therefore even the only slot belonging to a different genre seems rather "wasted". It is strange that games such as Frogger, Pooyan, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Green Beret, Track & Field or others have not been considered and this imbalance in the chosen titles suggests maliciously to a solution of convenience on the part of Konami, considering that most of the games in this collection have already been released previously in the excellent re-releases of the Arcade Archives series by Hamster Corporation.

In any case, these are great games, on which obviously there is very little to say: perhaps only Scramble has characteristics that can be too archaic, as often happens to the games in these collections, but all the others are titles that are enjoyable. even nowadays, with the two Gradius in particular still being able to exert considerable appeal even beyond the nostalgic charm, being two of the best scrolling shooters ever. Considering the age, Typhoon, Thunder Cross and Hunted Castle also amaze for the technological level they continue to demonstrate, proof of the mastery with which Konami used to operate at the time, while TwinBee gives a slightly original touch to the whole, with the his comic style. Regarding the quality ofemulation there are no problems, with the games flowing at a constant fluidity and without particular uncertainties, therefore on the purely playful front the original experience of the eight titles in question is properly preserved.

The contour

The problems of Arcade Classics emerge on the organizational and conceptual front of the collection, with reflections in the technical field. You can pass over one presentation decidedly sparse as regards the access menu to the various games, but it is difficult not to give weight to deficiencies which, although marginal, can make a difference in operations of this type. In recent times we have seen several very positive examples of classic collections, first of all the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection that we can take as an example of how operations of this type should be packaged. Beyond the quantitative variations (8 titles compared to 24 of the SNK 40th) that can also be justified by the relatively low price at which the Konami title is offered (19,99 euros), or the absence of a physical version, they are missing here some subtleties that make the difference for such a box. The games are offered only in the western arcade version, without therefore giving way to see the (often important) differences that characterized the various editions regional or console conversions, as performed in the analogous collection of SNK. With the addition multiplayer online it could have actually represented an excessive digression from the spirit of the original titles, but at least the presence of the online rankings would have been desirable, but even these were not included in the package.

Le display options allow you to apply only two simple levels of scanline, while the alternative modes in 4: 3 and 16: 9 are almost unusable, which simply stretch the image until it fills the screen with almost comical results for games in particular with vertical display. Since the latter are about half of the titles present, moreover, the possibility of setting the full-screen display on the Nintendo Switch with the display held vertically would have been appreciated, but the option has not been inserted. The most interesting element of this collection, in the end, could be theebook illustrated that tells part of Konami's story focusing in particular on the eight games in the selection. It is nothing more than a PDF that can be consulted by scrolling through the pages and zooming in, but it is built with a care that contrasts with the general haste with which the rest of the collection was composed. In addition to the interesting textual information, which tells the story of the company and the various games released in the period under consideration, among the pages it is possible to see sketches, design documents, preparatory drawings, artwork, concepts and many other materials of great interest.

Comment

Tested version Nintendo Switch Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 19,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

6.0

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6.2

Your vote

Political sufficiency is assigned solely for the absolute and indisputable value of the titles present in this collection, which otherwise proves to be lacking in the way of reproducing the games, in the logic of selection of these and in the quantity and variety of experiences present. Konami Anniversary Collection: Arcade Classics is a bit emblematic of the new Konami: it is based on a unique tradition of immense value like that of the Japanese publisher but limits itself to getting by on the names contained within it without making too much effort to affix some an element capable of enriching the experience by taking it above a mere commercial operation.