Building a Better Compilation

In times where digital media is making it easier to access what we want, especially when it comes to games, I must say that is is nice to see retro game compilation releases thriving, not just in digital format, but physical as well. As with anything, however, there is always room for improvement and I'd like to talk about a few things that have been done to improve compilation releases and what more should be done to improve them further.

One thing I see a lot of compilations doing these days is implementing screen filters to replicate the look of old CRT TVs. It's been used in Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2, The Disney Afternoon Collection and it is a standard feature on all of HAMSTER's Arcade Archives titles. We're so used to our fancy HD TVs and picture quality that it can be easy to forget what our video games looked like on TVs from the the 1980s and early 1990s. As someone that grew up in those eras, I appreciate anything that allows me to step back further in time and be a kid again, if only for a little while. It has been used in so many compilations and stand alone re-releases that it is pretty much standard issue now and I am perfectly fine with that.

You get a plethora of emulator settings on SEGA Genesis Classics.

The SEGA Genesis Classics collection has gotten some flack both before and after it's release and I feel not all of it is deserved. Yes, it sucks that Sonic 3 & Knuckles is not included in this collection and I wish SEGA would sort out whatever freaking mess is stopping my favorite Sonic game from getting re-released as the mammoth game it was intended to be. But to dismiss the entire collection due to the absence of that game especially when there are so many other noteworthy titles on it? Well that's just not good form. Besides the usual titles that show up on SEGA compilations like Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, there's also Dynamite Headdy, Gunstar Heroes, Alien Solider as well as ToeJam & Earl and the sequel, Panic on Funkotron. The three Treasure made games have not been present on any compilation release outside of Japan and both ToeJam & Earl titles haven't enjoyed nearly as many re-releases as other SEGA games.

Along with a beefy selection of games and a really cool user interface, the SEGA Genesis Classics collection also sports the aforementioned CRT filters for a more retro gaming experience. This anthology takes it a step further than most, however, and lets you adjust the curves of the CRT TV. Playing the first Streets of Rage with scan lines and those curved edges made me feel super nostalgic. SEGA Genesis Classics also does something I feel other compilations need to implement: the ability to select what region of the game to play. Sadly, not every game  in this collection has this feature but quite a few of them do like LandStalker, Ristar, Streets of Rage 2 and 3, Alien Soldier, and Dynamite Heady. No matter what the regional differences are, be it slightly different level layouts, a different title screen, I always love it when we are given the option to play different versions of a game and see those differences on our own TV screens or computer monitors. I'm quite happy that the Japanese version of Ristar is on the SEGA Genesis Classics because we get to see the cute little guy smile more often. In the case of Streets of Rage 3, I will take Bare Knuckle 3 over Streets of Rage 3 any day. Sure, I can't understand a lick of the story because it is in Japanese but considering the difficulty settings actually make sense in this version, that is a small price to pay. Streets of Rage 3 is a case of difficulty by region as the easy setting in both the American and European versions of the game is actually normal and that setting is way harder than it should be.

The upcoming SNK 40th Anniversary Collection will
included arcade and home versions of select games.

What is usually always included in an Arcade Archives release are different regions of the arcade game, meaning when you drop you $7.99 down, you're getting the USA, Japanese and European version of the game including all of the major and minor differences that come with them. The European version of Gradius II not only has a name change in the form of Vulcan Venture, but it also mercifully lets you use continues, which makes it my go to version when I want to play the arcade version of Gradius II.

Some companies are still stubbornly insistent on not including different regions on compilation releases. The SNES Classic Edition also suffered from this. I was playing the system last week with my nephew and we were playing some Contra III. We only made it to stage four on the easy difficulty setting and since it was his first time playing a Contra game, he died a lot. I told him as long as I had extra lives, he could take them from me. Had the SNES Classic Edition included the Japanese version of the game, we would have had a ton of lives (that version uses the Konami Code) as well as unlimited continues. You'd think that with Nintendo making the Switch region free that they would be more open to included different regions of all the games on the SNES Classic Editions, but alas, if you want the PAL or Japanese versions of these games, you gotta fork over the cash for those versions of the box. In this day and age I don't think there is any reason we should be limited to playing only one region version of a game in these compilation releases.

Instruction manuals are now a thing of the past. Some games come packed with manuals (one of the many reasons Nicalis is one of my favorite publishers) but for the most part, they are a relic. Digitally manuals are all the rage now. With this being the case, you would think most of these retro compilations would include the original manuals with these games. The Sonic Mega Collection from the early 2000s did did this, packing page by page of the manuals from the original classic Sonic titles. Yeah, you had to zoom in to read them and what not but it was still pretty dang cool that SEGA was forward thinking enough to include the. Manuals of the past were often crammed with all kinds of cool original artwork while explaining how to play the game, the power ups and all the jazz. Including the manuals of each game is something I'd like to see featured far more often but I understand that for some companies, that isn't always possible because original work doesn't always get archived properly or at all. However, that's a topic for another day.

Sure, a compilation release with a sizable and worthwhile selection of games is fine and dandy but making the experience even sweeter is still something developers should strive for. The SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for the Switch is going to include arcade and home versions of more than a handful of games. Regardless of which version is superior, I gotta give SNK major props for including home versions alongside their arcade originals. Most primarily arcade base compilation titles would only include the co-op versions so this will help SNK 40th Anniversary Collection stand apart from other releases of the genre. Its one more thing that has me interested to check out some retro games I've never played and that's always a good thing.