Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 (Xbox) review "Compilations. They all have the potential to be great, especially upon hearing some of their titles, like Namco Museum, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, and so on. Unfortunately, a lot of them disappoint, especially the ones I've mentioned. Two Street Fighter games doesn't really qualify as a collection, the Sonic selection isn't that great outside of the main four, and Namco cranks out the exact same list of Museum games for almost every single console. Thankfu..."

Compilations. They all have the potential to be great, especially upon hearing some of their titles, like Namco Museum, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, and so on. Unfortunately, a lot of them disappoint, especially the ones I've mentioned. Two Street Fighter games doesn't really qualify as a collection, the Sonic selection isn't that great outside of the main four, and Namco cranks out the exact same list of Museum games for almost every single console. Thankfully, there are compilation titles out there that are pretty good, and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 is one of them.

Right from the start, you'll be able to choose from all 22 games in this collection, no silly methods to unlock half of them (I'm looking at you, Sonic Mega Collection Plus). A lot of the titles here you're pretty much familiar with, like the first few "19" games (1942, 43, and 43 Kai), the Ghost 'n Goblins trilogy, Mercs, and the manly, arcade version of Final Fight. Then there's the not-so recognizable releases, like Pirate Ship Higemaru, a Bomberman-ish type game where you throw barrels at creatures, and Vulgus, a very simple, yet, tough shoot-em-up. While all these titles vary in many, many ways, the majority of the them have one thing in common: they can be hard as hell. This is because these titles usually have a combination of one-hit kills and an abundance of enemies on-screen, forcing you to memorize patterns and have lightning-fast reflexes to stay alive. It's basically a quarter cruncher haven inside this disc. Thank goodness this compilation has infinite continues, which cuts down on the tough difficulties.

That's not all you'll be getting out of CCCV1, however. Each game comes with an assortment of bonuses for your pleasure, ranging from the game's history and various artwork to tips and a selection of the game's soundtrack. They don't come quite easily, though. A lot of these extras have requirements that have to be met in order to access them. Wanna listen to Legendary Wings' music? Beat the game. View Mercs' art gallery? Collect 10 bombs. But, are they all worth unlocking? Well, some of them. Final Fight's art gallery (a total of 71 pictures) and cast pages are pretty neat, but others, like Commando's cast (oh, wow, a truck and a jeep...) and music (two remixes that sound horrible) pages are not worth the trouble.

Also, while CCCV1 has a good amount of games that are quite nice, there are some stinkers. The first one is 1942. Now, I know they had to include this with the other two, but it's still a crappy game. Going through 32 stages of the exact same thing will drive you mad. The other is the inclusion of not one, not two, but three different versions of Street Fighter II. Just pick one, Capcom, I don't think any normal person would care if one version of the game wasn't available on this title. However, despite these tiny problems, Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 is a good compilation release for those who want to experience Capcom's oldies on one convenient disc. Now, if only Capcom can do a really good Street Fighter collection....... Well, at least we got Street Fighter 1, the bestest Street Fighter game ever, on Vol. 2.

Community review by dementedhut (November 14, 2006) Previously on Lost