So obviously, if you're hoping to play titles such as The King of Fighters, Samurai Spirits, Metal Slug or even Fatal Fury in this 40th anniversary compilation, it's a little grated. Here, we rather have fun with Alpha Mission, Crysalis, Iron Tank, Street Mart or even Vanguard. Obscure games that are part of the SNK catalog when video games were still very minimalist. However, if you have a cult for SNK, this compilation also aims to make you discover the origins stories of certain emblematic characters of the Japanese firm. With the game Athena for example, you will discover the very first adventures of Athena Asamiya (figurehead of KOF games today) extended with the game Psycho Soldier. The three opuses of Ikari Warriors will allow you to get to know Ralph and Clark, while Street Smart will give you the impression that the central character has somewhat inspired a certain Takuma Sakazaki.
THE GOOD OLD TIMES
It is therefore a total of 14 games that are offered in the cartridge, knowing that there is something for everyone with shoot'em up (horizontal as vertical), adventure game, beat'em all , platformer and tank game. Variety is key and contrary to appearances, quality is also there. Indeed, despite their great age, some games manage to surprise us in 2018, in particular Crystalis which recalls the very first The Legend of Zelda on NES. Other titles such as POW or Street Smart surprise with their very polished graphics and animations for the time. The choice of games offered by SNK in this compilation should therefore not be underestimated, especially since since December 12, 2018, 11 additional titles have been added to the list, enriching the content and varying the pleasures even more. We were pleasantly surprised by the nervousness of Bermuda Triangle, undoubtedly one of the best shoot'em ups on the compilation, while Paddle Mania is considered the ancestor of Windjammers with its playability based on the right analog stick, capable of to put our nerves to the test.
The list of games present by default in SNK 40th Anniversary Collection
• Alpha Mission
• Athena
• Crysalis
• Guerrilla War
• Ikari Warriors
• Ikari Warriors II
• Ikari III
• Iron Tank
• P.O.W
• Prehistoric Isle
• Psycho Soldier
• Street Smart
• TnkIII
• Vanguard
The 11 more games in free DLC from 11/12/2018
- Beast Buster (rail shooter)
- Bermuda Triangle (vertical shoot'em up)
- Chopper (shoot’em up vertical)
- Fantasy (Arcade)
- Munch Mobile (Arcade)
- ZMA Wars (Galaga style)
- Paddle Mania (the ancestor of Winjammers)
- SAR : Search & Rescue (Arcade)
- Sasuke vs Commander (shoot’em all)
- Time Soldiers (shoot)
- World Wars (shoot’em up vertical)
But the good surprises do not stop there, since by browsing the different menus of this SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, we realize the sense of detail brought by SNK and its desire to do well, and this without ever betray the player. Indeed, each game has many options that allow you to customize everything. By pressing Y, you can change the difficulty, increase the number of lives, change the controls, choose your language or simply change the display mode (portrait or landscape). Better, for some games, you can simply have the choice between the Arcade or Console version (which can radically change the look of the game depending on the title in question), but also change the region (USA or Japanese). And something quite unprecedented for a game of its caliber, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection has the luxury of offering us a "Watch" function which allows us to have a Walkthrough-style preview of the game, with the added bonus of being able to pause, return backward or forward at any time. This is clearly a great first and benefiting from so many options proves the care taken by SNK in its compilation. So much so that it should also be a model for the genre now.
MAY OTHER PUBLISHERS TAKE SEED FROM IT!
This well-done attention to detail can also be found in the Museum section, which provides access to all SNK games, from 1978 to 1990. Each game is meticulously presented, with period illustrations, accompanied by There are often interesting anecdotes, knowing that you can navigate by hand or by launching a slide show. It's a real work of memory shown by SNK, knowing that there is also a section reserved for bonuses for certain games (concept arts, newsletters, posters, photos, all having been scanned in a beautiful resolution). Finally, the icing on the cake, SNK has also thought of integrating a section entirely dedicated to the music of the games present in the compilation, which means that we can listen to them at leisure, knowing that each time it is the entire soundtrack. In short, a real historian's work which now serves as a reference on the subject.
