| Title | The utter hell of Capcom Arcade Cabinet's $30 time machine |
| Author | Tom Chick |
| Posted in | Games |
| When | May 24, 2013 |
There must be some demand for ports of these arcade cabinet games from the 80s, right? Otherwise, Capcom wouldn't be selling them in bundles of three on Xbox Live and the Playstation Store, carefully arranging the familiar with the "what the heck is that one?"..
Read the full articleI cannot tell a lie - I dropped quite a few bucks on Game Room purchases back when that was a thing. I am tempted by this compilation too.
I'm with you, but a little surprised to be with you. One of the big reasons I can't get into your average arcade game is that, given the transient nature of the experience and the need to vacuum up your money, they tend to have to focus almost entirely on the high score chase to drive the gameplay. And I simply cannot bring myself to care about high scores. Whereas I know you're a big fan of them.
From your blog to Capcom's ears.
I had the chance to play an NES today, I stopped by the Salvation Army down the street from my shop on the way to pick up a slice and they had an NES with Super Mario Bros. in it. Played the first two levels, although I think there was something a little off with the directional pad on the controller. Was still a fun game with tight controls but yes, if those games were the only ones I had to play today, after playing the games that have come out in the intervening years, I would be one sad gamer.
Of course when I was a kid I gobbled that stuff up.
Yes. Arcade games have tons of appeal, I like games that are actual challenging competitions of skill. Overuse of checkpoints all but removing any penalty of death is one of my most hated things. I skew newer though, and these packs are terrible. Wish more modern games would share the good parts of the arcade design aesthetic. The business model could actually benefit the game design in many cases unlike todays F2P exploitation. Hell, my favorite Vita game — DJ MAX Technika Tune — is just a simplified arcade game port.
Variety is the spice of life and all that, but I find it funny how much worse NSMB was than SMB1. I haven't played the sequels apart from a little bit of multiplayer Wii though, might've improved! And I might be blinded by nostalgia, but playing their Wii re-release of SMB Allstars with young family members suggests it's definitely not the only factor.
Does each pack come with a pair of rose-colored glasses to trick people into thinking these games are timeless classics that are just as fun today as they were 25 years ago?
I read somewhere that the best spice is hunger. I guess by that token, the best way to appreciate a 25 year old game is through age and experience. I'm guessing it would be hard to get a modern ten-year-old interested in Ghosts 'n Goblins.
I think it sounds great, though $30 is steep. You sound jaded, Tom. Yeah, screw G&G, but most of those others are still a ton of fun.