SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 (Wii)

The classic game collection you didn't know you wanted.

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This article contains moderate strong language, moderate sensitive subjects, and some blood and gore


  • System: Nintendo Wii
  • Also On: PS2, PSP
  • Genre: Compilation
  • Max Players: 1-2
  • Age Rating: Teen 13+
  • US Release: July 2008
  • Developer: Terminal Reality, Alpha Denshi, SNK
  • Publisher: SNK Playmore
  • Similar Games: Street Fighter, Final Fight, other games SNK had a passion for knocking off

snk-arcade-classicsI got SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 after Christmas, as my family had effectively streamlined the entire Judeo-Christian holiday macrocosm into a small series of virtual currency transactions and I found it on Amazon.com for $11.99 brand new. It was small consolation for having to endure Christmas dinner over Skype (with a fuckin’ e-turkey, no less), where my family’s interesting dichotomatic dependence on technology for ease of communication combined with an award-winning, hyperbolic incompetence for how to use any of it resulted in us losing our shared $36.7 million inheritance from the Grandmama to the NAACP and NAMBLA, discovering my identical twin cousin had been secretly heterosexual for the last two years, throwing off the Earth’s geomagnetic field because my dog can’t go five minutes without masturbating, misdirecting the 2.4 GHz frequency bands into a single point of collaborative space, constructing a sentient butt bubble that we worshiped as a god, erasing by proxy the quantum time continuum that held the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies (yeah, talk about irony), and learning completely by accident, through a poorly muted side conversation with his proctologist/lover, that my uncle’s anal cancer was being caused by their shared double-dildo, which we immediately arranged a shotgun wedding for between it and the butt bubble because they were already six months pregnant.

Jesus was rolling in his grave.

Just making sure youre paying attention.Just making sure you’re paying attention.

But once the sting of that trauma faded away (I lie; it’s a pain that grows more and more every day until I wake up every morning screaming), I found the small consolation wasn’t a bad purchase, at least for that price. Shoveling a bunch of ROMs onto a DVD disc with a shitty museum-themed hub and some bonus stuff, which was already sitting in the company vault doing nothing, is such an easy way to put out games people actually want to play and buy I’m seriously surprised more companies aren’t doing it (still waiting for my Castlevania Collection, Konami).

SNK is certainly something that benefits from a cheap little disc like this. Raise your hand if you remember the Neo-Geo. OK, now raise your hand if you remember the system itself and not its infamous place in game history or its borderline racist meme of “Hi I am from Brazil, do you have Neo Geo ROMs, por favor?” Since I can’t actually see you, this exercise is pointless and we will move on as though I have a class full of ignorant racists anyway—basically, the Neo-Geo was an interesting system, to say the least. It was developed by SNK and more than half of its 156 game library was developed by them, for them (…huh?). It started out as a multi-ROM arcade cabinet to be shipped to Ohio bowling alleys, dank subterranean bars, and this one place in my town that used to be a really creepy arcade that I was the only person who ever went in. Then they started getting reports that some people were actually willing to buy the consoles for $650 a pop, so guess what started coming out.

Now, wrap your head around this—a $650 arcade machine that doubles as a home console, with games upwards of $300 each, in 1990 for Godssakes, somehow developed a huge cult following. How? The quality of the games. The quality of the motherfuckin’ games. Those games were pure J-fap—wild action, lots of fighting, fast, fast, fast, burning sensations, guns and bullets going everywhere—basically like the first time I ever had sex, with the exception that it was worth looking at. Say what you want, but Neo-Geo packed some AMAZING graphics that wouldn’t be rivaled again until 2000, not to mention a killer class of gaming and series that survive today.

Imagine this for a couple hours straight at a fluid framerate. Part of what made Metal Slug hard was the fact the graphics on the game were so good all over the place, it was distracting.Imagine this for a couple hours straight at a fluid framerate. Part of what made Metal Slug hard was the fact that the game’s graphics were so good all over the place, it was distracting.

Now, wrap your head around this—somehow the Neo-Geo survived for 15 YEARS between 1989 and 2004. Can you imagine what kind of competition Nintendo would’ve had if SNK made carts you could afford (the Neo-Geo CD notwithstanding)? Nintendo would be competing with the Neo-Geo with the fuckin’ GameCube!

Normally my game reviews do go on for a bit before I talk about the game itself, but this whole time I’ve actually been building a very strong point.

What’s that point, you ask?

Basically, I bought $4,800 worth of the best classic, Japanese, 2D action/fighting games ever-fuckin’-made for $11.99. BOO. YAH.

But…well… “BEST” is quite the misnomer. In terms of the insane royal-grade pedigree going on here, “best” and “good” may be separate entities entirely. Like any collection of games a company is shoveling for a quick buck, the quality comes and goes, and many titles will receive more attention than others.

Its a good thing those Nick Arcade kids werent able to get very far when they played. Nobody wants to see a 12-year-old scared gay on national TV.It’s a good thing those Nick Arcade kids weren’t able to get very far when they played. Nobody wants to see a 12-year-old scared gay on national TV.

However, with the 16 games on here, it’s not a bad little roster:

  • Art of Fighting: A wonky and forgettable Street Fighter clone which is known for an SNK quirk where the first player could only choose the protagonists, while the second player could pick damn near everyone else.
  • Baseball Stars 2: One of the most graphically dramatic baseball games I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t play much differently from most other baseball games from that era. Not bad, but I couldn’t get the hang of it.
  • Burning Fight: A REALLY awkward Final Fight rip-off. Probably the worst game on the disc, but not unplayable, just really wonky and pointless.
  • Fatal Fury: King of Fighters: YES! An arcade perfect port of the original Fatal Fury. Keystone of the list. Worth playing and beating several times.
  • King of the Monsters: Remember that one weird monster wrestling game they used to play in Nick Arcade that didn’t actually look like any fun at all? Now you can confirm that for yourself (I still have no real idea how to play this damn game).
  • Last Resort: The Neo-Geo does stereotypical SHMUP. Weeaboo gamers who jerk off to early-’90s gaming like I do will die of semen dehydration.
  • Magician Lord: And if Last Resort doesn’t kill them, Magician Lord will. Remember that one kick-ass sidescroller game with the wizard from Nick Arcade? Well here it is, and for the most part, it was worth the wait.
  • Metal Slug: You already own this, and for good reason, but it’s here if you want it.
  • Neo Turf Masters: WOW. Biggest surprise on the disc was how good this game turned out to be. Mario Golf, eat your heart out; this plays about the same and is much more graphically impressive.
  • Samurai Shodown: Oh ***damn, this is STILL a much-fapped over icon of the 2D, Street Fighter era of fighting games. Play this one first.
  • Sengoku: HOLY SHIT! This is the most…whoa…beat-em-up I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know you could actually build a game on a biological drug volume this large, but here it is.
  • Shock Troopers: I don’t know what game this reminds me of, but this is like if they remade it with some gameplay improvement and most of the budget going toward the graphics.
  • Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory: I don’t actually remember playing this one.
  • The King of Fighters ’94: What, no Fatal Fury 2? Still, King of Fighters had to show up on here somewhere, and here it is. Pretty damn challenging, but 2D fighting wankery at its finest.
  • World Heroes: And finally we end the list with one of the more infamous titles in SNK’s history, probably the definitive Street Fighter “me-too” clone/knockoff that actually spurred a lawsuit. The game isn’t bad by any real means, but there’s no definitive reason to play it either, except you can play as a not-too-uninteresting version of Rasputin. It’s kinda slow, without much in the way of challenge, and is there a Ryu/Ken thing going on here? Why yes, there is! The end bad guy also turns into a puddle of water when you get him. Mediocre fun for all!

Probably the only real reason to play World Heroes is so you could see this. Now that youve seen it, pretend to act surprised when youre playing the game.Probably the only real reason to play World Heroes is so you could see this. Now that you’ve seen it, act surprised when you’re playing the game.

These collections are never much more than the sum of their parts, unless it’s Mega Man or a franchise that’s AAA quality material, so the fun factor really depends on how much gorgeous SNK knockoff material you can stomach. The frame holding these ROMs together is pretty efficient and lean, though I had some initial trouble in setting up the game to take the GameCube controller. You earn achievement material by meeting the usual, and some rather unusual, requirements to unlock move sets, galleries and so on. The frame itself is pretty minimalistic, which for a set like this is good.

So, bottom line, $12 was a damn good deal. Some games are obviously better than others and SNK hasn’t captured the heart of the gaming world like Mega Man and Street Fighter and such have, but if you’re dying for legitimate classic gameplay that you haven’t played to death, don’t search out the old Neo-Geo shit unless you can’t even literally burn your money away (although eBay seems to suggest they’re more affordable now than they ever used to be), pick this up for 1/1357th of the original price and only 1.5/2th of the original fun. That’s right, my muthafuckin’ fractions keepz it REALZ, yo.

  • GameCola Rates This Game: 7 - Good
5 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 105 votes, average: 6.40 out of 10 (You need to be a registered member to rate this post.)
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About the Contributor


Since 2008

Meteo Xavier has been gaming for a quarter of a century and has quite a bit to talk about from that era. He is the author of "Vulgarity For the Masses" and you can find more on him and his game reviews at www.jslawhead.com.

5 Comments

  1. Yeah, I just read about that Vol. 0! The only good game I can remember SNK making prior to the Neo Geo is Crystalis. Then again, I’m a sheltered person.

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