I am a gamer that was brought up in golden age arcades. Dimly lit rooms full of cabinets and coin slots topped with concaved buttons, lollipop joysticks and gloriously HUGE monitors projecting simplified gaming radiance. A mere quarter was the key to moments of escapisms of which there were a multitude of choices. The SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 exemplifies a better portion of those old times which is rapidly disappearing with the popularity of home gaming.

The 16 chosen games are a collection of the earlier releases for the now legendary Neo Geo MVS and AES - A very good assortment from fighting games, to shmups, to beat’em ups, sidescrollers and sports. No doubt you’ll find something of interest here. And the best part is that you only pay once for admission as the credits for all games now run free! No more worry about keeping enough change for laundry day or the bus ride back home. Fifteen dollars, the equivalent of 60 quarters (or credits) gets you this lot of horrendously difficult games that would otherwise have cost five times as much to play and beat some 15 or so years ago. Seriously.

Some of the newer kids with their fancy Wiis or 360s wouldn’t appreciate that. They might think a simple joystick and four button control scheme is far below their standard and difficulty level. Bullshit! As years go by, home games (while advancing leaps and bounds in production) seam to grow simpler, more of an experience than a game. They are made to be finished and you get your money’s worth (hopefully).

Arcade games on the other hand will not only aggravate and frustrate to the point of physical abuse - They happen cost a quarter to a dollar plus for the chance to experience even more humiliation at the hands of the game’s designers or other players. Yet we always went back for more, didn’t we?

I was quickly reminded of those feelings when once again playing through the first Samurai Shodown and continuing for the 8^th time against Wan-Fu. I hated his cheap-scimitar-throwing-ass fifteen years ago and you know what? I still do!

At least this time it didn’t cost me two bucks! [rd] - 5.26.2008