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Capcom Classics Mini Mix Preview
Written by Robert Falcon on Tuesday, June 27, 2006
The NES lives on in Capcom's forthcoming classic collection.
Capcom certainly loves the classics, don't they? And why not? Their classic line-up reads like anyone's dream resume, from Street Fighter II to Mega Man to Final Fight. Now, three of their legendary NES games are about to make the jump over to the NES with the forthcoming Capcom Classics: Mini Mix, which will take three of the best experiences from the 8-bit days and make them glorious for GBA and DS owners everywhere.
The game contains three emulated favorites from the 8-bit days- Strider, Bionic Commando, and Mighty Final Fight. Now, those expecting some kind of variation on the arcade originals to be included will be slightly disappointed, as the game is all about reliving the home versions, which were different from the arcade builds. But if even have the slight use of the words "hardcore" and "Capcom fan" in your vocabulary, chances are you're going to remember these games rather well.
Strider puts you in control of a legendary warrior named Strider Hiryu, who must shut down an Empire-like army that's hellbent on ruling the world. The pacing is very different than the arcade game, almost to a technical nature, although there's still lots of things to solve in each level and plenty of enemies to use your blade upon. The graphics still look faithful to the original, and the controls should be just fine for GBA cohorts.
Bionic Commando is a little bit more fun, putting the fate of a soldier with a bionic arm in your hands. He too is up against an army all by himself, but he has the use of several weapons, maneuvering armies, and his bionic arm to get him through the rough stuff. This one too hunkers back to the old days of the NES, and looks reasonably close to the original. That might disappoint those who remember the advanced Game Boy version, or even the arcade edition, but it's just slight.
Mighty Final Fight rounds out the package, and fans of beat-em-ups will definitely like where this game is coming from. Gamers choose from different Final Fight characters and then beat up wave upon wave of the Mad Gear gang, who are ready to take over the city and have even kidnapped the Mayor's daughter to get the job done. The game's very similar in nature to the original Final Fight, but far more cartoony than anyone can expect, with SD-like characters and animation.
My only complaint is that there's only three games from the NES era here. Where's the love for Code Name Viper? And, for that matter, is Gunsmoke even considered anymore? And what the heck happened to that planed Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the GBA anyway?
Regardless, Capcom Classics: Mini Mix looks to be a fulfilling release for the Game Boy Advance market this fall, and a nice reminder of how simple gaming used to be before it evolved. Let's hope this is just the beginning of a number of retro releases for the GBA. I need my Viper fix. Look for it later this year.
