Capcom could be credited as the inventor of the third-person shooter. Most of you probably don't remember how many shooters they made in the 80s. Each one searched for that magical place of perfection, creating some of the most memorable 2D experiences we'll ever have. Nearly two decades later they (and the other games included in this compilation) belong to an exclusive group: the group of retro games that are as good as we remember.

Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting
One good game deserves an upgrade. Or two or three of them! Street Fighter II is the game fighting fans recall as being one of their favorite games, but what we really mean is one of the variations. My personal favorite is the SNES edition, but Hyper Fighting isn't much different. Champion Edition is the same game plus four new playable characters; Hyper Fighting adds turbo speed and balances out the feel of the gameplay. Balance is a touchy thing, but Hyper Fighting proved that the smallest tweaks can have the biggest impact.

1942, 1943, and 1943 Kai
I'll never forget 1943. It was the first shooter I got for the NES, and the first shooter I remember playing in arcades. Its exhausting battles and extreme difficulty made it one of those games that I wanted to play as much as I wanted to avoid. Big ships, giant war plans that covered a third of the screen, enemy assaults everywhere and only a handful of power-ups to get you through. The game expected a lot from the player, and to this day 1943 is still the best shooter of the 8-bit era. Its predecessor, 1942, is memorable but doesn't have the same bite as the sequel. 1943 Kai was a bit of a rehash, having similar worlds, locations and challenges as the first two games. It's worth a play-through, but can't compare to the games that led up to it.

Ghosts 'N' Goblins, Ghouls 'N' Ghosts, and Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts
Capcom's first foray into creepy gaming, Ghosts 'N' Goblins is a classic side-scrolling action/adventure. Jumping is not a permitted form of attack. The ghouls that Sir Arthur faces are far too dangerous to kill them that way. Swords, axes, lances, and other medieval weapons are your only form of defense. Armor shields Sir Arthur's skin for just one attack. Even gold armor will be lost after being hit. Pitfalls are frequent, booby-traps are everywhere, and just when you think you've reached the end you die and have to start over! Ghosts 'N' Goblins was an exercise in frustration, and its sequels built on that frustration until only the most relentless players could walk away a winner.

In most cases if you had the “Super” edition of a game it was unnecessary to have the original, but Ghouls 'N' Ghosts and Super Ghouls 'N' Ghosts have some interesting differences. Most notably the original version has four-way attacks (up, down, left and right) while Super Ghouls ‘N’ Ghosts does not. There are also significant differences in the level design and layout.

Commando and Bionic Commando
Two clever games in different genres that were intended to be a part of the same series. Commando is a top-down shooter; Bionic Commando is a side-scrolling adventure that dabbles in old games like Pitfall. In Commando the action is nearly non-stop. Gun ammo is unlimited. Snatch grenades to give yourself and your enemies an extra blast of fun. Bionic Commando, on the other hand, has a bit more strategy involved. Ammo is unlimited, but your primary tool is a grappling hook that lets you climb up and swing across practically any object. The combat is a little like Metal Slug, except that in Metal Slug you have endless streams of enemies and no grappling hook. Bionic Commando's enemies are relentless but not endless. You do get a breather, just not very often. Challenging and addictive, both Commandos have clearly stood the test of time.

Final Fight
Final Fight is the reason we have repetitive beat-'em-up action games. I never considered the title to be very innovative, but back in the day there were only a few games that matched its level of addictiveness, some of which were arcade exclusives. (Remember the four-screen X-Men game? It never came home.)

The gameplay goes like this: pick a character and press the attack button (square or circle in this version). That's as far as the game goes. Most attacks are automatic. Combos occur with repeated hits, and special attacks can be performed with just two buttons.

It might be because of nostalgic value, but despite its simplicity and repetitiveness Final Fight is still more fun than most new beat-'em-ups on the market. The weapon feature is still the best part. Any highlighted object can be picked up and swung or thrown at your opponent. Small weapons like knives are thrown; bigger objects like pipes are swung and can be used to eliminate multiple enemies.

Mercs
One of the best third-person shooters of the 2D era, Mercs is a classic game with more weapons and enemies to kill than any before it. It was one of the first to take advantage of the power of a flame-thrower, and has several other special weapons that include different guns and bombs.

Pirate Ship Higemaru
I could be having a memory lapse right now, but I don't ever remember seeing Pirate Ship Higemaru. Nonetheless it's a fairly decent action/strategy game where the goal is to grab barrels and toss them at your opponents. The view is top down, and the controls are slow and reminiscent of Bomberman.

Section Z and Forgotten Worlds
These games are technically unrelated but have similar mechanics. Section Z is a side-scrolling space shooter that could almost be compared to R-Type. Levels scroll vertically and horizontally, kicking things up a notch when the game thinks you're getting too good. Forgotten Worlds takes the concept of sending a man into space to the next level by giving you eight degrees of control with the right analog stick. The square and circle buttons may also be used to alter your weapon's direction, but I doubt anyone will use them once they've tried the analog stick combo. Forgotten Worlds could've been just another memorable port, but with this control scheme the Capcom Classics Collection version is the best yet.

Exed Exes
Chances are if you haven't played Exed Exes before you've played games like it. Apparently inspired by Capcom's other shooters, Exed Exes lets you control a ship through a strange and semi-futuristic world. Movement is not restricted to the bottom of the screen, which means there are a ton of enemies coming that will make you move out of the way.

Gun.Smoke
I'm not sure why the dot is in the name (copyright laws?). Unlike today's games where the dot is used as a reference to the dot-com era, Gun.Smoke is a great western shooter. The top-down view and up-scrolling gameplay work well as you struggle to shoot enemies from multiple angles. They could be standing on the streets, or sneaking a shot through the window of a two-story building.

Legendary Wings
Another 1942-style shooter, Legendary Wings is a shooter where you control a strange man with wings. The story is ridiculous (you must destroy an evil computer that fell from space), and due to its slow gameplay, this is the only game in the collection that I can't be certain I'll play again.

In addition to the aforementioned titles, Capcom Classics Collection includes Son Son, Trojan, and Vulgus. Whether you've played one of these games or have experienced them all, this is the best collection available. I hope the PSP version has all of these games because it'd be worth the money just to have a version I can take wherever I go. I have loved so many of these games for years and owned only a couple of them. Now they're finally in my collection in one convenient, inexpensive PS2 disc.

Gameplay: 8.5
I've died and gone back to the 80s. Capcom Classics Collection is the best collection you will ever find. It's not that there aren't games that are as good as Ghouls 'N' Ghosts and 1943. But where else can you find a collection where almost every game is worth playing? Saying that these are addictive is an understatement. I have mixed feelings about the amount of continues given (it makes some of the games way too easy), but that's how the arcade versions were if you had a pocket full of quarters. I can't complain about that. All I can do is love this collection of classics.

Graphics: 8.0
A perfect, glitch-free conversion of each game.

Sound: 8.0
There is at least one song from one of these games that you will remember. Whether it's 1943's memorable soundtrack, Street Fighter II's unforgettable theme, or the eerie music of Ghouls 'N' Ghosts - the sounds alone bring back memories of gaming's past.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium/Hard
A range of challenges for a range of games. There's something for everyone in this collection.

Concept: 8.5
Technically this was a no-brainer: take the greatest games you've made and release them on one disc. I'm giving 'em an 8.5 because they actually did it.

Multiplayer: 8.0
It would've been cool if Capcom had re-tooled the games so that all of them had co-op features. The games that do (including but not limited to Mercs, 1943, and Forgotten Worlds) are even more fun with a friend than they are solo. Street Fighter II – how could you want to play that game by yourself? The true fun is kicking the butt of a friend.

Overall: 8.5
You can't expect an old game to score as high as its next-gen sequel. Sequels have technological advantages and the benefit of learning from past mistakes. That said, it should make the developers of these games feel proud to know that nearly two decades later their titles are better than most of the new stuff being released. How many 8.5s do we get each year? A few dozen at best (if we're lucky). All the "new" games are just going to have to deal with the fact that one of those 8.5 games is Capcom Classics Collection.